Your Bangernomics successes

CKhalvashi

colino wrote: »

That Focus is a perfect example of buying wisely by condition, not by plate.

It was a part ex, traded in at Dagenham Motors (it has Polar Ford on the plates), that was seen down the back when I was there for the company last week. It was apparently going to be scrapped, as it was uneconomical for them to otherwise dispose of :eek:

The amount of waste, especially with a tonne of service history (every year/8000mi from new), and a car that it seems when something went wrong, it was carted into the dealer straight away to be repaired (£1600 of invoices in the last year alone). I'm so happy this was found when it was!

I've got a '62' plate car, and in all honesty, the Focus may not be as fast or luxurious, but in terms of value for money, it's a really great car!

CK

Olduserpasswordforgot

CKhalvashi wrote: »

It was a part ex, traded in at Dagenham Motors (it has Polar Ford on the plates), that was seen down the back when I was there for the company last week. It was apparently going to be scrapped, as it was uneconomical for them to otherwise dispose of :eek:

The amount of waste, especially with a tonne of service history (every year/8000mi from new), and a car that it seems when something went wrong, it was carted into the dealer straight away to be repaired (£1600 of invoices in the last year alone). I'm so happy this was found when it was!

I've got a '62' plate car, and in all honesty, the Focus may not be as fast or luxurious, but in terms of value for money, it's a really great car!

CK

:T

well done sir, i hope my darling focus flies the MOT next month without much work. its a mk1 focus S plate which is still going strong (apart from replacing the clutch, timing belt) which hadn't been done previously and 3 years on still running strong bought it for £750 in 2011 - don't make cars like these anymore :beer:

Raksha

New addition to the stable. R reg petrol auto Mondie, 80k, only 5k a year for the last 5 years, engine so quiet can hardly tell its running. Ghia level trim, cruise control, sunroof, 10cd changer, parking sensors, immaculate interior. Did I mention 10 months MOT and a months tax?

Possible downs - slight hesitation if you boot it, and patch of rust on leading edge of bonnet. Suspect fuel breather blocked may be cause of hesitation as there was a slight hiss when removing petrol cap...

How much? £350

worried_jim

Been away on holiday and whilst away had a friend pick the Saab up and put on new discs and pads on all four corners and has charged me £64 for the parts and £20 for the labour. I can notice the difference!

He has OCD as well so he washed the car for me as he couldn't face the thought of giving it back with moss growing on it!

Just been to Tesco to fill it up and paid £1.31 a litre which is the cheapest petrol I've bought for 18 months. I have averaged 18.2mpg so far this year and finally ran it on a motorway on the way back from Gatwick- very nice.

Paradigm

worried_jim wrote: »

I have averaged 18.2mpg so far this year and finally ran it on a motorway on the way back from Gatwick- very nice.

18.2? You've been giving it large on the go pedal again

Did it improve on the m/way run at all?

Robisere

I ended my work as a workshop foreman through injury and subsequent disability in 1997, my son did not follow me into that trade but I used to teach him what I could by taking him to the garage at weekends.

Years later, he is a working single parent of 2 teens and has run a succession of old motors using the knowledge I gave him. He has had an "R" reg 2.0L Renault Grand Scenic for 3 years, a fiendishly complicated beast with 160k miles. Cost just under £900. Seven seats and still a comfortable ride, it pulls his caravan and/or his trailer to and from Shows as part of his hobby - Stationary Engines. I have lost count of the bits he has replaced, but he is now something of an expert on the car, probably knows more about this model than I ever learned. Being an electrician has probably helped him with the over-complex electrics of the car. He is always looking at replacements, but does not see anything that answers his needs like the Scenic.

mcjordi

just picked up a 2001 Y plate megane in red with 93k on the clock mot till 21st july 2014 tax end feb 2014 for £150 my brother in law was told by the garage that the cat/flexi was needing replacement and was gonna cost £300+ as they are only allowed to use type approved shizzle or summat...
any whoo i got a qoute for £160 and thought i best have a look when i got it home.. the middle box clamp was rotten and causing the blow
10 mins and £1.85 later blow sorted and i told the garage who qouted my brother in law this silly figure that they are crooks and rip off merchants who knew exactly what was wrong and they intended ripping off my family :mad:
Any way they had bought a new car anyway so i got a steal..
timing belt was done 15k ago. needs a wing as its mullered and a few scratches and bulbs out but it owes me around £160 when i replace the bulbs at the weekend

alastairq

For some unknown reason, I have bought an ancient Daihatsu Fourtrak!

It's a '94, 2.8 diseasel turbo thingy tractor engined beast. [even has a tractor battery!]

Ex-farmer, I've known it for a long time...I'm the 3rd owner.

Ignoring surface rust, sills seem sound.....previous owner did me a filter service in the price.

Needed something that could tow my big car trailer...the Fourtrak has a 3.5 tonne towing weight.

Have run it for a week on my normal commute/domestic driving....

By keeping the engine revs to a max of just over 2000, or thereabouts...with a top gear speed of around 50-55 mph at most, it has returned 32 mpg's.

I pressure washed most of the farm mud off it last weekend...sadly, the forecast thunderstorms didn't happen!

Used 2 bottles of febreze, just about got rid of the 'sheep' smells...

Very strange effect the Fourtrak has on other road users.....at a [very constant] 50 mph [and the speedo is surprisingly accurate, according to all the passive speed warning signs I've passed]....those who follow behind don't seem bothered..they keep a discrete distance from my back door [no tailgaters!!!]....and seem happy.

If I do the same thing in my Fiesta Zetec, they're banging on my tailgate, generally wanting to get past [only to slow down and hold me up!!!]....

What is it with people????

The Fourtrak can indeed pick up its skirts and fly, should the need arise [blows off JCB FAstracs, for one]....

I decided on 2000 revs as..according to the book, that's around peak torque....

Currently insured alongside the Fiesta..I may actually use it to replace the Ford...[the Fourtrak is cheaper to insure.....]....

It's obviously agricultural in its character...makes a noise like a Massey -Ferguson.....
I doubt I will ever use 4 wheel drive, however...[spend 2-3 working days a week off road, using 4 wheel drive..or 6..or 8]...but...it's there if I ever need it.

At least I can tow my trailers now...and shift some of the automotive junk I've acquired over the years.

Someone said something about 'chip fat?'

That, I might need to investigate?

alastairq

question..if I do use chip fat as above, will the exhaust smell beggar-up the diets of those who follow too closely behind?

Rolandtheroadie

My last 2 bangers have been '94's, a good year it seems, especially for veg running.

Looking here http://www.biomotors.co.uk/CarsVansD.html#Daihatsu
it should be fine on veg or a blend of veg mixed with petrol/diesel/biodiesel.
Even buying 10 litres from the pound shop and pouring it in with 30 litres of diesel is a saving.

And yes, it'll probably wreck peoples diets lol.