Your Bangernomics successes

mattyprice4004

I just upgraded to something that may no longer be bangernomics - a rather nice MG ZT-T. Unfortunately it was £1500, so think it's a bit too expensive for here

Farzackerly

Bangery-question for owners of Lagunas and Clios, etc.
I have a trailer that uses Renault 11 hubs and want to use up some skinny 15" tyres I have knocking around. I know the PCD of 4x100mm and centre bore of 60mm / 60.1mm was carried on with many later Renaults, including the Clio, Laguna and many others, but the normal wheels are too wide for these tyres.
Are the Laguna and Clio space-saver rims quite narrow? I know some of the earlier ones aren't, but I wonder if the later ones might be, from the year 2000 onwards.

skivenov

Normally ridiculously narrow, like 135. How about a BMW mini wheel? The basic ones are a 155 IIRC, just can't remember the centre bore.

mcjordi

gah i dont like this new layout...

Farzackerly

skivenov wrote: »

Normally ridiculously narrow, like 135. How about a BMW mini wheel? The basic ones are a 155 IIRC, just can't remember the centre bore.

A rim for a 135 would do - these tyres are 145, 155. The MINI 1 (is that the base model?) had a 5.5x15 rim and 4x100 PCD, but the centre bore is 56.1 across all the range, as far as I can see.

mcjordi

well meggy is back from MOT and the pile of poop has failed.

emissions is main one..
1st fast idle. co 0.512% (should be 0.300 or less) hc 88ppm lambda 1.031 (fail)
2nd fast idle 0.445% hc 67 lambda 1.020 so figures pointing to lambda sensor however with no access to code readers i cant tell which one pre or post cat

also wants 2 brake discs 2 bottom ball joints and 2 track rod ends..

no entirely sure what to do with this one atm if its the cat no way is it worth replacing on this.. however if its both lambdas then all in probs cost around £170

edit- pads discs trackrod ends and ball joints are coming in at around £70 bang on.. but gonna try the italian tune up and some fuel treatment first before splashing out on a new set of lambdas

phillip_swift

I've just discovered this thread and it's a great read so apologies if I'm asking something that's already been covered as I've not had time to read all 40 pages yet.

I got my really good Focus nicked in 2007 and was in financial shot so used the insurance money to pay off some debt and my dad was moving abroad so sold me his Mk 3 97 Golf TDI estate for £400 - It was worth at least 2k back then - what are parents for

Nearly 8 years later I still have the car and it's now on 245 000 miles and it's been the most reliable car I've ever had. I'm very reluctant to get rid because it's been so reliable and I've put quite a few new parts on it too, just this year it had a new alternator. I think the startor motor is about to go too but my mechanic says it's totally solid underneath.

I know that at some point a clutch, gearbox or something else major will go and I'll need to get rid and I think it'll be another banger (1500 quid top) for me.

So what are your own personal rules of buying a banger and are there any makes of car that I should stay away from? I'd need an estate or a car with a big boot like a Mondeo, I quite like the Mazda 6 but aparently getting work done is expensive and I'm not a mechanic.

My rules are not to buy a part ex to clear from a dealer because people only part ex their cars and get new ones when they're about to get an expensive bill. _ I got burned by that when I was 19 and what I thought was an exhaust rattle turned out to be a knackard Cat.

Manual only because automatics are more complicated and if they go wrong it's game over and they're usually more expensive to fix so I'm told.

Don't buy top of the range luxury cars if they're old because as nice as they might be the'll have loads more to go wrong. - Having said that I do quite fancy a SAAB estate because they're roomy and quite reliable.

Don't buy a Cat D right off as I wouldn't have a clue if it's been fixed properly or not

Does it matter if it's Diesel or Petrol engine, I've always thought Deisel is more reliable and would last longer if well maintained.

BeenThroughItAll

phillip_swift wrote: »

I've just discovered this thread and it's a great read so apologies if I'm asking something that's already been covered as I've not had time to read all 40 pages yet.

I got my really good Focus nicked in 2007 and was in financial shot so used the insurance money to pay off some debt and my dad was moving abroad so sold me his Mk 3 97 Golf TDI estate for £400 - It was worth at least 2k back then - what are parents for

Nearly 8 years later I still have the car and it's now on 245 000 miles and it's been the most reliable car I've ever had. I'm very reluctant to get rid because it's been so reliable and I've put quite a few new parts on it too, just this year it had a new alternator. I think the startor motor is about to go too but my mechanic says it's totally solid underneath.

I know that at some point a clutch, gearbox or something else major will go and I'll need to get rid and I think it'll be another banger (1500 quid top) for me.

So what are your own personal rules of buying a banger and are there any makes of car that I should stay away from? I'd need an estate or a car with a big boot like a Mondeo, I quite like the Mazda 6 but aparently getting work done is expensive and I'm not a mechanic.

My rules are not to buy a part ex to clear from a dealer because people only part ex their cars and get new ones when they're about to get an expensive bill. _ I got burned by that when I was 19 and what I thought was an exhaust rattle turned out to be a knackard Cat.

Manual only because automatics are more complicated and if they go wrong it's game over and they're usually more expensive to fix so I'm told.

Don't buy top of the range luxury cars if they're old because as nice as they might be the'll have loads more to go wrong. - Having said that I do quite fancy a SAAB estate because they're roomy and quite reliable.

Don't buy a Cat D right off as I wouldn't have a clue if it's been fixed properly or not

Does it matter if it's Diesel or Petrol engine, I've always thought Deisel is more reliable and would last longer if well maintained.

If you're happy with what you've got, just keep on fixing it. Clutch on that age Golf will be a simple 3 part kit, no DMF I'm sure, so maybe a couple of hundred quid. If the gearbox goes, a secondhand unit will be a few hundred quid.


If the rest of the car is fine, there's no need to junk and buy another. I know of a 1998 Passat TDI locally with over 375K miles on it, still going fine.

sabretoothtigger

phillip_swift wrote: »

My rules are not to buy a part ex to clear from a dealer because people only part ex their cars and get new ones when they're about to get an expensive bill. _ I got burned by that when I was 19 and what I thought was an exhaust rattle turned out to be a knackard Cat.

Just seen a similar one to this, a 1 owner part-ex 93k civic with Mot till Jan but the ABS light is lit meaning it probably needs a new sensor or could it be even worse?

Seems like a bargain or is that just going to drop to 100 for scrap

a 1998 Passat TDI locally with over 375K miles on it, still going fine.

Diesels are known for it, greater durability from the fuel apparently. Starship miles possible if it was always coasting along. Main thing there is the turbo, if its left hot parked they (can) fail

mcjordi

abs light on could be anything from cracked reluctor ring to knakcered abs pump

reset the ecu on the meggy yesterday had a drive about and it seems to have cured the lumpy idle on a morning.. drove straight off this morning with no jerkiness..
going to get parts for mot this morning when local parts place opens and hopefully get them fitted today/tomorrow.