Your Bangernomics successes

rev_henry

My hyundai is due for MOT this month. There is a council place near here but the local ATS is nearer, cheaper and is actually trustworthy. I think it may also need a wheel bearing. Would this be picked up on an MOT?

Only thing that's troubling me is the emissions were a little high at the last MOT, passable but a little high, so it may be worth blatting it down the motorway a little beforehand. Having said that it may have just been that the car was cold - it was done by the previous owner so I've no idea.

Still thoroughly enjoying it though, just a bit of a shame is wasted on city driving mostly. Throwing it around country lanes is simply hilarious - plenty of power but rolls like a boat. Nothings gone wrong, all I've done since April is an oil change, ATF change and wheel alignment.

[Deleted User]

I always go for a blast down the dual carriageway en-route to the MOT. Always have car nice and warmed up. :cool:

rev_henry

Passed first time this morning! No advisories as such but the chap said there was a little play in the wheel bearing, so I'll get that done at some point.

I strongly suspect it was just cold at the last MOT as emissions this time were spot on.

Yellabowley

New to this post. Not under £1000 but my two best car deals came in quick succession.


Car 1
1975 MGB GT bought for £1750, was flooded 6 months later and written off. Insurance gave me £1750 for it and let me buy the car back off them for £50. Spent £350 cleaning it, servicing it and getting it MOT'd to be put back on the road. Sold it for £1000.
Total £600 in profit.


Car 2
1968 MGB GT. Bought for £1800. Used as a daily driver, serviced once and sold 6 months later on eBay for £3000.
Profit £1200.


Unfortunately not all of my car buying exploits have been so successful and these profits have been evened out by a couple of lemons.


Classic is definitely the way to go though unless you do high mileage.

jimjames

Almost a year ago I bought a Golf for £950. It had just under 240,000 miles on it and came with a few accessories. Sold off the accessories which brought the price down to £800.

Just sold it so I didn't need to get another year's insurance and got £1500. Now has 250,000 on clock but been tidied up a lot since I bought it. Sailed through MOT late last year with no advisories and only had to service it.

Year's motoring and cost me nothing, can't beat it!

worried_jim

The Saab 9-3 (second bangernomics car) is coming up to its MOT on the 28th January. Although it is still running fine there are some nasty rattles coming from the engine and a heat shield at the rear makes a bit of a noise too. The stereo is now only working through one rear speaker.

So it has been decision time, start spending or get rid.

The Saab was scrapped on Monday, £95, I got £165 two years ago for the Rover, wish I'd chucked it on Gumtree as spares.

I have spent £1,808.84 on fuel during its two year ownership with me which was an average of 18.2mpg (all town driving) and including its scrap value it cost me £400 to buy. Besides two tyres, a wiper blade and disks and pads all round it has cost me very little to run, insurance was only £200 per year although the tax was £225.

So for Bangernomics III it's time to combine all I've learnt and try to get a vehicle which will be a bit cheaper to run. And here it is......

2002 Vauxhall 1.6 8v Astra







It has 110,000 on the clock. Taxed till the months end and MOT to September 2015 with FSH.

I have bought it from a chap at work who used to be a mechanic and he even did an oil change on it (despite being last serviced in August) the day before I got it as he had some Castrol GTX left over and his new car is a diesel. In the last six months it has had a new battery, tyres, alternator and exhaust. It's cost me £600.

There are a couple of bad bits-



and it has a nasty after market radio-



Which doesn't store any presets (something to do with the wiring) or power the rear speakers. But I plan to buy an original unit so the steering wheel controls work.

Besides that I've had to replace a couple of bulbs and at some point I will replace the cam belt/water pump, thermostat and it had an advisory re anti roll bar linkage (I think it's the bushes need replacing.

Once I've had the local Slovakians give it a wash and vacuum and shine I will be dead happy. If this does more than 36mpg it will pay for its self in a year!

ratrace

worried_jim wrote: »

The Saab 9-3 (second bangernomics car) is coming up to its MOT on the 28th January. Although it is still running fine there are some nasty rattles coming from the engine and a heat shield at the rear makes a bit of a noise too. The stereo is now only working through one rear speaker.

So it has been decision time, start spending or get rid.

The Saab was scrapped on Monday, £95, I got £165 two years ago for the Rover, wish I'd chucked it on Gumtree as spares.

I have spent £1,808.84 on fuel during its two year ownership with me which was an average of 18.2mpg (all town driving) and including its scrap value it cost me £400 to buy. Besides two tyres, a wiper blade and disks and pads all round it has cost me very little to run, insurance was only £200 per year although the tax was £225.

So for Bangernomics III it's time to combine all I've learnt and try to get a vehicle which will be a bit cheaper to run. And here it is......

2002 Vauxhall 1.6 8v Astra







It has 110,000 on the clock. Taxed till the months end and MOT to September 2015 with FSH.

I have bought it from a chap at work who used to be a mechanic and he even did an oil change on it (despite being last serviced in August) the day before I got it as he had some Castrol GTX left over and his new car is a diesel. In the last six months it has had a new battery, tyres, alternator and exhaust. It's cost me £600.

There are a couple of bad bits-



and it has a nasty after market radio-



Which doesn't store any presets (something to do with the wiring) or power the rear speakers. But I plan to buy an original unit so the steering wheel controls work.

Besides that I've had to replace a couple of bulbs and at some point I will replace the cam belt/water pump, thermostat and it had an advisory re anti roll bar linkage (I think it's the bushes need replacing.

Once I've had the local Slovakians give it a wash and vacuum and shine I will be dead happy. If this does more than 36mpg it will pay for its self in a year!

Another great buy Jim, just out of interest are you going to buy another car to run on the wvo in the summer im in the market for a car that will run on wvo with success can you recommend anything

alastairq

Daihatsu has finally [but temporarily] become a Dead-hatsu.

Turned up for an moT, only to have a dreaded rear X-member part company with itself! Tester spotted it first, so cancelled test, claiming it was 'out of fuel'...so didn't charge me. He did, however, 'drive it about a bit' during the day.....basically to see if anything else reared its ugly head...and found it an extremely pleasant lump to drive.

He thought the x-member may mean a scrap job, however, I thought otherwise.

A quick trip to a 'local' agricultural mender, who has done a 'dozen or so' of these jobs on local Daihatsus...they are 'known' for it....the tubular X member carries the two rear axle links that stop it twisting under sudden power....the tube is open both ends, but curved up in hte middle, to clear the prop shaft....over the years, fills with soil, which isn't easy to get out once it sets....so the tube rots, at the ends [other end is still sound]....Yer man knocks up new tube, from rectangular section...welds on a couple of brackets or three, cleans up side rails, [which are invariably sound]....and welds in place. A straight tube does clear the prop...but if towing heavy objects, may need raising in the middle...so he welds another tube to the top, fits to car, then cuts out center section of lower tube! Simples....

He boxes in any open bits, drills and fills full of old oil, drains it off after a bit, and hey ho, another half a million miles to be had out of the beast. [engines are apparently 'good' for a half million miles..]

SO.....as Jim notes above, scrap prices are rubbish at present....so probably £125 scrap...or, I've been offered by my local Daihatsu 4trak breaker and spares source, £350, or £200 for the welding job? Decisions, decisions?

Probably the latter! I like the thing..it needs some holes filling, but it is virtually 'unbreakable', despite my best efforts....and has never let me down, despite trawling from one end of hte country to the other, several times, often towing stuff. Even bunged in 20-odd litres of petrol last year, and it never missed a beat!

[although I wouldn't recommend that, for the sake of saving money on fuel]

So, back to Fiesta for now......how twee!

[Deleted User]

worried_jim wrote: »

The Saab 9-3 (second bangernomics car) is coming up to its MOT on the 28th January. Although it is still running fine there are some nasty rattles coming from the engine and a heat shield at the rear makes a bit of a noise too. The stereo is now only working through one rear speaker.

So it has been decision time, start spending or get rid.

The Saab was scrapped on Monday, £95, I got £165 two years ago for the Rover, wish I'd chucked it on Gumtree as spares.

I have spent £1,808.84 on fuel during its two year ownership with me which was an average of 18.2mpg (all town driving) and including its scrap value it cost me £400 to buy. Besides two tyres, a wiper blade and disks and pads all round it has cost me very little to run, insurance was only £200 per year although the tax was £225.

So for Bangernomics III it's time to combine all I've learnt and try to get a vehicle which will be a bit cheaper to run. And here it is......

2002 Vauxhall 1.6 8v Astra

It has 110,000 on the clock. Taxed till the months end and MOT to September 2015 with FSH.

I have bought it from a chap at work who used to be a mechanic and he even did an oil change on it (despite being last serviced in August) the day before I got it as he had some Castrol GTX left over and his new car is a diesel. In the last six months it has had a new battery, tyres, alternator and exhaust. It's cost me £600.

There are a couple of bad bits-

and it has a nasty after market radio-

Which doesn't store any presets (something to do with the wiring) or power the rear speakers. But I plan to buy an original unit so the steering wheel controls work.

Besides that I've had to replace a couple of bulbs and at some point I will replace the cam belt/water pump, thermostat and it had an advisory re anti roll bar linkage (I think it's the bushes need replacing.

Once I've had the local Slovakians give it a wash and vacuum and shine I will be dead happy. If this does more than 36mpg it will pay for its self in a year!

Excellent bargain motoring. My old 206 was an 8v and after driving a 16v temp Punto for a few months then my current 16v Megane, I don't think I can go back to something as sluggish as my old 206 again.

worried_jim

Deleted_User wrote: »

Excellent bargain motoring. My old 206 was an 8v and after driving a 16v temp Punto for a few months then my current 16v Megane, I don't think I can go back to something as sluggish as my old 206 again.

It's my first 8v car! Since I had a 1.1 Escort mk III. I started on 16v with a Rover 214si (yes the HG did go) in 1994 and haven't "down graded" since.

It drives lovely and corners really well, seems to be loads more economical as I've hardly used any gas this week but will do a full tank and start working figures out soon.

The engine is really clean and tidy and it runs very quietly-