Your Bangernomics successes

Skoda Favorit
It was about £250, with a years mot and tax.
Much abused, it even had an old concrete fireplace in the back to go to the tip. Must have weighed a ton.
It needed 4 tyres, as they were perished, but a set of wheels and good tyres from a golf cost me £15 off ebay.
Passed the mot with just a wheel bearing, and I eventually sold it when the head gasket went with just 1 months tax and mot for £125.
Next was a 106 diesel, £450. 90,000 miles on it.
That did another 70,000 miles in 4 years, until the back inner arches went. Scrapped for £175.
It cost all the usual in brakes, tyres, etc.
Other running costs were a new radiator, two back shocks, and two front seats (ebay £5) when the old ones sagged a bit.
Mot was never more than a gaiter, or a couple of brake pipes last time.
I did have the cam belt done, but it was due for another this year.

Replaced by a Renault. £350 short mot, a bit of welding £100, and, now 12 months

So 7 years worth, £950 ish, not including the wear and tear items, (brakes, cambelt, tyres etc) less whatever the Renault is worth, currently around £500 on ebay.

89 Toyota Carina II, bought with 80k on it in 2004 - still got it and it's running well. I paid €800 for it, which was about right at the time for one of these, never mind the low mileage. One owner before me, who'd taken it with him when he'd retired, so only one driver.
It didn't cost anything for repairs (apart from a couple of tyres) until last year when I got a bit nervous about the cambelt and paid a local workshop to do it - that, a battery, an alternator and two rear shocks are all it's needed in the past eight years. So, the total thus far is approx €800, or €100 per year, which isn't bad. Only problem with running such an old one, even though it exhibits good Toyota reliability is that spares are getting harder to find in breakers, plus a lot of these went to Poland, oddly enough.
I still have the original alternator, so I might rebuild that and keep it as a spare. Needs another two tyres now, but even though it's an ongoing cost overall it's about a third of keeping my Transit on the road.

I love Bangernomics

My parents spent £250 on a 45,000mile K reg Vauxhall Nova 1.5TD for me when I was 16, I'm now 24 . Parents drove it as a fuel-efficient runaround to back up their other two cars until I was ready to learn (almost three years ago, car had 54k on it when I took possession) and now it has done 75,000 miles. I actually took my driving test in it, much to the horror of the examiner! In the three years I have looked after it it has needed a handbrake overhaul, new brake pads and shoes, two new tyres. Not bad in my opinion, considering in that time it has been driven by two learners/new drivers.

The best thing about my dear little car is the fuel economy: 63mpg even when driven by my partner shortly after passing his test (getting used to driving an old tank instead of a modern flying carpet!). 72mpg at best hypermiling.

Wing mirrors are exceptionally tatty, paintwork is awful, no arial, a few small oil leaks, noisy, no power steering but it has never broken down on me.

MOT is coming up, the cambelt could go at any time, wheel bearing needs doing, I fear the handbrake needs some work, possibly new brake pads and the fan belt is on its last tension. We're saving up for a new used car for when we need it...might be very soon, but the car has done me well!

Love reading about your bangers

Merc W202 C180 (1993)

Paid £800 for it. touched up the crack in the front bumper and fixed the coolant leak (£1.47 for a new hose from MB themselves) and fitted new front pads.

Drove it for 10 months (had the tax and MOT on it) and MOT'd it just to see. Pass. No advisories at all!

Had another 8 months out of it in all conditions, treated it to an oil change and then someone bumped it in a car park and broke the exhaust. Getting it home caused melting to the bumper so wieghed in the tax and got £200 scrap. Also kept the private plate that was on it so not bad at all I thought.

30+mpg and very comfy too.

5t.