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Joloke

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...I just don't like anything 'too modern'; made in the last few years; daft 'motoring press' impressing stuff like the engine cutting out when stopped at traffic, n over sensitive stalk controls; trying to  somehow turn off a persisting n unwanted  rear wiper at full clat, is very distracting... Modern diesels especially ford's seem to sound un'nveringly mega tappety' from cold or at 'full chat' - overtaking or whatever - everytime  Im in a younger than 5 years old modern, overtaking,  Im bricking it that the entire tiny 1.6TD cDi Blue (or whatever) is going to shatter to bits or a push a piston through the block... I spose folk who arent mechanically (or even finacially inclined who buy these cars aren't hugely concerned about such things.... and of course I don't do finance/enjoy answering the door to scarfaced leather jacketed bald men, if Id have a bad month or two n 'banks comuta's said 'no' - then id have to walk or get a bus...

...all up its just not for me, a chattering auxillery belt idler might make occasionally pause for 'thought', but I can turn the radio up, as its easy to work...

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I always had shite from passing my test for albout 10 years then bought a few new cars finally getting bored and changed my Audi A6 for a Vauxhall Victor and now running a Princess and (Volvo 740 cos i,dont have access to a van anymore).

In my last 4 years of driving shite I have not had to call out recovery once and have not had to pay any garage bills cos its easy to fix shite and the parts are very reasonable.

 

This leaves me with plenty of cash to have a nice weekend classic in the garage.

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I disagree. Unless cars will be thrown away at 3 years old there will always be old cars. Society simply cannot afford to chuck cars away after such a short space of time. If it was the case the depreciation would be horrific, £20k to £0 scrap value wouldn’t be palatable to 99% of the population.

 

Cars will need less attention in the future which Is a better thing, but people have said stuff is now irrepairable at home for 40 years. When fuel injection became commonplace everybody lamented the ability to fuck about on a Sunday morning with the carburettor, same for when on board diagnostics became the norm, everyone went ‘that’s it, it can’t be fixed now’. Here we are 20 years later and people still do it.

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Plus eleventy on that, my Scirocco is considerably more complex that a Morris thousand, but it is still very, very simple. I imagine that even the 'complex' electronics in new cars will be considered Bob basic in 30 years time.

Look at the difficulty of making the cooling work on an Imp or a Stag back in the day. They're all sorted out now.

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Couldn't agree more with the thread title. 

Quick story... July 2015 , I paid £700 for a 2005 Vauxhall Vectra SRi diesel and all was well. That is until eleven months later a failed water pump destroyed the engine. 

Well  after weighing up my options and thinking I'm clever,( I'm not) I went and financed £4500 worth of Ford Mondeo, costing approx £200 per month.

Inside a month problems started with a turbo failure, followed closely with a DPF thingy, amongst other issues. 

Short version is , I returned the car to the dealer and bought a 2001 Renault Scenic for £250.

A year on, the Scenic is still with me and no issues, MOT passed at minimal costs . 

The future is shitters and bangernomics for me.

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I disagree. Unless cars will be thrown away at 3 years old there will always be old cars. Society simply cannot afford to chuck cars away after such a short space of time. If it was the case the depreciation would be horrific, £20k to £0 scrap value wouldn’t be palatable to 99% of the population.

 

Cars will need less attention in the future which Is a better thing, but people have said stuff is now irrepairable at home for 40 years. When fuel injection became commonplace everybody lamented the ability to fuck about on a Sunday morning with the carburettor, same for when on board diagnostics became the norm, everyone went ‘that’s it, it can’t be fixed now’. Here we are 20 years later and people still do it.

 

 

Agreed. What it will also mean is that 'better' old shit will be cheaper and more plentiful. There are too many cars being produced on too many giveaway PCP deals and they have to go somewhere before the shredder at EMR.

 

I was following an 09 plate 1.8 Insignia on Ebay this week just out of interest. £1300.

 

They were new cars only yesterday. 

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Couldn't agree more with the thread title. 

Quick story... July 2015 , I paid £700 for a 2005 Vauxhall Vectra SRi diesel and all was well. That is until eleven months later a failed water pump destroyed the engine. 

Well  after weighing up my options and thinking I'm clever,( I'm not) I went and financed £4500 worth of Ford Mondeo, costing approx £200 per month.

Inside a month problems started with a turbo failure, followed closely with a DPF thingy, amongst other issues. 

Short version is , I returned the car to the dealer and bought a 2001 Renault Scenic for £250.

A year on, the Scenic is still with me and no issues, MOT passed at minimal costs . 

The future is shitters and bangernomics for me.

 

Hmmm. Having had the use of a 2006 Scenic for six months, I'd favour walking.  :-D

 

I've always said there's no need to drive something really awful; I was bidding on a tatty 2002 C240 W203 Auto Merc this week for a mate - the only arch that wasn't rusty was the drivers side and only because it had had a new wing. But it had leather and working air con and was fully historied up - £340. Bet that's a nice thing to drive and bollocks to the rust. You can't see it when you're driving it.

 

Winning at bangernomics is (to me) driving a once really nice and sought after car for a three figure sum. I didn't want an Astra/Focus/Mondeo 15 years ago - as old cars they have all the appeal of a Belgian truckers armpit.

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I've been thinking of spending a bit more and getting something like a 7 or 8 year old Mondeo or Audi diesel as need something that won't break down for work. I know many will think I'm mad but I seem to have a new issue every few weeks on older cars and I don't have the time or skill to fix them myself so it costs me a fair bit in garage costs.

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A hero of mine is a very wealthy lady who uses the garage I work at for her MOT's and servicing.

 

She could own any car she likes and has in the past owned some exquisite cars but she currently drives a very scruffy, very worn out 2004 Nissan Terrano.

 

Why? because she has very little interest in cars and has several large dogs so transporting them round in a new or nice car would be stupid.

 

The Terrano really needs to be scrapped now as it is getting ridiculous with the amount of welding it is needing on a yearly basis just to get it through an MOT plus several constant other small repairs/faults between.

 

Every year on the MOT, we usually need to quote for between £700 and £900 worth of welding and other bits fully expecting her to say 'no, ill just get something else' but every year without fail, she spends out on it.

 

Just because it's cheaper than getting a new car.

 

I say fair enough!

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We have much the same annual conversation at the Merc specialist that looks after Mrs Rockers 190E.    Not corrosion (yet) but regular replacement of parts that are wearing out on a 27-year old car.    Its usually about £500.   "Might pay you to look at something newer" was a comment a  couple of years back.    Casting an eye over a sample of that day's invoices to their other customers I could see why they said that.    There wasn't one under a grand.....

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Winning at bangernomics is (to me) driving a once really nice and sought after car for a three figure sum. I didn't want an Astra/Focus/Mondeo 15 years ago - as old cars they have all the appeal of a Belgian truckers armpit.

Sorry, but I think it's the other way round. The only way to come out on top is to buy something avoided like the plague by the image concious and it's a bonus if it is  medium to large sized, petrol, n/a and has the minimum of gimmicks but still has the stuff that makes life pleasant, like air-con and comfy seats. You can still get reasonable performance and economy, but obsolete and an unfashionable badge mean that you can get a newer and better car for a surprisingly low price, which may well have been looked after better.

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Sorry, but I think it's the other way round. The only way to come out on top is to buy something avoided like the plague by the image concious and it's a bonus if it is medium to large sized, petrol, n/a and has the minimum of gimmicks but still has the stuff that makes life pleasant, like air-con and comfy seats. You can still get reasonable performance and economy, but obsolete and an unfashionable badge mean that you can get a newer and better car for a surprisingly low price, which may well have been looked after better.

Go on then, let's have some examples. Kia Magentis?

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We have much the same annual conversation at the Merc specialist that looks after Mrs Rockers 190E.    Not corrosion (yet) but regular replacement of parts that are wearing out on a 27-year old car.    Its usually about £500.   "Might pay you to look at something newer" was a comment a  couple of years back.    Casting an eye over a sample of that day's invoices to their other customers I could see why they said that.    There wasn't one under a grand.....

 

I'd find another garage

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autoshite and bangernomics will die out.the cars that were around cheap at the beginning are now expensive classics (2cv anyone?) and the 80s early 90s stuff is following behind.newer stuff is not suitiable for the home mechanic/diyer and nor will parts be available or affordable.

I disagree. I have two old Skodas. The Favorit I admit might fall into the classic category because of its slightly awkward looks but it'll never be worth loads for the same reason. Too niche. But the Felicia never will. It's 19 years old but still looks modern, nobody ever gives it a second glance. But all parts are still freely available and cheap too. I have absolutely no doubt that I can run this car for another ten years.

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Sorry, but I think it's the other way round. The only way to come out on top is to buy something avoided like the plague by the image concious and it's a bonus if it is  medium to large sized, petrol, n/a and has the minimum of gimmicks but still has the stuff that makes life pleasant, like air-con and comfy seats. You can still get reasonable performance and economy, but obsolete and an unfashionable badge mean that you can get a newer and better car for a surprisingly low price, which may well have been looked after better.

 

I'd say you can have the best of both. There's an age range when all cars are just old cars. I'd say probably between 10-15 years. Enough on the road to make the them plentiful and therefore greater supply than demand plus depreciation has done its damage. So I always aim for something relatively fancy. My Merc CLK230K cab was only £1550. The fact it's old, there's loads about plus it falls in Merc's 'iffy' period means they are stupidly cheap. I used to look at 'classic cars' in the same way, but nearly everything has gone through the roof price-wise. I think currently is a bit of a golden age for cheap motoring in terms of bang for buck. 

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I'd say you can have the best of both. There's an age range when all cars are just old cars. I'd say probably between 10-15 years. Enough on the road to make the them plentiful and therefore greater supply than demand plus depreciation has done its damage. So I always aim for something relatively fancy. My Merc CLK230K cab was only £1550. The fact it's old, there's loads about plus it falls in Merc's 'iffy' period means they are stupidly cheap. I used to look at 'classic cars' in the same way, but nearly everything has gone through the roof price-wise. I think currently is a bit of a golden age for cheap motoring in terms of bang for buck.

You've had me searching for e class estates in the 10 to 15 year bracket for the last half an hour! You can get a lot of car for the money. Some are staring to go rusty, some dodgy sellers and vague service history. Still, if you sift through you can get a car that was very expensive new for a few grand.

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I have owned my Leon from new. It is now 10 years old. Originally bought on a pcp deal, I paid that up a few years back and have enjoyed not having a monthly payment. Running costs consist of the tax/fuel/insurance type stuff together with a six monthly oil change and the odd tyre. Basically the thing costs me bugger all. It is now moving into unloved shite territory and I have debated moving it on, but increasingly I am asking myself why would I do that? It's been a good bus, continues to do what I want and I know it's history (with the exception of the first 7 miles, I know exactly how it has been treated for 83367 miles).

 

Cosmetically it is getting poor but when someone put another small dent in it at the local supermarket, I actually didn't care. That's a nice feeling.

 

I may be changing jobs soon and the next role might involve a fair bit of mileage. Mrs P is twisting my arm to get a Guillietta (which I do like) but I find myself looking at diesel 156 estates instead. I refuse to get a 1 Series on PCP - i fail to see he point of emphasising your individuality by driving the same car as everyone else.

 

And that apart from costs is another good reason to favour the unfashionable and the unloved

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You've had me searching for e class estates in the 10 to 15 year bracket for the last half an hour! You can get a lot of car for the money. Some are staring to go rusty, some dodgy sellers and vague service history. Still, if you sift through you can get a car that was very expensive new for a few grand.

 

All Mercs of between 1997-2003 seem to rust (getting a bit better thereafter), but the E-Class was the worst for some reason (we're taking W210 here which are nearly all older than 15 years now). I had a 1998 C230K manual. Absolutely great fun to drive, but I threw in the towel after it failed its MoT on rust on the sill (plus numerous other areas in varying degrees of seriousness). I'd had one side done two years' previously at some expense. As it happens some chap took it on as a project and it lives again just round the corner. I thought days of serious rot were long gone, but it appears not be the case.

 

Anyway, as an example there's a lovely 2003 E500 down the road, sub 100K miles, claims to have good history and it doesn't seem to be shifting at £2450. Might be a bit far for the GB shitters though:

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/mercedes-benz/mercedes-e500-fsh/1267925545

 

A good friend did it in real style though. He's bagged a 2004 Audi A8 W12 (Bentley engined thing sans the blowers) with 112K for £4K. It's a spaceship and he's already taken it to Barcelona and back. 

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I disagree. I have two old Skodas. The Favorit I admit might fall into the classic category because of its slightly awkward looks but it'll never be worth loads for the same reason. Too niche. But the Felicia never will. It's 19 years old but still looks modern, nobody ever gives it a second glance. But all parts are still freely available and cheap too. I have absolutely no doubt that I can run this car for another ten years.

 

Ah, but Favorits were always dirt cheap, and now they are not. One day, the supply of Felicias will run out, as rot finally claims them. Who is going to spend money getting a Felicia restored?

 

I can see where RevBJ is coming from. Like my Lexus, lots of lovely cars were fearsomely expensive new, then suffered crippling depreciation. It makes them a great buy. It isn't that they were ever unfashionable, just that most people ran away from perceived horrific running costs (see Mazda RX8 as another example). So, if you want something actually nice, it's certainly possible for banger money.

 

If anything, true bangernomics might be about to get seriously available. As repair bills get ever larger, I suspect there will be a mountain of cheap everyday fodder, that really will be 'buy it, run it until it breaks' territory. Especially diesels. 

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People probably said that these fancy fuel injected cars would be trouble as they got older, etc etc

 

I don’t think anyone knows what the used market will look like in 10+ years and will be surprised when it’s just the same shonky crap but things like Qashqais and Capturs :D

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You've had me searching for e class estates in the 10 to 15 year bracket for the last half an hour! You can get a lot of car for the money. Some are staring to go rusty, some dodgy sellers and vague service history. Still, if you sift through you can get a car that was very expensive new for a few grand.

You don't need to look very far or spend as much money , HeritageMotorCentre of this very parish has what looks like a Honey for sale.

I've been looking at the fleet trying to find a reason to buy it, unfortunately I can't. I just know I'll regret not buying it next summer for a holiday car.

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I run a lovely Saab 9-5 that was less than half the price of a similar aged BMW or Audi. Never had a problem with it and it is truely immaculate inside and out. However, I got worried about using it everyday and parking in public car parks, so I purchased (from Bramz7) a very sound 1994 Citroen AX with impressively peeling lacquer that I'll happily leave anywhere and not give a stuff about. Cheap to insure and run, it saves my Saab from uneccessary wear and tear and has at the very least halved my fuel bill.

 

Have now been able to unlock the Mingebag Mercedes S202 and cleared the 5 tons of topsoil and slabs that have been blocking it in on the driveway for the last 3 months. Charged the battery and it started first turn of the key. Now I can change the brake pads, fit the good alloys and tyres, and get it MOT'd.

 

Can't keep both the Merc and the AX, so one will have to go. The Merc is probably more practical but the simplicity of the AX makes it more fun in an odd way.

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Our daily driver is a 1999 Vauxhall Zafira.

When bought in 2002 at 3 years old after one owner and 22,000 miles it was the newest car I had ever owned and at the time I thought I paid a lot of money for it, although it was from the local Vauxhall dealer, one of the first ones produced, and affordable ones were thin on the ground then.

I paid just over half the new price for it, so reasoned that if it lasted another four years or more I would be no worse off than if it had bought it new and sold it after 3 years.

After 15 years of trouble-free ownership, it is still here and going strong.

Admittedly I don't do much mileage in it as I have always worked fairly locally and had a variety of small second cars as runabouts.

It has still done less than 70,000 miles.

It is still used and abused as a general hack, people-carrier, and very often a van.

I give it a routine service once a year and, apart from tyres, exhausts, discs and pads, the only thing it has had is two new front metal brake pipes, which were advisories at the last MoT.  My total parts spend on it over all those years is still probably less than £500.

It is starting to get a bit tired now but is still perfectly seviceable so, since it is now worth peanuts if I sold it, I intend to run it until it dies.

In all honesty if it needed £500 spent on it to keep it going I think I would probably do it, even though that is probably about what it is worth.

What else could I get with a known history like this one for £500?

Too many people are reluctant to spend some money on a car they already have to keep it going because "that's more than it is worth". Even if it only keeps it going for another 12 months, it is far cheaper than the depreciation they will suffer if they buy a new(er) one.

Zafiria's seem to be so boring and unworthy that they barely get a mention, even on here, but ours does everthing we need it to and has been a faithful family servant for 15 years so don't try to convince me that all Vauxhalls are sh*t.

I am not an old giffer by any means and have been and still am in a position to buy new, but never have. I just have no desire to own a new car simply to watch it depreciate, and the money I haven't spent allows me to enjoy silly vehicles like an Austin Maxi and a Renault 6 which I can get pleasure* from tinkering with, safe in the knowledge that I have the Zafira on the drive as and when it is needed for all the mundane chores and no hassle.

 

 

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Sorry, but I think it's the other way round. The only way to come out on top is to buy something avoided like the plague by the image concious and it's a bonus if it is  medium to large sized, petrol, n/a and has the minimum of gimmicks but still has the stuff that makes life pleasant, like air-con and comfy seats. You can still get reasonable performance and economy, but obsolete and an unfashionable badge mean that you can get a newer and better car for a surprisingly low price, which may well have been looked after better.

 

 

The image conscious avoid C Class Mercs with rusting arches an a 51 plate..........

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Ah, but Favorits were always dirt cheap, and now they are not. One day, the supply of Felicias will run out, as rot finally claims them. Who is going to spend money getting a Felicia restored?

 

I can see where RevBJ is coming from. Like my Lexus, lots of lovely cars were fearsomely expensive new, then suffered crippling depreciation. It makes them a great buy. It isn't that they were ever unfashionable, just that most people ran away from perceived horrific running costs (see Mazda RX8 as another example). So, if you want something actually nice, it's certainly possible for banger money.

 

If anything, true bangernomics might be about to get seriously available. As repair bills get ever larger, I suspect there will be a mountain of cheap everyday fodder, that really will be 'buy it, run it until it breaks' territory. Especially diesels. 

 

 

 

On the other hand, there are cars that are very bad news now, never mind in the future.

 

Post 2008 318i or 320i with the N43 engine. They are just festering shit. If the timing or guides don't get you, the coil packs or injectors will. Or the £400 NoX sensor that is main dealer only. Every single car with this engine WILL have a £500+ bill. I was speaking to a couple of mates who are techs at Sytners and they both said that these cars are not worth having - too risky. The problems highlighted above are an instant write off when they're down to a grand or less. Moderns are great, but all too often the problems are not 'bodgable'.

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