Wifes dis-astra - replaced

[gary_davidson]

short story

wife has a MK4 Astra

it keeps breaking

she wants a new car

 

We bought the car for £1500 5 years ago and until this year it's been fairly cheap to run (new battery, timing belt, exhaust, tyres - the usual consumables on a 13 year old car really) but it's broke down twice in the last 3 months.  2 months ago it was an electrical gremlin in the engine causing problems and the latest breakdown was yesterday when the brakes failed. Corroded brake pipe, it gave way so no brakes going down what I'm told was a steep hill. It's also fairly beat up, it's been driven by my wife for 5 years so it's picked up a few battle scars, nothing serious but just about every panel has a dent or scratch.

 

We've got it fixed today so it's back on the road but she doesn't want to spend any more money on it, throw in that she's wanted a new car for a while and the disastra's days are numbered.

 

Few things I'm mulling over

 

disposal 

sell disastra - downside to this is selling it and all the crap that goes with trying to shift a sub £500 car through mongtree

or

run disastra until something else breaks and bridge it (logic being it's not worth fixing up to sell and it's a MK4 astra, there are better ones out there if you want to park one in a barn for 30 years)

 

replacement

buy new car for £1500-£2000 - I'm open to suggestions, anything but a picasso, anybody suggesting one of those should punch themselves in the face right now cos you deserve it.

or

give her my Kia and buy something else for me - I'm thinking about getting a camper van - what's the autoshite view on the VW T4?

 

[mouseflakes]

Picasso?

 

OUCH!!!

 

It's okay - I deserved that.

[skattrd]

AS view on a VW T4 ... don't do it, buy a Sherpa.

[phil_lihp]

If your wife just wants something easy to drive and reliable, I'd say that the Kia's a sensible option if it's a fairly modern one.  Then you get to have a new toy!

 

T4s attract enormous amounts of scene tax (well, they do in the South West anyway) and are therefore very expensive compared to other similar-sized vans but they're not bad - I know a couple of people who've had them, rust prevention is better than a Transit/Vito and they're reasonably reliable but parts can be predictably expensive.  Later ones (51-plate onwards) seem to have better noise insulation as they're considerably quieter to ride in as a passenger.  That's about all I know about them.

[londonm]

Nah, not a T4, get a BRAND NEW T2!

http://www.danburymotorcaravans.com/models/model.aspx?modelID=1

[Split_Pin]

Get your wife something reliable so you can run around in an old shitter, knowing that if it breaks down you will only have yourself to worry about.

 

I would be sinking my cash into something more interesting to run around it, like a MK4 Escort, Pug 205 or some other reasonably priced 20 plus year old motor.

[gary_davidson]

The Kia is only 4 years old, I needed something reliable for work, I was traveling from Preston to Bristol and back once, sometimes twice a month so I needed something that could do 400 miles in a day without any problems. It's done nearly 70k without any issues but I narrowly avoided redundancy earlier in the year as another position opened up but I no longer need to travel as much, so it's not going to be doing as many miles now even if I keep it.

 

The T4 does attract a scene tax which means it will cost a bit more to start with but it will help with the resale, plus there is a decent owners club that should come in handy for advice. I could probably blag a Vito for peanuts as my father in law has one (54 plate) that I think he'll be replacing sometime soon, it's a bit rusty and has been for a while, I wouldn't want to shell out for the respray it really needs and it's currently setup as a minibus. They also have a reputation for eating gearboxes.

 

those new t2's are a bit pricey, if I had that sort of money to spend I'd forget about camping and book a trip to Barbados every year for the next 10 years.

[londonm]

Wow, just heard on TV that the T2's still being made in Brazil cease production this year, not safe enough. A special edition of the last 600 will be made. Spooky!

[Station]

Make her day and buy her another mk4 astra. In the same colour and trim level. But with a smaller engine.

[oman5]

T4 great when its running. an absolute twat to work on, especially the 5 pot ones.

[Cavcraft]

Mk5 Astra.

[beko1987]

Get your wife something reliable so you can run around in an old shitter, knowing that if it breaks down you will only have yourself to worry about.

 

 

This is how I try and roll, much less hassle that way! Plus you know hers will be able to find you and help if needed!

[dollywobbler]

T4s are scene-taxed to the max, as others have said. But, that means they don't depreciate at all. Used to drive one for a living - they are great vans to drive. Certainly ahead of the game when they were new. 

[flat4alfa]

[gary_davidson]

We have 2 kids and when we took them camping earlier in the year we could barely fit everything in the Astra, so we want something bigger than that, I'm not sure if a T4 is taking it a bit far though.

[M'coli]

Roofbox FTW...

[gary_davidson]

Roofbox FTW...

You under-estimate my wifes ability to pack everything including the kitchen sink, we used one last time.

[DVee8]

disposal 

sell disastra - downside to this is selling it and all the crap that goes with trying to shift a sub £500 car through mongtree

or

run disastra until something else breaks and bridge it (logic being it's not worth fixing up to sell and it's a MK4 astra, there are better ones out there if you want to park one in a barn for 30 years)

 

Webuyanycar

or

cartakeback

[Junkman]

Lessee...

"Wife" usually implies a female driver, so for some inexplicable reason it must be OMGNOTSOBIG.
It must be well armoured all round, best in dodgems fashion.
It must be highly individualistic but under no circumstances a standout.
It must match some fuggin thing she owns or wears.
She must be able to talk to her friends about it.
Her friends must not be in a position to mock her about it.
You say it should cost between 1500-2000, which means in reality you have less than 1000.

Here you go:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/53-ROVER-25-STREETWISE-1-4-5DR-METALLIC-GREEN-/290968747452


 

[gary_davidson]

My wife is (surprisingly) capable of driving something a bit bigger - she used to drive a Seat Alhambra at work, but for some reason when she is in her car she loses all sense of space.

 

I'll pass on the Streetwise, firstly it's a Streetwise, secondly its a Streetwise and thirdly, it's probably smaller than the Astra. On the plus side it does match the last pair of shoes she bought.

 

We've decided to run the Astra until in breaks down again or needs some funds spending on it, rather than sell it.

[gary_davidson]

how I found my wifes astra today, looks like somebody hit it with a bike/pushchair or something similar, did they leave their details? No, does anybody these days?

 

The plastic trim has popped back on but there are is a small dint plus some scratches in the paint and in the plastic. If I can be arsed I'l give it a once over with a spray can, I already have one so I may as well use it.

fresh battle scars by GaryDavidson, on Flickr

[gary_davidson]

as per title, somebody has nicked the badge off the bonnet, no idea when it went, it was probably there when it was washed last week though

[TRW]

I think a lost Griffin is the last of this car's problem.

[gary_davidson]

yep, MOT is due in seven weeks so we'll see what that brings.

[londonm]

as per title, somebody has nicked the badge off the bonnet, no idea when it went, it was probably there when it was washed last week though

Put a proton badge in its place, someone here will buy it then.

[Micrashed]

I went through a spate of wing mirrors when I had to park in the street, every so often some little turds come along and drop kick them off down the street.

[gary_davidson]

It probably happened when she was at work, she works in a fairly undesirable area of chorley

[ShiteRider]

Some fucker pinched the mirror glasses from my mums vectra last year......both of them.

Turds

[gary_davidson]

yep, it's been replaced with a mazda 5 mpv taking it's place. Had to go, it's been leaking petrol, i think from the fuel filler neck, you could smell it inside the car when it was full. It's also got a horrible whine when in reverse. We were offered £100 scrap but my dad has agreed to give us that for it. 

 

We did try we buy any car but they would only give us £25 after deducting £100 from their web offer price due to the condition of the paintwork and another £50 for their fees, checky fuckers charging a fee to buy your car.

We also tried to give it to my sister in law, she turned us down - probably a wise choice

[Micrashed]

It probably happened when she was at work, she works in a fairly undesirable place called Chorley

EFA