Give us this day our daily Shite

[overrun]

I apply bangernomics principles to my daily/main car, but I also try and keep it tidy.

 

If it needs servicing, I service it. If it breaks, I fix it. The currrent one hasn't been worked on by anyone but me and long may it continue.

 

The only ones I get attached to are part-time motors. So if and when they do break, it is not the end of the world.

 

This approach has always served me well

[Bobthebeard]

Regular and thorough maintenance is the key to prolonging the life of any old crock on a budget, at least from personal experience.

 

I reckon a car should be used......

So don't mothball a car unless it needs serious work. Use it, maintain it and take care of it and if it does all go tits up at least you've got some use and enjoyment out of the old thing.

Agree wholeheartedly with the above. I used my 1988 944 very little for a couple of years (500 miles in two years) and was always chasing tiny, niggling faults. Mainly electrical stuff, but also other things would fail to work on a random basis. Wipers, washers, boot lock, power windows, sticking brake callipers, dash lights and gauges working when they felt like it etc.

Used it as a daily car since October and it has been fine. Starts on the button, does what is asked and most* of the faults have fixed themselves by simply using the car regularly.

[minolman]

I have gone through this dilema several times myself. At one time I was well into the idea of the "car for the people", so I owned a VW for a while, then a Mini, hankered for an early one so got an Austin Seven Mini from 1960, this is when it hit me, using it as a daily for a year and a half ruined it. It was ok but a tiny bit fragile, yet one 'modern' winter with its copious salt and crud disolved the underside. I felt guilty about it, fixed what I could and sold it to a guy who wanted one to make mint. Its probably in a heated garage now  

 

I did the same to a Triumph Acclaim and a Maxi. The time when these cars kind of cross over into a classic status seems weird to me. They get a nod of approval at a certain age as 'classic's but still no one will pay any decent money for one or spend much on one! I guess its classic bangeronomics, a phase retro cars go through before someone will spend a couple of grand on one maybe? It makes me feel guilty for ending up driving them until the economics no longer stack up, but the other side of scale was simply not having enough money at the time to uneconomically fix them.

 

I've almost done the same thing to my lovely Skoda 120L Estelle, not helped by a farmer rear ending it, but my guilty feeling has led me to SORN it and I'm running around in a Megane bought for the wife to learn in.