Done with old shit.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I had a similar experience this year. I can remember the moment.

6 cars crammed on the drive, I was scrambling around under the front end of mg zt, in the dark and damp, I'd cut my finger, threaded a subframe bolt and smashed my mobile phone under the car all in the space of a few minutes. I said out loud (probably shouted) FUCK THIS! I'm supposed to be enjoying this? Covered in filth I vowed to sell everything, 4 weeks later and all the chod had been sold or fragged. I disappeared from the forum for a while. I feel much better now.

 

 

My point exactly. I have three cars and none of them ask anything of me. They are at the back of my mind.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

You won't get a E90/etc 325i/330i that you'd want for £3-5k

 

 

Really? I beg to differ.

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709109161452?make=BMW&postcode=s89qb&sort=year-desc&model=3%20SERIES&transmission=Manual&price-to=4500&quantity-of-doors=2&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&maximum-badge-engine-size=3.0&advertising-location=at_cars&maximum-mileage=90000&radius=1500&page=2

[Dave_Q]

Really? I beg to differ.

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709109161452?make=BMW&postcode=s89qb&sort=year-desc&model=3%20SERIES&transmission=Manual&price-to=4500&quantity-of-doors=2&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&maximum-badge-engine-size=3.0&advertising-location=at_cars&maximum-mileage=90000&radius=1500&page=2

Lob a BIG97702288444111 NI plate on that and most people wouldn't know it's not brand new.

[Lord Sterling]

It's all swings and roundabouts this owning malarky. Owning a car, old or new is a pain in the arse and a financial burden just so you can get to where your going a bit faster and mkre direct than say a bus, train, walking it. And certainly a lot cheaper (in the long run) than a blasted taxi.

 

Whatever you drive, brand new off the production line or so shonky only the paintwork is holding it together, there is no guarantee it'll always work on time and get you to where you are going but it is understood that a newer vehicle will probably work 99% of the time you need it to. Cars are mixture of mechanical and electronical machines that need need to be oiled every now and again and have a spanner thrown at them.

 

There are many reasons why we simply chuck in the shite car towl, financial pressures, peer or family pressure, lack of space/time or simply the mojo just naturally goes.

 

Personally, Rover 800s have been ingrained in me. I love them and always will. They were a car that made sense to me back in the day, having a luxury car with a smooth quiet ride for lemonade money was great, but now there are better and slightly newer cars for the same money on the market. I'd love to try them but my financial pressure is squeezing me so tight since I got together with my wife and the laws keeping us apart have driven me almost to financial ruin. Every single day I am juggling money I honestly cannot save.

 

I've had a long enforced break from my Rovers now and I feel like my mojo is starting to come back, every time I see one I feel sad and put out that I can't put mine back on the road without money. It will happen though, just not now. It is a financial pressure to keep them aswell but I'm determined to have it my way and see them on the road one day.

 

Having a sensible boring car aswell as an old snotter makes sense, but only if you've got the space, but the boring car need not necessarily be a new car, a 2008 Toyota Avensis can be had for pocket change, there was a time they were so popular that at Cannock auctions they often went for 4-figure sums. It just depends on your taste, want and budget.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Lob a BIG97702288444111 NI plate on that and most people wouldn't know it's not brand new.

 

 

I wouldn't do that tbh, cars are as old as they are and they haven't made the E92 for 4 years now.

 

I'm not fed up with all old cars. I have two in the garage that are well sorted and they eat and drink nothing. My daily snotter is a good old tram, just done 150 miles in it today.

 

No, it was more to do with me still wanting to buy more old stuff and fart about with it when I really don't want the aggro any more. Not just old stuff either as I had an early E90 320i earlier this year that despite not being rusty, showed all the problems found with an older car that you can't test drive - fucked diff, EML light on and a tired clutch. That's probably the last car I buy from Copart as well. Lesson learned - let the Polacks and the other Easties pay top dollar for our bent/tatty rubbish.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I wouldn't fancy having to learn how new* cars work, tbh.

 

As has already been said above: they often cost more money than old ones to buy and maintain, and are likely to be harder to work on.

 

 

 

That what mechanics are for. As for the money, well that's the price of love I'm afraid. I'd rather pay £4000 for something nice and maintain it than (for example) go through the dramas Dollywobbler has with that Bluebird. Fuck that for a laugh, I don't do that sort of thing anymore.

 

There are also old cars and there are old cars; a Wolseley 6/90 for example is a nice leathery old cruiser with a glorious sounding straight six. An Austin Montego is just a pile of shit.

[sierraman]

It is to you but I'd love a Montego. Wouldn't be doing a 150 mile a day commute in one but to keep in the garage and have a fuck about with from time to time, yes I'd like one. I'd not let it rule my life though, you do things like having a classic car on your own terms.

 

Dollywobbler might find working on his Bluebird a hobby, it's his enjoyment.

 

When your talking about a banger for day to day driving for work you can have something reliable.

 

Quite frankly if you are sick of spending loads of cash on running a car I'd forget running these clapped out BMWs.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

It is to you but I'd love a Montego. Wouldn't be doing a 150 mile a day commute in one but to keep in the garage and have a fuck about with from time to time, yes I'd like one. I'd not let it rule my life though, you do things like having a classic car on your own terms.

 

Dollywobbler might find working on his Bluebird a hobby, it's his enjoyment.

 

When your talking about a banger for day to day driving for work you can have something reliable.

 

Quite frankly if you are sick of spending loads of cash on running a car I'd forget running these clapped out BMWs.

 

 

None are clapped out, who said they were? Who mentioned 'spending loads of cash'?

 

I did my apprenticeship at ARG in 1985/6. Montegos were rubbish then. I dread to think what they're like now. *shudders*

[cort16]

I think having too many is worse than just them being old. At one point I had 7-8 cars all needing something or other. Fuck that I'm going to have one daily drive and 2 old knackers and thats it!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I think having too many is worse than just them being old. At one point I had 7-8 cars all needing something or other. Fuck that I'm going to have one daily drive and 2 old knackers and thats it!

 

 

My sentiments entirely. And own cars that were well regarded when new.

 

Or a Maxi.

[John F]

I think having too many is worse than just them being old. At one point I had 7-8 cars all needing something or other. Fuck that I'm going to have one daily drive and 2 old knackers and thats it!

 

Definitely this.

[garethj]

Not really. I guarantee you'd spend much less time working on a 2005 Focus than a 1985 Escort.

 

That's a bit of an extreme example, the Focus is supposed to be pretty tough while the Escort was built down to a price and it showed.  My 1999 Japanese car has been more reliable than my mate's 2015 Audi but that's not exactly a statistically significant sample either.

 

How about this - if you're bored with old cars then get yourself a new one.  Credit is cheaper than it's ever been so a newer car is easier now than ever.  There are PCP deals, leases, all kinds of ways to get a new or newish car.  If you want an old snotter then get one, there's plenty of interesting old chod around for a few hundred quid or for a grand the world is your oyster.

 

Enjoy the freedom.  Then I'll shut my fucking annoying hippy mouth up.

[sierraman]

Half the appeal with old cars is memories. I remember the Montegos when they were new. I'll admit they weren't terribly good when new but the world would be a boring place if people just kept the E-types and the Sierra Cosworths. Surely isn't the liking of the obsolete and rubbish what it's all about here?

 

If it's bangers we're talking about then you are looking at having a car on the road as cheap as possible, in this scenario you need to pick something appropriate to to your needs. If your doing a 150 mile a day commute don't buy a Renault 19 with a failing head gasket or some other crackpot idea.

 

In other words don't buy bags of shit.

[cros]

Yes, you just had the wrong old shit.

[sierraman]

Yes, you just had the wrong old shit.

Good shit. Bad shit.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Yes, you just had the wrong old shit.

 

 

Who did?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

That's a bit of an extreme example, the Focus is supposed to be pretty tough while the Escort was built down to a price and it showed.  My 1999 Japanese car has been more reliable than my mate's 2015 Audi but that's not exactly a statistically significant sample either.

 

How about this - if you're bored with old cars then get yourself a new one.  Credit is cheaper than it's ever been so a newer car is easier now than ever.  There are PCP deals, leases, all kinds of ways to get a new or newish car.  If you want an old snotter then get one, there's plenty of interesting old chod around for a few hundred quid or for a grand the world is your oyster.

 

Enjoy the freedom.  Then I'll shut my fucking annoying hippy mouth up.

 

You misunderstand.

 

I still have three old cars ranging from 20 to 28 years old. Just that I don't want any more. These three are as good as they can be and are no aggro to me at all. The last one I did was a very good rust free example that needed some relatively simple stuff doing - but halfway through I realised that I don't enjoy getting cuts on my forehead or shouting at a bolt that doesn't want to undo. I don't want to save any more old cars. I'm done with that.  

[sierraman]

You win some, you lose some. It's a simple as that sometimes. Now go and get a can out the fridge it's a Saturday evening.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Half the appeal with old cars is memories. I remember the Montegos when they were new. I'll admit they weren't terribly good when new but the world would be a boring place if people just kept the E-types and the Sierra Cosworths. Surely isn't the liking of the obsolete and rubbish what it's all about here?

 

 

 

I like lots of old cars, dislike Montegos and don't care much for E Types.

 

I like Austin 1100's, Alfasuds, R107 Mercs, Maxis, 18/22 Wedges.

 

I don't like Montegos. But I would wander over and look at an early MG 2.0i in Arum white, only because it seemed like a rocket ship in 1985. 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

You win some, you lose some. It's a simple as that sometimes. Now go and get a can out the fridge it's a Saturday evening.

 

 

Pot Noodle for me. And Guinness. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I don't want to save any more old cars. I'm done with that.  

 

Nothing wrong with that, you don't need to own five hopeless restoration projects to be an Autoshitter !

 

But it helps.

[Captain Furious]

I feel that, I dunno whether it's because summer is over, no more shows or events to look forward to so my enthusiasm is waning, but I came to the same conclusion after the 205 GTi. Spent the entire ownership period with it fixing stupid electrical niggles and broken parts, along with the head gasket and a misfire that we just couldn't get to the bottom of, never once did I actually go out and drive it just for enjoyment

 

Then it dawned on me, even on it's very best day it was nowhere near good as I remembered, to say nothing of the fact the paint was fucked and needed a full respray, so it got sold on, no regrets, haven't missed it for a second. Spent the money on a mk4 Mondeo dizler, nothing interesting or exciting about it, but 2010 with 34k miles, it can do all my towing duties and should* be hassle free for some years to come.

[John F]

I've actually managed to sell two of my fleet in the last year or so WITHOUT replacing them with more desperate old shit.

 

Does this make me unique in here?

[hpi_matrix]

I've always had a daily to go along with the old chod, how else do you get spares when the chod breaks?

 

A low mileage car built from 2000-2006 shouldn't cost the earth and be pretty reliable. I currently have an 03 Seat Leon, we took it to Belgium last year and id trust it to pretty much go anywhere.

[MikeR]

I am only buying shite that has a Facebook following now,  after that last pile of  Vx junk that was not followed by anyone anywhere !

loads of bling , advice and other bits everywhere for this one

[purplebargeken]

I have been chronically unable to stick with just one or two good examples of a marque and have likely spent an awful lot of money over the years, sometimes I win a bit, mostly break even, sometimes lose a bit. Just like us all. My issue is that I cannot resist a waif and stray.

 

I think 'that must be saved, blah, blah, blah'. Oh look, another project.

 

The thing is, unless I make a really strong effort to use what I have, they will just sit there. I can't even be arsed to go to shows and so on. I do want to sometimes but it never really happens. Low mood? Low mojo? Who knows. Does it matter

 

I will retire soon so I will have time but not so much cash and I have to make significant changes now. Hence trying to sell/swap what I have. I have urges to clear out from time to time but I always end up back in the same position. 

 

It really does have to stop now. No excuses.

[cros]

Who did?

If your old shit lets you down its either wrong as in fucked, or wrong as in unliveable with. A corollary of this is that you may be reduced to drive something you feel is unspeakably crude, so I don't blame anyone who chooses not to do 300 miles a week in a 30's or 50's cart sprung device like what I do. I spend very little time fixing what I run, mainly because there's very little to fix; it's not the same story with, say, a Jaguar, lovely though they are.

[Uncle Jimmy]

The M reg 520i I just fixed up and saved (never ever savecars) cost me hours of my life I'll never get back.

Think of all that time you could have spent online dating

 

As for old cars, a certain 230E Benz started to asphyxiate me en route to Dorset this morning; stopped at garage....fuckety fuckshit, the brown sauce was everywhere, no wonder a bit had got onto the exhaust manifold and was kippering myself and the old dear.

The delightful part was that the source of the problem was? An elderly and somewhat warped oil filler cap. The timing chain lurks directly under the cap and consequently leakage is substantial; a bit of plier usage on the cap and it seals fine now; chod cost.... £0 and a bunch of rags.

[Cleon-Fonte]

I often think I'm sick of old shit, then I think about the prospect of driving new shit and it doesn't seem so bad anymore.

[cros]

Think of all that time you could have spent online dating

As for old cars, a certain 230E Benz started to asphyxiate me en route to Dorset this morning; stopped at garage....fuckety fuckshit, the brown sauce was everywhere, no wonder a bit had got onto the exhaust manifold and was kippering myself and the old dear.

The delightful part was that the source of the problem was? An elderly and somewhat warped oil filler cap. The timing chain lurks directly under the cap and consequently leakage is substantial; a bit of plier usage on the cap and it seals fine now; chod cost.... £0 and a bunch of rags.

There you have it, the pitfalls of having timing chains in high places. At least it is a chain though.