No such thing as a cheap car

[retrogeezer]

A bluebird is a good choice for cheap motoring too.....mine has cost me nothing in the year I have had it other than general service items.

[Angrydicky]

Austin Maestros...they are so deeply unfashionable there are some real bargains out there, nothing but the very best will fetch over about £400.

 

Mine cost £300 with no tax or test, which was a very high price for a Maestro but it was in the colour and spec I wanted (beige and base) plus it was very low mileage. It had a new set of tyres costing £105, two small bits of welding (free) and a carb stripdown and rebuild (free). Hasn't needed anything else since. Buy a solid giffer owned example and it will last for years. Should be easy to get one under £200 with t&t, the same is true with Triumph Acclaims.

[Rod/b]

I know a man who is selling a L reg Rover 216 GSi Auto with tax and test until Feb for around £375. Ive just driven the length and breadth of the country in a week in it, averaging 29mpg with a roof box, 3 lardarses, a heavy right foot and all our camping gear.

 

WDYWFNTN? Let me know if you're interested.

[Bren]

Our passat had a drivers door lock that was kaput, along with a rear near side door that would not lock with the fob. Just to buy the locks from VW is around £300 plus then there's the fitting.

 

So thats over £400 on a 14 year old car worth less than a grand. For two items that dont affect the running of the car.

 

In the past I have always looked after my cars - even old ones - and spent where necessary. The problem now is you can lavish £££ on a car and it will still suffer a mechanical prolapse that renders it scrap.

 

The passat has lowish mileage for a pd engine (131k). It needs rear dampers and is overdue for a timing belt - that and a water pump would cost around £300. It also has corrosion on the tailgate which is a bit unsightly.

 

The car is my wife's. I am tempted to just keep running it without spending anymore money on it. I could punt it on but then end up buying even more pain.

 

It seems running older cars is increasingly only for the rich or those with the time to spanner them. Thoughts?

[oldcars]

My 75 has been very very needy. Some bits i have done myself, some bits by a garage. The door actuactors were £160 for two. It took hours to fit. Could have got a scrappy one for cheaper but didn't fancy doing it more than once. I think you need to be able to work on them yourself. I know when the 75 goes it will be a monthly payment motor or nothing for me.

[Tamworthbay]

It’s a bug bear of mine, the cost and complexity of new cars means they have a very finite economic lifespan regardless of the owners diligence when it comes to servicing. That why you see more Morris Minors than you do mid 90s saloons on the roads and it will only get worse.

[Bren]

My wife and I had a similar conversation - when my time with the BMW is over it will be something new or nearly new. Had my fill of old stuff - sometimes they are too costly to keep going.

[mrbenn]

Think you've got to be prepared to get your hands dirty and fix stuff yourself, plus use second hand parts where feasible otherwise the costs just don't add up.

[Rocket88]

Surely timing belt and pump ( unless chain driven) is a foreseeable expense.....c/ locking is another matter.....unless you buy something with no “ home comforts” and the most basic running gear, you can’t expect to run it for buttons

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Snipes]

Your Passat is in that awkward, post 2000 period where it's new enough to be a pain in the arse but also old enough to, um, be a pain in the arse. 

Get a Carina. Live a happy life.

[Rusty_Rocket]

If you run something over, say 10yrs old, you've got to do these jobs yourself or accept it will require regular money to keep it going. Doesn't matter if it's a VW or Bentley, it's going to be expensive unless you're willing to spend your weekend fixing it.

If that's not an option, you're only option is new or lease. Hence the millions of new cars on the road.

The secret is, getting something cheap that requires minimum faffing, but I don't think an elderly Passat is the best option unfortunately (multilink suspension etc)

[Bucketeer]

The joy of running older/cheaper cars for me is that if some expensive fault appears I can just ignore it. Or bin it off, not lose much money, and get something else. There's no obligation to keep throwing money at something because of it's high initial cost.

If you genuinely love it and want to keep it long term then cough up, otherwise just let it go.

[Shirley Knott]

Not sure on what was wrong with your lock but I've never had a VAG lock go wrong that I couldn't fix with one of these kits....

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-PASSAT-door-lock-repair-kit-front-right/142034975286?fits=Model%3APassat&hash=item2111f1ba36:g:tc4AAOSwj25Y8Nri:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

[stonedagain]

Not sure on what was wrong with your lock but I've never had a VAG lock go wrong that I couldn't fix with one of these kits....

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-PASSAT-door-lock-repair-kit-front-right/142034975286?fits=Model%3APassat&hash=item2111f1ba36:g:tc4AAOSwj25Y8Nri:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

That is what holds the lock barrel in.

[Parky]

Or for the ultimate mingebag fix which I can confirm does actually work

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWYkjlcR1Ws

 

This is for a Seat Leon but the internal door parts should be much the same being VAG

[Shirley Knott]

That is what holds the lock barrel in.

 

True.

 

Must pay more attention.

[Cavcraft]

Your Passat is a Passat, that's the problem. No amount of VW fan boi-ness can ever make them decent. Sell it and buy something better. Anything. 

[Bren]

I remember a mingebg fix we did on our vauxhall royale. The non working electric window motors were replaced with timber.

[tooSavvy]

I feel for you, Bren m8....

[sierraman]

It need not have cost you a bomb. Some locks from breakers, ignore the rust on the boot, stick the absolute cheapest dampers on when it fails the test and run the belt till it snaps. That’s the way to do it. Alternative is £350-400 a month on a new equivalent. That’s money down the drain.

[Bren]

Your Passat is a Passat, that's the problem. No amount of VW fan boi-ness can ever make them decent. Sell it and buy something better. Anything.

 

Like a vectra?

[Parky]

Laguna 2 surely?

[Isaac Hunt]

Or for the ultimate mingebag fix which I can confirm does actually workhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWYkjlcR1Ws

This is for a Seat Leon but the internal door parts should be much the same being VAG

That is a cleaver VAG fix. Your manno like his WD40 tho innit m8, let go of half a can in there.

 

It is one of life's universal truths "if it's got Tits or Tyres on it, somewhere down the line it is going to cost you".

 

Second had parts has to be the only way with many an older ride.

[beko1987]

My old laguna (and the one before it) were very cheap cars, I made* money by scrapping both of them!

 

Neglecting big future issues like blowing injectors and an occasional non returning clutch pedal was the key I think!

[davehedgehog31]

I maintain that the worst car I've ever owned was a Passat based Skoda Superb, it wasnt ten years old at the time and was a rusty, ungrateful piece of shit.

[Parky]

That is a cleaver VAG fix. Your manno like his WD40 tho innit m8, let go of half a can in there.

It is one of life's universal truths "if it's got Tits or Tyres on it, somewhere down the line it is going to cost you".

Second had parts has to be the only way with many an older ride.

It did require a surprising amount of WD40 to start working, I probably used a similar amount. Certainly don’t expect two quick squirts to make the problem go away

[gadgetgricey]

I agree there i no such thing as a cheap car, BUT there is such a thing as three cheap cars.

 

Ok, I do actually have more cars than three   but the principle is the same.

 

Cheap car number 1 is daily driver

Cheap car number 2 is not used, but is spares car for number 1 (Easy enough to pick up one with a bump or similar, but mechanics all ok)

Cheap car number 3 is spare car for when car number 1 fails, and you need to get bits of car number 2.

 

One of the cars at the moment is a Freelander which has a bad puncture and tyre cannot be repaired. Bloody Freelanders need matching tyres (which it had) but could not find one for love nor money. If could not take off road for a while, it would be a big bill for 4 new tyres, However found a bloke 200 miles away who will be visiting relatives before christmas, and is happy to bring the partone (matching the other three on the car) with him. Because I can wait, will cost me £30 to get car working again, rather than at least £200.

 

I must have been lucky with my 75 as that's my car number 1 (MG ZTT as car number 2). Couple of things failed, but just acquired the bits off the ZT and all sorted, Having car number 3 also means in no real rush to get things sorted, so can do it yourself and still remain mobile.

[Bren]

I read somewhere that technicians were deserting the trade as cars were now that difficult to work on.

 

If pros are struggling, people like us, armed with more enthusiasm than skill, and a blackspur tool kit, have no fucking chance.

[hairnet]

if you cant/wont fix it yourself for whatever reason (and the reason dont matter)

 

if its more than two jobs which mean it wont be legal for another year

 

and they cost half or more than the value of car

 

squash

 

doesnt matter how much you like it if it costs you money and time - move on

[anonymous user]

I think luck comes into it somewhere, that and the previous owner's attitude to maintenance, not forgetting the vehicle's reliability reputation.

 

I have had cheap cars, one Volvo 240 which I did over 50,000 miles in two years, it cost me a couple of tyres (had been traded in with new tyres) a second hand starter motor and a repair to the alternator. I put up with the non functioning central locking and passenger electric windows and sealed the leaky sunroof. It was not a complicated car and was easy to work on.

 

I have also been unlucky with a similar one, a 240GLT estate, it looked great, but had a persistent intermittent missfire/cutting out issue. People including the local Volvo main dealer failed to fix it, despite spending several hundreds of pounds on it. It was not safe to drive and I sold it for spares/repairs.