3 months with a free car

[maxxo]

Hi all,

i'm new here and i thought i'd share my experience of 3 months with a free car.

so back at the end of may my grandparents decided for some reason they couldn't stand their 2.0 hdi xsara picasso any longer and wanted to scrap it. As someone who loves average shite cars i leapt at the chance to take it from them.

May 29th;

i picked up the picasso from my grandparents house, of course because this is my first car i'm paying an insane amount of insurance. upon attempting to start it the battery was dead from sitting for 4 months......great start!

once i got the car started i noticed a pretty strong clutch judder but other than that it seemed to run pretty well.

 

First drive after extensive cleaning, horrific front tyres! and worn to hell wiper blades but other than that pretty good motoring really.

June;

so june was pretty trouble free, that was until i was driving home from hartlepool one day and i noticed a squealing noise......i suspected it was just a tensioner or something minor like that. Oh how i was very wrong!

The source of the noise was the thrust bearing guide on the clutch, it had disintegrated and damaged the plates, which was fun. But i manged to get a whole new clutch and bearing kit fitted for £250 so it wasn't as big of a deal as it could have been and totally transformed the car.

July;

Completly trouble free, driving really well and covered 3,000 miles since i saved it from the scrapyard even the air con blows ice cold.

decided to treat myself to some new pirelli tyres and wow the handling was transformed, no more abs kicking in everytime i thought about braking if a single raindrop hit the ground. So nice having grip.

also fitted roof bars and wind deflectors and they have really transformed the look.

August;

Again not a single issue, averaging over 600 miles per tank now with 50/50 town and a road/motorway driving and running better than ever.

I must admit, it's a fine looking car, the deflectors and roof bars just make it look right.

not bad for a first car for free.

 

hope you enjoyed my little story, will keep it updated

[UltraWomble]

Picasso

The future Morris Minor.

Now it just needs slamming and some banded Rallye rims putting on it....

[New POD]

If this was pistonheads I'd say burn it.  Burn it with fire and be banned (again)

When the Picasso was new, I hated them. 

I felt that anyone who owned one had no motoring sole and couldn't get over the fact that it didn't have 8 seats.  Such a missed opportunity 

Also Mrs Alison Campbell of squirrel green L37.   Crashed into me and claimed whip lash. I put all the owners on a pedestal made of shit. 

However.  Now.  I've moved on 17 years. And I quite like the shiteness.  I reckon there's nothing like a free car.  I'm surprised that you didn't get a Grandson warranty. 

You know: your mother pops around to see her mum, mentions that you've had problems and it's making you struggle financially and her mum talks to her husband, and he (granddad) sends you a cheque to cover the cost of the repairs.

It's an unlimited mileage for life warranty. 

Ask me how I know. 

[Bradders59]

Its heartening to see someone starting out in their motoring experience by getting an oldish car and trying to recognise and solve its problems as they go along, and learn from experience on the way.

Its the way most of us old farts did it, and we tend to assume that this generation just demand something new and shiny from the bank of Mum & Dad, and never contemplate opening the bonnet, as that's why it goes for MOT once a year.

Seems like your starting out with the right attitude Maxxo, so opend some time joining in on sites like this, as there is so much to be learned, so much money to be saved, and so much satisfaction from learning how to diagnose and fix things yourself.

[shoddybanger]

Very nice! Good luck with it!

My first car was a poor old Datsun Nissan Cherry that I bought with my first paycheck. It was on its last legs both corrosion- and motorwise, and I had to get rid of it within a year, after it suffered catastrophic chassis corrosion and valve damage. It was a textbook case of how not to motor, but I learned things.

[dollywobbler]

Perfect. Getting a free car and spending a load of money on it to make it better. Full approval granted.

[Cord Fourteener]

18 minutes ago, Bradders59 said:

Its heartening to see someone starting out in their motoring experience by getting an oldish car and trying to recognise and solve its problems as they go along, and learn from experience on the way.

Its the way most of us old farts did it, and we tend to assume that this generation just demand something new and shiny from the bank of Mum & Dad, and never contemplate opening the bonnet, as that's why it goes for MOT once a year.

Seems like your starting out with the right attitude Maxxo, so opend some time joining in on sites like this, as there is so much to be learned, so much money to be saved, and so much satisfaction from learning how to diagnose and fix things yourself.

I was forced in cotton wool car ownership when I was young, never new but I didn't get to solve problems. Now I'm nearly 40 I'm determined to learn. And I can't bear to pay hard-earned cash for cars. Who wouldn't want something quirky and fun rather than a new car you don't actually own?

[Cord Fourteener]

6 hours ago, maxxo said:

Hi all,

i'm new here and i thought i'd share my experience of 3 months with a free car.

so back at the end of may my grandparents decided for some reason they couldn't stand their 2.0 hdi xsara picasso any longer and wanted to scrap it. As someone who loves average shite cars i leapt at the chance to take it from them.

May 29th;

i picked up the picasso from my grandparents house, of course because this is my first car i'm paying an insane amount of insurance. upon attempting to start it the battery was dead from sitting for 4 months......great start!

once i got the car started i noticed a pretty strong clutch judder but other than that it seemed to run pretty well.

 

First drive after extensive cleaning, horrific front tyres! and worn to hell wiper blades but other than that pretty good motoring really.

June;

so june was pretty trouble free, that was until i was driving home from hartlepool one day and i noticed a squealing noise......i suspected it was just a tensioner or something minor like that. Oh how i was very wrong!

The source of the noise was the thrust bearing guide on the clutch, it had disintegrated and damaged the plates, which was fun. But i manged to get a whole new clutch and bearing kit fitted for £250 so it wasn't as big of a deal as it could have been and totally transformed the car.

July;

Completly trouble free, driving really well and covered 3,000 miles since i saved it from the scrapyard even the air con blows ice cold.

decided to treat myself to some new pirelli tyres and wow the handling was transformed, no more abs kicking in everytime i thought about braking if a single raindrop hit the ground. So nice having grip.

also fitted roof bars and wind deflectors and they have really transformed the look.

August;

Again not a single issue, averaging over 600 miles per tank now with 50/50 town and a road/motorway driving and running better than ever.

I must admit, it's a fine looking car, the deflectors and roof bars just make it look right.

not bad for a first car for free.

 

hope you enjoyed my little story, will keep it updated

Even with all the work you've done (and that's not a great deall) it still sounds cheap for a working car. Got yourself a winner, I reckon.

[beko1987]

Free cars are the best! Had a fair few thousand happy miles with my free Laguna, taking care to keep it's SVM Patented total loss cooling system topped up when the heater ran cold!

[bunglebus]

My first car came from my grandad - he keeled over so I inherited his MK1 Fiesta.

Good see not everyone wants a brand new car on finance for their 17th

[AdeMk1]

Stolen from@paulplom in the anti grumpy thread, hope you don't mind!

Speaking of Piston heads.....

[Eyersey1234]

My first car was free, a 1.3 Fiesta Equipe that my gran gave me when she gave up driving. Looks a tidy Picasso you have there and it's good to see you working on it yourself and learning. Well done OP. 

[stephen01]

2 hours ago, New POD said:

I'm surprised that you didn't get a Grandson warranty. 

You know: your mother pops around to see her mum, mentions that you've had problems and it's making you struggle financially and her mum talks to her husband, and he (granddad) sends you a cheque to cover the cost of the repairs.

It's an unlimited mileage for life warranty. 

Ask me how I know. 

This is the reason I'd never sell a car or anything for that matter to family, not that they'd be seen dead in one of my 'old' shitters! 

OP -  decent motor these. We nearly had on on the knock years ago as a family car.. 

[Floatylight]

My sister had a free Audi 80 which she ran for a year or so, then became a family pool car then was sold for about £500.

Mrs FL also inherited her grandad's car when she was 17 (in 1997) an Austin 1300! which she tried to keep running but was just too rotten..

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

[Tenmil Socket]

1 hour ago, AdeMk1 said:

Stolen from@paulplom in the anti grumpy thread, hope you don't mind!

Speaking of Piston heads.....

? 

[maxxo]

Thanks for all the replies,

I enjoy keeping it running, it's actually a lot of fun and so far i feel i've got quite lucky reliability wise.

i know most people my age want brand new corsa's and other crap like that, I'd rather buy a 10-20 year old car for about £500 and restore it, way more fun than just driving a brand new souless car.

Working on your own cars is a lot of fun, especially when you significantly improve it.

It's a 2.0 HDi so actually has a reasonable amount of power and in the desire trim i have luxuries like air con and colour coded bumpers! almost rolls royce territory.

[Supernaut]

I rate 2.0 HDi Xsara Picassos.

I learned to drive in my parents' 51 reg pre-facelift one, then a couple of years later I remember borrowing it to go to a friends' wedding over in Fort William. I went from Aberdeen to Inverness then down the banks of Loch Ness to Fort William, 4-up with all our luggage in it. It drove like it didn't even notice the extra people in it, and still averaged 55mpg even with me not exactly hanging about.

I generally just like that old 2.0 8v HDi engine. I've had both a Peugeot 306 and a Citroen Xantia with that engine in them. It's such a good, frugal, laid-back cruiser of a lump.

[DVee8]

Welcome along,it's a great site.

Well done for keeping a virtually unloved car going,but ,but it's a 55plate its almost brand new,can't  scrap a almost brand new car.

I had to take the roof bars of my X-trail,I got sick of it playing dixie,whistling and chirping all the time. But I have a full glass roof,sunroof. My mate with a vauxhall zafira has his on all the time and can't hear anything from them.

[Lord Sterling]

Wow.  A Picasso as a first car! My first (on the road) car was a freebie F-reg Sierra Sapphire (they were worth nothing then) this was about 2004/5.

Funny, 55-reg still seems fairly new to me still. I am currently running a 55-plate Vectra C as my everydayer. Also have a 2003 e46 BMW (which incidentally was a free car) which again, to me is fairly modern an useable as an everydayer. 

In fact I've had a few freebies;

1989 Sierra Sapphire - long scrapped

1997 Rover Sterling 2.5 - Still own

2003 BMW 316i SE - Still own

1995 Rover 820i SE - sold

1998 VW Passat 2.0 TDi - gave to another shiter 

[Kiltox]

12 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

Welcome along,it's a great site.

Well done for keeping a virtually unloved car going,but ,but it's a 55plate its almost brand new,can't  scrap a almost brand new car.

I had to take the roof bars of my X-trail,I got sick of it playing dixie,whistling and chirping all the time. But I have a full glass roof,sunroof. My mate with a vauxhall zafira has his on all the time and can't hear anything from them.

It’s 14 years old, pretty much bang on the money for the average age a car is when it’s scrapped in the U.K.  

[DVee8]

2 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

It’s 14 years old, pretty much bang on the money for the average age a car is when it’s scrapped in the U.K.  

Yep i know. Its 69plate on Sunday. Doesn't time fly.

[Kiltox]

2 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

Yep i know. Its 69plate on Sunday. Doesn't time fly.

[jumpingjehovahs]

Great write up and a great car. When I was learning to drive my parents had a 2003 Picasso in Lilac with this engine. At the time I was embarrassed by it, but looking back it was a really cool, useful little egg.

Hope you have many happy miles with this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[martc]

Have you punched anyone's lights out yet?

 

[Ohdearme]

4 hours ago, AdeMk1 said:

Stolen from@paulplom in the anti grumpy thread, hope you don't mind!

Speaking of Piston heads.....

Each to their own  looks like someone’s driven through Halfrauds with the tat magnet set to full power...can see it driving down the aisles hoovering it off the shelves 

 

[maxxo]

8 hours ago, jumpingjehovahs said:

Great write up and a great car. When I was learning to drive my parents had a 2003 Picasso in Lilac with this engine. At the time I was embarrassed by it, but looking back it was a really cool, useful little egg.

Hope you have many happy miles with this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They are surprisingly nice to drive and incredibly handy and honestly pretty quirky and different.

Going on a 250 mile round trip to cumbria in it tomorrow which i think it should do with ease

[cpjitservices]

2.0 HDI engine in these is bullet proff just about, the 1.6 8v is weedy! and takes a lot of winding up.

[aldo135]

Great thread Maxxo! 

[maxxo]

Just got back from a 250 mile drive, no issues to report and averaged 65mpg the whole way which is very nice!

I really don't think of it as being an old car but i guess most people would have scrapped it by now

[maxxo]

So i had the "Top up water" warning on the dash today......sure enough the coolant was well below the min line, slightly concerning but topped it up anyway.

No signs of milkiness in the oil or oil in the cooling system so i'm thinking a leak