When is it time to call it a day ?

[Vince70]

I had a beautiful low mileage Honda engined 400 auto a few years back and spent a few bob on it to keep it in nice shape but I fancied a change 

I had trouble getting £200 (which I advertised it at ) with a fresh  ticket when selling it.

I also had the does it come with full service history and is the aircon nice and cold etc  emails and phone calls.

When I last looked it’s still on the road and wish I kept it now as all it needed was new front disks to get it spot on but for the pain it’s most probably worth just getting car take back to take it away.

 

 

[BorniteIdentity]

2 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

But never ever take a car off the road again. It becomes almost impossible to row back from.

 

Further reading here (!)

 

 

[sierraman]

 

£1100 could probably get you the worlds tidiest Rover 75 (obviously bar the V8)

[Tadhg Tiogar]

5 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

Hmmm. I’m fully versed in such lunacy - having sunk a good £800 into my £200 Avensis this year.

The trick is to fix stuff AS IT COMES UP. ....

^^

100% this.

As the CX has behaved just like the Mistress that I had envisaged her to be, it has been an expensive two years so far and I have comfortably spent more than I paid to buy her in the first place. And that's before you even start to count the cost of accumulating NLA spare parts whenever you stumble across them.

[ruffgeezer]

We're due a really low mileage 45 in fairly soon as a p/ex, perhaps a decent home for your upgraded bits? /Nothelping

[Split_Pin]

When the fun stops, stop.

[sierraman]

35 minutes ago, ruffgeezer said:

We're due a really low mileage 45 in fairly soon as a p/ex, perhaps a decent home for your upgraded bits? /Nothelping

Here’s an idea, buy Ruffgeezers, swap all the decent bits across and you’ve a supply of parts and a running Rover 45. Having the parts on one side really helps. Said the man with four Mondeo Mk2 Starter Motors. 

[wuvvum]

14 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Are you owning the car as an investment, or as a hobby?  If the former, don't buy a Rover

 

[steveo3002]

doesnt sound like the sort of car to be paying a garage to fix 

any scope of diying it ...or most of it ?

my polo would have cost me 1000s in garage bills but i do everything i can myself even if it means buying tools 

[ETCHY]

A wander round any classic car show will show you loads of cars that people loved enough to do the daft or uneconomic thing with and fix up/keep running  something that was once worth bugger all.

Do you love the car? Would getting rid of it make you unhappy? If it's no then it's an easy choice.. 

[steveo3002]

used wheels n tyres from scraper /ebay    , diy the brake job and see if someone will weld it for a fair price?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

21 minutes ago, ETCHY said:

....loads of cars that people loved enough to do the daft or uneconomic thing with and fix up/keep running  something that was once worth bugger all....

...and in many cases are still worth bugger all, but that doesn't mean they're not worth having.

[wuvvum]

The CX will have its day, eventually...

[Tadhg Tiogar]

7 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

The CX will have its day, eventually...

Possibly when I'm dead. But not before.

[rusty_vw_man]

As above - it’s clearly not worth the money quoted to fix it (assuming you can’t do it much cheaper). 
BUT, cars can be more than just transport, and many of us sink loads more than the car is worth into them. 
I binned a mk3 Astra estate because it needed new tyres and it was such a hateful thing I couldn’t bring myself to buy anything for it. However, I’ve spent thousands on my van, and it’s still worth roughly what I paid for it, but because it’s more than just transport I can ‘justify’ it. 
Only you can judge when enough is enough, but like any addict recognising you have a problem might be the first step to recovery!! 

[steveo3002]

how much is a cleaner one with 12months mot?  could get a replacement and use that as a spares car ? 

[nigel bickle]

You already know the answer. You did, before you asked the question.

[Bren]

We are getting to that position with our passat. For one of these it is a low miler - 141k - but rushing 3rd gear results in a crunch. Timing belt last done before time began. Advisories for dampers and springs. Tailgate is a bit tatty.

It has had battery/alternator/drivers door lock (over £600 all in) and new rear calipers before we got it. Body is very good - even the front wings are rust free.

Decisions....

[tooSavvy]

I love ToMM©

.... it is sooo fuckkin boring >> if the roof was wood, with long screws, I'd be laid away in it ?

However <upside> ..... as above

 

[sierraman]

Years ago I had a fairly nice (in my eyes) Mondeo, I had started doing a few miles for work, so I thought I’d chuck a few hundred at making it a bit better or ‘refreshing’ it as they say on Pisstonheads. Blew money on having the leaking manifold welded up, new exhaust, set of new Sachs shockers and springs, sorting out the oil leak and rebuilt the back brakes. Set I thought! Finished that lot then within the space of a fortnight the mended manifold failed - a new one was £300. Then the engine started rattling like a bastard. 

After I’d considered setting the fucker on fire, I went and spent £1600 on a better one that lasted me problem free for 4 years. But you live and learn. That’s why Im such a remorseless fucker when it comes to bangers. Run them and enjoy the good times then when it starts fucking you about make it someone else’s problem. 

[barefoot]

I agree a million per cent, but a car sold for pennies in need of just a couple of things because the previous owner has reached the end of the road, can occasionally be sorted for a relatively small amount.

Buy a cheap car, spend a few bob...

Winner?

Or if you like the shitty Rover, just keep spending on it, it's not like you'll get your money back on it this century.

[Jewel25]

Thanks for the replies. The car was my pride and joy for 7 years , owned from 65,000. I agree taking it off the road was the worst thing to do . Now stranded at in-laws it is!  If it was on my drive I'd have a better chance of getting it sorted . I love driving it , especially with the extra soundproofing added.  My daily is a trusty Mazda 6 , but there's no emotion.  My priority needs to be getting the brakes looked at  or having ago myself. 

 

How fuc**d do things get when left standing for 16 months?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

15 hours ago, Bren said:

....Body is very good - even the front wings are rust free.....

VWs from that era were quite well screwed together. Even my diesel Borat has no visible rust apart from the nearside wing, which is a pattern replacement panel after I comprehensively dented the original one about six years ago...

[sierraman]

5 hours ago, Jewel25 said:

Thanks for the replies. The car was my pride and joy for 7 years , owned from 65,000. I agree taking it off the road was the worst thing to do . Now stranded at in-laws it is!  If it was on my drive I'd have a better chance of getting it sorted . I love driving it , especially with the extra soundproofing added.  My daily is a trusty Mazda 6 , but there's no emotion.  My priority needs to be getting the brakes looked at  or having ago myself. 

 

How fuc**d do things get when left standing for 16 months?

Brake discs rusted, Calipers seized, handbrake probably seized on if it’s been left on, rear brakes will want a strip down, damp inside and in the floor/boot. It’s not so much the getting it going it’s the issues that crop up once it’s getting used daily. Dried up grease, bearings starting to whine after they’ve been sat in the same position, sticking Calipers, leaking brake cylinder seals, exhaust rotted out from the inside due to standing condensation. etc. 

[Richard]

It'll be fine. Fix the brakes, get the sills patched and get it in for an MOT, then think about the timing belt.

Whatever you buy to replace it will need at least £500 worth of work to bring it up to scratch anyway, more if you're paying somebody to do it.

[sierraman]

It translates to me someone with too much time in their hands ?

[BeEP]

7 hours ago, sierraman said:

Brake discs rusted, Calipers seized, handbrake probably seized on if it’s been left on, rear brakes will want a strip down, damp inside and in the floor/boot. It’s not so much the getting it going it’s the issues that crop up once it’s getting used daily. Dried up grease, bearings starting to whine after they’ve been sat in the same position, sticking Calipers, leaking brake cylinder seals, exhaust rotted out from the inside due to standing condensation. etc. 

It's 16 months, not 16 years!

[Jewel25]

Once I get I trailered to my house i can diagnose the brake issue and attempt to fix it. That way it's then in a better state to get it welded up if it trailed elsewhere. Washer pump has stopped working so I'll need to see to that too - a garage will charge silly money to fix such things. 

[mrbenn]

After 16 months idle you might find that something like a wheel bearing that was getting tired before sitting might give up as soon as it is asked to start spinning again and brakes may need looking at, as Sierrman man says.

However, I've woken 3 cars from a slumber and not one gave a murmur of complaint.

[ETCHY]

Before you start any work on it tell it that you love it but if it buggers you about & causes you endless problems it'll be the end & it'll be recycled into a washing machine !

You never know it may help