First shite purchase of the decade

[wuvvum]

Well the 104 has been a bit of a disappointment, bless its cotton socks. It was s'posed to be getting used as a daily, but 35mpg fuel consumption and crap running in traffic were something of a drawback in that regard, and then it snapped its exhaust and it's too fugging cold and wet at the moment for me to be arsed to do anything about it. So it's sat in my drive in disgrace at the moment. And with the 9000 doing a wheel bearing and the Innocenti needing to be re-registered (discovered when I MoT'd it that when it was imported it got registered as a Daihatsu for some reason - my fault for not noticing it on the logbook when I bought it) I was reduced to using the Townace to run to work in. Which was fine, but not particularly economical.

 

So I went on eBay the other night looking for a cheap shitter. I wasn't fussy as long as it was small, had a bit of T&T and was dirt cheap. I wasn't expecting miracles as due to the crappage scheme and the increase in scrap metal prices there doesn't seem to be too many real cheapies around at the moment. However, I managed to bag myself this:

 

 

 

It's a 1.5 GLX auto, with tax till the end of Feb and test till the beginning of March. I've always liked this shape of Colt for some reason. I picked it up from Cambridge on Thursday night and apart from an occasional squeaking fan belt and a comically undersized driver's wiper blade (now replaced) which meant I had to duck to see through the screen it drove home without a problem. It was advertised as being for spares or repair, but when I enquired further, the sum total of its issues are that the driver's window doesn't go down, the central locking doesn't work and the fuel gauge is temperamental (but the fuel light works fine). Being a J plate and therefore pre-catalytic converters, it's got a nice old fashioned carburettor, which is a bonus from my point of view. It drives fine, pulls well enough for what it is, seems to handle nicely enough (although it was bloody hopeless in the OMG SNOW CHAOS last night) and with PAS and the autobox it is a complete doddle to drive. The only drawback is that it's rather undergeared - 70mph is 3800rpm. Must be a Mitsubishi trait - the red W-plate Colt I had last year was the same, if not slightly worse. The higher-end Colts got a 4-speed auto, which I think probably helped.

 

Anyway, for £110 I don't think I've gone far wrong - Mitsubishi parts prices being what they are I could probably break it for more than that if it fails its test.

[ChinaTom]

That looks suspiciously like my mate's old car - he parted with it a few years ago but while he had it, it never missed a beat. I remember the SNM reg. He was in Peterborough, called Woolley and he hated the mpg.

[wuvvum]

Could well be - I didn't check the previous keeper's name on the logbook when I bought it. What was he getting out of it mpg-wise then?

[ChinaTom]

I don't know the figure and he's not into cars in any way other than preferring them to the bus. I do remember him saying the manual Focus 1.6 he replaced it with halved his petrol bills. This won't be accurate, but given the 5 mile cold engine commute from Werrington to the Passport Office along rush hour Bourges Boulevard every day in a 1.5 auto would never have been great.I'll flash and wave if I see it driving around Norwich.

[dollywobbler]

I've always quite liked these. They seemed quite futuristic when new with that curved rear. Well, I thought so back then...

[retrogeezer]

yeh, they look alright, very similar to the Honda Civics of that era...

[wuvvum]

That looks suspiciously like my mate's old car - he hated the mpg.

Hmmm. I've just tested the fuel consumption using the "scientific method" (drive car 'til it runs out of petrol, pour in exactly 4.54 litres of finest unleaded from a jerry can in the boot, reset trip meter, drive car 'til it runs out of petrol again). It managed exactly 31mpg. Which I think is a bit crap really, considering the car's size and performance - the 2.3-litre turbocharged 9000 manages exactly the same average consumption. I don't know whether the Colt's poor performance is due to the silly low gearing or whether it might be running rich - I might try tweaking the mixture screw over the weekend to see if that makes any difference. Either way, I think my plans to use the Colt as an economical runabout might come to a premature end. I'll hang onto it for now though - it's not a bad car really, and if past Colts are anything to go by it should be pretty reliable. Now I'll just have to see if I can get the 104 fixed and back to doing the 40-odd mpg I would expect of it.

[Spottedlaurel]

I had the pleasure of a quick trundle up the road in this the other night. It's shame it hasn't got an overdrive as otherwise it's really quite a good drive. Feels way tighter than a car for this money has a right to be.

[Mike D]

I imagine it being similar to my 1500 auto lancer to drive, it was a bit thirsty for a small auto, and revved a bit high, but was fairly respectable to drive. Ive got the 1.8 16v version of yours sat languishing at present, silver too, and it's a proper impressive bit of kit, they handle superbly and go like the clappers

[wuvvum]

I missed out on a GTI this shape a few years back - one of the ones I still regret not getting hold of, but I broke down on the way to view it and by the time I got sorted it'd sold. If you ever fancy selling yours, give me a shout...

[UglyAmerican]

Anyway, for £110 I don't think I've gone far wrong

 

Absolutely not. It's transport for 110 quid. You've done well!

 

Post an interior pic when you get a chance.

[wuvvum]

Well it won its first ever (in my ownership at least) traffic light grand prix this afternoon on the Norwich ring road, which has made me warm to it a bit more. 57-plate Astra estate, didn't spot what engine he had but it was pretty close until he had to change gear. I also discovered that the Clot doesn't appear to have a rev limiter - red line is at 6,500 on the rev counter but it was reading 7,200 by the time I let it shift into second, and it was still pulling. '80s Japanese engines are brilliant like that - the Mazda 121 was the same. I love embarrassing drivers of modern cars in an old shitter which cost less than one of their monthly payments. I'm such a child.