End of year Tat Accounts.

16,978 · December 29, 2023

30 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

My list, nearly all bought and Sold:

1st: Lexus Ls430, semi famous, bought to replace an Audi A6 as I decided I like petrol over diesel too much (realised the A6 was actually a really good car and tried to buy it back) . Very kitted out and nice to drive but had a few too many things that needed doing since it was on over 200k miles. I replaced cam covers, O2 sensors, fabbed up an exhaust section and started to give up as it wasn't all that pretty.
Bought £1,800
Spent £700 ish
Sold £2,400

2nd car: after the Lexus I needed a stop gap car before I went to the Philippines. Skoda Fabia cropped up on the forum for £600 and I decided to snap it up. Perfectly average motoring. Fixed some wiring on the alternator, fitted a used driver's seatbelt, fixed a monumental leak on the rear doors and gave it a clean and happy days. Sold for £800.

3rd car: Jaguar XJ8. probably the nicest car I bought all year and it was broken to give you an idea of the kind of cars I buy. Jaguar XJ8 3.6. lovely thing though a little underpowered compared to the 4.2's. fitted a used strut in my shed and rebuilt the compressor, fitted a new drivers door lock so you could actually get out and it was golden. I didn't like the underpoweredness (see later in the thread for remedy) so decided to sell it and my dad wanted one so I sold it to him as it is a really nice one.
[/url] 4th: ML55 AMG. as you will see in the picture above a fantastic ML55. Bought on the forum for moving rubbish to the tip (was initially going for an old Volvo but this was even better). Filled the boot with a huge amount of tat, got me to London and back twice, averaged mid teens to the gallon and went like stink. Really great car and would be tempted to get one again. Bought for £2,250, Sold for £3,800 and spent £50 on a regas. The profit almost paid for the 2 months fuel bill (I jest)

5th: BMW Z4. Bought this as a mini project to fix up and flip. How wrong I was. 2003 on 70k miles owned by an elderly lady. Jesus it was shit. Replaced all the front suspension and it all snapped on me. Replaced all brakes discs and pads, replaced cam cover gasket, drivers cupholder, 2 tyres, alternator, front bumper, refurbed hood motor, new badges all round and I feel there's more I missed but I can't be bothered thinking about it anymore. Bought for £1,500 ended up spending over £1,000 on it and sold it for £2,800. Really disappointed in the sale price but by the time I sold it summer had long gone and the market was getting shit. Hate BMWs. Looks cool though.
6th: Audi A6. C5 generation and another stop gap car after I sold the other stuff. 1.8t, nice car but it was very rough. Bought for £560, fixed a few bits and sold for £600.

7th: Jaguar XJR. Bought a very ropey XJR for £2,700. Replaced a good few bits, drivers window regulator, windscreen wiper mechanism, passenger front strut, full service and theres more to do. Need to replace the supercharger belt and idler pulley, fix the alarm system as theres something interfering with the key fob working and then need to address the bodywork as it's a little shoddy. Very quick and lovely car to drive though! Still own and plan on owning for a while.
8th: Range Rover as mentioned above by @Saabnut . Final purchase of the year and it's a biggen! 4.4 V8 of jaguar engine and 2.7tonnes of land rover. Super lovely car and super long journey to get it but all seems worth it. Only had it a couple of days so I need to get to know it but from what I can see so far it's a keeper.
honourable mention for my Volvo S60 which my girlfriend drives. Bought in mid 2022 but has been very reliable. Bought with the typical d5 core plug leak and got that fixed and it's been solid ever since bar a couple of fixing an abs ring steaming from disturbing the axles when removing the gearbox.
for 2024 I feel like it may be a slow year for car purchases unless they're for selling on.

Excellent bargain barging. Dibs on the XJR should it be up for sale eventually!

2,641 · December 29, 2023

35 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

My list, nearly all bought and Sold:

1st: Lexus Ls430, semi famous

Forgot to elaborate on the semi famous comment. Magazine car. Also if you read my post on Tapatalk you will see the ML55 picture instead of text. Lol.

2,641 · December 29, 2023

Excellent bargain barging. Dibs on the XJR should it be up for sale eventually!

XJR probably won't be for sale anytime soon. I say. It won't be cheap though!

19,214 · December 31, 2023

in:

a 1958 Stanley Harper Mk6A Petrol invalid car

(hey no one else has claimed it, so im claiming it for myself LOL)

out: none.

non moving and still giving @red5 PTSD: my 1976 Invacar Model 70 Mark B

I am naively hoping that maybe just maybe in 2024 I might get REV back and on the road? but thats what I said the last 3-4 years LOL

28,558 · November 29

On 06/12/2023 at 21:00, loserone said:

One in.

None out.

That was a quiet year.

9,115 · November 29

Four in

2022 Captur to replace my wife’s RCZ as she finally decided to get a sensible car, it’s a great little thing with its turbo 1.3 petrol engine and autobox

Bought this off @NorthernMonkey a week after surgery who kindly delivered it to me.

obtained this in a 4 way deal with @aldo135, @Split_Pin and @Spiny Norman

Finally bought this a couple of months ago to replace my Passat which was too old to qualify for expenses, it’s a nice modern with all the toys.

Four out

sold to @davehedgehog31

Sold to @MAF260

Sold to @djimbob

and sold to @Split_Pin

A quiet year for me in reality, I don’t think I’ll be buying anything in the next 12 months as its been an expensive year.

7,529 · November 29

VW Beetle - out
Rover 75 - in then out
Bini R50 - in then out
Bini R56 - in then out (yesterday)
Bini R55 - in
CLK - in
FreeLander - in (last week)
Citroen C4 - in residence but not owned (baby sitting it for the oldest sprog so it's SORN)
---------------------------------------------
Still here (since):
Bini R55 (2018)
Boxer Pony Pantechnionette (2019)
---------------------------------------------

2025? Dunno - child bride is now in love with wafty badermatics so - who knows ;-)

8,753 · November 29

Citroen BX - got back on the road after nearly 4 years off it including a significant amount of welding and an engine out strip and rebuild. Been excellent ever since and now under a cover as a standby vehicle. Don't want to use it over the winter and undo my work! Got a brand new carburettor to fit to it at some point too, which will be exciting.

Herman - Back on the road after a very intermittent period of use for nearly 2 years. Thought the gearbox was shitting itself to death, turns out to be a dirty throttle position sensor. Back to being my daily, but looking v.tired cosmetically.

Laguna - Back on the road after a three month work package including a hiatus for my broken arm, and several spares issues. Back to being the family car but not perfect and in need of further fettling, but will suffice for now.

Mazda - barely used this, feel guilty as fuck for it too. Rust creeping in but parked in the garage now for the winter. Not pretty enough to sell on but I certainly can't afford a replacement one. Probably won't see the road in 2025.

Beat - this was another tricky one, it wasn't used much at all this year, purely because the weather this year has been absolutely shit, the roof is very leaky, and the engine is still burning oil. Parked in the garage for now for the winter, won't be out for next year, got a big work package planned for this one in 2026 so may see the road in 2027.

Rover - been an absolutely fantastic daily this year, taking up the role of family car, commuter, and long distance cruiser with two trips to the Netherlands. Sadly, it has failed the MOT on rust and a few other jobs and my workload means I have no time to work it, so it has moved on to pastures new.

So none in, one out and the fleet shall be unchanged next year I imagine!

2,641 · November 29

End of year tat accounting is a very dull one for me this year. Had a couple of dream cars slip past me. Sold all my good stuff, all too cheap and ended up getting about In very cheap cars due to spending vast amounts of money sorting the house. That said let's begin!
Opening Stock would of been the Range Rover 2006, Jaguar XJR and my other halves S60.
Range Rover was a bit of a shit show, loved it but my house collapsed and the rear subframe bushes needed doing and I saw my arse with it. Bought for £2,500, spent a grand on it and sold it for £1,000. I do think I'll get another L322 at some point though, just when I'm going to be in a better head space for it and more time and money available. Looking back at the pictures I think I definitely have unfinished business with a range rover.

Next up was was the XJR no.2. bought for £2,000. Did some work on it, sold it for £2,000 obviously losing a serious chunk of change. Really disappointed I gave up but again house made all these things fall by the way side. Did fulfil a bit of a bucket list item of buying a car and towing it home though.

Next up will be my long term XJR. I drove this about everyday and I loved it. It was bottom end XJR stuff, wheels and bodywork were very tatty and it was definitely a little more care worn than any of the other (6) X350s I have owned. Suspect the harsh Scottish weather has something to do with it. I really went to town with this one. Replaced the supercharger belt, upgraded it, new suspension struts, new compressor, new suspension arms, front calipers refurbed, windscreen wiper mechanism replaced, new battery plus loads of other bits I will of forgotten about. It drove okay but the party piece was the engine. It had a smaller supercharger pulley and it absolutely rocketed you at the horizon with any kind of throttle input and then relaxed you with effortless cruising when just wanting to commute. Excellent bit of kit and was genuinely desperately sad when it went. I check the MOT history quite regular and seems it's been given up on.
Next up was the newest car I ever owned. A Saab 93 1.9tid vector which I paid £700 for it and it was perfectly adequate. Big boot, reasonable power, reasonable comfort blah blah blah. Not particularly awe inspiring but it definitely did me a job for a while. Did a bit of work on it but nothing major.
Next up was a car I bought for a holiday. Had 7 people I needed to transport from Stockport down to Bournemouth way for a mini holiday and thought it'd be fun for us all to commute together. Ended up with a pretty nice XC90 which is just an excellent vehicle which in hindsight probably should of kept. Got 7 people in no problem and our luggage and got us all the way down there in reasonable comfort and economy. Great motor, one thing for me was its too big for when I was just going to work and a bit sluggish as it's a big lump with a relatively small engine. Ultimately made me want to downsize. Bought for £1,600. Sold for £1,500. Only minor fixes here and there.

Next up was a replacement which I bought the same day the XC90 went. Great mini shiter meet. Another Saab 93 but in convertible and petrol format. It was a little shabby and I actually put quite a bit of effort in to it. Sold it for basically no more money as you do. Sorted the roof out, heater blower motor and a few other things. Believe it's also getting treated to even more bits by it's new owner so a nice story of a car being given quite a bit of love.
One of the few happy moments of this year (really has been a shit one unfortunately) of purchasing this lovely little shit Micra. I drove it from teignmouth to Plymouth and became really rather fond of it and gifted it to my other halves brother for his 21st birthday. He since passed his test in this and gave him his freedom. Reminds me of when I passed my test and my life was forever changed. Perfect first car cliche.
And finally we get to my current motor. A slight reupgrade back into luxobarge ville. Audi A8 of this parish. Such a great car and has been a reasonably cheap way of commuting without compromising comfort. Turbo issue is intermittent but I've learnt how to avoid and fix on the fly so will get around to fixing it next year now. Bit of a "always wanted one" moment ticked off for sure. Can see it sticking around for a little while at least.

Dream cars that have slipped me by is a TVR cerbera which looked the absolute business. Ended up bottling it as the head aches from my research could of been fatal for me with the year I was having.

A 911 turbo which went for £18,000. Very nearly bought this but just sent many thousands of pounds to a man that said he was going to sort my house and subsequently did a runner.

Finally an Audi B5 RS4 which went on an auction for just a little too much. I think I have settled on getting an RS4 as I desperately miss my old S4 B5. Need something that makes me feel alive again. Feel I have lost my identity with cars for a long time now and I need to reinvigorate that passion I once had. Here's hoping 2025 will be better.

ETA- a lot of whiny bullshit above. I am grateful for what I have. Always have to count ones blessings.

29,916 · November 29

Its been a year.

Out:

Bought from @AndyIggs Lovely car, went like fuck but too heavy on fuel for my wife to use and I just don't get on with sports cars. Basically 2 seats also no use for me. Sold to a member of the public.

Bought a bit broken from @SRi05, fixed and enjoyed for over 2 years. What a car. Should have kept this but I can't help my itchy feet. Hands down the best car I have ever bought. I plan to get another next year. sold to @MAF260.

This one was my dad's which had to be sold after he passed away in March. One owner and much loved but it was financially out of my reach to buy myself. A very hard transaction to take. Arnold Clark were very good though.

In and out:

Bought from @Schaefft A dream car of mine and a lovely example, butnits just at *that* age and mileage. I spent most of the summer fixing it and then the turbo actuator went senile so it had to go, to @DirtyDaily

Bought from @320touring, belonged to Touring_Snr for a very long time. Great car, great spec, roomy and comfortable. Lovely drive once I got the gearbox serviced. Sold on a whim to @aldo135 to get an E46 but I wish I had kept this.

In:

330ci from @Jazoli Another car I've always wanted since my pal had one in the same colour with the same wheels when they were new. Gearbox unfortunately borked after a month of ownership which cost me rather a lot. Nobody in Scotland wanted to take the job on. Thankfully our @NorthernMonkey was on hand to sort all that out and fit the replacement gearbox I sourced, for which I am very grateful. If it wasn't so damn pretty to look at it would be long gone. I also had to fit a caliper, new viscous fan, aux belt tensioner and oil pressure sensor (which gave me even more grief) . I'm a bit sore about how much this one has kicked my ass, hopefully I can get past it. It does drive well now.

Last one in, A4 2.0 TDi from @NorthernMonkey. Stupendously cheap, extremely tidy car that has needed only one wheelbearing. Really happy with this one, Bought for Mrs_Pin, she loves it too.

Remained:

Bought from @paulplom a year ago, also silly cheap. Only needed a wheelbearing and a pair of driveshafts, another top buy which has given sterling service to my wife and latterly me.

Had this for 4.5 years now and its getting on a bit. Mechanically perfect though so it will live on. Failed to sell it so it's languishing o my drive at the moment. Pencilled in with the famous Tom Force in Leominster next spring for some body restoration and repairs. It was the last car my dad ever rode in so it needs to stay.

Let's face it, I'm never going to stop buying, as our Jim Bell said, the most exciting car is always the next car.

2,411 · November 29

On 29/12/2023 at 16:54, Markeh said:

Non-mover:

This fucker's still here.

No random projects this year. A couple were enquired about (tried to get my hands on a Mk1 SLK and Mk2 Ka from various family members with no joy and another ex-blood bikes Octavia got ruled out after my contacts stopped working with the group) and I've tried my hand at some roffles but no joy other than a tablet and two Chromebooks!

Very much looking for a second car next year. Lack of mechanical knowledge and driveway space doesn't help, although an impending inheritance once probate finally does its thing will hopefully turn the above mess of concrete and grass (and currently far too much mud) into a driveway wide enough for two - and maybe if there's some leftover I might get something else...

This is still here, despite threatening to get rid on several occasions when it's let me down. It will go in 2025, because that's when the PCP ends and I'm definitely not buying it at the end! Likely to be replaced with a Renault Austral, a Mazda CX-60 or an approved used Cayenne/Macan if I've taken enough brave pills.

Drive has been done now, and some funds may be available once I've paid this years tax bill, so there's space and money for a second acquisition. Drunk me had decided to stop procrastinating, umming and aahing and to just buy the 9-3 cabrio off here but sadly that was about two weeks after it had sold!

2,958 · November 29

Not much excite here over the last year.

Corsa B. Bought to break for parts. Otherwise I wouldn't of got the other B finished in time. I finally binned it off. Good job as it quite badly rotten.

The following is staying.

It's battled me a fair bit this car. Yet I do enjoy bombing about in it. Unless it breaks, then it's a arsehole of a car!

This is a long term keeper. Want to keep improving it. Really good all rounder. Is awfully fond of the petrol, but not the end of the world.

Forever car. Don't care if it's not worth fixing. It's mine and I love it. Will be getting on with it's rust repairs once I get the Maestro fixed again.

Didn't expect to see this car in one colour overall let alone thrashing it about on the roads. Kept wanting to sell it or break it up. Glad I pushed on and got it to this point. The Cypress green car was a massive help to get all the last few parts I needed.

Got a few things to fix yet. Then in the new year I'm going to look at moving it on. It's just another mouth to feed when I want to be getting on with other cars.

Still have a TT 'vert sat too. Mostly down to CBA it's not been looked at. Might drag it up to my workspace and get it burst for bits. As this one isn't worth getting back on the road.

28,558 · November 29

1 minute ago, Markeh said:

Macan

Do it

2,411 · November 29

2 minutes ago, loserone said:

Do it

If my folks can fit and the boots big enough for my laptop shenanigans, it could be a goer, assuming I can find one with enough spec in budget

1,931 · November 29

At Chateau Star nothing ever really goes out, as in 13(holy shit, years really do fly!) years of motoring I’ve never sold a car. So instead, let’s do arrivals and not sitting gathering dust instead.

Arrivals:

February - Saxo VTR

The car I put dibs on the night we went to see it and I persuaded one of my best friends to buy it to replace 1.4 Furio that he previously had. He never actually did what I suggested on the first night, which was to go to a specialist and get everything sorted out, which resulted in the patchy service. It never left him stranded, but he also never had any real confidence in it. He lost his last nerve after an absolutely useless bodyshop dragged him along for way too long to do - nothing and claim it’s unfixable (some floor welding and putting bodykit back on, seriously 🙄) and I got dibs. Currently sitting in front of the garage that needs to be evicted by 24th of December, pending amazing but not in a rush bodyshop to finish my Yugo Cabrio.

March - Fiat Bravo Suite

It was sitting in front of cousin Star’s house for ages, next to rusty and awful Stilo. Brother Star and cousin Star wanted them both gone and were about to call a scrapper to drag them both out. I knew this car from before and it just needed someone to give it a proper onceover, change belts and a new clutch cable. No rust anywhere to be seen. So I took pity, and adopted it. Unfortunately, the car was owned by aunt Star on the papers, who sadly had stroke in January and passed away not long after I got the car, so the paperwork for it is stuck in bureaucratic hell, waiting for estate to pass onto cousin-Star. Sitting in front of the same garage as Saxo. I was really hoping to recommission it this year, but… For anyone wondering what happened to Stilo, it actually got another lease on life. I hated that car, but instead of calling the scrapman, I put it on FB marketplace for pennies, and some dude bought it with the plan to fix it and get it back on the road.

July - Zastava Florida Business

Wrote tons about it already on here. One of the very rare late-model pre-facelift Floridas with every box save for fuel injection ticked. Bought it because it has factory aircon, which is a stupidly rare option. Despite paying top of the market for it (which, to be fair isn’t exactly a lot of money anyway) it was one wheel into the scrapyard. It was driven to a brink of life by previous owners who had no sympathy for it. Nursed it back to life and replaced almost everything mechanical that needed attention. Needs a date with electrician to look into a few small bits that I can’t figure out and its turn at getting welded. Currently parked in the garage next to my flat, providing stellar service, like any other more modern car would. Amazing car, I firmly believe that if it was identical car with VW badge it would sell like hotcakes.

September - Yugo Koral 65EFI

Bought as an EFI system donor for Cabrio. Rear beam rusty, but seems solid otherwise. Still waiting for bodyshop (that obviously has better things to do) verdict on is there anything else wrong with it bodywork-wise, and if not, it’ll probably get FIAT 1.6 16v engine, as I wanted to make a fast Yugo for ages. If it’s significantly fucked, it will follow the fate of only car that has left the stage.

Departed

January - Yugo Koral 45

Only photo I have, sorry. Guy was breaking it for parts, and I wanted the bodykit. He couldn’t be arsed and offered me the entire car, delivered, for notmuchmore. Rear beam snapped in half, and it was generally rusty in all the usual places. Sadly, no title, or I might’ve tried to save it. Stripped of all the useful bits, some used for Cabrio, some sitting gathering dust in my garage. What little was left is now beantins. Sorry, and goodbye sweet prince, thank you for helping keep Cabrio alive. 🫡

In previously with me part of the garage:

Alfa 159 “Mighty Number 9”

finished the last year by grenading its amazing* Getrag M32 gearbox all over the floor of my garage. Replacement gearbox turned out to be shit with noisy bearings as well, so it got rebuilt. Other than that lovely* episode, and stuck rear caliper, it provided amazing daily service. A car that starts, runs, and gets you places in style and comfort. It really grew on me, and I’m happy it’s around.

Alfa 156 “Bellatrix”

Picked up the daily duties while 159 was having its gearbox sorted. Got upgraded from tired halogen headlight to a single model year HIDs converted to run LED bulbs. Spent a lot of time in the shop that was having no luck with absolutely useless electricians that couldn’t find why it wasn’t turning on the fans when it should be. Then got rear-ended by a garage door when some tow driver dropped his cargo into a door. 🤦‍♂️ Because that wasn’t bad enough, it then spent a month waiting for an absolute unit of a “paintshop”, which sprayed the cracked bumper with what looked like the cheapest nastiest spray-can. It was eventually fixed when my friend the garage owner paid out of his pocket for a sensible bodyshop to fix it and do the respray. Didn’t see much use, and is overdue welding that was botched a few years ago.

Peugeot 307CC “the little Peugeot (you keep shouting at, stop, it has feelings y’know)”

Spent most of the year on loan to people, first cousin-Star, then the Mini specialist. Got it back, roof hydraulics that was already leaky completely failed and was leaking like a sieve. I really got fed up with its shenanigans and was considering making it the first car I’ll get rid of, ever. I realized that its topless replacement would be of the similar vintage, with similarly complex roof, equally prone to imminent failure any moment now. Oh, and idea of getting rid made Mrs Star very very very sad. So it got to specialist, that somehow managed to find non-leaky roof pistons and make the roof do its thing again happily. Didn’t even pay much as he wouldn’t even touch it if I wasn’t a very good friend of a very good friend, and as a result didn’t want to charge me properly despite my insistence on paying. Hopefully I actually get to drive topless next year.

Mini

Overheated end of September last year. Opening the engine up showed it not only did OMGHGF as a result of failed water pump, but also munched one of the differential cogs, resulting in entire engine being fucked and needing a full rebuild. So that’s what it got. Also replaced diff to a longer one so it can be driven on the motorway without driving it into the redline, got twin-carbs, 12” wheels and new tyres, curved mirrors, aluminum radiator, tropical weather main fan, 2nd thermostat controlled fan, completely repainted engine bay, and probably about 5 dozen other things that got replaced in “fix EVERYTHING. If it breaks down again on the side of the road, I’ll set it on fire” operation that took over a year. Needs investigation into a few stupid rattles that appeared on a shakedown and a new exhaust that’s not obnoxiously loud.

Yugo Cabrio is not included in this year’s update as it’s sitting in a bodyshop for over a year, so I can’t get mad again over it whilst I type. I also have sitting in front of the garage, pending imminent move to a temporary place of safety Alfa 155, one of the BX breaks, Yugo 65, Beetle 1200 and a shell/ parts donor Cabrio. Sitting at my parents place is a mk1 Golf diesel and a shell of BMW E21. BX Break #2 is sitting for ages in front of friend’s shop gathering dust. Another complete E21 is standing parked in the grass, and a Mazda 626 is sitting in the garage.

I think I’ve covered the entire fleet. Overall, a very mid year for the fleet. Some positive momentum and hopefully in the next year’s update we’ll see a more cars back in the land of living and driving.

5,704 · November 29

I suppose this is technically a change, in that the V5 for this is now in my name, rather than the company I worked for. Other than this, the Cortina and Senator live on and are both receiving some attention.

8,910 · November 29

Think it's safe to call it.

Nowt in.

Vectra performing excellently. Owned this over a year now.

Fabia, still with us. Just back from in-depth work. Owned near four years now.

Nowt oot, too.

Don't see me changing any of the fleet anytime soon.

4,149 · November 29

Out:

320i departed in March

R57 Bini defleeted in September

In:

Focus replaced the BMW

F57 Bini turned up shortly before the R57 went

Non-mover:

In the almost literal sense of the word. R19 hasn’t left the housing estate in over four years

23,524 · November 29

I'm really proud of this thread.

3,315 · November 29

Here at Eyersey towers there has been no change, Eccles and the purple Peril are both still here.

28,558 · November 29

On 26/12/2010 at 21:36, Guest Leonard Hatred said:

I don't want to think about how much money I've wasted on cars this year.

@Lacquer Peel some things never change.

8,181 · November 29

Not bought or sold owt.
I came close to buying a (very cheap) Cee'd SW as a tip run/delivery wagon but the insurance was ludicrous, so I passed.

Amazon, SVX and Leonard still on the road; everything else is tucked up on SORN.

Amazon is most of the way there mechanically: it now cuts out 1 in 100 times rather than every fucking time at a junction.

Although it sounds sad, one of my ambitions with the SVX was to take it to the NEC; it finally managed it this year - and @seth spotted it.
It desperately needs a new set of exhaust 'y' front pipes, another TPS, the rocker cover gaskets sorting, and a new set of number plates. The badge also fell off in a jet-wash but I caught it (with much arse crack showing) before it plopped down the drain. I've finally found another starter and am having it rebuilt. TL;DR, it's still a bell-end, but we appear to understand each other (and the headlights will always be shite)o.

23,287 · November 30

1 hour ago, IronStar said:

At Chateau Star nothing ever really goes out, as in 13(holy shit, years really do fly!) years of motoring I’ve never sold a car. So instead, let’s do arrivals and not sitting gathering dust instead.

Arrivals:

February - Saxo VTR

The car I put dibs on the night we went to see it and I persuaded one of my best friends to buy it to replace 1.4 Furio that he previously had. He never actually did what I suggested on the first night, which was to go to a specialist and get everything sorted out, which resulted in the patchy service. It never left him stranded, but he also never had any real confidence in it. He lost his last nerve after an absolute useless bodyshop dragged him along for way too long to do - nothing and claim it’s unfixable (some floor welding and putting bodykit back on, seriously 🙄) and I got dibs. Currently sitting in front of the garage that needs to be evicted by 24th of December, pending amazing but not in a rush bodyshop to finish my Yugo Cabrio.

March - Fiat Bravo Suite

It was sitting in front of cousin Star’s house for ages, next to rusty and awful Stilo. Brother Star and cousin Star wanted them both gone and were about to call a scrapper to drag them both out. I knew this car from before and it just needed someone to give it a proper onceover, change belts and a new clutch cable. No rust anywhere to be seen. So I took pity, and adopted it. Unfortunately, the car was owned by aunt Star on the papers, who sadly had stroke in January and passed away not long after I got the car, so the paperwork for it is stuck in bureaucratic hell, waiting for estate to pass onto cousin-Star. Sitting in front of the same garage as Saxo. I was really hoping to recommission it this year, but… For anyone wondering what happened to Stilo, it actually got another lease on life. I hated that car, but instead of calling the scrapman, I put it on FB marketplace for pennies, and some dude bought it with the plan to fix it and get it back on the road.

July - Zastava Florida Business

Wrote tons about it already on here. One of the very rare late-model pre-facelift Floridas with every box save for fuel injection ticked. Bought it because it has factory aircon, which is a stupidly rare option. Despite paying top of the market for it (which, to be fair isn’t exactly a lot of money anyway) it was one wheel into the scrapyard. It was driven to a brink of life by previous owners who had no sympathy for it. Nursed it back to life and replaced almost everything mechanical that needed attention. Needs a date with electrician to look into a few small bits that I can’t figure out and its turn at getting welded. Currently parked in the garage next to my flat, providing stellar service, like any other more modern car would. Amazing car, I firmly believe that if it was identical car with VW badge it would sell like hotcakes.

September - Yugo Koral 65EFI

Bought as an EFI system donor for Cabrio. Rear beam rusty, but seems solid otherwise. Still waiting for bodyshop (that obviously has better things to do) verdict on is there anything else wrong with it bodywork-wise, and if not, it’ll probably get FIAT 1.6 16v engine, as I wanted to make a fast Yugo for ages. If it’s significantly fucked, it will follow the fate of only car that has left the stage.

Departed

January - Yugo Koral 45

Only photo I have, sorry. Guy was breaking it for parts, and I wanted the bodykit. He couldn’t be arsed and offered me the entire car, delivered, for notmuchmore. Rear beam snapped in half, and it was generally rusty in all the usual places. Sadly, no title, or I might’ve tried to save it. Stripped of all the useful bits, some used for Cabrio, some sitting gathering dust in my garage. What little was left is now beantins. Sorry, and goodbye sweet prince, thank you for helping keep Cabrio alive. 🫡

In previously with me part of the garage:

Alfa 159 “Mighty Number 9”

finished the last year by grenading its amazing* Getrag M32 gearbox all over the floor of my garage. Replacement gearbox turned out to be shit with noisy bearings as well, so it got rebuilt. Other than that lovely* episode, and stuck rear caliper, it provided amazing daily service. A car that starts, runs, and gets you places in style and comfort. It really grew on me, and I’m happy it’s around.

Alfa 156 “Bellatrix”

Picked up the daily duties while 159 was having its gearbox sorted. Got upgraded from tired halogen headlight to a single model year HIDs converted to run LED bulbs. Spent a lot of time in the shop that was having no luck with absolutely useless electricians that couldn’t find why it wasn’t turning on the fans when it should be. Then got rear-ended by a garage door when some tow driver dropped his cargo into a door. 🤦‍♂️ Because that wasn’t bad enough, it then spent a month waiting for an absolute unit of a “paintshop”, which sprayed the cracked bumper with what looked like the cheapest nastiest spray-can. It was eventually fixed when my friend the garage owner paid out of his pocket for a sensible bodyshop to fix it and do the respray. Didn’t see much use, and is overdue welding that was botched a few years ago.

Peugeot 307CC “the little Peugeot (you keep shouting at, stop, it has feelings y’know)”

Spent most of the year on loan to people, first cousin-Star, then the Mini specialist. Got it back, roof hydraulics that was already leaky completely failed and was leaking like a sieve. I really got fed up with its shenanigans and was considering making it the first car I’ll get rid of, ever. I realized that its topless replacement would be of the similar vintage, with similarly complex roof, equally prone to imminent failure any moment now. Oh, and idea of getting rid made Mrs Star very very very sad. So it got to specialist, that somehow managed to find non-leaky roof pistons and make the roof do its thing again happily. Didn’t even pay much as he wouldn’t even touch it if I wasn’t a very good friend of a very good friend, and as a result didn’t want to charge me properly despite my insistence on paying. Hopefully I actually get to drive topless next year.

Mini

Overheated end of September last year. Opening the engine up showed it not only did OMGHGF as a result of failed water pump, but also munched one of the differential cogs, resulting in entire engine being fucked and needing a full rebuild. So that’s what it got. Also replaced diff to a longer one so it can be driven on the motorway without driving it into the redline, got twin-carbs, 12” wheels and new tyres, curved mirrors, aluminum radiator, tropical weather main fan, 2nd thermostat controlled fan, completely repainted engine bay, and probably about 5 dozen other things that got replaced in “fix EVERYTHING. If it breaks down again on the side of the road, I’ll set it on fire” operation that took over a year. Needs investigation into a few stupid rattles that appeared on a shakedown and a new exhaust that’s not obnoxiously loud.

Yugo Cabrio is not included in this year’s update as it’s sitting in a bodyshop for over a year, so I can’t get mad again over it whilst I type. I also have sitting in front of the garage, pending imminent move to a temporary place of safety Alfa 155, one of the BX breaks, Yugo 65, Beetle 1200 and a shell/ parts donor Cabrio. Sitting at my parents place is a mk1 Golf diesel and a shell of BMW E21. BX Break #2 is sitting for ages in front of friend’s shop gathering dust. Another complete E21 is standing parked in the grass, and a Mazda 626 is sitting in the garage.

I think I’ve covered the entire fleet. Overall, a very mid year for the fleet. Some positive momentum and hopefully in the next year’s update we’ll see a more cars back in the land of living and driving.

Hadn’t realised how extensive your fleet is!!

I need to get on with my Yugo…

Far too early to declare the Brownnova fleet for the year. It’s still November! That’s 32 more car buying days left!

1,208 · November 30

22 minutes ago, warren t claim said:

I'm really proud of this thread.

20 minutes ago, warren t claim said:

I'm really proud of this thread.

So proud you had to say it twice

It's been an unexpectedly busy year here on reflection, with a staggering 6 in and 3 out, for a net tally of 9 cars overall now - something that nearly caused my colleagues to choke on their lunch when it came up in conversation today on the back of the associated statistic quoted here:

In fairness, of those 9... 2 are going to be for sale once tidied up, one is being broken for parts and one will eventually supersede another... so it's "only really" 5 cars when you look at it.....

I'm also pleased to say that 4 of my 6 incomers have been Autoshite member's cars, and one of the outgoers is also still in the fold

1,931 · November 30

6 minutes ago, brownnova said:

Hadn’t realised how extensive your fleet is!!

I need to get on with my Yugo…

Far too early to declare the Brownnova fleet for the year. It’s still November! That’s 32 more car buying days left!

16 last time I counted. That EFI 65 that arrived this year is in limbo, I’m not counting bare shells of E21 and Yugo Cabrio as cars, and one BX will likely need to be chopped up for another one which is a shame as Breaks are so rare.

I’d have more progress if I could weld or had access to multiple actually good bodyshops. Rest (save for money to pay for everything 😅) is easy.

I probably said this before, but if you need anything for your Yugo - HMU. I have a ton of bits in the boxes that you can have for mates rates or free and if I don’t have it, I can try digging it out for you.

14,155 · November 30

In: 1

Out: 0

Non-movers: 22

Working vehicles at time of posting: 2

Life choices I regret: too many to count

It’s been a bad year for me in terms of impulsive car buying. Or, a normal person may say it was a good year. Either way, having a second kid and my partner remaining out of work has drastically reduced the budget for doing stupid stuff. I won’t be buying anything between now and Christmas.

The plus side is that this made me focus on fixing what I’ve got. Sadly, the ‘fixing what I’ve got’ that I did was directed at that fucking XM and took up most of the year.

Let’s see what came in then:

It’s a 2002 Renault Clio, in 3 door guise and with the lowest output 1.5DCi diesel lump. This was a hand me down from my Dad, after he finally bought a modern-ish car. Despite some teething issues that revolved around diesel sludge in the tank, I love this car. It costs fuck all to run, it’s surprisingly fun to drive, and it appears to thrive on abuse. It also did a 2,000 mile round trip for our holiday this year, and it only mildly broke on the way home - I can forgive that. I originally was going to roffle it, but to be honest it’s such a useful thing to have that I can’t see it leaving now.

I will give an honorary shout out to this thing:

It’s my Dad’s W211, and whilst not mine I did finish the work that I started on it either a year or two ago (can’t remember, it’s been so long!). All the MOT work it needed at the time is done now that I’ve finished off the welding, and I will insure it and chuck it in for a ticket at some point. He’s lost all interest in it, and wants it out the way, so it is in the back of my mind to help him out with that by holding onto it. At any rate, finishing the welding and putting it back together marks the removal of something of a millstone from around my neck.

The non-movers then:

I’ll start with the one that sort of works.

I love this thing and I also hate it. I’m fairly sure it’s cursed. Every time I drive it, something bad happens. Every time I fix it, something else on it breaks. But it’s consumed so much of my time and money that I am now well and truly lost in the fallacy of investment, and I just keep going further down the rabbit hole. After all the pain and anguish, I also take a kind of sadistic pleasure in keeping it alive, despite the fact that it very obviously wishes to die.

On to the other stuff then. This is just a load of photos I’m afraid, as fuck all has happened with them:

One thing that I have achieved this year is a huge tidy up of my garage and shed, plus I’ve bought some kit like the hydraulic press and A-frame. Im cautiously confident that now the XM is semi-reliable, 2025 will be a better year - I will be focussing on repairing what I have, and the organised work space and equipment should really help with that.

I can’t tell you guys how much I want to just buy some cars though 🤣