Bangernomics

[Mr^B]

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"

Do you actually care about cars though? Lots of people just dont care what they drive thats fine they better things to spend money on. Thats not a dig in anyway.

But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

I drive a 14 year old megane because it's still a nice car. I have it serviced regularly, keep it nice and clean inside, etc. I'm only replacing it because I've *finally* finished saving up for its replacement. I like cars which is why I picked it in the first place (different than the run of the mill Escort/Golf which were the only other "hot hatch" choices at the time).

 

[Saytan]

i love cars, and i've already posted the sheds i had.

at the time, it was them, or no car at all, and as fox is so fond of saying 2nd class drive > first class walk.

tinkering with them to keep them going was half the fun.

 

[Kitchster_uk]

***** prestige is where it's at.

Currently running an S plate 528i SE with 171k on the clock for £1250. Awesome, lovely to drive, been maintained regardless of cost and is ultra-comfy. Love it.

The other bangernomics I am involve with is the X plate Mondeo Zetec-S I got for the gf to run over the winter so her MX-5 doesn't get ruined. £500 to buy, she bought a set of nicer wheels (the 4 spoke turbines), I serviced it, put a new bonnet on and the total cost... £750. It's been faultless for 6k already and is probably worth about the cost of buying and tarting up, even if it went for £150, it'd of cost a massive 10p a mile to own and saved 6k miles on the MX5 gleneagles and made winter a little more comfortale.

Bangernomics - do it well and it's worthwhile, but get too excited by the shiney metal and you're in bother...

 

[Dogbreath]

I drive a (relative) banger but I can't do bangernomics. I buy a cheap car and then I feel compelled to fix everything that's slightly wrong with it, even though the car isn't worth it.

 

[Lopéz]

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"

Do you actually care about cars though? Lots of people just dont care what they drive thats fine they better things to spend money on. Thats not a dig in anyway.

But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

I drive a 22 year old Manta because they stopped making them 22 years ago so if I want a Manta I haven't got a lot of choice.

 

[Captain_Slick]

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"

Do you actually care about cars though? Lots of people just dont care what they drive thats fine they better things to spend money on. Thats not a dig in anyway.

But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

Again, you're making the assumption that because it's 15 years old, it must be the worst possible car. Stoppit.

 

[Joshy]

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"

Do you actually care about cars though? Lots of people just dont care what they drive thats fine they better things to spend money on. Thats not a dig in anyway.

But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

To be honest, I tend to associate people who don't care about cars saying something along the lines of "I drive a 5X/0X plate xx".

I honestly think that anyone who buys/discounts a car solely because of its age is a moron. If a slightly older car can do everything you want from a car to as good/better standards that something "modern", why buy the newer car other than pure, misguided snobbery?

 

[stoke1863]

Because you drive a 15 year old that does not make it a banger, I like how you put thoughts in to my mouth though.

Having a cheap car becuase you cant afford an upgrade is not bangernomics. I thought it was when you drive any old shed and are prepared to chuck it at any time.

Spending good money on an old car and then servicing is fine. Thats deffo not bangernomics as you are actually trying to preserve something. Maybe i didnt get my point across correctly.

 

[iaind]

In fairness, a 5x/0x plate car could be 9 years old and completely knackered by now

 

[FreeStream]

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"

Do you actually care about cars though? Lots of people just dont care what they drive thats fine they better things to spend money on. Thats not a dig in anyway.

But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

So in your opinion what does my Mint 1983 Mark 1 Golf count as?

And yes, it IS mint, no rust, no dents, 73,000 miles, runs beautifully...

 

[Muncher]

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"

Do you actually care about cars though? Lots of people just dont care what they drive thats fine they better things to spend money on. Thats not a dig in anyway.

But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

Errr, I think I do

To be honest I like my Golf, it has character to me, it's reliable, I can scrape snow off it without scratching it, I can leave it anywhere, I can carry god knows what to the dump in it, I can get in it when it's muddy and when it's snowy and icey I can arse about on roundabouts not bothering about clipping kerbs or anything like that.

Not to mention the fact that I got it for free and my entire running costs are 16p per mile.

 

[stoke1863]

So in your opinion what does my Mint 1983 Mark 1 Golf count as?

And yes, it IS mint, no rust, no dents, 73,000 miles, runs beautifully...

again people jumping down my throught. Of course its not a banger.

A banger is car that the owner does not care or have a desire to keep in good condition. The whole point of a banger is to dump it as soon as a problem occurs and then move on to the next one.

 

[G-MAN2004]

Making a new car is more polluting than running a car that still works to the end.

Okay, we get it. You like driving around in a cheap car. That doesn't mean everyone else is a snob if they don't.

I walk or get a lift, because I don't want to drive crap with stupid insurance at my age. Oh noes, snob!

 

[[TW]Fox]

So in your opinion what does my Mint 1983 Mark 1 Golf count as?

And yes, it IS mint

I bet its not. That or like many people you have a very generous interpretation of the word mint. Mint is flawless, without imperfection. Most 1 year old cars are not mint..

 

[indyskyz]

Is every panel a different colour for extra lols?

lol that would win but im afraid there just all a different shade of white

All the people saying " i drive a 15 year old xx"
But for people who like cars why on earth would they choose to drive the worst possible car?

dude this is my 1st car and its the best car in the world FACT!! lol aside from that its cheap to insure cheap tax cheap on fuel and cheap to buy and thats all that interests me about this car

 

[Felix]

I bet its not. That or like many people you have a very generous interpretation of the word mint. Mint is flawless, without imperfection. Most 1 year old cars are not mint..

But its a Golf and the build quality is superb!

 

[Jamous]

I have a 20 year-old Ford Sierra 2000e with 165k miles, bought it 3 years ago for £200, the engine was a bit smokey, so bought another damaged sierra and rebuilt that engine then swapped over.
I keep it going as there's not many around and it does have a bit of character.
It's not mint, but not a complete shed either, cos it's an "E" it's got all the toys of the day, I love it, best of all it's rwd!

It's my daily driver so I appreciate the M3 at the weekends.

 

[Gib_Gib]

I always used to run bangers, partly because I like to tinker with them, the cost never really used to work for me, apart from the initial purchase price, they tended to cost me a lot, I was constantly buying new pipes seals etc for a couple of quid a go, where modern things just seem happy with a service very 6 months.

But if you get the right car they seem to just go an go, my father in law has a 14year old micra, I did a service on it about4 months ago, it was the first time someone had changed the oil in about 3 years. He spends no money on it and it keeps going. There is fun to be had in driving it too, driving flat out on twisty country roads and you are only just touching the speed limit, whereas my Megane 225 doing 60 those same roads and it just feels like a gentle cruise. There is something to be said about bangers.

I have a mate in work with a 3.0 turbo Supra, he paid £850 for it, it looks ugly, but to me that car has more Kudos than any other car in the car park.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

but you wouldnt take your runabout out on the weekend purely to enjoy the drive.

Thats where the term "runabout" comes from. Runabout to ues mon - fri to drive about it in, then an elise or something very focused to go out and drive on a weekend for no other reason than to enjoy the drive.

Exactly, I dont think Fox does much parking in random places either. Once you had some scratches on your car or find a brick sat on the passenger seat you soon realise the benefit of having a car you can use and not care about where you park.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

You dont do that in an old focus, well if you do good luck to you as the volvo bores me to death, despite having a 260bhp 5 cylinder turbo.

To be fair my Focus 1.8 Zetec is a bit of a B road weapon for what is essentially a family white goods machine. The roll control is most impressive for something that is so compliant on the bumps and offers a pretty good amount of feel.

Easy to take for a hoon and slow cars teach about driving fast as its all about momentum. Fast cars you can chicken out on corners as theres so much grunt to cancel out poor corner speeds. I can hustle my Insight through the lanes with delicate steering inputs and working within the bounds of the pretty limited grip which is pretty satisfying.