Bangernomics

[Dureth]

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 17 year old Toyota MR2 I picked up for £600, yes I do care about cars and you can't in a million years say its "the worst possible car".

That accolade goes to my Mitsubishi Carisma with the broken maf sensor, kangaroing down the road with a squeeky alternator belt!

 

[snowdog]

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.

A 15 year old car costing bugger all can still be a much better car than a brand new Kia Picanto or whatever.

Besides, I like most mid 90's cars far more than most 2010 cars...

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

Money doesn't grow on trees... Do you think I'd still drive the same car if I could afford something better ?
Your definition of ''worst car is also different than mine, in my eyes a brand new eurobox is **** compared to a 15 year old full sized luxury car or sports car.


I'm still at a point where I can enjoy driving any car that has more than say, erm, 60 bhp (probably even less)... Even if it's an under powered city car with a 3 cil engine, I can still ride it like I stole it .

It's not that I don't have better things to spend on, I just don't have any more to spend, I spend most of my money on driving and parking near uni, because I prefer it over public transport.

 

[Jonny ///M]

I can understand why people do it but it would have to be some sort of middle of the road thing for me. I would happily drive an old car if it was all I could afford but I also want it to be safe,reliable and have some modern day comforts older cars just don't have. I wouldn't like a 205 but I wouldn't mind a 405 for some weird reason :S

I don't get the people who say we must drive old cars or the ones that say old cars are more fun. Same goes for people who absolutely must have the newest plate, why oh why!

 

[snowdog]

I can understand why people do it but it would have to be some sort of middle of the road thing for me. I would happily drive an old car if it was all I could afford but I also want it to be safe,reliable and have some modern day comforts older cars just don't have. I wouldn't like a 205 but I wouldn't mind a 405 for some weird reason :S

Older cars can have easily more comforts than a brand new car, be safer, and reliability isn't really an issue with some older cars ( notably Japanese ones).

I don't get the people who say we must drive old cars or the ones that say old cars are more fun. Same goes for people who absolutely must have the newest plate, why oh why!

More sense of danger, no driver aides, not even power steering, driving my mates 198x something mazda 323 coupe certainly felt completely different. Ragging it about was quite exiting.
Also, believe it or not, fixing your own car really feels great, older cars are often easier to fix than modern cars. Buying a car that is potentially unreliable is an adventure.

 

[-Ad-]

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?

Ahhh, you can tell when the school holidays come around

What do you drive (if you are old enough that is), I presume something like the latest M3, or is it more like a hyundai i30 or possibly a daweoo 'genericexia'?

I have read your other posts, but it is worth picking up on the stupidity of the first one

 

[Matt82]

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?

i take it youre one of those types that look for "low mileage minters" too eh?

 

[4T5]

Personally I just got the best motor For ME for the Money I had at the time, I do like a Bargain though.
There are not many cars on here or out there than can match my MPG which means I get to use my car Properly, I can go anywhere I want any time I want without worrying about how much it will cost me.
Because I bought cheap it left me the cash to sort the motor out properly when I got it so now it has New wheel bearings all round & new 15 inch Uniroyals all round, I've done the Cambelt & pulley & even slung some semi synthetic in when I serviced it & there was some spare cash left for a Brand new stereo & speakers. I've done over 10k since having it & stuck another MOT on it.
Now I could have used my money to buy a later car but would that have new bearings/cambelt/pulley/tyres/stereo/speakers & get through another MOT ?

I know my car inside out & it suits me Perfectly & Yes I do like/Love my little Matchbox car for the road.

 

[AtomicBanana]

My car just rolled over onto 165,000 miles recently, pocket change by some people on here I'm sure

It's also 20 years old. As others have said, with the kind of budget I have to spend I prefer old cars. They are more exciting to drive (no driver aids), easier to fix, and in my case uber reliable anyway.

 

[bam0]

My last car was a 22 year old mk2 VW Scirocco that cost me £400. It got me to the Nurburgring and back without any problems, was in great condition for its age and fun to drive. I also like to work on my cars myself, easier to do when they're older. Plus I really really hate depreciation. While I did commute in it and did a couple of long trips (apart from Germany), my wife has a mk3 Mondeo.

 

[AtomicBanana]

Oh yeah, I forgot depreciation. Both cars I've owned have had next to none (except of course when I crashed this one *cough*),

 

[Busa]

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 dont like to drive cars but i need one for transporting the wife and kids...its a tin box with wheels and it does a job...i prefer to use my motorcycle if possible.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I dont like to drive cars but i need one for transporting the wife and kids...its a tin box with wheels and it does a job...i prefer to use my motorcycle if possible.

If your only reason for a car is to transport your family would you not rather transport them in something that wont fold like a paper bag and cause them serious harm in the event of a non-fault accident?

If I hated cars and wanted to carry my family around I'd just buy a £6k Focus or Corolla or something and be done with it.

Using £100 cars as the family transport just seems like quite a risk.

And before everyone says PEOPLE MANAGED FINE IN THE OLD DAYS well, they didnt, check the accident statistics.

 

[Jez]

***** 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.

Agreed, this is the way i will always run cars if i ever am to buy a very cheap one. Given the beautiful 7's and S's available for beer money this is always the way i will go. My own S-Class is fast going the same way, its next owner will get it for peanuts when i am done with it, and i am sure it will still be a gorgeous car.

 

[[TW]Fox]

***** Prestige requires a certain mindset, though - you need to be able to budget for the fact the running costs don't decrease as value decreases and any savings made through not needing to dealer service it tend to be replaced by the increased need for repairs.

The problems happen when somebody with £1250 to spend on a car decides to buy a £1250 200k mile 528i and then cannot afford to run it.

However, if you've got £2500 to spend on a car, then a £1250 528i becomes a viable option..

The choice should always be, for example, '£5k normal car or £3k ***** prestige car'.

 

[Jez]

I guess for £1250 you drive it ignoring faults until it either fails an MOT on something expensive, or literally will not move any more. I think with kitch's 528i its a matter of just hoping nothing too big dies, DIY'ing it from breaker or euro car part parts for as long as possible, then writing off the £1250 whenever you have to.

The mindset of keeping a car like this mint and fully functioning has to go out of the window.

 

[Joshy]

If your only reason for a car is to transport your family would you not rather transport them in something that wont fold like a paper bag and cause them serious harm in the event of a non-fault accident?

If I hated cars and wanted to carry my family around I'd just buy a £6k Focus or Corolla or something and be done with it.

Using £100 cars as the family transport just seems like quite a risk.

And before everyone says PEOPLE MANAGED FINE IN THE OLD DAYS well, they didnt, check the accident statistics.

Not everybody has £6,000 to spend on a car.

You seem to be making some sort of connection with £Price and Safety. £500 will see you in the driver's seat of something along the lines of a MK2 Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna or old Audi A4. These cars may "only" have 3 NCAP Stars, but they are far from "Folding like a paperbag" in the event of an accident.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Not everybody has £6,000 to spend on a car.

You seem to be making some sort of connection with £Price and Safety. £500 will see you in the driver's seat of something along the lines of a MK2 Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna or old Audi A4. These cars may "only" have 3 NCAP Stars, but they are far from "Folding like a paperbag" in the event of an accident.

No, I am saying that a £100 Proton is 'not safe in an accident' and a £6k Focus is 'safer in an accident'. Many people with £100 cars do not fix them - they wait until they dont work and throw them away and buy another one, complete with yet more mismatched superbudget tyres, etc etc. Because lets face it you are not going to put a full set of decent tyres on a £100 car for example, as it defeats the object of the excercise.

It is motoring on a shoestring, which I don't think is particularly sensible for the family car.

Great family runabout there. Simply smashing.

 

[Joshy]

I guess for £1250 you drive it ignoring faults until it either fails an MOT on something expensive, or literally will not move any more. I think with kitch's 528i its a matter of just hoping nothing too big dies, DIY'ing it from breaker or euro car part parts for as long as possible, then writing off the £1250 whenever you have to.

The mindset of keeping a car like this mint and fully functioning has to go out of the window.

No, it doesn't.

Just because you choose to drive cheap cars doesn't mean that you automatically accept less from your cars.

 

[[TW]Fox]

No, it doesn't.

Just because you choose to drive cheap cars doesn't mean that you automatically accept less from your cars.

Yes, it does.

If you wish to keep a £1250 528i 'mint' and 'fully functioning' over the space of a year or two it will turn into a £3000 528i very quickly. You need to ignore stuff like the suspension being baggy, the rear window motor having failed, etc etc because if you spend money sorting it, it is no longer cheap motoring.

 

[Jez]

No, it doesn't.

Just because you choose to drive cheap cars doesn't mean that you automatically accept less from your cars.

Yes it does, keeping a beer money S500 fully functional will cost thousands - i speak from personal experience of running an S-Class for the last 70,000 miles and being anal about its condition and functionality.

Keeping it simply "running" would cost very little really in comparison, and is how you HAVE to treat a ***** prestige if you want to keep it to the point, that point being cheap.

Edit, echo fox's post above.