Every car is a cheap shed in the fullness of time
Thinking of getting an EV
- Thread starter danlightbulb
- Start date
Every car is a cheap shed in the fullness of time
I'm only worried about the time I have it though
Soldato
I've never had an expensive car but i have had, for my station in life anyway 
fairly nice cars, Honda DC5 when it was 5 years old an an Impreza STi which was 5 years old at the time but i rarely ever washed them and certainly never cared about where i parked them or if someone hit it with a trolley in Tesco's.
If i had the cash to splash on a more expensive car i can't see that changing, to me cars are just a tool for a job be it getting me from A to B or something to do track days in, i personally couldn't care less if its covered in scratches or mud or whatever as long as the fundamental mechanics of the car are good and it's not actively rusting the body work away. It'd still get parked as close as i can or stuffed into a hedge on the tiny lanes near where i live to pass the delivery driver in his battered van.
Saying that i did treat my 14 year old shed to the £7 hand car wash at the local immigrant car wash the other week, first time its been washed in about 5 years i think.
fairly nice cars, Honda DC5 when it was 5 years old an an Impreza STi which was 5 years old at the time but i rarely ever washed them and certainly never cared about where i parked them or if someone hit it with a trolley in Tesco's.If i had the cash to splash on a more expensive car i can't see that changing, to me cars are just a tool for a job be it getting me from A to B or something to do track days in, i personally couldn't care less if its covered in scratches or mud or whatever as long as the fundamental mechanics of the car are good and it's not actively rusting the body work away. It'd still get parked as close as i can or stuffed into a hedge on the tiny lanes near where i live to pass the delivery driver in his battered van.
Saying that i did treat my 14 year old shed to the £7 hand car wash at the local immigrant car wash the other week, first time its been washed in about 5 years i think.
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Soldato
Over thinking stuff kid.
From a car company perspective I know a full range of people how they treat their cars. “It’s not mine” seems to extend from ‘so who cares’ to ‘I best look after’.
From a car company perspective I know a full range of people how they treat their cars. “It’s not mine” seems to extend from ‘so who cares’ to ‘I best look after’.
Soldato
One of the sales directors at a company I deal with is the same, its like the car spends its life in downtown baghdad
My company car gets pampered for 2-3 years then the final year its normally picked up that many chips that its just not worth bothering with, in the last month it normally gets a full front end paint and all the wheels get tidied up. I may not be paying for it, but its still my car for the term.
Soldato
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- 23 May 2006
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I can't say I wash/wax my car as often as I should , maybe once every few months in summer and once in total over winter
my wife's car I wash even less. this is me owning our cars.
it would be the same if I leased or have a company car. dents , damage and other stuff however I would be careful with them regardless of who owned the vehicle. a bit of muck is ok, it washes off and no one is the wiser but physical damage isn't. who owns the car is irrelevant to me.
that said wear and tear happens.
my wife's car I wash even less. this is me owning our cars.
it would be the same if I leased or have a company car. dents , damage and other stuff however I would be careful with them regardless of who owned the vehicle. a bit of muck is ok, it washes off and no one is the wiser but physical damage isn't. who owns the car is irrelevant to me.
that said wear and tear happens.
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Confirmed, as seen from my workhorse mobile
Inside it looks pretty clean and un-worn, but I left the dents on the outside and haven't bothered sanding/polishing my paint repairs on it so it has random Matt patches. Gets washed maybe twice a year. I've seen people park next to me, take a look and move lol.
Not having to worry about the car is pretty liberating tbh.
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Soldato
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- 23 May 2006
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this v true . I went from having cars I loved, to having a work horse that whilst mechanically looked after I was not precious over , and now back to a nice car again, and I forgot how stressful I find it having what for me is a significant portion of my lovely hood tied into it
not enough to not own it .... but there are times parked in dodgy areas or driving down some overgrown barely fit for vehicles narrow road that I wish I was in my old (1st gen) nissan QQ
(or just last weekend driving for 90mins with an 8 year old with deli belly with a sick bucket in the back
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Don't you own your iPace tho? You only answer to yourself. My E43 has some rashes from people parking poorly next to it, when I lived without a driveway. It is just part of its story. It isn't like I am selling it anytime soon. I feel liberated vs. previous cars where I'd chase every stone chip etc. It is my work horse that is maintained to the highest standard; but I'm not getting brain fog over body work.
Interior is also spot on and immaculate, as that's in my control.
Soldato
Each to their own really and I don't see why someone else's priorities should be dictated to another.
I’ve got a similar (ish) situation to the OP and would welcome some advice.
I’m changing the location of my job and will have access to an electric charger I don’t have to pay for, this has got me thinking about leasing a new electric astra for £2000 down and £168 a month for 2 years.
Current car is a 20 year old Audi A3 i bought new and have always done very low mileage in, 84,000 from new. It’s been written off once for a cosmetic damage no fault accident and bought back from insurance company. I’m on the original clutch and exhaust, it’s been so good to me but there’s got to be some big bills coming soon.
I’ve not replaced it because I’ve never been able to justify the cost but now i think I can.
Total cost of the astra over 2 years is going to be roughly £5k and I can even claim for the little work mileage I do to bring this down.
Total estimated cost of the Audi is roughly £3k taking into account upkeep, tax and petrol.
Am i mad to not make the jump?
I’m changing the location of my job and will have access to an electric charger I don’t have to pay for, this has got me thinking about leasing a new electric astra for £2000 down and £168 a month for 2 years.
Current car is a 20 year old Audi A3 i bought new and have always done very low mileage in, 84,000 from new. It’s been written off once for a cosmetic damage no fault accident and bought back from insurance company. I’m on the original clutch and exhaust, it’s been so good to me but there’s got to be some big bills coming soon.
I’ve not replaced it because I’ve never been able to justify the cost but now i think I can.
Total cost of the astra over 2 years is going to be roughly £5k and I can even claim for the little work mileage I do to bring this down.
Total estimated cost of the Audi is roughly £3k taking into account upkeep, tax and petrol.
Am i mad to not make the jump?
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Like?
Last year saw me spend £500 or so on rear calipers, i’m now worried about the front.
It’s the original clutch, can’t be much more to go on it?
All orginal exhaust, surely something has to go on that soon, what if it’s the cat?
Maybe I’m being overly pessimistic but that worry is in the back of my mind.
When it was written of a couple of years ago the insurance company gave me £1300 for it and I bought it back for about £100! In summary the car has very little value left in it other than it’s reliability and low cost to run, that’s what i’m worried I’ll lose if I hold on to it for much longer.
Suspension - running on 20 year shock absorbers and springs is a concern
Emissions
Rust
After my earlier comments about SS benefits of new car with EU break-down included - thought this was an interesting thread on what you wouldn't get with tesla
teslamotorsclub.com
MY LR Breakdown in France. 18 months old.
We were heading to La Plagne for a week of snow for the first week of the Easter holidays... it was an incredibly wet drive. Apart from a brief interval at Reims, it was hammering down for about 7 hours. As we were heading towards Lyon we received a message saying there was an issue with the...
teslamotorsclub.com
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 May 2006
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i must admit that is really weird, you would think tesla assistence would be better features not worse.. they should just give 3 years AA assistance with a new car purchase, its not like it is a lot on the purchase price, or even just offer nothing at all, after all fairly basic bank account packages come with euro road recovery and travel insurance.
bottom line, no one should be going on a european road trip without making sure they have decent break down cover!.
for the record... by all accounts Jaguar assistance that comes with their car is superb. i never had to use it however and....... (possibly i will regret it) i didnt pay for it on my extended jaguar warranty so i guess i will never get to find out directly.
bottom line, no one should be going on a european road trip without making sure they have decent break down cover!.
for the record... by all accounts Jaguar assistance that comes with their car is superb. i never had to use it however and....... (possibly i will regret it) i didnt pay for it on my extended jaguar warranty so i guess i will never get to find out directly.
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The breakdown cover that comes with my car (Tesla) or with my lease contract will not recover/repatriate any trailers attached to the car should it break down despite it having a factory fitted tow bar as part of the lease.
So I’ve actually got 3 breakdown policies available to me on one car. At least I can race them should it need them.
So I’ve actually got 3 breakdown policies available to me on one car. At least I can race them should it need them.