Bangernomics

[BigMonty]

Well this is it. Nearly the end of the month and my work hack is out of MOT, I won't be insulting the testing station by presenting it.
2003 Citroën xsara picasso. 2.0hdi. Purchase price £450 with 12 months test. Costs: starter motor £65 and two part worn tyres £40.
Averages £50 MPG.
Current srcap offering £150.
Total years driving costs not even two months payments on a second hand vectra.

Now to look for a new " banger"

[Simmy]

Originally Posted by BigMonty

Well this is it. Nearly the end of the month and my work hack is out of MOT, I won't be insulting the testing station by presenting it.
2003 Citroën xsara picasso. 2.0hdi. Purchase price £450 with 12 months test. Costs: starter motor £65 and two part worn tyres £40.
Averages £50 MPG.
Current srcap offering £150.
Total years driving costs not even two months payments on a second hand vectra.

Now to look for a new " banger"

same here bought an audi 80 for £200 ran it for 3 years then sent it in on scrapage and got 2 k allowance against a new car for the wife.... bangernomics at its best

[Dippydog]

Can't beat bangernomics,they're all I've really ever run[most expensive car I've ever bought was an XJ6 at £1250 that I ran for 9yrs,spent next to nothing on it apart from normal servicing and sold for £750]The V70 stands me at just over £450-that's £50 purchase price with 10mths mot+things like radiator/tyres/wheel bearing/brake caliper and pads-had it nearly 3yrs now and still going strong[touch wood]Ok paintwork wise it's a dog but I'm not proud it gets me where I want to go[when step daughter isn't borrowing it]To me I could scrap it tomorrow and not really have lost a penny.

[john.wigley]

Agree with you in principle,'BigMonty', but what do you mean by a 'banger'? Nearly three years ago now I bought my Ph.1 V70 from a dealer for £550. It's a little scruffy inside (seat bolsters, broken trim, that sort of thing), but it runs well and, like your Citroen, has cost me very little; I certainly don't regard it as a 'banger'!

Regards, John.

[BigMonty]

Banger? Personally I'm not sure John.
Friend of mine drives an old N reg saab 9000. Cleanest car you would ever see, not a banger in my eyes.

[Dirty Rooster]

Even replacing the whole engine on my 940 it's been the cheapest car I ever owned : I think eight years so far : cost £400 to start with.
I hope to be able to repair this thing for many years yet.

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by Dirty Rooster

Even replacing the whole engine on my 940 it's been the cheapest car I ever owned : I think eight years so far : cost £400 to start with.
I hope to be able to repair this thing for many years yet.

And that is what it is all about really, isn't it, 'DR'? Our cars may be old but 'bangers' they are not! They are durable and can be economically repaired, unlike many more recent machines. They were expensive when new, but the quality endures long after the price is forgotten, to the benefit of owners like us.

I often feel a perverse sense of inverted snobbery in running an 'old' Volvo; I look at the new eurobox in front of me in the queue and think, well, we are both going nowhere at the same speed, but I'm doing it in greater comfort and much less cost than you.

Regards, John.

[ThomasG]

Yeah...

I wonder where do I and my car place in all of that..

Especially as its only my second car and i honestly cannot say is it cheap to run compared to others or not..
well ok... cheap it is not.. but i hope its not the most expensive either..

bought for some £800 some 5 (or 6?) years ago, with 234k miles on it
does some 16mpg London-wise and around 30mpg motorway
"road tax" £315 P/A
and in these 40k miles of ownership..
3 wishbones (2 fitted only 2 days ago)
set of new good tyres (around £250 total) and few second hand ones (another £200 or so)
2 top engine mounts
1 bottom engine/gearbox mount
rear shocks
rear brakes, sets (disc, pads, handbrake shoes)
hectolitres of gearbox fluid
55 p cost of fixing AC clutch
and £40 for AC refill
set of spare rims after one (and few months after - another one) cracked (£60 ebay and they came with 2 good winter tyres that i learned to use)
1 CV gaiter some years ago
2 CV gaiters 4 months ago (and theyve already split GRRRRR!!!!)

and now for the big stuff:
front shocks £160 est delivery wednesday
droplinks something around £30 est delivery Friday
OEM brakes discs + pads, front, £100, est delivery sometime this week

new CV boots (to be ordered yet)
new ball joints (to be ordered yet)
top spring mounts etc front suspension.. i dont know do i need these.. but may be ordering soon
rubber neck on fuel tank needs replacing- cost of part maybe "15 but to have it swapped will be painful..

and then catalytic conv rattles...
does its job, but is as noisy as a woman proved wrong
do i replace that.. do i leave it..


end of ends, I feel that even now, before i replace front suspension, car is in better shape than when i bought it

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by ThomasG

Yeah...

I wonder where do I and my car place in all of that..

It's a difficult one, isn't it, 'TG'?

I don't think that one should include the cost of consumables in any comparison, since one will need to replace tyres, for example, after 'n' years or 'x' miles in any case, regardless of the age of the car. Similarly with routine servicing and the cost of MOTs.

Commendably, you are able to do much (all?) of the work required on your car yourself, thus saving on labour charges. Perhaps you have been unfortunate in the amount of repairs necessary on your V70, or I fortunate that all that I have needed to replace in my ownership is a headlamp, which I bought second-hand very reasonably through 'Minty' on this very forum.

My previous car, a 1988 745GLE, which I bought in '98 on 96K for £1750 and ran for 18 years cost me, over 62,746 miles, from January 1st.,2000 until I sold it, £10,807.00 in fuel at 27.315 MPG, £1,576.05 in repairs, £705.87 in servicing, and £5,875.65 in fixed costs. That is a total of £18,964.57, or 30.22 pence per mile. My depreciation was an additional 2.36 pence, bringing my overall costs to 32.58 pence per mile. I believe that would soundly make the case for 'bangernomics', IF I considered my car a 'banger' which I don't! I just see it as very economical motoring - look what you've started now, 'BigMonty'!

Regards, John.

[BigMonty]

Had a similar chat with my neighbour last night, who considers anything over 3 years old a banger. He even replaces his caravan every 4 years.
I am certainly not tight or cheap, but I couldn't bring myself to loose so much money in depreciation. We have had a few years buying new cars for Mrs Monty as she does high miles and we needed something ultimately reliable and economical. The new cars ( fiat 500 and the Smart forfour) have failed this criteria completely.
They both were less economical than my old 850 tdi, the deal on the Smart is up in a year so other options will be looked at.
Anyhoo, I'm off to have a look around for the Picasso replacement, nice day for a ride out....