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Is there a future for bangeromics? I dont see the cars coming out of the factories now that are suitable candidates, its all hi-tech disposables, highly efficient but antiseptic with " non viable repair" pre stamped in the service book. We should enjoy it while it lasts.
Ive ran some very old bangers, Ford Consol 375 or Hillman Minx anyone, or even a Datsun Cherry Coupe or BL minis.These cars were bought because they were what I could afford and if they broke I fixed them myself or they stayed broken. Theres a lot of satisfaction in getting an old car purring away and running like new, I enjoyed most of it but spending a weekend up to your neck in muck and bullets lying on cold damp floors so you could get to work on Monday is not so good. Paying a garage to repair a car makes it a "used car" not a true banger in my book, you need to get your hands dirty for that.LOL
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Is there a future for bangeromics?
Yes, it's choosing the right cars built up until about maybe 2008, depending on make, earlier dates for some, i agree with you few recent cars will be good long term banger bets, possibly Dacia basic models assuming the ECU's are interchangeable and not programmed to the individual car.
Those with electric parking brakes twin clutch type gearboxes and small highly charged engines won't see long service unless they get maintained well, few do.
Whatever you have thats good overmaintain with lots of TLC and rustproof them as much as you can so they last for donkey's years.
Fully rustproofed the 2005 Landcruiser last weekend, looked like a coal miner after 12 hours at the coalface afterwards but well worth doing, hoping that will last me around 10 years before needing too much work..
The govts, and their local authority disciple's, attempts to extract as much aftertax pay back into their coffers by forcing us into new cars only encourages many of us to do exactly the opposite, if they ban us from cities completely that will be a blessing for those of us who avoid the places anyway, if they ban us from the rest of the roads completely i have no doubt some sensible African chap will happily run my LC round his homeland for years to come, and i'll get an electric pushbike (used so no tax payable) and they'll get even less out of me than they do now.
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if they ban us from the rest of the roads completely i have no doubt some sensible African chap will happily run my LC round his homeland for years to come, and i'll get an electric pushbike (used so no tax payable) and they'll get even less out of me than they do now.
Electric pushbike? Nah, get yourself a pedal bike and become one of the hated amongst motoring forums :)
Electric handbrakes may continue to be refined and improved on (though I think they are utterly pointless), and the parts may come down in price. I say 'may' because DPF's still seem to be extortionate money, even though just about every member of the population has one and there must be a large turnover of the things.
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Electric handbrakes are a godsend to some. I remember my mum struggling to apply the manual handbrake using both hands with a grimace on her face.
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Electric handbrakes are a godsend to some. I remember my mum struggling to apply the manual handbrake using both hands with a grimace on her face.
Unfortunately, that is the issue here, (I'm sorry in advance if your mum actually struggled due to a medical problem). Drivers think they have to apply a force on the handbrake roughly equivalent to the torque setting of the Queen Mary propeller nut.
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Drivers think they have to apply a force on the handbrake roughly equivalent to the torque setting of the Queen Mary propeller nut.
Due to lack of proper servicing, and a poor original design isn't going to improve with age, that can be the case.
For the fair maidens in their autumn years C Class or above Merc automatics (and some other autos/hybrids with similar fooot operated parking brakes) make a lot of sense, the only time the parking brake will be needed is when parking the vehicle, where quite gentle leg pressure will apply it more than hard enough for the steepest incline.
Indeed the best and most trouble free manual parking brakes i've found have been either full drum brakes on the axle in question, or (as all our cars have oddly enough) drum inside disc design.
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Well, this has raised some issues and I'm happy to try to answer them. If I miss some points I'm sure someone will point them out.
Re DIY: yes, I've done lots of that, including rolling my stripped out M1000 over onto straw bales to get at the underside and replacing rotted out under-sections with the panels from an oil CH boiler. And - being stuck on the side of the A! - replacing a lost throttle return spring with a bit of string and the spring from a biro. And, on the last pre-natal appointment before my son was born, turning up at the clinic only a half-hour late, still in overalls and oil to the eyeballs because I'd come off night shift and had to change the CHG before we could go anywhere. Done that, been there, don't choose to do it any more. Not least because I now have a skin allergy which has wrecked my hands and is triggered by any contact with oil, etc. And, TBH, luckily I can afford to pay other people to do this stuff for me.
Re badges: they hold no kudos with me. I bought two new Skoda Felicias long before Skoda became commonplace. One of them had blues and twos fitted and I believe it was a first - an object of mirth unless it was you that was pulled up.
Re Mondeos: yes, fine cars in their way. I ran one ( a 2.0 16v auto) for a year or so (again, with blues and twos), It was OK, but not in the same league as the x-type.
Re the Jag: It was an impulsive purchase, made no practical sense (I'm in the car on my own 95% of the time, why buy a big saloon?) but, I have to say, I enjoy it. Comfort in spades, a very nicely finished interior, I can drive 16 hours and get out feeling reasonably untarnished, good performance, outstanding economy. It's worth so little that dings and supermarket car park scrapes cause only a short-term annoyance and when I've polished it I can park it, look back and admire itts curves and body lines.
It makes no practical sense to run a car like this, probably, but I think on and remember that my last bill (£320) is the same as 3 months payments on a Dacia - and I own my car, no more payments until someting goes wrong.
So I accept not 'bangernomics' in the strictest sense. But I'm running a car that cost £27,000 in 2004 I could never have afforded (and feels/drives like it) at a very reasonable cost.
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Joe would probably agree that he'd have got just as good service out of a 2004 Ford Mondeo, given that he clearly looks after his car and has a trusted garage. The X-type is better appointed and more comfortable than a Mondeo, and more of a car to cherish, so I hope it carries on going strong.
If it had been a Jaguar without Ford mechanicals, the bill might have been a lot more than £320. A well-loved X-type sounds like an excellent basis for bangernomics - an old car that doesn't look like a banger.
£320 for the work the OP had done is very reasonable indeed - I had similiar (a bit more) done on my 55-plate Mazda3 (at a main dealership though) and that cost well over £600. Maybe location was a factor, but still, if it keeps the car going for a good few years, there's little else going wrong and still decent to drive, then I agree, why not keep it.
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I'm not sure of the etiquette in reviving older threads, but I think it's only polite to respond to comments and to provide an update when posters have been kind enough to post their thoughts.
When I picked the car up after the bearings/brake job I spoke to the mechanic who'd done it (yes, he is a mechanic) and he mentioned that I should listen out for a particular noise because he thought that the f/o/s top mounting was on its way out. Sure enough, two weeks later car sounded as if the wheel was falling off. Took it to indy 11.00 on Friday morning. (I had a 300 mile trip to do on the following Tuesday as daughter was in hospital). He asked for half an hour to investigate - turned out f/o/s coil spring was broken and top mount bu**ggered.
Car was fixed by 11.00 Saturday morning. Cost was £180 inc VAT. While there I reminded him that I hadn't paid for change of oil cooler thermostat (see previous thread) despite asking for bill. He'd got a bit behind with his paperwork. Forget that, he said, I make enough money from you anyway.
Well, I did my 300 mile trip overnight mainly on empty motorways/dual carriageways. Steady at or just above speed limits, 57 mpg. 10 days of local running, school runs, etc., and 300 miles back on non-motorways and through towns brought it down to 52 mpg.
So, I had bills of £500 in a couple of weeks. I could have done without them, of course, but it could have been a lot worse and from what I read here so often with 'diagnostic' (aka 'I haven't got a clue, what does the computer say?) costs at £100 a time I think that running this car still makes economic sense. It is a joy to drive, comfortable, and on the windy twisty roads of the rural A40 in West Wales it does feel like a Jag even if it's not really!
I postponed the promised full valet until school runs with a 5 year old are over. I maintain a fixed smile as muddy shoes hit the glovebox lid.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I believe that responses deserve replies.
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Sorry to resurect my own post, but for info ...
Just done another 650 mile return trip. 50+ mpg but ...
When I arrived at my destination, 300 miles at steady 70ish on motorways, power steering failed again. Checked fluid, etc., all fine. During week of local runs, no problem.
During run home, after about 200 miles motorways, it went again. Hard work hauling it round roundabouts on 225/45x17s. Then it was fine.
Car had a new steering pump a year or so ago.
Tomorrow I'll bleed the system. This is quite frustrating, tbh.
Coincidentally, yesterday I followed a Sandero for most of the M50 and A465. 66 reg (pre-facelift), denim blue, four up. It was cruising quite happily at 75-80. Cause for thought.
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Double post
Edited by SLO76 on 08/07/2017 at 14:33
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"Coincidentally, yesterday I followed a Sandero for most of the M50 and A465. 66 reg (pre-facelift), denim blue, four up. It was cruising quite happily at 75-80. Cause for thought."
The 1.2 will happily sit at speed but being low geared it'll let you know about it. The 1.5dci is taller geared and has plenty of torque which would suit higher speed distance driving, it rides quite well too.
I bought a used Polo 1.2 TDi for commuting a couple of years ago at £7,300 and it's been a great wee motorway companion. 65mpg, good high speed stability, refined at speed, enough pull to stay in the outside lane and no major issues despite its above average mileage.
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All credit to the OP for keeping his not particularly old car on the road, but it's not 'bangernomics' . It cost him £2,700 and he's now spending hundreds and hundreds on what will soon be a jalopy.
In my view 'bangernomics' is buying a jalopy for a few hundred, then keeping it going as cheaply as possible until it needs repair costing more than around £100, at which point you discard it and get another. (The average age of our cars is 22 (TR7 37, Ford Focus 17, Audi A8 12); none of them are jalopies or 'bangers'.)
Edited by John F on 08/07/2017 at 19:44
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Point taken re 'bangernomics'. It's all relative, I suppose. A decnt set of tyres now costs more than several cars I've bought in the past.
I'm a bit frustrated by ths steering problem. Fluid level is ok, lock-to-lock bleeding revealed no bubbles, and car was fine today. No obvious cause, so do I suspect something more expensive like steering rack?
The car needs to be reliable in case I need to do a run to daughter's (600+ return) and I have been invited to Andorra in August (2500+ return). Nothing much I can do about that except to ask indy to check it over/change fluids/filters etc. but he's a mechanic not a magician.
Looking at Dacias (again) and Ambience model has gone up £500 (fair enough, it now has air-con and DAB radio) to £8000 with met paint. Also looking at Suzuki Baleno which DTD has at a good discount (26%) for not much more. Bank are offering 3.6% (I'm not a great one for PCP).
My natural tendency is to hang on to the Jag until it collapses, but at some stage it becomes a money pit.
Decisions, decisions ...
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I'm a bit frustrated by ths steering problem. Fluid level is ok, lock-to-lock bleeding revealed no bubbles, and car was fine today. No obvious cause, so do I suspect something more expensive like steering rack?
Long ago I noticed the PAS occasionally temporarily failed for a few secs (Audi 2.0GL) when I drove through a puddle - I guess it was water splash causing the belt to slip on the pump pulley. Might a squirt of belt dressing cure your problem? Is the pulley slipping on its shaft? (just thoughts - I know nothing about the Jag PAS design)
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I guess it was water splash causing the belt to slip on the pump pulley. Might a squirt of belt dressing cure your problem?
If the belt is correctly adjusted and the belt and pulleys free of contaminents it will not slip. Using a product not designed for automotive drive belts will cause more problems than it cures. I remember the link you put on some time ago, nothing to do with cars.
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Thanks for the suggestions.
Car has been into garage today - turns out the culprit was the drive belt. New one fitted - £82 inc.
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