I'm going to keep Polo for another few months. You will all think I'm wrong/mad/stupid but let me explain. (I'm about to wax lyrical about my car, so scroll on by if you dont want to read it :) )
Many of you have referred to Polo as 'a shed'. This is just not the case. Show me a nine year old Citroen Saxo or a Ford Fiesta with 100k on it that would start first time in freezing weather, run smoothly, have had nothing mechanical go seriously wrong on it and all the electrics and everything still work (I was wrong about the bulb on the dash it seems, it is working after all!)
The dent and the rust are just cosmetic for now. I'm going to put four new tyres on it this week as we noticed today that they were in more urgent need of replacement, and I'll pop him into VW Rescue in Wolverhampton next time I'm up there and they can give him the once over. Now we have a driveway to look after him on he can get regularly waxed so hopefully that will slow down the rust a bit.
My job isn't secure and I wont know which way it's going to go until at least January. I'm also still carrying a bit of debt built up during university. While there is nothing seriously mechanically wrong with Polo, I feel I'm better off paying off those debts and saving than blowing it on a newer car simply because of a panic over him turning 100,000. A bit of money spent on tyres and other minor work between now and February is different to getting committed to a loan for a newer car and realising in February that things aren't going to plan and I can't afford it.
Finally - water appeared in the footwell today. We spent a very happy morning with the Haynes manual taking the pollen filter out and clearing eight years of leaf compost out of the drainage hole to make everything run smoothly. Had that been a newer car, I wouldn't have dared take it apart, and would have had to pay extortionate garage charges just to clear some compost. Truth is, I like messing about with cars, and while I can still do the minor things on Polo like changing the brakes and wheel bearings, I enjoy it.
So Polo is saved... for now. :)
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Finally - water appeared in the footwell today. We spent a very happy morning with the Haynes manual taking the pollen filter out and clearing eight years of leaf compost out of the drainage hole to make everything run smoothly. Had that been a newer car, I wouldn't have dared take it apart, and would have had to pay extortionate garage charges just to clear some compost. Truth is, I like messing about with cars, and while I can still do the minor things on Polo like changing the brakes and wheel bearings, I enjoy it.
That's the great thing about older cars.
Maybe as long as you're realistic about what you may have to spend you should keep him till he literally falls apart? It seems you're very satisfied with him despite the faults, so once these are fixed you'll be twice as happy I imagine!
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Whoops, pressed the Post button too soon. >:-(
I was going to add some 'head vs heart' stuff, but what the hell, I've got vary sentimental towards various bikes and cars I've owned, so I'm not going to talk you out of it for purely fiscal reasons.
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Given what you say, that sounds a sensible choice to me. You wont get much as p/ex and holdingoff a couple year wont make a difference, and the cost of buying another car....
I would check ebay for a replacement alloy - you should be able to get one cheaper than the refurn cost for something that age.
Try local specialists or mobile mechanics for the shocks and wheel bearings, shouldnt be too expensive.
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There's a lot of sense in your last post Pologirl. I reckon it'd be worth keeping it going for another year, paying off as much of your debt as possible, before 'investing' in a depreciating asset (nice as the Civic looked).
I am anticipating a nasty bill today when I pick up the Barchie - new shocks,discs, pads, dent removal, window realignment and a bit of the exhaust too. Managed to source most of the parts on eBay which saved a wee bit, and the local garage seemed happy to fit them, but I fear the bill will still be pretty punchy. Still, it'll be worth it (I hope) to restore the B back to its former glory...
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::hangs head in despair::
It is a shed.........
But I can understand why you would want to wring a few more months out of it. Just be sensible with what you spend. Tyres? Having been in the infamous polo I know your driving style and you won't be needing some brand-name tyres. A budget brand will be perfectly acceptable and a massive improvement on your worn tyres.
ebay or a breakers yard for your alloy. Try silverlake (near Southampton) and Trents (Poole). Both will courier the part if you don't fancy the drive. And you may want to source the wheel before you change the tyres :o)
Ignore the rust. Seriously, just ignore it.
The door lock/alignment is simplicity itself. First, work out where your problem lies. Stand back from the car and have a willing accomplice slowly close the door. You are looking to see if the door lifts or drops once engaged on the lock pin on the b-pillar. Once you've worked out what's happening, open the door and look at the pin the door lock engages with. There should be two or possibly three allen bolts or torque key bolts that hold the pin plate in place. Get some tippex and mark the current position of the plate on the pillar (4 short lines, one across each edge onto the pillar paintwork. Now loosen the bolts a fraction and move the plate a couple of mm in the direction it needs to go to stop the door lifting or dropping when shut. Repeat until your lock engages properly.
And keep paying off that debt!
Regards as ever,
Backroom Dad. ;o)
$$
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Ah... So we're into Bangernomics now. This does make some financial sense, i would say, and probably just as much as buying a much newer Honda. $$ is exactly right in approach, although I think I'd avoid budget tyres - never found them to grip particularly well or make a car any nicer to drive - and a good coat of wax on top and underneath - different kinds, obviously - will help to slow the rust down for very little money.
You've actually chosen the route I'd probably take, but then I hate depreciation, and as you've found, most jobs on cars this age aren't hard if you're prepared to have a go. I also think you've got a lot of sense not hocking yourself up any further, particularly if the job isn't neccessarily set in stone!
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Budget tyres may not grip as well as a nice set of Goodyear Eagle F1s, but they grip better than any branded tyre that's worn to the limit...... PG has a very steady driving style and isn't prone to tyre-squealing launches from the traffic lights so I figure a tyre that's 80% as good as the best is plenty good enough.
$$
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All seems to make sense just avoid budget tyres, you don't have to pay a fortune, for Polo size tyres Firestones (F390 or F490 IIRC) are first class in wet/dry grip, perhaps don't last quite as well as Michelins though are nearly half the price.
By the way what happened re the CAT D Golf?
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Ah well, if you're going Bangernomic, then do so. I'd go for some second hand tyres - but don't stint on having the wheels balanced. [cue rant from well off types about second hand tyres. They're not that dangerous otherwise people wouldn't be able to get insurance policies to run businesses that sell them. And you wouldn't ever drive a second hand car until you'd changed the tyres.] You can probably get a FULL SET of NEW (second hand) wheels with decent tyres off eBay for a few tenners - to save your wrecked alloy.
If you can change your wheel bearings yourself, then again, off eBay, £5 a corner.
Why not buy a written off Polo off eBay? Hundred quid. solves your tyes; wheels; wheel bearings and the exhaust you're going to have to replace. Then you can break up what's left and put it on eBay... Make money out of Polo!
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"Why not buy a written off Polo off eBay"
Errr No, that level of bangernomics requires a garage
PG's plan will work if carried out. I suspect however she is too attached to him and will lavish money on him.
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>>I suspect however she is too attached to him and will lavish money on him.
But that still won't come to as much as one year's depreciation on a newer car.
Secondhand tyres - been there, done that, won't do it again. They weren't that much cheaper than budget new ones by the time you had paid for the fitting. They kept failing and having to be replaced. Go for the cheapest decent brand. Not Lucky Dragon but Hankook or Kumho or cheapo Dunlops.
Rust - spray inside the panels with Waxoyl. It won't fix the rust but it will slow it right down without bursting your budget.
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Given the points you've added in your latest post (student debt etc) you have probably made the right decision!! When my old Cit BX diesel passed 100k it needed new tyres on the back and since it had done 100k on the original Michelins (honest) I bought budget tyres at about £30 each (Miches were about £60). For my driving style they were perfectly OK and lasted until I sold it at 140k - they were Barum or something.
Phil
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