I'm in the position of trying to get my car back on the road, after having been off it for a while simply because i couldn't afford the costs of running it, what with the insurance hikes and so on.
Now, of course, I have to afford MOT, tax, insurance etc etc etc - and it's not going to happen any time soon.
I love my car and i sort of like driving too. sometimes.
To everybody that is worrying about their next car, their petrol consumption, or whatever else worries your wallets, just be thankful that u have a car on the road. Buses and taxis are hell.
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Buses and taxis! I'm down to a pushbike !
Cue '4 Yorkshiremen' sketch....
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Push bike?? That's luxury. I have to put cotton reels on my shoes as roller skates are too expensive :-)
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Welcome to the forum, there is little "luck" involved, (in my case anyway), I worked to be able to afford my car. I, and many others here have been in the fix it yourself or walk situation so we know how it feels.
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...there is little "luck" involved, (in my case anyway)...
I don't think you're really arrogant and deluded enough to believe that, ON. You were born into one of the wealthiest nations on earth, in time to profit from the most economically prosperous period in human history. (Whether or not that prosperity was sustainable is another question, of course, but you've got your slice of it to keep.) You could much more probably have come into the world in circumstances where no amount of the hard work you congratulate yourself on would have got you anywhere near your present comfortable situation.
Even where you can identify areas where your own efforts made the difference between success and failure, I'll be amazed if there's nothing that began by simply being in the right place at the right time. I know there's plenty of that in my life, which is more comfortable than most.
Ed Smith's book What Sport Teaches Us about Life is well worth a read on this subject.
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>> I don't think you're really arrogant and deluded enough to believe that, ON. You were
>> born into one of the wealthiest nations on earth, in time to profit from the
>> most economically prosperous period in human history.
Granted, but personally I was not given anything in life that I did not work for and earn. Unlike a good proportion of the population today. I have travelled extensively and have seen real poverty, even in supposedly advanced nations like the USA.
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>> >> I don't think you're really arrogant and deluded enough to believe that, ON. You
>> were
>> >> born into one of the wealthiest nations on earth, in time to profit from
>> the
>> >> most economically prosperous period in human history.
>>
>> Granted, but personally I was not given anything in life that I did not work
>> for and earn.
But you were given the opportunity tho ON, a subsequence of the moment in history.
We were lucky to live in those times.
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"Buses and taxis are hell."
No, buses are sometimes an inconvenience. Taxis are a luxury
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Buses here in my neck of the woods are well organised.Have used them a few times.
In my younger days cycled for ten years 20 miles a day back and forth to work.We used to do our shopping with a couple of hand trolleys once a week and managed well.
You adapt what you can't afford you live without its really very simple.
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I do appreciate my motoring luck, since i bought my first car the only time i was without one for a while was back around 1980, mortgage rates rising, one child and one the way and me the only breadwinner.
Used a moped to get to work or walked, probably 2 years without a car.
Evetually spotted a LandCrab Austin 1800 with a faulty clutch, replaced that which wasn't the easiest of jobs i assure you and got her running right again, that put wheels on the road again, and one of the best family cars of it's day.
The only reason i could afford to keep running cars whilst raising a family and buying a home was by working 2 or 3 jobs and kerbside cowboying, i regret not going down the route of going full time and establishing a proper workshop, i had numerous regular customers and looked after their cars very well, such is life and it's mistakes.
Those days have returned if you want to afford the luxury of car, it was never feasable to afford a comfortable life on a 39 hour week in the past, the same is true again.
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>>LandCrab Austin 1800 with a faulty clutch, replaced that which wasn't the easiest of jobs
Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. I used a bit of 4"X2" across the top of the wings, with padding underneath, to take the weight of the engine. I still ended up with 4"X2" dents on the top of each wing. There's a large nut that has to be undone on the input shaft (?). I couldn't shift it and ended up hacksawing it off. It took me a week of evenings after work. It's etched, indelibly on my mind!
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>> It's etched, indelibly on my mind!
>>
No doubt got the aches and joint wear to prove the years too Tom, i know i have.
I hired a proper 4 leg tower so had to do the job quite smartly, took me a whole weekend though, found the roller bearing in nylon? drive shaft couplings easier than the rubber jobbies to get in and out.
Obviously i took the engine and box out to do it so there must have been something else needed doing, but i can't rember now, maybe i slipped a set of shells in too.
It was possible to do in situ wasn't it?
Stupidly when the 1800 was coming to the end of it's life i bought a faulty 2200 Landcrab cheap, glutton for punishment me..;), that had it's mains rattling so a full strip and overhaul was needed, well Hepolite rings and new shells anyway.
That's when i found that the 1800 engine box weighs about half the 2200's, probably the worse job ive had to do....22 pint oil capacity out of interest.
Looking back the two cars i regret buying the most are the 2200 and the Rover SD1 2300, which was simply awful.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 23 Oct 11 at 11:45
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Ever take the engine out?
You hire the hoist, remove everything as instructed, lift it and........the back of the gearbox won't go past the curved bulkhead at the rear. BMCs shoved 'em in with the subframe from underneath.
Solution? Lift entire assembly off floor with crane and get two fat mates to bounce on the wings 'til the car drops off. Beat dent into bulkhead with club hammer before reassembly.
Worst part of that car was when the flywheel ring gear wore. Of course this generates a "flat spot" right where the engine usually decides to cease revolving, leading to a slight grinding noise and nothing else on operating the starter.
Solution: Stall car on clutch, if forgotten to stall car on clutch, swear a lot, sigh heavily, put car in gear and push it to move the engine round a bit. Needless to say, moving an Austin 1800 in gear with only one teenager power at your disposal is a tad difficult......
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Brilliant TC, i ended up keeping a Bendix spring compressor and spring in my normal take with me everywhere toolkit, you could change them without but risked plunging sharp screwdrivers through hands, knees, arms, wobbly bits etc when they slipped which they always did, saved on mucho cursing too.
By the way, sods law...you're under your bonnet tinkering away, haven't seen a soul for hours, you skin a knuckle or similar nasty let out a curse and at that precise moment a nice looking lady or the vicar walks past from the blind side at exactly the wrong moment, i could write a book on faux pas.
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The way to remove the engine on the 2000/2500 Triumphs was from underneath.
Fairly easy on a four-poster ramp.
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>> The way to remove the engine on the 2000/2500 Triumphs was from underneath.
>>
>> Fairly easy on a four-poster ramp.
>>
>>
>>
I removed the engine on my 2.5PI saloon by jacking up the front, dropping the engine and removing from underneath.
Single handed.. And repaced it as well after new Cord rings and reground crank.. and rebuilt cylider head. It was an early one and went like stink after that...
I was young and strong then :-)
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>>there is little "luck" involved, (in my case anyway), I worked to be able to afford my car<<
>>In my younger days cycled for ten years 20 miles a day back and forth to work.We used to do our shopping with a couple of hand trolleys once a week and managed well<<
Get the violins out!
:-D
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...In my younger days cycled for ten years...
You'd be lucky to keep hold of a bike for 10 minutes where Dog comes from.
Unless you were connected to one of the crime families.
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Bought a new bicycle a couple of days ago.I feel like a king High viz jackett,hope I don't get fined for speeding:>)
I know all about rough areas grew up in R/Dam south my mate was a hell of a fighter looked after me.
By the way Its a Dawson the Duchess i be posh.Got a female bike couldn't get my leg over..;)
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>> Get the violins out!
>>
>> :-D
>>
Just keep laughing, those days are going to return with a vengeance, some of us have been there and know what to expect.
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...those days are going to return with a vengeance...
Nah, just borrow more money.
Pass the meze, would you?
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I like violins they used to make our dogs howl.Talking about rough areas the old man used to go drinking in the rough part of London.He flattened a bouncer once who started on one of his crew.>:)
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Many do without holidays and quit smoking to run the car, but not quitting BEER.
Rang a taxi last week he told me it's a bit quiet now when once there was a good wage to be had not anymore.
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>>Talking about rough areas the old man used to go drinking in the rough part of London.He flattened a bouncer once who started on one of his crew.>:)<<
Probably Bermondsea where I come from :)
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>> Probably Bermondsea where I come from :)
>>
Down by the miles of sandy beach then...;)) sorry D, i couldn't resist.
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The Island of Bermondsea if you don't mind! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermondsey
Not that far from the Isle of Dogs :)
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...The Island of Bermondsea if you don't mind!...
If you were still there Doggo, I reckon you'd just be coming home for lunch after the Sunday market and a couple of light ales in a disreputable establishment.
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Well this is where we used to live g.co/maps/ssx6z the boozer was called The Golden Fleece then,
We lived on the top floor, no lift, put ya rubbish down the shute, 3 kids to a bedroom (+ the bugs)
no double glazing/central heating,fitted carpet (any carpet!) no phone, no telly, no car (how did we live!)
Then things started to get worse :(
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...Well this is where we used to live...
Was that Peabody or local authority?
I think I've been in The Golden Fleece, I used to drink occasionally in the estate pubs around there.
No problems if you knew what you were doing and behaved yourself.
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>>Was that Peabody or local authority?<<
LCC (London County Council)
The Fleece was OK, I don't recall any trouble in there back then unlike The Temple Bar in the Walworth Rd.
and The Apples and Pears on the Bonamy Estate ~
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1558499
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...The Temple Bar in the Walworth Rd and The Apples and Pears on the Bonamy Estate...
I didn't know the area that well, but always felt OK in Bermondsey and the Borough, unlike parts of Walworth and Peckham.
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>>always felt OK in Bermondsey and the Borough, unlike parts of Walworth and Peckham<<
The 'ag' was there, if that's what one wanted, but you (like me) never went looking for it and so never found it :)
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...but you (like me) never went looking for it and so never found it...
Quite right.
I can recall making an orderly withdrawal a couple of times when things were starting to get a bit lively.
Never left a pint - there are limits - but I finished it quickly.
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>>I can recall making an orderly withdrawal a couple of times when things were starting to get a bit lively never left a pint - there are limits - but I finished it quickly.<<
I remember once upon a time I was downing a few in The Charlie Chaplin down The Elepant and Castle,
A 'mate' deliberately nudged me which made me spill beer over a chap who was seated,
could easilly have turned nasty couldn't it!!
I suppose I've always looked a bit dangerous you see where as in truth I'm a gutless wonder :-)
Bit like my dog - he looks the part alright, but he takes after me LOL.
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>> A 'mate' deliberately nudged me which made me spill beer over a chap who was
>> seated,
>> could easilly have turned nasty couldn't it!!
That happened to me at some party years ago. My mate spilt my pint over another bloke from school who'd been getting increasingly moody over the year for some reason. I said it was a mistake but he wouldn't have it and gave me a slap (better than a punch I s'pose). I went for him but my mates pulled me away, so nothing happened. Anyway he had the stuffing kicked out of him by a tall bloke in the classroom a few weeks later, so that was good enough for me :)
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My ole mum used to say "When the beers in, the wits out" ... she worked here b4 I was bjorn ~
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_Brewery,_Southwark
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>>
>> I can recall making an orderly withdrawal a couple of times when things were starting
>> to get a bit lively.
>>
I don't have any children either.
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>> Not that far from the Isle of Dogs :)
>>
Used to take leather shavings there, Bermondsey, once a week about 28/30 years ago, get about 18 tons on an artic bulk tipper before it went too high to get under the gantry at the old as the town itself works.
That was when we still had a vibrant boot an shoe industry.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 23 Oct 11 at 13:48
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London great city.Underground colour coded spot on.River Thames,One of our lads used to live in Fulham close to the stadium.Diversity nightlive easy flights to the continent.
Expensive housing do..:)
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I ran my IT support business for about two and a half years without a car and it could be hell, I would have to allow hours between jobs and rely on lifts etc.
Now I have a car life is so much better and couldn't do this job without it anymore. I am lucky where I live in having a very good tram service into the city centre, and I also have a half decent bus service (its regular but slow is not the word it is marginally quicker than walking in rush hour).
However if I had a 9-5 job in the city centre there is no reason whats so ever I would need a car, as it would be an expensive luxury. I am paying almost £100 a month in petrol alone at the moment, then I have insurance, loan payments etc on top of that.
I like to think costs will go down when I own the car (no loan) but buy then it will start needing new tyres and pads etc.
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>> then it will start needing new tyres and pads etc.
Which won't cost as much as the finance repayments, I'm sure.
Just had two part-worn 205/55/16s put on the Mondeo, 35 quid each. I can handle that twice a year.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Sun 23 Oct 11 at 16:20
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Very cheap on the Panda, even brand new decent brands are only £40 a boot.
In fact all the consumables are dirt cheap, it is if something big goes wrong such as a problem with CANBUS I dread. It is where the man maths kick in, but I can only really justify risking it and keeping it for years.
Who knows by then I may have a 9-5 or work in an office where I don't need a car.
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I keep thinking that if or when I didn't do what I do, that a small car like a Panda would make a lot of sense. Indeed when I've had them as hire cars I've not felt deprived, on the contrary there's something quite pleasing and refreshing about a nippy little hatchback. They are sort of the friendly terriers of the car world I suppose.
However, as was evidenced by even my couple of years with the Qashqai, which was not that small, but was a size smaller than I'm used to, and indeed even on a personal level, I missed the sheer usefulness of a large car. I've only had a large estate again for a couple of weeks and already it has proven invaluable. It seems to me that I regularly have a need to shift "stuff" for some reason. Must be me.
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No the small size is a bit of an issue even for me, I can't carry all the stuff I would like to, and when it came to kitting out my workshop I ended up buying all the wood from B&Q and making the desks myself.
I was amazed that 2.5 metre CLS planks fit in the Panda perfectly though with the tailgate shut.
I just want to get to the stage where my total motoring costs are less than £1500 a year.
I really should also try and cut down on my car use, peaked at 150 miles this week and about 40 of them where not strictly essentially. The problem is public transport for the occasional use is very expensive so when all the fixed costs are applied, driving is still often cheaper.
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Rats, I don't think that your car will ever need new tyres !!
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Been doing 100-150 miles a week lately, 500 a month is now average so the car will probably easily see 40k while I still own it.
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i hadn't thought i would spark a long debate like this.
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>> i hadn't thought i would spark a long debate like this.
>>
And thats on a Sunday, often a quiet day here. :-)
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>> i hadn't thought i would spark a long debate like this.
Not so strict here HF, no-one chops you off at the knees if the thread drifts,
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>> car will probably easily see 40k while I still own it.
ROFL, Oh dear oh dear, < drys eyes with shirt tail > Never laughed so much.
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Not sure why its so funny, many people buy brand new cars every three years and the car would have covered barely 20,000 in that.
My dads only covered 30,000 miles in the Fiesta he has owned for over four years.
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Your quoted monthly mileage come out at about 6k pa. Long time to get the PAnda to 40k.
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It was funny because you have no chance of doing 40k miles, at the speed you drive it would take 10 years.
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Doing about 6000 at the moment if I keep this busy, also driving more than I used too as well which bumps up the mileage.
I plan to keep the car until it falls apart, and as age kills cars more than mileage I may be lucky to get ten years out of it.
I certainly have no plans to buy a new car for the sake of it, or because I fancy a change.
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>> be lucky to get ten years out of it.
Actually Sheikha if you drive it right and look after it properly - two biggish ifs but you could do it all right if you concentrated - it could last you until retirement.
I can imagine you an elderly Ted in forty years' time getting Neo€23 trillion or more for it - enough to renew all your Neural Apps and pay for a new body modelled on the very handsome but alas dead Mutassim Gaddafi - as a rare unmolested classic...
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Neo€23 trillion or more for it as a rare unmolested classic...
... accompanied of course by a thick wodge of maintenance and restoration bills totalling, whan all the conversions have been done, even more than Neo€23 trillion.
But I don't wish to alarm you. There will have been a bit of inflation along with any other changes. 23 trillion Neo€ won't compare with what 23 trillion NewAsian€ will have been worth in the thirties and early forties. Even so I feel you will be pleased by the price you get for the Panda.
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If I am around in ten years time then I suspect by then I will want a change anyway, and with petrol costing £12 a litre, only electric cars will be on the road anyway.
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>> >> car will probably easily see 40k while I still own it.
>>
>>
>> ROFL, Oh dear oh dear, < drys eyes with shirt tail > Never laughed so
>> much.
>>
X2, I usually bin my cars at five years or 100,000 miles. The last one went at 5 years and 75,000, I must be slowing down since I retired. :-)
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There's a few miles to be done in Scotland if you want to get anywhere.
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Scotland do they speak English?I struggle to understand Alex Ferguson sometimes must be me ..;)
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>> Scotland do they speak English? I struggle to understand Alex Ferguson sometimes must be me ..;)
>> You'd struggle to understand him today, me ole Dutch........Gibbering wreck after being shafted 6-1 by the wonderful blues !!
Oh, and I believe Chelsea got tonked as well.
Ted
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>> Oh, and I believe Chelsea got tonked as well.
At least the Chelsea fans won't feel so bad when all the Man U fans get back home :)
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I watched Ajax play some local team with my brother.I kept nodding off very skilfull but boring no flow in the game.Bobby Robson got the most out of a Dutch team,what a coach to PSV Eindhoven.I miss Robson sincere man.
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>>Oh, and I believe Chelsea got tonked as well.
We was "Tonked" by the ref!! - thats why even after a 6-1 thrashing, Fergie didn`t look too unhappy as he walked off the pitch! - he knew what was coming!! He doesn`t sign players, he signs officials!! (allegedly)
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But I do spend a lot of time in my car, at least 90 minutes per day, usually doing 0mph and 0mpg stuck in traffic.
If you live in the countryside or more remote places you will have to do a lot more miles.
Last edited by: Webmaster on Mon 24 Oct 11 at 13:16
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>> But I do spend a lot of time in my car, at least 90 minutes
>> per day,
>>
Blimey Rattle, I spend that amount of time in the car on lunch and tea/fag breaks alone.
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Yeah but you may have a job which involves a lot of travelling :). Mine only involves local travelling, usually a job is no more than 3 miles away.
If you're a rep or a sales person then you will spend a lot of time in your car, for most people though car is just a tool to get to work. I have no idea what the average is, but I suspect UK wide 90 minutes is average. With some doing a lot less, and some doing a lot more.
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>> X2, I usually bin my cars at five years or 100,000 miles.
Cripes, you must be hard on them, they should last at least ten years, it's not as if they have to do much stop start where you live.
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>> I've only had a large estate again for a couple of weeks and already it has proven invaluable.
>> It seems to me that I regularly have a need to shift "stuff" for some reason. Must be me.
I've always seen myself as an estate-car sort of person - in fact of the 4 Mondeos we shortlisted the one we bought was the only non-estate. Almost all of my taxis (Mondeo I, Octavia, 406) were estates too, as was the Rover 418 before the Escort...
Ironically, in 8 months of Rover ownership I only had the seats down once. My dad's C-class estate has been the same, he's had it 7 years and had the seats down only a handful of times. Must *not* be us :)
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You're all so lucky!!! - spamcan61
