[shark]

Yes its an independent using aftermarket non BMW parts. They actually suggested it was marginal whether it was worth it. I could send you the details but academic as sold it on and it’s being taken away tomorrow

[Paul B]

What was it Shark? Another 330d Touring (which year)? I still remember your E46.

[tommytwotone]

I'm currently on the fence as to whether I should spend 10-15k and get something newer and nicer, or just spend a few grand on one of these with 150k+ on the clock. I think after 1 month of owning a more expensive car it would just feel normal and have little positive impact on my life over an old Honda...

We've just done this - spent £10k on a "nice car" back in Jan as the missus was "sick of the sheds"!

It's nice that it's newer, easier to drive, has nicer toys etc but it feels ordinary already. In addition I'm terrified to drive it as I'm worried about scratching or damaging it. At least with my sheds, if you pick up another battle scar you just shrug you shoulders and carry on.

[peewee]

I'm currently on the fence as to whether I should spend 10-15k and get something newer and nicer, or just spend a few grand on one of these with 150k+ on the clock. I think after 1 month of owning a more expensive car it would just feel normal and have little positive impact on my life over an old Honda...

In addition I'm terrified to drive it as I'm worried about scratching or damaging it. At least with my sheds, if you pick up another battle scar you just shrug you shoulders and carry on.

My Avensis has gone to to this stage in the last few years, i must admit it feels liberating to not give a toss about things like that, as long as its good mechanically it doesnt matter.

[User deactivated.]

I'm currently on the fence as to whether I should spend 10-15k and get something newer and nicer, or just spend a few grand on one of these with 150k+ on the clock. I think after 1 month of owning a more expensive car it would just feel normal and have little positive impact on my life over an old Honda...

In addition I'm terrified to drive it as I'm worried about scratching or damaging it. At least with my sheds, if you pick up another battle scar you just shrug you shoulders and carry on.

My Avensis has gone to to this stage in the last few years, i must admit it feels liberating to not give a toss about things like that, as long as its good mechanically it doesnt matter.

We have a Mazda 6 for our nice car, but it's a saloon and mostly the wife's. With the last 2 cars I've had for myself, I've had similar liberating experiences, but unfortunately they've been as bad mechanically/functionally as they have cosmetically!

First I bought a 2015 insignia estate at the end of 2021 for just over a grand with 210k on it, some rattly suspension and a slow coolant leak. I put 15k on it, the coolant leak got worse, gearbox started disintegrating, and then the brake servo failed on me, so I ended up scrapping it (got over £500!). Next I got a free Astra off my dad as he wasn't going to get much for it at trade in. This ones been a bit better mechanically, but the gearbox is beginning to struggle again at only 112k (bloody Vauxhall) and there's some electrical niggles. But a 3-door Astra is just too small to fit everything in! (the life of the modern boulderer...)

I'm never buying another Vauxhall. Now I just want bulletproof reliability, cheap to maintain, big and economical. I'd rather not look like a taxi driver, hence leaning towards Honda over Toyota, but I do keep getting tempted to spend a bit more and get another Mazda 6 in the estate version.

[shark]

What was it Shark? Another 330d Touring (which year)? I still remember your E46.

530D Tourer. Had a big spec including adaptive suspension which made the handling amazing

No point having two big nice cars now kids have left. Sonia has a Land Rover Discovery Sport so will get a small runaround like a Yaris or similar

[Paul B]

I hear the GR is nice.

[jwi]

so will get a small runaround like a Yaris or similar

I'm on my second Yaris and could not be more satisfied. I drive probably >3 times as much as the median owner, and nothing ever breaks. This can of course only be achieved by low torque and soft suspension. So bear that in mind.

[shark]

so will get a small runaround like a Yaris or similar

I'm on my second Yaris and could not be more satisfied. I drive probably >3 times as much as the median owner, and nothing ever breaks. This can of course only be achieved by low torque and soft suspension. So bear that in mind.

Agreed. My wife’s previous car was a Yaris and is now driven by our son. Over the ~14 years we’ve had it it has been very reliable

[tommytwotone]

While car searching we looked at a Nissan Pulsar. Mrs Tone didn't like it but I thought it was quite nice. There's a hot one as well (the Nismo Pulsar), but they're hard to find and therefore pretty pricey.

In the Toyota range, if you're looking Shark, what about the Auris? Bit bigger than the Yaris so might be better for pads etc.

[Bradders]

unfortunately they've been as bad mechanically/functionally as they have cosmetically!

I guess that's the issue with buying sheds that are already sheds; if they've not been looked after cosmetically they've also potentially not been cared for mechanically.

I reckon a good approach, which I've taken almost entirely by accident, is to get a reasonably nice, newer car but with decent shed potential, and just keep it as long as you can. Means you can ensure it's looked after mechanically, have all the mod cons, and in the long run probably costs the same as getting a series of actual sheds with potential mechanical issues.

[spidermonkey09]

The problem with that approach, which I agree is the best if it works, is that often it falls into what I call the danger zone for cars; not new enough to be sure it's been looked after, not old enough to ensure you benefitting from a lower price. As a result one could easily spend upwards of 5k on a car only for it to have similar issues as a 2k one might have had. Probably this can be mitigated by knowing what you're talking about (I don't!).

[petejh]

[shed science]
Everyone's definition of what constitutes a shed is probably a bit different. Here's one: the cost of buying a shed should be less than the cost to fuel it for one year - say 12,000 miles.

At 45 mpg and £1.55/l diesel a shed should cost less than approx. £2k
[/shed science]

[Paul B]

Before car prices went nuts that would seem fair. I'm not so sure now but that's perhaps because I'd buy something a little bit warm so I'm likely further down the depreciation curve (asking for a bit more trouble). Watching a few YouTube channels where they buy cars at this price point I don't see many success stories (buying from FB marketplace seems wild too).

I'm coming to the conclusion with car buying that it's better the devil you know.

[spidermonkey09]

Having never bought a car from a dealer before (always bought private previously), I didn't really know what to expect, but it probably wasn't a completely disinterested staff member, who couldn't find the keys to the car, knew nothing about it, said there was no service history when the ad said there was and then to top it off, was unable to start the car for 5 minutes due to an 'engine malfunction' warning light.

Might give that one a miss. What a good use of an afternoon 

[SA Chris]

I'd hit the ground running, and not look back!

[Paul B]

Main dealers are shocking IMO.

I had a slightly better experience at a car supermarket (in Bury) but mainly because the experience wasn't unnecessarily drawn out rather than because they were any good (they did drop the oil at my request to check a potential head gasket issue, confirming it was just condensation).

Did you decide what you're looking for? I'm currently eyeing up a Shark-mobile of the 2003 vintage. This YouTube channel is my new happy place (project Raleigh and project Cologne particularly so):
https://www.youtube.com/c/M539Restorations

[tommytwotone]

We had similar when buying our "nice car" back in Jan.

Staff members either totally disinterested or all over you like a badly cut suit, cars in terrible condition for a test drive (factory fitted toolkit, jack etc strewn across the boot, loose anyone), dealers wanting you to buy the car before they'd even assess worrying noises coming from the car on a test drive...

...in the end we looked at our Seat at a small local place on a whim, only really because it's the place my parents-in-law have had all theirs from. Owner / dealer was nice, gave us the keys and left us to it, came back and asked if we had any questions, let us test drive it ourselves on our own, and no pressure to buy / put down a deposit when we got back and said we'd got a few others to view that day.

[spidermonkey09]

Wasn't a main dealer by any stretch, more the complete opposite. one bloke in a metal 2m square shed who appeared to be the junior member of staff/owners son. bad vibes all round.

I'm still pretty open minded, which is both a help and a hindrance. Petrol estate seems to be the way forward to get round the Bradford ulez. Petrol Octavia's are like hens teeth, ditto Passats, so looking mostly at Focus estates and Subaru Legacys now. Poor MPG from a Subaru is a slight concern but they do look nice and I've always hankered after Subarus. Finding Focuses in good condition is hard as they seem to have rough lives/ rough owners!

[Bradders]

Note that the Bradford ULEZ doesn't apply to private cars, regardless of engine type.

[spidermonkey09]

Ah I thought it did for some reason. Cheers!

[Bradders]

Note that the Bradford ULEZ doesn't apply to private cars, regardless of engine type.

Also, maybe I'm completely naive as to the effects of NO2 / diesel emissions / have some confirmation bias, but I genuinely think unless you can afford to go electric (which let's be honest is a massive outlay still), a good quality diesel is a very reasonable option. A lot of them are incredibly economical and have very low C02 outputs. I just drove my 2l Skoda Superb Estate all the way from Leeds to South West Ireland (c. 500 miles), then drove it around every day for a week and a half including several longer drives and have only just had to fill it up!

[Will Hunt]

so looking mostly at Focus estates

I didn't realise that I enjoyed driving my car until I drove my wife's Focus estate. Joyless.

[SA Chris]

What engine does it have? Ours is the 1.9l diesel and while it's not like shit of a shovel, it's pretty nippy and economical.

[Paul B]

What engine does it have? Ours is the 1.9l diesel and while it's not like shit of a shovel, it's pretty nippy and economical.

They did the ST170 in the estate too. They're really rare but my experience of the 170 was not that it was boring.