gargravarr
Member
I've had enough of cars, to the point where I've considered cutting my losses and giving up with driving.
Last year, in September, my precious mk4 Fiesta was written off after being rear-ended by some careless twat driving a company Astra (which annoyingly received only superficial damage). The insurance companies dragged their feet for three weeks while I drove a horrible Astra diesel (the same model as the one that hit my car!), and with the money from the write-off I bought Wildcat in October.
Next, around November, my mum's Hilux Surf suffers a valve collision, killing it. I haven't been able to strip the head back, but it's possible I messed up when replacing the timing belt or water pump, as I did both tasks myself a few months before.
My mum moved out to France and bought a British-registered 90s Nissan Terrano II. After being driven for a WEEK, the immobiliser committed suicide and locked everyone out of the car. No-one wants to know or fix it, spare parts are impossible to find as a set and the existing ECU cannot be repaired. I spent two months trying to fix it, going in circles.
Needing a car, my mum then bought a Mitsubishi L200 pickup. Me, my mum and my stepdad carefully inspected it and signed off on it. 140 miles down the motorway the engine shat itself. Possibly a snapped camshaft. Another dead car. This one, on good faith from the dealer, is having a refurbished engine fitted. I'm not holding out much hope this one won't break.
Taking a holiday in France to recover from stress surrounding my job, which I had to give up in January, I replaced Wildcat's front driver's wheel bearing, ABS sensor and track rod end. While having the tracking done, a French mechanic pointed out my rear subframe bushes were dangerously degraded. I got the car back to the UK in time for the tax, MOT and insurance to all expire at once. My gran offered to help me get it back on the road by having the bushes replaced (a £200 job). Before this job was done, the garage checked the car over and phoned me to say it was not worth even starting the job, because:
-Corrosion all over the body; door sills, driver's floor pan
-Rear brake lines and front discs corroded
-Front driver's coil spring snapped entirely
Wildcat has become a money pit. I bought it for £995. Soon after, I got a bill for £900 to do the cambelt/aux belt/water pump/clutch/both rear shock absorbers. I have had it SIX MONTHS and it's undriveable now, at least not without a LOT of money spending on it.
I live among the North Downs in Kent so there are a lot of hills around. Additionally, I live far away from everything, so I'm having to do long-distance cycling. I think if anything I'm going to take a page out of my old boss' book and buy cheap cars that I can run into the ground. A week ago I rolled Wildcat out of the garage and spent the whole day washing and polishing it. It seems to me there is no point putting any effort into a car. You just lose ridiculous amounts of money, and all the energy you spend is thrown back in your face.
Now going to look at buying a £400 diesel Fiesta. I might stand a chance of getting insured on one of those and if it breaks I'll just throw it away.
Last year, in September, my precious mk4 Fiesta was written off after being rear-ended by some careless twat driving a company Astra (which annoyingly received only superficial damage). The insurance companies dragged their feet for three weeks while I drove a horrible Astra diesel (the same model as the one that hit my car!), and with the money from the write-off I bought Wildcat in October.
Next, around November, my mum's Hilux Surf suffers a valve collision, killing it. I haven't been able to strip the head back, but it's possible I messed up when replacing the timing belt or water pump, as I did both tasks myself a few months before.
My mum moved out to France and bought a British-registered 90s Nissan Terrano II. After being driven for a WEEK, the immobiliser committed suicide and locked everyone out of the car. No-one wants to know or fix it, spare parts are impossible to find as a set and the existing ECU cannot be repaired. I spent two months trying to fix it, going in circles.
Needing a car, my mum then bought a Mitsubishi L200 pickup. Me, my mum and my stepdad carefully inspected it and signed off on it. 140 miles down the motorway the engine shat itself. Possibly a snapped camshaft. Another dead car. This one, on good faith from the dealer, is having a refurbished engine fitted. I'm not holding out much hope this one won't break.
Taking a holiday in France to recover from stress surrounding my job, which I had to give up in January, I replaced Wildcat's front driver's wheel bearing, ABS sensor and track rod end. While having the tracking done, a French mechanic pointed out my rear subframe bushes were dangerously degraded. I got the car back to the UK in time for the tax, MOT and insurance to all expire at once. My gran offered to help me get it back on the road by having the bushes replaced (a £200 job). Before this job was done, the garage checked the car over and phoned me to say it was not worth even starting the job, because:
-Corrosion all over the body; door sills, driver's floor pan
-Rear brake lines and front discs corroded
-Front driver's coil spring snapped entirely
Wildcat has become a money pit. I bought it for £995. Soon after, I got a bill for £900 to do the cambelt/aux belt/water pump/clutch/both rear shock absorbers. I have had it SIX MONTHS and it's undriveable now, at least not without a LOT of money spending on it.
I live among the North Downs in Kent so there are a lot of hills around. Additionally, I live far away from everything, so I'm having to do long-distance cycling. I think if anything I'm going to take a page out of my old boss' book and buy cheap cars that I can run into the ground. A week ago I rolled Wildcat out of the garage and spent the whole day washing and polishing it. It seems to me there is no point putting any effort into a car. You just lose ridiculous amounts of money, and all the energy you spend is thrown back in your face.
Now going to look at buying a £400 diesel Fiesta. I might stand a chance of getting insured on one of those and if it breaks I'll just throw it away.