Viewing 38 posts - 1 through 38 (of 38 total)
  • Bangernomics – am I doing it right?
  • fanatic278
    Free Member

    I’ve had a VW Touran 56 plate for 4.5 years now. Currently at 100k miles. The first three years were faultless, but a failed turbo at about 70k miles has been the start of a series of unconnected issues.

    – failed turbo
    – three wheel bearings (fourth also needs replacing eventually)
    – new gearbox
    – three seized brake calipers (fourth is just a matter of time)
    – needs new abs wheels sensor (once I change the associated wheel bearing)

    At present it’s costing me on average £100 per month to keep it going. It’s not the main family car, so mostly it just does tip runs and bike trips. It would be my commuting car if I had a job.

    I’m definitely keeping it for now – until I get a job. But once I’m earning is it worth getting something reliable-er or is £100 per month about right?

    P.S. home maintenance is not an option. Not enough time, skill or inclination. I’m on very good terms with my local garage, so happy to keep using them.

    rmacattack
    Free Member

    you would think now though that you’ve done the work, so it should be sound. i would be gutted if i bought something else than then needed fettling.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Gearbox is the only thing I see there that isn’t wear/tear /par for course.

    Gear box and turbo going suggest it’s hard a fairly ragged life imo.

    The biggest issue is the cost for parts on VW. I sacked them off for bangernomicing some time ago as parts are expensive and they need just the same parts as every other brand.

    Remember also tourans a fairly heavy car so will be heavy on components such as suspect Such as bushes and tires and brakes.

    I do all my own spannering and budget 1k per year to keep my bangers going – and usually run a surplus. That includes not insurance and tax. So about 100 a month on repairs sounds about right If using a garage as they are 30-50 an hour for a backstreet shop even and labour adds up quick

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    oldnpastit
    Full Member

    I have a MK2.5 MX5 which is now 15 years old and has 125k on it (bought off the classifieds).

    I had to spend quite a bit to fix the rusty engine mounts (£600 when I first bought it 3 years ago) and a similar amount on a new exhaust. But generally it just keeps going.

    aracer
    Free Member

    I’m thinking that a Touran may be the wrong car to do bangernomics with. Having said that, and whilst it’s a lot more than my car is costing me, £100 a month to keep it going is still a lot less than you’d likely be paying for depreciation on something new.

    twinw4ll
    Free Member

    Sensible bangernomics, avoid German cars, simples.

    dannybgoode
    Full Member

    Better call Ling?

    Good deals in new cars apparently…

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    It’s a VW, my experience (obviously limited) is that once they get over 10-12 years, different (often costly) things start going at random intervals…

    If it’s just a basic transportation tool does it need to be something as big as a touran? The size of it means that when stuff like tyres and suspension parts need replacement they tend to be a bit more, plus it’s going to be thirstier by default…

    If size isn’t a major requirement start thinking smaller.

    I’d much prefer to drive a little petrol engined, decade+ old, euro shit-box; corsa/clio/fiesta/C2/etc, Something that’s common as muck, uses cheap tyres and is hard to get very attached to that you’ll bin if the next MOT costs more than £200 to pass… that’s just me though.

    That £1200 P/A average in maintenance costs? For that you could probably buy and insure a basic hatch with 11-12 months MOT, there’s your basis for a “bangernomics budget” how much do you think the Touran would get on Gumtree if you stuck it up for sale tomorrow?

    fanatic278
    Free Member

    To answer a few questions:

    – it costs £100 per month for everything excluding tax and insurance. So annual service and MOT are included.
    – I don’t need a big diesel. It was originally the main family car, but now have a Galaxy for those duties. Although having a big car for tip run and bikes is handy.
    – the car is a bit ageing cosmetically, so reasale is not much £1500 at a guess. But I’d need to fix the bearing and abs sensor to sell probably.
    – I don’t drive it badly. Stick to speed limits and gently when accelerating. Same for my wife. Previous owners were ex work colleagues. Not sure on their driving style, but they were French…..

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    In my experience that’s normal for a Touran.

    Just pray your ABS sensor/box doesn’t die, or the airbag cable in steering wheel, or boot gas strut mount and another clutch and turbo…

    (05 plate, 140k Touran sold three years ago in average to poor cosmetic condition with dying turbo for £1800 within 24hrs of listing an honest and blunt advert on Gumtree)

    I would look smaller, petrol and as simple as possible. A good few cars around until 2012/13 still didn’t have half the faff of modern engines….Yaris would be top of my list

    Fwiw our galaxy has been pretty blooming marvellous in the three years and 75k miles we have had it. Now on 140k and still running well. My only worry is iffy central locking…

    finishthat
    Free Member

    Based on matt_o` and op experience + a look at the honest john review I would
    get rid of it and px it for a used petrol Berlingo or similar Touran seems to be a wallet time bomb to me .

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Also avoid Mazdas, surprisingly parts are considered expensive for them as opposed to others. Plus they suffer from rust which in this day and age is pretty unacepptable.

    bigjim
    Full Member

    I think you’re spending way more than you could be, I’ve got a 16 year old Yaris and and apart from the usual annual costs of mot and a basic service etc it’s barely needed anything in ten years, just a few suspension components like a couple of coils, a damper and droplinks etc replacing and one coil pack replacing over the years, all very cheap, tyres are very cheap too. Unfortunately the rust has finally finished her off and she’s off to the scrappy tomorrow…. 🙁 but I’d never have imagined how little a car can cost to keep and run.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    dont think your doing bangernomics at all your doing .. keeping a second older car on the road..

    bangernomics is buying something for nothing and running it till it drops or next mot.. just bought a fiesta for 150 plus 30 quid tax and away you go till mot in july..pass or fail that ll be 180 quid in plus fuel.. over 9 months its 20 quid a month.. sell to scrappy if it s more than 250 for mot for min 80 thats bangernomics..

    fanatic278
    Free Member

    Not sure I’d do true bangernomics. I do want a bit of comfort and style.

    But based on feedback above I’m thinking a replacement is due sooner rather than later. Not a Yaris though – too small and ugly for me. I’ve had reasonable experience with Ford Focus and Volvos (would be a small one though). But basically would get a mid sized petrol hatchback for £3k I imagine. Whatever had good history and local. Just need a job first.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    dont think your doing bangernomics at all your doing .. keeping a second older car on the road..

    That’s what I was gonna say. And I’d rather do that than Bangernomics myself.

    £100/month on maintenance alone seems excessive to me. I’d let it go and buy a slightly newer car of my choosing.

    slackalice
    Free Member

    **** me, there’s now a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to do bangernomics. Complete with handy definition! Yay! 😉

    Chill OP, remember, there’s no right or wrong, just an infinite number of interpretations as to what bangernomics means for an individual.

    Question to ask yourself would be: “What is affordable to me and my family for us to have a second car?”

    The answer to that may well be a budget range and you can define your very own version of what bangernomics means to you.

    Personally speaking I have a basic 51 plate Focus 1.6CL estate with circa 150k miles. I cover about 8k miles per year with it, from occasional long cross country journeys to local running about stuff. I bought it 2 and a bit years ago for £900. Some may say that’s too much for their version of bangernomics. Good for them, for me, it was acceptable, especially as all it’s needed thus far is 2 new tyres, which I put on the front to replace the worn pair. It gets ‘serviced’ by the local garage once a year and each of the two MoT’s I’ve put it through have been around the £200 mark which includes welding the cill’s back together. It’s reliable, doesn’t miss a beat and as importantly for me, it’s an acceptably low running cost along with cheap insurance, tax and reasonable fuel economy. The question next September will be whether to keep it or if it’s still behaving nicely, do I spend out for a new cam belt, tensioner, possible water pump etc etc, or do I sell it on with a fresh MoT and look for another car for less than a grand?

    YMMV

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Well there’s bangernomicing and there is complete mechanical neglect and abuse.

    I like my cars reliable no matter how cheap. If I wouldn’t drive to the south of France in it tomorrow then it’s not fit for my wife to drive to work on the occasions she’s not cycling.

    geoffj
    Full Member

    I do want a bit of comfort and style.

    With a Touran 😯

    wwpaddler
    Free Member

    Sounds in the right ball park for keeping an older car on the road. I’m driving a 52 plate diesel Megane around with 150K. Had it for 2.5 years /33K costing me £75 per month for all servicing and maintenance (recon turbo was a big bill). Yours is a heavier, more complicated car so you should expect to be paying a bit more than me.

    You’ve had a few big bills – it should calm down again. I’d recalculate your average to include the first 3 years and what you paid for it / could sell it for to work out your true cost of ownership.

    RustyNissanPrairie
    Full Member

    Not true bangernomics as practised by my mate – Vauxhall Vectra, not changed oil in 5years and blocked scuttle vent holes meant inch deep water in footwell- series of holes drilled to let water out. I changed oil for him but it blew up 2 years later through general neglect. Weighed in for £75.

    Replaced with a low mileage £300 ’04 Kia Magentis that is absolutely hideous, flew through MOT, hasn’t serviced it yet despite owning for over a year. Regularly rammed with bikes and wheelspinning round Welsh trail centres. True CGAF bangernomics!

    breatheeasy
    Free Member

    Pal is just looking at a Skoda on lease for less than a ton a month, no MOT etc.

    fanatic278
    Free Member

    Pal is just looking at a Skoda on lease for less than a ton a month, no MOT etc.

    Presumably that’s a long lease/low mileage? Sounds an interesting option. Can you get some more detail please?

    woody2000
    Full Member

    Less than £100 a month? Short lease, big deposit, low annual mileage would be my guess…..

    fanatic278
    Free Member

    Thread resurrection.

    So my situation has changed. I now have a job, yay! So I have just got the Touran fixed. ABS sensor, wheel bearing, seized brake caliper, wiper linkage and oil change service. £500 – the garage were kind to me.

    I’m trying to resist the urge to sell it on. Even with the latest costs included it’s averaging £100 per month. But I fear there will be more wheel bearings to go, and other surprises. Plus I’ve had it so long I’m bored of it now.

    This is not a bangernomics replacement but I’m hitting 40 this year and my mate bought a Porsche. So I have an itch for a BMW 1 series: 2007 – 71,000 miles – £5,750

    Am I mad?

    finishthat
    Free Member

    Avoid the N43 petrol engine – terminal problems – with oil and can chains.

    zigzag69
    Free Member

    Yes. Stop comparing your car to other folks cars and stop buying German.

    timber
    Full Member

    Buy a Porsche instead, better chance of it appreciating in value. Ours worked out cost neutral, even after some big overhaul service items.

    whiterabbit84
    Free Member

    I was playing this game for a while with an 09 Golf with 100k miles.

    Changed the timing belt, water pumps, suspension coils, usual brakes / tyres etc and thought it’s all good.

    Then I had to change the clutch at £900.

    Then I had a turbo fault.

    Then I had a MAF fault.

    Then I had the MOT coming up and thought screw it and replaced with a nearly new car and am now enjoying hassle free motoring with no warning lights etc and a warranty.

    Yes I had to shell out for the new car, but I prefer piece of mind. Depends what you are changing for as if I had changed for one that was only a few years younger I could have had to repeat the process pretty quickly.

    I just got sick of all the unknown repair bills amounting to nearly £2000 in such a short spell.

    fanatic278
    Free Member

    Avoid the N43 petrol engine – terminal problems – with oil and can chains.

    Does this in the ad alleviate that concern: “Has been well looked after with a great service history including the Recent Timing Chain Factory recall from BMW undertaken at John Clark BMW Aberdeen”?

    Then I had the MOT coming up and thought screw it and replaced with a nearly new car and am now enjoying hassle free motoring with no warning lights etc and a warranty.

    Yes I had to shell out for the new car, but I prefer piece of mind. Depends what you are changing for as if I had changed for one that was only a few years younger I could have had to repeat the process pretty quickly.

    I just got sick of all the unknown repair bills amounting to nearly £2000 in such a short spell.

    I have reached this point before. The wife’s Galaxy was 6 months from new. Unfortunately it has been at the garage more than the Touran – but that’s a thread in itself! Saying that, if I could afford another nearly new car I would possibly get one. Toying with leasing, but I haven’t got my head round the economics of that yet.

    Picture of the BMW to brighten up the thread:


    pix image

    finishthat
    Free Member

    Sorry but the N43 is a lemon – there is no dipstick, the oil level sensor is unreliable and the engines can use a lot of oil – along with a weak and badly designed timing chain setup it’s not worth the risk , it may be ok now – problem is it won’t be in the future .

    sbob
    Free Member

    Am I mad?

    Yes.
    Get a V8 5 series instead. 😀

    wwpaddler
    Free Member

    Why do you think there’s more wheel bearings to go? You’d replaced 3 in your OP and you’ve just done the 4th. Would’ve thought your wheel bearings should be good for the next 80-100K.

    RustyNissanPrairie
    Full Member

    My mates Kia Magentis mentioned above is still going strong, still not changed the oil.
    Our 165k mile Volvo did a 2500mile whistle trip to the Catalan region over the Xmas hols fault free. Awesome car

    grtdkad
    Full Member

    My main car, 2004 Jaguar XJ6 3.0 V6 SE

    Gorgeous car. £3600 paid for it last year with FSH and 80k on the clock.

    fanatic278
    Free Member

    Why do you think there’s more wheel bearings to go? You’d replaced 3 in your OP and you’ve just done the 4th. Would’ve thought your wheel bearings should be good for the next 80-100K.

    Good point! I’d forgotten about having replaced the other three.

    I’ve ditched the BMW idea. No point changing an unreliable car for another one. In fact, if I’m only going to spend £5k on a new car then there doesn’t seem much sense in changing car at all. It’ll just be a lottery on whether I end up with a lemon. I have very poor track record on buying used cars.

    RustyNissanPrairie
    Full Member

    For £5k I’d buy a 2006 era low mileage one owner Volvo petrol V70, ours has been brilliant for the 8years we’ve had it, swallows bikes, crosses continents in comfort, and definitely the best engineering/well thought out and designed car I’ve ever owned and worked on.

    singletrackmind
    Full Member

    For £5k I would buy a 2006 Volvo V70 2.4 D5 manual
    The £3k change should keep it running for another 6 years or so.
    Cambelt change is 90,000 so a FSH model with 100K+ should be all together.
    Econmical, fast , comfortable, very few common faults. You just need to change the aux belt and tensioner every 60k, and PS fluid .

Viewing 38 posts - 1 through 38 (of 38 total)

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