Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Please note that it is not permitted to have referral links posted in your signature. Keep these links contained in the appropriate forum. Thank you.
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055940817/signature-rules
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055940817/signature-rules
BANGERNOMICS (sub2k) of the week/day
Options
Comments
-
I will share my bangernomics tale for those that may be interested. If all you want is to see more bangers skip to the next post now. Sorry in advance that it is a bit long winded.
August 2012, I needed a car. Saving up for a house I decided that bangernomics was the way to go. Cheap, reliable and pretty much ready to go was the name of the game.
I went for a 01' Avensis 1.6 VVTI saloon with circa 126k on the clock as I recall. There was less than a months tax on it and circa 6 months test. Advertised at €695, it needed tyres and the handbrake wasn't holding the car at all as the handbrake cable had streched. Other than that it slipped out of 4th gear unless you kept it held in. The body was not perfect but by no means terrible and the same went for the interior with a bit of trim cracked here abd there inside and the CD player not working but the radio did. I first went €600 not too much haggling and very little haggling later we met in the middle at €650...fantastic but in retrospect I was sorry I didn't start a bit lower.
A handbrake cable and rear shoes fitted for €150 and 4 new tyres for €200 brought the cost of the car up to €1,000 and I was good to go.
For the first nct I put it through in Feburary of the following year it needed a new front spring as it was oddly broke towards one end of it and also a trailing arm at the rear. The parts were around €60 in a scrappy and around €50 or €60 to fit as done by myself and cousin. I also fitted drop links in the rear - circa €14 each as I recall.
For the next test in Feb 14 it needed two front shocks and wiper blades only as I recall. The two front shocks were €95 new for the two and around €30 to fit with the cousin again. I totally forget how much the wiper blades set me back. I passed the retest but it was remarked to me that the two rear bump stops needed replacing as there was an obvious noise from them and apparently this is what causes such a noise in the Avensis as per the nct tester....but at the same time he said he couldn't fail it as he couldn't see them. Passed the test and changed the rear bump stops with the cousin after but it did not stop the walloping and we could not see anything wrong with the bump stops we took out.....anyway.
I had the car off the road for around 9 months in 2014 as was driving a MR-S. Avensis then put back on the road in november 2014.
not too long before its test in Feb of 2015 the airbag light came on. got the code and passed it onto a fellow poster here and he told me it was a faulty passenger side airbag control module. Took it out and dicked around with it for a while but to no avail. Decided to totally chance my arm and take the bulb out and chance putting it through the test. Low and behold it passed on that and with a windscreen washer that wasn't working also. What it did fail on was corrosion in the drivers side sill. Got a new sill welded on and a painted it myself - all done for around €95 -not too bad looking for the money. The car then passed the visual retest and got my cert for another 12 months or so. The guy who welded on the new sill for me said that the Avensis should certainly not rust there anyway and it looked like there was a previous repair done around the same area.
Around a month ago the exhaust came apart where bolted in the middle...fixed at a local tyre centre on a wet Saturday morning for €40. Around a week later the car started running extremley poorly. Diagnosed by a local mechanic as 2 ignition coils gone. Was driving around for a lot of a week on just 2 cylinders until I got back home and robbed two from the MR-S. Crazy I know and if another one went I would have being stranded. The same mechanic also changed the altenator belt for me the Saturday after as it was just about to snap (in fact he said it was nearly the worst he ever saw in all his years). He gave the car a general look over and alas its time to get shut of it as the list is a long as your arm and it needs the following:
two rear trailing arms;
two rear anti roll bar bushings;
two rear mounting brackets;
two rear tyres as they are just borderline but would realistically be needed for the test and if I were to keep car on road;
windscreen washer fixed and airbag problem rectified;
Lots of play in the steering rack.
I get the impression too that it needs new rear shocks even though he did not mention this to be the case.
To mention also the same mechanic being a friend of a family member did all this work for €50 including supplying the altenator belt.
They are all the major costs of items that went into the car in my ownership apart from oil and filter changes which I done myself and a coolant change done by myself also. Other than that the car has had a pretty healthy appetite for bulbs, in particular of late and as with every bloody Toyota I've came across lets water into the boot area.
Its a shame in a way to be getting rid of it as the engine is fantastic in it and still pulls really strong and very economical too. It never let me down in that sense apart from the ignition coils which are lets face it consumables. It does take a drop of oil (and always did) as do all early VVTI engines but absolutely nothing excessive. There is 160k miles on it now by the way. The gearbox is not fantastic at this stage and grinds at times and I never got the issue with it slipping out of 4th rectified as its a new gearbox realistically. The body is not super but passable with no severe rust underneath and the same goes for the interior.
However, the cost of all the above work would outweigh the economic value of the car and I believe I will do better to sell it on for maybe €3-400 (maybe I'm being optomistic here) and start again. bangernomics all the way it will be again
0 -
-
-
-
Thanks Duke
. I'm not sure I'd go as far as saying as I have formed a strong bond with the car but I appreciate the point you are making. I certainly do have good respect for it and to borrow the old cliche the car owes me nothing at this stage.
Like your own story I have not always being very kind to the Avensis. Pulling trailer loads of coal and recycables to the dump at times...and sometimes on very very rough roads too.
As it stands pretty much all the major issues are ultimately wear and tear items albeit too costly to replace in total considering what could be had for under €1,500 and what nominal amount I may get for the Avensis. She was as tough as old boots and will be sorry to see her go...0 -
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Punto with NCT until 20-08-16, taxed for a month and only 37k miles for €500
Claims there's only 1 previous owner but there have been 3.
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/97-fiat-punto/11177346
0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The old slant Saab engine is good for high mileage no problems. As long as you keep the oil nice & fresh
Personally I would pay a few hundred more for an '05 or later car with no potential sludge issues. That said the above car is probably yours for less than a grand, so we're not talking a massive financial risk here either...0 -
Advertisement
-
This discussion has been closed.
Advertisement