Getting rid of my old car

The cost of the car,the MOT and the price I sold it on for, it excludes insurance and fuel.

I also relearnt to drive in it too

 

Ok, but what about the time you put in doing repairs?

It all has to figure into the equation, especially if you would otherwise be doing remunerative work....

 

but I learnt quite a lot during the process and if my new car develops the same faults I know where to look so hopefully saving potentially expensive garage costs .

 

Yes, reasonable point running a car is certainly a learning process/curve.

I should think a fiesta is a bout the best car for that, probablya very good choise, for its simplicity. (When I started it out it was reckoned to be the mark 2 escort 1100/1300 RWD. Going back a bit!)


http://www.channel4.com/4car/ft/feature/retrospective/1686/3

 

Yeah what I like about my new car is the camshaft is chain driven so its one less thing to worry about (they rattle when they get warn you so have a lot more notice) even the head gasket is an easy job on them.Will just need the valve clearances adjusted every year for about £25 to keep it in good mechanical order.

Parts a dirt cheap too.

My mate once had a K reg Fiesta 1.1 (Kent) with a dodgy carb, manual choke, it was so basic you didn't even get a glove box or carpets reminds that Escort popular in the link.

 

What does relearnt to drive mean?

 

Well if you don't drive for years its not like riding a bike, it takes a lot of practise to get back into it again.

 

I always fancied a Mexico in those days...got the 1600 OHC cortina engine (in 95BHP form ) .....NOT the 1600 pushrod kent.... (+ not a lotus engine as in the mk1)

http://www.rsownersclub.co.uk/car_info/esc2mex.htm


...never happened !



edit;I correct myself...the mk1 DID use the kent push rod 1600, it was the RS1600 which used a cossie engine (+ ran on 5 star fuel for its sins!! )

 

Quite a high spec engine for 1976, my dads 16V twin cam 1.6 Escort only produced 90bhp and probably had less torque and was a lot heavier due to all the safety features and electric windows etc.

 

Frankly I I'd forgotten it gave 95 (or 90)......my brothers mk3 cortina 1600 got 72 IIRC.

It rings bells now.....

I dont think the engine was heavily tweaked at all....i think it got a Weber twin choke carb (I think the cortina had a solex thing)...whether that gave it the extra 23 bhp ...

The beauty of the mk 2 mex was that it basically a pretty standard car.

 

"but I learnt quite a lot during the process and if my new car develops the same faults I know where to look so hopefully saving potentially expensive garage costs" .... quote Mr Amazingtrade.

Mr AT, in this day and age, very few cars need repairs. Good manufacturing backed up with routine servicing results in cars running forever.

You are doing something wrong.

Regards

Mick

 

yep - buying old bangers...

 

Yes, Mick new cars are pretty good these days, agreed, but (with all due respect)could you afford a new car when you first started out?

 

Austin 7s weren't that expensive then.

 

It is all relative though . Modern engines are a lot better but with more complex engine management systems things do go wrong.

I bought a £850 car, it needs a £40 part its hardly a head gasket job,.