http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=31528

 

Looks alright for the money especially with quite a few of the important/common jobs done!

Shed of the week oh dear its younger than mine!! Great car for the money though is there a better used car bargain right now?

I do keep looking at mine that been off the road for nearly a year now and thinking what a shame it is as there is actually nothing wrong with it apart from a bit of paintwork that a friend is sorting at the moment,

 

There alot of car for not alot, Its just the tax and insurance that i find hard to stomach

I do keep looking at mine that been off the road for nearly a year now and thinking what a shame it is as there is actually nothing wrong with it apart from a bit of paintwork that a friend is sorting at the moment,

There alot of car for not alot, Its just the tax and insurance that i find hard to stomach

Yeah they're not cheap to run granted but right now there not fetching big money so it balances out i suppose. Still a nice drive after all these years though.

£320 for the insurance and £260 per year for the tax. Got to pay the insurance whatever car you have, and the tax is probably double a smaller diesel. say £100 a year more. Thats £2 a week more. Offset that by the fact they are cheap to buy, and cheap to run (don't go wrong very often) - I've worked out the running costs are far less than a modern diesel - with a car that's nice to drive.

£320 for the insurance and £260 per year for the tax. Got to pay the insurance whatever car you have, and the tax is probably double a smaller diesel. say £100 a year more. Thats £2 a week more. Offset that by the fact they are cheap to buy, and cheap to run (don't go wrong very often) - I've worked out the running costs are far less than a modern diesel - with a car that's nice to drive.

Yeah spot on buddy i totally agree. I know of three people who sold perfectly good petrol cars to go diesel and regret it. All of them have had injector and dmf problems. One of those cars ( 159 alfa ) has had two dpf's in four years!! To save a few quid on fuel and road tax that's erm no saving at all!

 

There alot of car for not alot, Its just the tax and insurance that i find hard to stomach

 

I agree with people like Russel who have done their maths.  It's all relative and looking at the total running costs for the year is a much healthier approach than the individual costs.  Admittedly they all count but it comes down to what you'd rather get into every day, a nice sensible diesel that bores the pants off you or something that can bring a smile to your face when needed.

 

I debated long and hard before taking the plunge and buying the Vectra.  The £500+ tax and current average of 27mpg initially takes your breath away but when I look at everything over the year it's not that bad.  Now that the tax can be paid monthly the heart stopping moment of paying the tax in one lump has melted away into a mere niggle - if I care to think about it at all.

 

I'd quite happily have another Mk1 vRS as the family car but the Vectra is wider and therefore fits the three children in much easier.  The running costs of the Octavia were quite acceptable to me and I always kept a little pot of money aside for unexpected bills.  Now that some of them are unbelievably cheap to buy they are even more tempting as a bargain performance car, (with a remap of course).

Totally agree, tax isn't much less SWMBO'S 1.4 Megane and now its in monthlys the difference is nothing. My insurance was 290 with mods. In terms of maintenance no different to any other car and all perishables and wear and tear. As said above mpg is good, I average 35/36 around Wales and with a solid lump and a solid build you can't get a much more sensible (for want of a better word) performance car.

Running costs didn't really bother me to much as driven steady it will do 30+ easy but have the power to embarrass most rep mobiles, plus i can fix it myself if i break it,

 

I must be getting stuffed with insurance then as i cheapest i could get it was 550 quid altho it isn't standard which at the moment i pay less than that to insure my xc90 and corsa aswell,

 

Admittedly driving the corsa i do miss the vrs

Running costs didn't really bother me to much as driven steady it will do 30+ easy but have the power to embarrass most rep mobiles, plus i can fix it myself if i break it,

 

I must be getting stuffed with insurance then as i cheapest i could get it was 550 quid altho it isn't standard which at the moment i pay less than that to insure my xc90 and corsa aswell,

 

Admittedly driving the corsa i do miss the vrs

I'm on full no claims but my renewal/general compare the market search was in the region of 500. I'm in a low risk postcode as well. I ended up doing it old school and ringing round modified specialists, got cheaper every time and that's where I ended up with Adrian Flux. If you don't go specialist and you have mods then that's the kind of price you'll pay unless you're very lucky. When I insured it year previous as standard it was about what I paid this year modded with a specialist.

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=31528

 

Looks alright for the money especially with quite a few of the important/common jobs done!

I brought this last night :-)

Couple of bits to do on it but it's half the fun of a bargain car

I brought this last night :-)

Couple of bits to do on it but it's half the fun of a bargain car

Nice work soldier, enjoy!

In the process of sorting the rear door locking (looks like it needs new lock units)

Steam cleaned the engine & under bonnet

Washed & hoovered

Ran a rotary polisher over it & I will again tomorrow with a finer polish

Swapped the radio

Checking prices for door locks

Roof & bonnet to sort out.....any red bonnets around?

In the process of sorting the rear door locking (looks like it needs new lock units)

Steam cleaned the engine & under bonnet

Washed & hoovered

Ran a rotary polisher over it & I will again tomorrow with a finer polish

Swapped the radio

Checking prices for door locks

Roof & bonnet to sort out.....any red bonnets around?

Been a few getting broken on here lately, check parts section. Also e bay or try breaker yard.com. I went used for a lock mech, bit of a gamble but worth a punt for £20, also pattern ones available on the bay.

As my age is moving on ha ha yeah my quotes the last few years have really come down. This year is just over £200. Standard vrs though.

As my age is moving on ha ha yeah my quotes the last few years have really come down. This year is just over £200. Standard vrs though.

Makes me feel young, cheers mate lol. Decent price though that, can't knock it for a turbo with the kind of initials on a badge that insurers don't like!

Just under £300 to insure as they just swapped the car over. It helps having a friendly insurance broker who insures 3 cars for me

Been a few getting broken on here lately, check parts section. Also e bay or try breaker yard.com. I went used for a lock mech, bit of a gamble but worth a punt for £20, also pattern ones available on the bay.

Any experience with the pattern parts on eBay as I notice GSF sell pattern parts too

Plump for gsf if similar price, may be more 'tried and tested' manufacturers. Just lube the catches good before fitting, door internals can suffer a bit with moisture.

GSF are around twice the price but at £54 against £20 each unit I'll ask my other parts suppliers & also check what makes they are as they could be the same unit

It's nice to see that another MK1 has been taken on to run and not break for parts.  It looked like a very good car for the money so hopefully you'll get plenty of use out of it. 

Makes me feel young, cheers mate lol. Decent price though that, can't knock it for a turbo with the kind of initials on a badge that insurers don't like!

Ha ha no problem!! I still feel young though but with cheap insurance so best of both worlds.

Ha ha no problem!! I still feel young though but with cheap insurance so best of both worlds.

Yeah, go on, rub it in lol