I've been learning to drive on and off for the last five years, putting it on hold too many times when money got tight or I lost jobs. Started a new job three months ago which is guaranteed work for the next year. As soon as I got my first pay, I decided that it was time to prioritise getting my driving test done and having something small but cheap on the road ready. I was going to look at a Corsa for £600 the same day but the seller snapped for no reason, I hopped on Facebook Marketplace and found this for £190, I had to go and look at it. It was as described, It ran and drove. had a long MOT and only needed a couple of jobs doing which wouldn't total any more than £200. Problems that need to be fixed - - Fuel cap wouldnt unlock as the key had snapped inside, only 20 miles left according to the dash - Exhaust has major blow (no shit part of the exhaust missing) so replace the entire exhaust (cheaper) - Rocker cover gasket has small leak (£5 gasket and 30 min job) What I would like to do - - Swap the steel wheels for some Fiat 15" alloys (thatll be a few months down the line when Ive learned not the kirb the wheels when parking) - Upgrade the speakers in the doors. - Replace the headlights - Fit some Alpha Romeo 147 seats in the front - Fit some legal pressed plates - Destrip the sides of the car I dont want to go mad with it because it is my first car, I just want a cheap little runner that will get me to and from work when I pass my test that looks tidy.
First fix Fuel cap was really starting to get on my nerves. Drilled a small hole above the key hole and used a screwdriver to get it to release, cap off. New cap straight on. Total cost £9.
A fair bit has been done to the shitbox punto since my first post. The exhaust has now been changed, it had a complete exhaust system including the manifold, it had to have a lambda sensor too because the old one wouldn't come out. It also had a oil and oil filter change, The rocker cover gasket has been changed which took me 4 hours because I couldn't get the airbox off. I've investigated the sound system making weird noises, all of the speakers are shot so theyll be getting done on payday. The car has been taken to the site where I work so I can have somewhere comfortable to sit and so I can do the patrols a lot quicker (100 acres of land to cover) took a couple of pictures on my night shift last night.
Todays job... replacing the speakers. Not the fanciest ones in the world but they were cheap and sound better than the old ones. Easy job to do, took two of us 30 mins with a tea break in the middle and that was with making new holes for the door speakers to screw into. Old door speaker next to new, Theyve aged badly and the tweeter on the back had blown. Old parcel shelf speaker next to new one. New door speaker in.
Depends on your needs to be honest. I've managed since I was 17 with 125cc`s and Im now 22. The only reasons I've got a car now is because work demands that I have one and my GF is up the family way so we will need a car. Having the car has made life alot easier for sure but Id still rather ride if I could.
Right... I know i wasnt going to be keeping this car but the purchase of my new car fell through last minute and I now need a dog van as im training to be a dog handler at work soon soooo.... Took it in to have some tints done on the rear windows to help reduce the amount of sun that will hit the cages when they are fitted, ended up having the rear windows tinted and the headlights refurbished. If you look at one of the first pics posted on this thread youll see how bad they were. This was the end result - after they did the headlights they put a protective film they are trialing for free usually £40 the end result of the window tints limo black and only the rears done, i sought advice from local plod before having the tints done i can have the rear ones done as dark as i like but the front ones are best not done so didnt bother Next step.. getting the rear seats out then itll be a case of getting the cage work have supplied fitted and bolted down then i need to cut two holes in the roof for ventialation for the dog cage
Cages are now put together and waiting for the roof vent to arrive so that they can be fitted and after this little donation to a dog rescue, im fairly sure the car hates me!
Test day is fast approaching. Lessons have been going very well. However, we did some insurance quotes on the punto as if i had just passed. £11,500 fully comp, £9,620 third party fire and theft or £5,099 third party only I think not! sold the punto for what it cost me. did a little research and did a few quotes using a family friends 2003 citroen berlingo 1.9 diesel. £1,600 fully comp, £2,159 third party fire and theft and £4,103 third party only. Messed around with a few other cars but couldnt get them any cheaper hopped on ebay, bid on a berlingo and won it for £266 collecting it wednesday
wow why is insurance so much for you. im looking at a fiat panda 100hp as my first car and its £1080 per year for fire and theft insurance. ifound in general that fiats are very cheap to insure compared to other cars for me
because of my area mostly, its not the greatest postcode to be in. Put the postcode as my GFs in Nottingham and it halves. Then you factor in that I've had two claims on bikes, you still have to declare those on car insurance, Both were non fault but both had injuries that were claimed for etc. Add my occupation - Door Supervisor/Security Officer/Security Dog Handler and the fact that i will be using it for work with modifications that have to be done for my job (window tints, dog cages, fan vent in roof), my insurance sky rockets. I personally found that something big and stereotypically slow/ugly with a low value brings it down quite a bit.
In my opinion insurance work really bad in this county and insurers are theifs. I think that you should insure the vehicle not the person driving. that way people would save millions and anyone with a licence can drive a car aslong as it has tax and mot and permion from the owner. This system would make life so much easier.
I managed to use bike til my wife was pregnant in her 3rd trimester. Took my car licence like 2 years ago? Now I have 4 cars.... I love how cheap my diesel pug is to run, but the bikes are cheaper than anything. The cool thing with cars is you can drive it on holiday, as its like a tent.
i sold my vauxhall (bb herby) but loads of ppl i know drive all the time anyway and don't mind passengers, (or i just use my bike) wouldn't mind my own again sometime but meh not end of world maybe later. (or never rofl) plus insurance takes the piss in uk yeah there good for holidays for sure and nice Brenda
