Mot - Passed

[kevinrbeech]

Just spent £2000 plus on welding; Driver's side; sill patched, inner wing, battery box and headlight panel rebuilt. Passenger side; new inner and outer sill, not done inner wing yet, needs doing though.
Chassis; various patches around the various brackets for anti-roll bar etc.

Was it worth it? in a word, no, not considering the value of the car, however, given that most of the mechanic's have been replaced, except the engine, now on 220,000, I believe it is money er.... spent.

I had a tube put in the Michellin that I bought as 1 of a set of 5 in 2004 when on 174,000, cos it had a piece of wire in the side wall, it'll only be the spare. Three of the others are still on the car, they all have 7/8mm of tread left, and I had to replace a much newer tyre (at cost of £112) due to a bulge in the wall, that hurt, it still had 10mm of tread.

Two new headlights, £30 each from main dealer, they actually reduced them so they were cheaper than I could get them elsewhere, and the fitting kits, only to find that they come with the lights anyway.
.... and that's about it. Mot - £53, tax - £101.

Value of car (with all mods removed) £1800 if I'm lucky.

Don't we just love our Landy's

[chrisandlandie]

Just spent £2000 plus on welding
OMG! :eek:....you must love that machine!
Just remember....'A landy's for life!' .....:D
Bet you're happy to have the ticket though! ;)

[LEE7]

True dedication!!!!!

I don`t think I could go that far.

All the very best to You.

Regards.


Peter

[ScottTDI]

damn 2k?

you could have bought mine for £1500, all it needs is a gear box and front axel. lol

thats love of the disco that is.

[ComicalEngineer]

Often better the devil you know!

I ran a Mk2 Golf for 9 years and 140k miles. I kept it (a) because I liked it and (b) because it was reliable and had had all the bugs removed over the period I owned it.

I had to do a few bits and pieces (new golw plugs, shock absorbers, clutch). I only sold it when we had No.1 chld and needed something bigger. Last year it was seen still running around Manchester - I sold it 7 years ago and it's a J reg!

The moral of the story is that if you've sorted it, keep it so long as the cost of maintenance is reasonable.

If you bought another one and had to go through all the pain of getting it sorted would it really be worth it or do you spend a bit to keep the car going for another 3 - 5 years?

[thebiglad]

Often better the devil you know!

I ran a Mk2 Golf for 9 years and 140k miles. I kept it (a) because I liked it and (b) because it was reliable and had had all the bugs removed over the period I owned it.

I had to do a few bits and pieces (new golw plugs, shock absorbers, clutch). I only sold it when we had No.1 chld and needed something bigger. Last year it was seen still running around Manchester - I sold it 7 years ago and it's a J reg!

The moral of the story is that if you've sorted it, keep it so long as the cost of maintenance is reasonable.

If you bought another one and had to go through all the pain of getting it sorted would it really be worth it or do you spend a bit to keep the car going for another 3 - 5 years?


How on earth could you judge that - after spending the amount he's just spent on the welding :eek::eek::eek:

[Tom Mepham]

Thats why I bought a mig welder:)
Tom

[ComicalEngineer]

"How on earth...?"

Easy, the guy I know who bought a an X reg TD5 with 60k and good history on it for £5500 only to find the boot floor rotted out under the underseal and the tubular crossmember also terminally rotten. Despite all of the history on it he also had to replace the clutch, get the air con fixed, fuel injectors and various other bits within 12 months.

Turned out that it had been used to tow boats in and out of the sea for several years up a steep slipway. The 3 month warranty only covered a couple of small mechanical failures he had, the rust was found at the next MOT....

My point is that an old Disco in good condition with all the work done is possibly worth more than a newer unknown condition one. That said, at £2k I'd probably have borken it and used the oily bits on one with a good body and knackered mechanicals!

I'm cheesed off at having to spend 25% of that on mine!

[JulesV8]

hindsight is a wonderful thing though if anyone is faced with these kinds of bills why dont they (if the car in question is their primary vehicle).

a: buy a banger with 6 month MOT and Tax for a couple of hundred quid
b: got on a weldnig course
c: buy a welder and do the work over 6 months?

that's what I'm planning to do if it happens to me. Saying this, glad to hear the old girl is still on the road. wont be long before the prices start increasing on these 200tdi's...

[kevinrbeech]

Guys, guys, guys,
I'm and ex-panelbeater, I've done a lot of work on the car myself, and since buying the car in 2002 I've probably spent £10,000 on mods, servicing and generally improving the car, and yes I can use a mig. I can earn the money to pay for the work but if I take time off I can't afford to pay the bills as well. The welding was not patching, it was full restoration, ok there is more to do but what has been done will last a good 10 years. I've re-built the axles, re-con gear and tranny box, tinted the glass, uprated the springs, new clutch, master, and slave cylinders, discs, tyres, boot floor, radiator, cam belt, water pump, split charging system, CB radio, Engel fridge, new window rubbers, so it doesn't leak, etc. It is just one of those things, if I buy another, in two years time I could have all of the same problems. I've covered nearly 80,000 miles in this car, 3 trips to Tunisia, one to Spain several to France and it has never left me stranded. It is now ready to go again, and next April we are off to Tunisia again.
But the best bit, it has a ticket for another year.
Kevin

[thebiglad]

Guys, guys, guys,
I'm and ex-panelbeater, I've done a lot of work on the car myself, and since buying the car in 2002 I've probably spent £10,000 on mods, servicing and generally improving the car, and yes I can use a mig. I can earn the money to pay for the work but if I take time off I can't afford to pay the bills as well. The welding was not patching, it was full restoration, ok there is more to do but what has been done will last a good 10 years. I've re-built the axles, re-con gear and tranny box, tinted the glass, uprated the springs, new clutch, master, and slave cylinders, discs, tyres, boot floor, radiator, cam belt, water pump, split charging system, CB radio, Engel fridge, new window rubbers, so it doesn't leak, etc. It is just one of those things, if I buy another, in two years time I could have all of the same problems. I've covered nearly 80,000 miles in this car, 3 trips to Tunisia, one to Spain several to France and it has never left me stranded. It is now ready to go again, and next April we are off to Tunisia again.
But the best bit, it has a ticket for another year.
Kevin

Hi Kevin, you sound very happy with your motor, you obviously know what you are doing and have a clear plan.

It's just that £2000 - ouch!!:eek:

Cheers, no need to wish you good luck as you are making your own by looking after your vehicle so well and thoroughly,

Dave

[bananahead]

Guys, guys, guys,
I'm and ex-panelbeater, I've done a lot of work on the car myself, and since buying the car in 2002 I've probably spent £10,000 on mods, servicing and generally improving the car, and yes I can use a mig. I can earn the money to pay for the work but if I take time off I can't afford to pay the bills as well. The welding was not patching, it was full restoration, ok there is more to do but what has been done will last a good 10 years. I've re-built the axles, re-con gear and tranny box, tinted the glass, uprated the springs, new clutch, master, and slave cylinders, discs, tyres, boot floor, radiator, cam belt, water pump, split charging system, CB radio, Engel fridge, new window rubbers, so it doesn't leak, etc. It is just one of those things, if I buy another, in two years time I could have all of the same problems. I've covered nearly 80,000 miles in this car, 3 trips to Tunisia, one to Spain several to France and it has never left me stranded. It is now ready to go again, and next April we are off to Tunisia again.
But the best bit, it has a ticket for another year.
Kevin

You'll be the guy driving the "classic" disco whilst others will be looking in aww in their old beat up disco 3's in times to come, maybe.

Fair play :)

Dont listen to the "2 grand! what!?" comments. Its quite obvious you love your car :)

[kevinrbeech]

You'll be the guy driving the "classic" disco whilst others will be looking in aww in their old beat up disco 3's in times to come, maybe.

Fair play :)

Dont listen to the "2 grand! what!?" comments. Its quite obvious you love your car :)

Yeah, maybe, I felt the need to spend the money to get full value on all the work so far. The plan is to do Tunisia again in April, and then, within the next five years to spend around 3 months in Europe.
It is a bit of a gamble, but as I've said many times on here, the mechanical bits can be replaced as long as the rust is kept under control.
Thanks for the support though,
Kevin

[kevinrbeech]

Today was the first chance I've had to use the car since it went off the road in February, and it was great. Only drove to the new forest from Swanage, and all the normal bumps and grinds were there but wehad a great time, me and the wife.
Stopped in the forest, just off the road. Set up the table and chairs and cooked lunch on the Coleman duel fuel twim burner. Returned home around 5pm, picked up the dog and more supplies and went out again, cooked dinner and sat out in the evening sun swatting mossies, but it was good, so good to have the old girl back
Worth every penny.
K