Experiment Ends

Well. It's over. The experiment with the Peugeot I mean, but not necessarily this blog. It ended on a high however - not the roadside cloud of steam that you're expecting me to talk about!

 I decided to sell the Peugeot mainly because it was due for road tax. Thinking about it, was it really sensible to pay £120 for new tax on a car that was certain to fail its MOT in October? I decided not, as I'd totalled up the issues with the car and was looking about the amount I paid to keep it on the road.

There was one more issue: size. The car was too small for the things that I have planned for my kids this summer holidays. We're going camping, walking and staying away for a while. The Peugeot royally failed to hold all their stuff for the last camping weekend that we tried, so I wanted something bigger.

I put the car on eBay and got £260 for it. It had 129,980 miles on the clock, meaning that I'd done 2606 miles. Not bad for £90! This proves that you can get some low cost motoring if you are careful and buy a reasonable car that you don't mind running into the ground.

Now - on to the replacement:

300 Miles

Last night we drove down to Wales for a camp and walking day today. After driving back just now, that's 300 miles in two days in a super cheap banger... and... not a beat missed. Even in some quite harsh Welsh mountain roads, she just kept on going. Winner!

And that 300 miles seems to have used about half a tank of fuel. Have signed up on Fuelly.com, so we'll see the MPG figures when I next fill her up.

Update

I figured it's about time to update this blog with the tiny things that I've done to the car. I've stopped trying to keep a track of the fuel costs. Mainly because I forgot three times and that's screwed the figures. I'm going to sign up for fuelly.com however, which should give us an MPG figure which is arguably more useful anyway.

I think I've worked out what the engine light is trying to tell me. It's saying: "there isn't enough fluid in the radiator". Or at least that's the symptom. Topping up the radiator seems to have fixed it. It's losing coolant slowly, but nothing I'm going to worry about really. I'll just keep topping it up every few weeks. I doubt it's being lost via the head gasket - no oil filler cap mayonnaise and no white smoke.

 I've also worked out what I did wrong when I fitted the car radio. The radio has two power wires. One to provide a normal fused power feed for operating the radio, and the other to provide a permanent feed keeping the radio stations tuned and so on. I'd got these the wrong way round. So the permanent feed was going to the normal power and the switched feed to the memory backup. This explains why we were having to retune the radio each and every time I turned on the ignition! Doh.

Boot sorted, but engine light...!

The boot was easy to sort. All I had to do was remove the panel inside the boot (T20 Torx screwdriver) and pull the rod that works the catch. I'm thinking that I've solved it now after a bunch of wiggling and repositioning the rod and springs. All seems good so far (touch wood!).

However, I've had a couple of occasions when the engine management light has come on. This look a bit like this:

It comes on when the car is low on fuel.
It doesn't seem to actually indicate a fault though. Hmm.

Boot Up The Bum

Typical. There I go suggesting all is well... and the boot won't open. The key doesn't turn the lock, so the central locking has no chance. Time to get on a the forums and find an answer. At least you can get to things in the boot via the fold down back seats... Sigh.

I could drive 200 miles...

I've done two hundred miles in the car now and I'm pretty happy. This has been made up of mostly fairly short journeys, although I went for a 60 mile round trip today. It's pretty good for the money spent. In fact, my first car was far less reliable, slower, had less 'toys' and cost me twice as much.

I found this on eBay. It's not my actual first car - that would have been too cool - but a very nice example of the Fiesta Bravo that I had. It sold for over £3500. Yes. 10 times what my 306 cost me. Go figure.

Haynes Manual

I think that the Haynes manual is simply an essential item for any car owner who wants to perform even the smallest bit of work on their vehicle. It's especially useful if you can pick one up for £2.99 on eBay! Mine arrived in the post today. Best of all, it's the specific one for the exact model of Peugeot 306 that I have - rather than one of the later Haynes that tries to cater for all models.

We Have Sounds!

It took me about five minutes to fit the radio with the kit that I bought. Much better than the old days where I would spend hours fitting a stereo. No more cutting wires, soldering them, fixing together with 'chop block' and taping it all up securely. The kit was £10 well spent.

The kit contains a special 306 shaped hole adapter, an antenna converter and converter cabling from Peugeot loom to standard ISO fittings.

Fitting the radio was simplicity itself. The wiring loom needs to go through the front of the 306 face plate adapter so that the radio is holding it in when it's in the car. Then you just connect up the wires into the appropriate sockets and slide it into place.

There was a third wiring loom on the Peugeot radio that there is no replication for in the ISO loom, or the converter cabling. I suspect that this is for the optional CD changer (that I don't have) and the steering wheel volume controls. I've checked and I have sound coming out of all the speakers, so whatever it is for, it isn't causing any problems for me!

Finally, here are some pictures with and without the stereo faceplate:

Not bad for a free radio and a £10 kit. It sounds great too. I'll be mostly using it with an old iPod Mini and FM transmitter donated by my girlfriend. That should keep us sane and the kids happy when we take them off on trips on the weekends!

I Love FreeCycle!

I've been a user of FreeCycle for a number of years. I use it to give away things that I no longer require. I also use it to obtain stuff that other people have finished with. In this case, I have been given a Sony Car Stereo for my cheap car project. It's a 2002 model CDX-MP30. I've downloaded the manual and it all seems pretty simple and straightforward.

Fitting the stereo should be simple enough with the adapter kit that I've ordered. We'll see when it arrives....

My Car History

I've been chatting with my girlfriend about the list of cars that I've owned over the years. I thought I might list it out here:

1981 Ford Fiesta Bravo (1.3)
1987 VW Polo (1.0)
1996 Peugeot 306 DTurbo (2.0) [Company Car]
1997 VW Golf Mk3 GTi (2.0) [Company Car]
1998 Peugeot 306 (1.4)
1998 Seat Ibiza Cupra Sport (2.0)
1993 Rover Mini Mayfair (1.3)
2004 Peugeot 307 Style (2.0 Diesel)
1973 Morris Mini 1000 (1.0) [Garaged Project]
2001 Mazda MX-5 (1.6) [Current Main Car]
& of course, the 1994 Peugeot 306 [Kid mobile]

Kids First Day Out

We took the kids for their frist day out in the 'new' car today. They're pretty happy with the space in the back. The car is a three door, but it's not as bad as I thought it might be. The kids are being pretty sensible about getting in and out. The only problem I can foresee is muddy boots... How do you take them off while getting the kids in the car neatly? We'll work this out I'm sure.

Here is the car at the local nature reserve. It's not terrible, is it!?

I put 20 litres of fuel in today at a cost of £26.78. I also investigated why the blowers aren't working. It doesn't appear to be a fuse problem. I'll need to get my multimeter from my lockup garage (where my 1973 mini lives...!) in order to work out the next possible stage in the problem.

Have looked up where I can get a connection kit for after market radios. It's not awful. (here).

Radio Gaga

The car radio isn't working. Well, sorry, it is working technically, but it's coded and the code has gone walkies. At some point in the last little while, the car battery has been changed. This means death to Peugeot radios unless you have the code.

It's usually supplied on a little sticker with the initial purchase. I've had a couple of nearly new Peugeots over the years, and I was always careful with the sticker. Hint: put it in the service manual. These people haven't been so careful and it's lost.

Ok, options. You can take the car to Peugeot who will charge you £30 to remove the radio, obtain the serial number and calculate the code. There are a number of online radio code providers who charge anywhere between £10 and £30 for the same job. In any case, you need the serial number. We've just spent a while in the cold (it's snowing) to remove the radio from the car and see whether the serial number could be converted into something useable.

It's a bit of a mission removing a Peugeot 306 radio. They have two tabs along the bottom that you have to lift. This then lets them slide out. We damaged the radio a bit in the process - nothing that'll stop it working, but it's not quite as pretty as it was. It looks like the model number of the radio may mean that the cheaper methods of obtaining the code won't work.

I've already asked on Freegle (Freecycle) for a free one if anyone has a radio cluttering up their garage. And within half an hour of sending my "Wanted" message, I've been offered a tape playing radio. They're in Bracknell/Camberley, so I'll see what the snow does before heading out. It looks like we might have sounds before long though! (Hmm: will I have to buy an adapter kit...? Will it be cheaper to pay Peugeot to get this one decoded...?)

Also, checked and confirmed that the cigarette lighter socket is working. It is. Winner!

Running Costs Chart

This will be a running chart of the costs of this project, including fuel and other consumables.

Total cost so far: £....

6th Feb 2012: Peugeot 306, £350 (inc half a tank of fuel, 127374 miles)
6th Feb 2012: Insurance initial payment, £30
8th Feb 2012: Dust caps from a condemned car, £0
9th Feb 2012: Six months car tax, £118
9th Feb 2012: Halfords Car bulb kit, £10.99
11th Feb 2012: Fuel, 20 litres, £26.78, (127xxx miles)
12th Feb 2012: 306 Radio Conversion Kit, £9.99
12th Feb 2012: Sony XPLOD Radio, £0
14th Feb 2012: Haynes Manual, eBay, £2.99

Only two things are certain: death and ....

Yeah... taxes.

There is a car in our road that has pretty much been abandoned for months. My girlfriend discovered that it has no tax (expired Feb 2011!) and no insurance. So she's called the council to report it.

This made me check the status of each of my own cars.

According to the sale advert on eBay, the 306 should be taxed until April 2012 (two months) but it's not. It's SORN. Oops! That means that I can't drive the car technically. I'm going to pick up a six month tax disc tomorrow, but I'm a little annoyed. The car was supposed to have tax, and while it has a tax disk on it, it's not legal to drive it.

I've messaged the seller on eBay and asked for a refund for two months worth. She seemed a nice girl, so let's hope she'll do the right thing. Hmm.

Costs: tax £118 for six months.

Oh, and I acquired four dust caps for nothing from a certain car (see above!) that very soon will be removed from our street and turned into a little cube.

First Drive

We picked up the car from her previous owner last night. Despite being very cold, she started first time. I noticed that the car hadn't moved at all from where I parked it when we popped by to have a look at it. The exhaust shudders a bit when she starts up, but the engine leaps into life just fine.

I followed my girlfriend home somewhat gingerly to start with while I got myself back used to driving a 306. (I've had three of these before, so it should be like riding a bike...) I also went somewhat carefully because of the freezing fog and the non-working demister fans. However, I lowered my drivers window and the window soon cleared. Once we got out onto the main road, the car was pretty hesitant to start with. I guess she'd not been driven much at all for a few months. After a couple of harder revs, she got over this. I suppose the damp was gone. We'll see whether she does the same every time.

We went via the super market, which meant a run down the motorway. I got her up to the speed limit pretty quickly. For her age, the engine seems pretty good. There is an oil leak, so I expect to keep feeding in the liquid gold into the filler cap over the coming months. She sounds fine with no knocking or other deadly noises so far.

I checked the tyre pressures at the supermarket garage. Fronts were at 27PSI, the rear nearside was 18PSI and the offside 12PSI. I filled them all to 32PSI and the car drives better immediately. There are no dust caps on the valves, so I'll get hold of a few.

The suspension may need some attention at some point. There were a few knocks when going into deeper potholes that I'd not been able to pick up in my short test drive. I suspect that the front coil springs will need looking at from the previous MOT advisories. These are pretty cheap to replace from experience, but I'll try to keep it going as long as possible without spending any money on it.

The clutch is OK, but you do need to stomp the pedal right down to get into first. It's an old gearbox and at 127,000 miles it's pretty good. I've checked and a new clutch would be £230. Not required yet by any means, but good to know.

All in all, no serious problems given the money paid out for the car so far.

According to the eBay listing, the car has the following problems:

• The bumper on the front left side has been popped out for a while but i have not fixed it but i'm sure easily repairable. 1st picture shows this.
• Small chip on drivers side windscreen
• Car blower fans not working, and due to this clock does not work either
• Cigarette lighter not working
• Fog light glass smashed but working 
• Radio has a code which is available when purchased at Peugeot. Because it is locked it is currently not working. Not due to fault.

The blowers not working is the first issue that I'm going to have to look at. I'm wondering whether this is just a fuse as the clock doesn't work either. If that is the case, it'll be a cheap and easy fix. I've already researched this issue on the Internet and it looks like the blowers can also fail due to a relay failure. I'll check this out too.

The radio code should be easy to get hold of. You can pay several sites for a code. Prices range from £5 to £15 I believe. I may just call the main dealer and see what they can do for me. The radio needs a new code because the battery has been changed. Why don't people note these down when they buy the car...?!

Getting Started

This blog is the account of my experiences of running a cheap second car - aka a 'banger'. I'm going to record the trials and tribulations of this experiment here so that I can either extol the virtues of this concept, or convince you to avoid it at all costs.

Some background.

For the last seven years, I've been driving about in a Peugeot 307 diesel. It's been boring, but reliable motoring. Finally, though, the car started to give up. There are some interesting issues with the electrics: the rear wiper sometimes goes of it's own accord and one morning we found an electric window had wound itself down! The suspension is starting to show it's age. And there is a diesel leak in the high pressure system. Also, it needs a new cambelt. All of this lot amounts to a bill of way over a £1000 to sort... I just don't trust it any more. It's a shame, but the faithful old thing finally had to go.

I decided that I should have something a bit more fun. So, I bought a 2001 MX-5. Yes, yes, it's a hairdressers car, blah, blah, blah.. I've fallen in love with it though, so that's that. She seems to be pretty reliable and great on fuel economy (yes, really!) so all good.

I have three kids that I am lucky enough to have stay with me every other weekend. Not really compatible with the MX-5, but my girlfriend has - had - an Astra. However, she also fell in love with my MX-5 and bought herself one last week, selling the Astra to pay for it. We've got two MX-5's and no child-friendly car. Bugger.

I could have got a loan and bought another reasonably priced car. But I wondered whether it might be possible to do this a different way. So I've bought a very cheap old Peugeot 306. It's big enough to get all five of us in it, old enough for me not to really care what happens to it in car parks and so on, and cheap enough that I can afford to run this as well as my MX-5. It's a1995 model, done 127,000 miles, so is showing it's age, but we'll give this a go.

Here is the run down of the costs so far:

Peugeot 306 "Select" XS: £350 (from eBay)
Insurance: £178.08 (£14.85 a month, fully comprehensive)
The car is taxed until April and has an MOT due in November.

I'll share my experience of my first proper drive of it in the next post.