Done 2000 miles in my car now

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Thu 24 Sep 2009 01:39
Done 2000 miles in my car now - Rattle
I have not really posted much lately because there is nothing really to post about but I have made a milestone today at 2000 miles. I kept my last car for just over 200 miles :p.

It really feels like its my car now and it feels like I had it longer than I have. I also seem to like it more the more I use it. I have set myself a target not to go near a garage with it until MOT time in Feb but I am not sure if that plan will work! Also contary to changing car thread about 6 weeks ago I have decided now not to plan for a new car and just run this car into the ground. I won't let it look like an old banger so I will keep it till either it fails the MOT badly, needs too much welding, the engine dies or I crash it. They are nicer and probably less troublesome cars out there but changing will cost quite a bit more than what I have now so there is just no point. I know my car has not used a single bit of oil in the 2000 miles I have had it, not used any coolant or anything which is more than can be said for some unknown car.

I also find my engine perfect for my needs, as its 65bhp on a light weight car and it can also do 45-50mpg quite easily as well as offering very cheap insurance. Its very rare to find a 16v late 90's supermini which is also cheaper to insure than slower 8vs.

In the mean time I have been spending a bit of money on my other hobbies, HIFI and photography (photography costs is my excuse to visit different cities!).



Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 10:34
Done 2000 miles in my car now - redviper
Good stuff!

just keep up racking up them miles, - as you say properly maintained the car should be decent for a lot of milages yet.

my 1st Astra (mk1) was a 1.3 8 Valve with only 75 bhp - it was not fast by any means however it was good for various trips to Scotland and the Rep of Ireland - and i think 160k miles was quite respectable for that car - which is what it did when i had to let it go.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 13:42
Done 2000 miles in my car now - LikedDrivingOnce
A very smart decision, Rattle. I wish that I had been so sensible when I was younger.
All the best!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 14:28
Done 2000 miles in my car now - bell boy
i just wish i was younger
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 14:35
Done 2000 miles in my car now - old crocks
I wish that I had been so sensible when I was younger.


I wish I had been less sensible when I was younger.
Now the sensible gene seems to have taken over completely!

P.S. How did your trip to London go Rattle?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 14:51
Done 2000 miles in my car now - Rattle
Was good thanks went to the science musuem I was staying at ICL next to it. Went down to the city got a lot of pictures there, got some night shots of Westminster bridge, went down to Primrose hill. The train took 1 hour and 59 minutes. I am probably going down again in October its just a suburb really with the brilliant train service we now have.

The reason I want to keep my car for as long as possible is I remember how stressful car buying is and I always get very panicy about any car I have just bought imagining all sorts of faults.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 14:57
Done 2000 miles in my car now - sajid
Is that the corsa rattle? I used to have a astra a 1.4 ls 1994, kept that for 6 years, till i traded it in for a jazz, the astra was a simple car, it had no toys not even p.a.s at all or anything electric just the only luxury i had was a remote alarm and immobliser, in all the years i kept it, it broke down on electric faults, kept stalling, the entire wiper motor failed, in the end i decided to get rid of it, mainly cos it cost more to run day to day, as for your other hobbies rattle, hifi mainly i choose the separates route, got myself roksan cd and amp combo its a lx3 the last year model i hada marantz cd and amp before and compared to that a big jump in sound quality get to hear little details in the music.

What yu getting then rattle in hifi and photography, am thinking of geting the nikon d5000 slr but since i have not got a camera at all, would a simple camera be preferable to a slr as they both got similar megapixels
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Sep 2009 15:52
Done 2000 miles in my car now - Rattle
My car has all the toys (well by late 90's standard) and so far touch wood everything works as it should, the only fault is one of the bulbs behind the heater controls have gone.

I have the 16v Ecotec which are not as touch as the old 8v but they are also more simple, no HT leads etc.

My HIFI is quite basic but setup properly, I have a Marantz CD6000 OSE LE which has seperate analogue output stages on the DAC with Elna caps so it is quite a nice piece of kit, they sold for around £350 when they were current. I have a mid range Cambridge amp the A640 amp and some Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speakers which have taken some time to get used to. I have a pair of Grado headphones too which I love made in New York.

As for cameras I am stuck with my Panasonic Lumix FZ7 with 12 optica zoom, since I bought that camera I have bought no less than three cars for myself and one for my dad! EEK Only two of them cars are still on the road.

Its getting dated now though e.g only six megapixels and a 2GB SD card is the limit but I still needed to practice my photography skills before I can justifiy buying an SLR. I bought my Panasonic in Jan 07 in the sale for £230 so it will be three years old in Jan. I really want to try and keep it another two years then move onto what ever budget SLR is out at the time, maybe spend £400 including the lens.

Edit yes its my Corsa :).

bit.ly/KfKVr

Edited by Rattle on 24/09/2009 at 15:54

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide