Bangernomics

Dip your toe?? Haven’t you just escaped from the banger quicksand? Or were you in so far that your toe was the only bit that stayed dry?

Sorry - haven't got time to look at the details but I noticed £895 for a 53-reg Focus with 92,000 miles in Reading, and £2,500 for an 05 with 50,000 in Crowthorne. You'd need to be convinced that the 05 was worth the extra - which it might be if the 53 on inspection turned out to be a complete shed.

But you could also look at some newer Titaniums (Titania?) for < £3,000: if there was a really good one near to home it might be worth considering any of the lower trims.

I know this is opening a can of worms, but you could look to buy a non-interference engine.. I think the Fiat Fire engines are like that (could be wrong). Nowt wrong with a Focus mind.. I'd love a late model Mk1 with the bells and whistles.

Looking at Autotrader now..  there are 98 cars in the mechanical spec you want but a variety of trims.  What's wrong with the Zetec, especially if you can get one with a/c?  For a banger to do ten miles a day what do you care about fancy stuff; surely if it runs well and isn't a shed it'll be fine for you? 

"I think the Fiat Fire engines are like that...."

I wish I coould draw cartoons - just think of a fire blazing away merrily while the fire crew are peering under the bonnet of their broken-dowen Fiat fire engine. Actually I do know you mean the 1-lire FIRE engine that went I think into the Panda and Punto.

Perhaps we should have a sweepstake on how long this thread will run. Tempting to place a sneaky bet on 50+ pages and ending up with a Corolla /Auris.

My wife's Seicento has a FIRE engine. Car has been pretty reliable since we got it. It does very low mileage. One MOT the tester joked it probably had the same petrol in it as the year before :-)

It's done even fewer miles since lockdown.... Last filled it up 29th Feb but before that it was 7th November

It's needed a couple of batteries and the one thing that stopped it starting at all (apart from gum starting) was an earthing strap. Otherwise it's only needed a bit of the break pipes patching up and a sensor for the speedo. Oh and a new headlight unit because the unit's adjusted for range had failed and it failed the MOT for that.

It's a nice offer BPG, even if its is a wind up...but yes, I don't want a diesel because DPFs. Not suitable for a car which won't get a long run regularly.

Non-interference engines, yes that would be OK, but not so easy to work out which models have them, hence focusing on chain cam cars, but of course any suggestions welcome. FIAT Bravo 1.4 petrol would be a good left-fielder, is that non-interference? My Regata 1.3's cambelt went, and it bent one valve ever so slightly. But the car soldiered on regardless.

Non-Ghia spec, again, yes, of course I could do that, but you know when you just want something? Well, why compromise when I'm only going to spend under £3k? I would like a Ghia, no more and no less. Also, this banger won't even be doing 10 miles a day. The Civic will be doing that. This banger will be a paperweight most of the time. It's a reserve car, probably not even necessary to have two cars any more, but, again, I just want the peace of mind that having two cars available brings.

Pandas are too small. Not for my needs, but for my wants. I just don't want something that small for several reasons. I don't have to have something that small, so if I don't want it, why should I consider it?

And remember, I'm all about ride over handling these days. I don't want something with sporty hard suspension. Squishy seats and a comfortable ride on a journey please, which brings me back to one of the reasons for no Pandas, C1s etc. Hence liking Ghia spec. Squishy velour seats are the BOMB.

There's a silver Mk1 Focus Ghia saloon 12 miles from me for only £550, private sale. Good MOT history and ownership record. But high miles. That's the one wibbling my thrustlepouch at the moment.

When I had a Ford Galaxy 1.9TDi auto a few years ago, it was a dark blue Ghia. It replaced a newer (by 5 years) Touran 2.0TDi DSG. We'd bought the Touran brand new, kept it under 2 years I think, it had 18k on the clock when I traded "down" to the Galaxy. Used the money we got back to renovate a bathroom as we'd just moved house. I far preferred the Galaxy. The Touran was brisker and quieter, those were its main advantages. But overall I liked the Galaxy Ghia more. We drove it to Catalonia and back for a week's holiday once.

As a teenager with a shiny new licence, my Mum's car, which I borrowed frequently, was an Escort 1.6 Ghia, in a similar metallic red colour (if less brown tinged) to my current Civic. I loved that car and was distraught when she sold it rather than allocate it to me when she moved to Spain and I went to University. That's when I ended up with the Regata though, which as you know I was enormously fond of. But the Escort was a superior ride, 5 gears and more powerful of course, and that Ghia interior. Lovely.