4x4 bangernomics - sane?
Discussion
hello,
i am looking at replacing my current bangernomics car as the mot is due and its falling apart.
a nice car is wasted on me at the minute as it would have to be used as commuter in the week and a load lugger [rubble, building materials etc] at the weekend. i usually look at a £500 max budget and just see what the best available car is locally to me.
i'm browsing ebay and i have noticed that there are plenty of cheap 4x4's around, notably c100k mile discos, shoguns, cherokees etc. there are also a few M-N reg lpg converted 4.0l cherokees with long MOT's. i am tempted by a 4x4 purely for the load carrying capacity, i have had 0.5t of building materials in the back of a 3dr clio and its not fun!
how reliable are these cars? i would only require it to last until the MOT expires and can manage small things going wrong, but anything costly would defeat the point somewhat.
i do about 45miles a day commute [m'way / A roads] at a gentle pace and odd miles load lugging on the weekend. with it also being so cheap, i might start greenlaning / pay&play.
the insurance on the cherokee is only £150 more than my current snotter despite a 2.7L increase in engine capacity and double the cylinders, but i fear it may be taking bangernomics a step too far.
your thoughts?
PS- does an lpg conversion add to insurance premiums?
i am looking at replacing my current bangernomics car as the mot is due and its falling apart.
a nice car is wasted on me at the minute as it would have to be used as commuter in the week and a load lugger [rubble, building materials etc] at the weekend. i usually look at a £500 max budget and just see what the best available car is locally to me.
i'm browsing ebay and i have noticed that there are plenty of cheap 4x4's around, notably c100k mile discos, shoguns, cherokees etc. there are also a few M-N reg lpg converted 4.0l cherokees with long MOT's. i am tempted by a 4x4 purely for the load carrying capacity, i have had 0.5t of building materials in the back of a 3dr clio and its not fun!
how reliable are these cars? i would only require it to last until the MOT expires and can manage small things going wrong, but anything costly would defeat the point somewhat.
i do about 45miles a day commute [m'way / A roads] at a gentle pace and odd miles load lugging on the weekend. with it also being so cheap, i might start greenlaning / pay&play.
the insurance on the cherokee is only £150 more than my current snotter despite a 2.7L increase in engine capacity and double the cylinders, but i fear it may be taking bangernomics a step too far.
your thoughts?
PS- does an lpg conversion add to insurance premiums?
When I was looking at budget 4x4's a while back I decided it was not worth the hassle, as most were total basket cases and I could do without the headache.
My budget was £1500 at the time, also. The faults I found were too many to list, however most were proably down to a lack of care/maintenance during prior ownership, as opposed to model specific faults.
I bought a 'bangernomics' car 2 1/2 years ago and it was meant to last 6 months. It is still with me and has been used in the same way your Clio was (lugging rubble, garden waste, wood, etc) and I am actually sad to see it go as it has been brilliant (it's just been replaced by a '98 Defender 110 CSW.
Get another 'bangernomics' car. There is less to go wrong and it will cost you less in the long run (unless you are handy with a spanner etc). All IMHO - good luck.
My budget was £1500 at the time, also. The faults I found were too many to list, however most were proably down to a lack of care/maintenance during prior ownership, as opposed to model specific faults.
I bought a 'bangernomics' car 2 1/2 years ago and it was meant to last 6 months. It is still with me and has been used in the same way your Clio was (lugging rubble, garden waste, wood, etc) and I am actually sad to see it go as it has been brilliant (it's just been replaced by a '98 Defender 110 CSW.
Get another 'bangernomics' car. There is less to go wrong and it will cost you less in the long run (unless you are handy with a spanner etc). All IMHO - good luck.
i am above average with a set of spanners, but anything electrical or major engine work would be a no-no.
i'm really only after strong mechanicals, the interior will be covered in dust & crap in a few weeks and i never wash my snotters so i can forget about rust!
the one finishing today is this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
what do you think? i'd only need it 6mths or so [i hope] before i can leave cheap motoring for something more PH
i'm really only after strong mechanicals, the interior will be covered in dust & crap in a few weeks and i never wash my snotters so i can forget about rust!
the one finishing today is this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
what do you think? i'd only need it 6mths or so [i hope] before i can leave cheap motoring for something more PH
Our 6 months of bangernomics with a Frontera is just coming to an end and we'll be putting it up for sale next week (6 months tax and MOT til August). It's been a load of fun for us, done a lot of miles in it and it's done just as we've asked (especially good fun in the snow). Probably not what you're after and we're probably too far away from you anyway, but just wanted to give a 
for 4x4 bangernomics 
for 4x4 bangernomics shirt said:
The problem with that one is the LPG tank takes up a significant amount of usable boot space and gets in the way of folding the seats down and filling it with all the rubbish you chuch in the Clio. Look for one with under-slung LPG tanks perhaps?I'm running a 1998 diesel Cherokee as my snotter at the moment and it is great fun. Excellent for London - potholes and speed bumps are dispatched with ease, and people think twice before cutting you up. But mine was more than double your budget.
Mine has full Jeep SH, only two previous owners and has obviously been cared for. Still a potential money pit though...
Mk1 Discos are so cheap now, and offer a lot of car for the money. Something Japanese would be more reliable - Shogun/Land Cruiser/Trooper but a little more expensive when it goes wrong. I have heard good things about Fronteras as well. Have you considered a LWB Vitara? Parts are plentiful and cheap as well.
I bought a 99 s-reg Shogun 2.8td lwb mk2 (facelift) about 2 montns ago. 143,000 miles. Had 5 months t&t, fsh and it cost me £500. Couple of broken trim bits but i've replaced those (plastic driver seat tilt lever and front cupholder) with bits from ebay for less than £20. Had a temporary oil filler cap too (replacement was about £7).
Fanbelt went the next day but apart from that it's ben great. Does 30mpg and will touch the ton although it's much happier (and quieter!) at 70-80. Full 7 seater and it's a big comfy old thing.
I've serviced it once (myself) and had to replace the glowplugs.
Really simple to work on and parts are very easy to get and are really cheap.
Fanbelt went the next day but apart from that it's ben great. Does 30mpg and will touch the ton although it's much happier (and quieter!) at 70-80. Full 7 seater and it's a big comfy old thing.
I've serviced it once (myself) and had to replace the glowplugs.
Really simple to work on and parts are very easy to get and are really cheap.
Edited by Lefty Guns on Sunday 5th April 08:20
If, and it's a big If, you're competent to work on the vehicle yourself you'd really struggle (in my slightly biased opinion) to do better than a 300 tdi Disco.
You need to take your time looking for one, it must be a 3 door as that immediately eliminates a major rust spot, the arches around the back doors on the 5 doors. Also look for a base spec with no sunroofs (they leak and cause corrosion) and the fewer gadgets it has the better as that means fewer things to break. Don't worry too much about mileage, buy on condition and most importantly LACK OF CORROSION. Stay away from autos for better consumption and pace and also a fuel pump which will cope with running biodiesel or straight vegetable oil better.
Once you've bought it buy a Land Rover magazine and get familiar with the details of some parts suppliers. Pattern parts are stupidly cheap, to give a couple of recent exampls, Fuel Filter - £3, Oil Filter £2.50, Wheel Bearing replacement kit for front axle - £16 etc. Then pop onto 'petrolprices.com' and look for local biodiesel suppliers. I've sourced an IBC (1000 litres) of biodiesel delivered to my front door at £81 pence/litre. If you're prepared to be naughty buy it as 'heating oil' for £60 pence/litre, I don't dare risk that though.
So now you've got a 4x4 which does the price equivalent of about 37 mpg and, if you do the work yourself and nothing major expires, will probably cost you around £300/12000 miles in parts and servicing (based on my own experience and mine gets used heavily off road, entirely road use will drop servicing costs accordingly).
You need to take your time looking for one, it must be a 3 door as that immediately eliminates a major rust spot, the arches around the back doors on the 5 doors. Also look for a base spec with no sunroofs (they leak and cause corrosion) and the fewer gadgets it has the better as that means fewer things to break. Don't worry too much about mileage, buy on condition and most importantly LACK OF CORROSION. Stay away from autos for better consumption and pace and also a fuel pump which will cope with running biodiesel or straight vegetable oil better.
Once you've bought it buy a Land Rover magazine and get familiar with the details of some parts suppliers. Pattern parts are stupidly cheap, to give a couple of recent exampls, Fuel Filter - £3, Oil Filter £2.50, Wheel Bearing replacement kit for front axle - £16 etc. Then pop onto 'petrolprices.com' and look for local biodiesel suppliers. I've sourced an IBC (1000 litres) of biodiesel delivered to my front door at £81 pence/litre. If you're prepared to be naughty buy it as 'heating oil' for £60 pence/litre, I don't dare risk that though.
So now you've got a 4x4 which does the price equivalent of about 37 mpg and, if you do the work yourself and nothing major expires, will probably cost you around £300/12000 miles in parts and servicing (based on my own experience and mine gets used heavily off road, entirely road use will drop servicing costs accordingly).
Edited by JWH on Saturday 18th April 22:02
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