My view on beaters is merely an opportunity to play with some other cars. I've had a S-reg 5 series for the last 6 months to cover a 50 mile daily round trip along the M27. It cost less than a grand, £150ish road tax, I get 40p a mile expenses, and I sold it Monday for £750. Nevere given me any grief.

Now buying a CLK 240 for the next 6 months (from a work colleague). Its not about keeping them, but I just wound not drive an Aygo, despite the obvious economic value.

 

You are missing the point a little, some of it is about scooting round in a slow, under powered car and maintaining momentum as best as possible, reading the traffic, nipping through gaps you wouldn't entertain in anything big.

 

Yeah I get that. I hired a Punto for a while which was quite fun in Bristol traffic, but a beater for me is basically a sofa for the motorway. I'm going to be sat in traffic so a soft leather seat (and arse groove), leg space, room for my gadgets and good aircon is a must. Even if the car is 15 years old. I must admit, I miss that Beemer seat already.

 

See that's the thing. I didn't have that in the FIAT, i DO have that in the Aygo - depends on your commute i guess, mine is mostly back roads and fairly narrow ones at that. Must be 10 different ways to get to MK from Stevenage, for the most part, avoiding anything with an A number.

I suspect Ratty might agree, it doesn't matter what the car is as long as driving it is fun. This feels like driving when i was 17 and t he challenge was to get as quickly as possible from one place to the next on as little fuel as possible. £10 would be enough for a full evening out driving but then it was £2.30 a gallon! We could make it from Ponteland 6th form common room to the pub in Stamfordham, have a couple of games of pool and a pint and still be back before lunch finished if we got a good run. I went back along those same roads in the S2000 a few years back as well as a run along the Tyne on the back road to Prudhoe and over the narrow bridge, not quite so keen on doing NSL over that now i can tell you!!




Anyhoo motoring fun is the same reason i'm doing a bike license in my 40s, plenty of time for luxobarges with a slushbox when i'm too old and weary to bother about anything else but comfort

 

Well.. i've sold the Fabia VRS for another storming profit. Bought in Feb for £3100, sold for £3800 4 months later...
Just call me Mike Brewer Things bought were discs & pads all round, and front tyres. So just under £500 profit.

Now i'm straight into a Golf V TDi 105. Massive wad of history, its not the best on the outisde but I can work my magic and polish it up. I've had plenty of practice on German hard paint (BMW), and my last Mk4 Golf (Med Hard).
Comfy, cheap & practical. Its a winner.

 

Done a round trip to Glasgow and back in it this weekend - 800 miles give or take and it has been comfortable and economical and equally happy to cruise at NSL plus a bit Works out at a shade over 61mpg - bloody good considering it was operating well above what you'd think was its comfort zone.