So much for that

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 03/28/2015 at 06:48 • Filed to: None

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My friend's brother has a 1.6 diesel Focus that's been impressively reliable for the last few years. Well my friend just told me they're getting the train for a trip today, because it lost all power and started making a loud whining noise. Sounds like turbo death to me. They'll probably sell it for spares I imagine since they don't have the cash to replace a turbo.

duurtlang > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 06:57

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They'll probably sell it for spares I imagine since they don't have the cash to replace a turbo.

Wouldn't it be more expensive to buy a replacement car?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > duurtlang 03/28/2015 at 07:01

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Na they just wont buy another car most likely. His brother moved to australia for a year for work and left the car to his mother. The mother managed without a car till then and his brother was probably planning on buying something else when he got back anyway.

E. Julius > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 07:41

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…managed without a car till then…

lol Europe

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 07:43

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You say that as though it's a bad thing.

E. Julius > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 07:45

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No it's the complete opposite of a bad thing. I'm just laughing because there are so many places in the US where that is all but impossible.

Funktheduck > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 07:47

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I'm jealous of that often. Depending on what part of the US you're in some areas are trying to make things easier to live without a car and others are actively blocking it. It all depends on the $.

E. Julius > Funktheduck 03/28/2015 at 07:50

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Agreed. I like having the freedom to enjoy my car but it sucks that people who don't enjoy driving and/or can't afford a solid car are basically forced to do it. Makes the roads more dangerous for everybody and often contributes to inescapable poverty. Unfortunately, much more difficult to implement a European style rail system given the sheer size of the US.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 07:50

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Well there are places here where it's near impossible/ difficult, in the countryside. A friend from uni lives 10 miles from any kind of transport link and 1 mile from a paved road. It is nice knowing you can mostly get around without a car though.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Funktheduck 03/28/2015 at 07:51

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It is nice knowing you can get around without a vehicle if necessary. Plus for people who only need transport a couple times a week, being able to take other forms of transport can save a fortune.

Funktheduck > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 07:52

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Yeah. I know some people who move to areas of town just so they don't need a car as much. It definitely doesn't save money because those parts of town are more expensive.

duurtlang > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 07:52

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You've got lots of places like that in Europe as well. In the countryside.

E. Julius > duurtlang 03/28/2015 at 07:58

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True. Do you have situations where people live in fairly populated towns (~100,000 people) and can't get to work without a car? I really only have experience with the big cities in Europe.

duurtlang > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 08:02

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It depends on where your work is. If you work in the same city you can get to work without a car. If you can do so within an acceptable time depends on the city I guess.

E. Julius > duurtlang 03/28/2015 at 08:09

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Ah ok, makes sense. Speaking outside of a commuting scenario, I know that the regional rail systems are pretty extensive over here, whereas in the US it's often difficult or impossible to get between a small town or minor city and a larger city without a car.

Cé hé sin > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 09:45

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Depends. I live just outside a town with about 165,000 people. Getting to work without a car would be very awkward but not impossible.

Cé hé sin > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 09:46

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Exchange turbos aren't very expensive though. You can even rebuild then yourself if you're a bit handy with spanners and so on.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Cé hé sin 03/28/2015 at 09:59

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I rebuilt my own for £130. I'm not willing to go through that kind of effort for someone else though and no one in their family has the skills to do the job.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > E. Julius 03/28/2015 at 11:30

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Like over 99% of the U.S.. There are probably less than 500 square miles in the country where it would be possible to reasonably live without a car.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 13:48

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Buy it off of them cheap, fix it, flip it.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 03/28/2015 at 13:52

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It's a pig of a job and the car isn't worth much anyway. Even if I fixed it I'd be lucky to get £1500.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/28/2015 at 14:24

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Offer £500... and not a pence more. Sell for £1000-£1500.

Is a £400 to £900 profit worth your time?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 03/28/2015 at 14:28

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Possibly. I'll have to see how it works out when I properly diagnose the fault, the car has a few other bits wrong with it too (it's done 140k hard miles with some offroading at times). The ideal situation is that I fix it on the cheap for them, pocket a bit of profit and they get to hold onto the car. We'll see.