Ownership Verified: The Downgrade

Spectre said:
*Most* post-1970 cars do not have bolt on rear quarter panels or fenders which is what you'd need to replace on yours. However, most non-BL-econocrap cars *do* have bolt-on front fenders.
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I've noticed that to be true on all my cars... Why don't they have bolt on rears more often?
 
Interestingly the ABS warning light has come one. What makes it interesting is the fact that there is no ABS. Also it is linked to the brake pedal. The light goes off when you press the brakes and comes back on when you let go. There are no wires going to the callipers but I will assume the problem arose from fiddling with the front brakes. I had to remove some brake fluid from the reservoir after pushing the pistons in the callipers a very long way back. The brake fluid reservoir looked pretty dirty on the outside with fluid residue covering it so I wiped it clean. I might have to have a closer look at the electrical connector going to the reservoir.
 
Things have come full circle. The car having served its purpose I did one final drive from London to Yorkshire and it performed perfectly. By now the ABS light problem had long since fixed itself and the knocking sound from the crank pulley had been absent for a month. Even the pull to the left seemed far less present than before. Suffice to say the car performed really well on the motorway and only used ?20 fuel for the trip. In total I covered nearly 3000 miles in the vehicle and I had built up a good rapor with it and rather got used to it being quite worn and loose in places. I gave it one last clean up, posted it on Autotrader UK at 16:30 yesterday for ?500 (a price recommended by Autotrader) and sold it just before 15:00 today for ?450 to a local buyer. Everything was so damn easy I couldn't believe it. Very pleased to be ?150 up on the purchase price as well. It was the cheapest 206 HDi on the website. The buyer was a farmer type and was convinced it didn't feel worn out upon test driving even though I said it felt a bit tired and would expect a low mileage example to be significantly better. He wouldn't be put of by that though as he needed a car immediately.

Would I buy another? Absolutely! However I would pay up to ?1000 and get a 1.4 HDi. Sure it has less power but the fuel economy is in the 70 mpg range on a run and much more importantly the tax in the UK for one is ?30 per year. Other than that the 206 2.0 HDi eco also has this cheap tax and regular 206 2.0 HDi models are around ?110 tax per year as long as it is a MY 2001 or newer. The handling is not up there with Fords but you get far more equipment and the French bother to trim the interiors of their cars at least. It wasn't particularly difficult to work on, but beware having to work on the rear suspension if need be, that is fiddly.

To conclude this thread, everything went better than expected. You can still buy a car for ?300 and not get into trouble, but when in this territory exercise caution. I am sans car for the first time since getting my licence in 2011. How long do you think I will hold out till I rescue another ?300 beater? :D
 
Downgrading, you did it right! Glad to see everything turn out ok, even making a profit!
 
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