19 years old and she can still pass an MOT first time with no advisories.

[rustic]

Well MOT day today, I hardly slept last night.
Why does it affect men so much?:doh

Earlier this week I changed an upper ball joint, and a headlight side light bulb.
The cost of owning a Maverick/Terrano...:augie £12 this year
That has been the total cost of ownership this last year, other than oil, filters and fuel.

For the odd one who doesn't know...:doh
I don't expect that will be many...:augie :lol
I have had this Maverick since new for 19 years, the most expensive thing that I have spent on this vehicle, other than wear and tear items, battery, tyres, brakes, exhaust, is...


WAXOYL....

I have genuinely spent more on this, than any other part, and boy, it has paid me back over and over again. There must be 4 or 5 x 5 litre cans of the stuff that has been applied and subsequently washed off over the years.
This is the only issue, you have to apply it, or at least top it up every year, preferably before the onset of Winter.

As I have said before, I keep a jam jar of the stuff to hand, with a brush, and apply it when ever I am under the truck doing any other maintenance.

The Technician who MOT'd it, came specially to reception to see me, he has never seen a car so old, looking like new... his words.:thumb2

No advisories yet again.


I am so so pleased.:thumb2:thumb2:thumb2
Can you tell?:clap:clap:clap:clap


Rustic

 

[bry]

Good on yer..

 

[TONUP]

Well done. It's always a relief to get that pass cerificate.

Mine is due in just over a week... I fear I wont have the same success as you though.

Regards

Alan

 

[jonela]

I'm sure we all know it's easier to look after something from new than to try to renovate something you have let rot. But how many of us could keep this up for 19 years ! Its a testament to your dedication and love of the car that you have manged to keep it in such good nic for so long. John:bow

 

[rustic]

I'm sure we all know it's easier to look after something from new than to try to renovate something you have let rot. But how many of us could keep this up for 19 years ! Its a testament to your dedication and love of the car that you have manged to keep it in such good nic for so long. John:bow

Very kind words indeed.
It has taken dedication, although when we moved into this house 17 years ago, it was essential that there was enough height to get the Mav into the garage, and you won't believe this, BUT before we put in our offer, I actually asked to see if the Mav would fit into the garage...

AND IT DIDN'T...:doh:doh the door wouldn't go up far enough, we were all disappointed, then I noticed that there were two positions for the door, and I lifted the door another 2" and in she went...
Our offer was immediately accepted.:thumb2
What a way to buy a house...:lol
I was buying a garage with a house attached...

So having dedication is one thing, but being able to work on it, in a warm dry integral double garage has been the main benefit. I even have a de-humidifier that dries the cars off in the winter, and a hose pipe by the door, to wash off all the salt and mud.

Many times, I have gone into the garage in my pyjamas, blowing a gale outside, just to measure something, or check something to help others on this site.:thumb2
As have of course other members who have faced the elements just to help a member. I remember Rick going out at midnight, to have a root in his workshop, to find a part. And of course other members, searching the past posts to find some details to help others. We are all able to help in different ways.:thumb2

It is this fellowship and dedication from all it's members, that makes this club a great site.:thumbs:thumbs


Best regards,

Rustic

 

[Banshee]

This brought a smile to my face

Well done chap!!!!! Keep up the good work

That trucks going to outlast you!!!!!

 

[firebobby]

Well done Rustic, always a good feeling when they hand over that ticket.:thumb2

 

[rustic]

...
That trucks going to outlast you!!!!!

You are so right, I wish I could sort out my frozen shoulder joint as quick as swapping an upper ball joint...:lol:lol:lol

Well it's a bit of arthritis too.:doh

But Docs say its not a major problem, so better than having the complications that come with surgery.
I just change the way I do things.

I wish I was waxoyled from birth, mind you, it did no good for my hair, even though that was coated with it, many many times, it still fell out. But hey, no rust, and that's what it said on the tin.:thumb2
:lol:lol:lol

 

[jonela]

Very kind words indeed.
It has taken dedication, although when we moved into this house 17 years ago, it was essential that there was enough height to get the Mav into the garage, and you won't believe this, BUT before we put in our offer, I actually asked to see if the Mav would fit into the garage...

AND IT DIDN'T...:doh:doh the door wouldn't go up far enough, we were all disappointed, then I noticed that there were two positions for the door, and I lifted the door another 2" and in she went...
Our offer was immediately accepted.:thumb2
What a way to buy a house...:lol
I was buying a garage with a house attached...

So having dedication is one thing, but being able to work on it, in a warm dry integral double garage has been the main benefit. I even have a de-humidifier that dries the cars off in the winter, and a hose pipe by the door, to wash off all the salt and mud.

Many times, I have gone into the garage in my pyjamas, blowing a gale outside, just to measure something, or check something to help others on this site.:thumb2
As have of course other members who have faced the elements just to help a member. I remember Rick going out at midnight, to have a root in his workshop, to find a part. And of course other members, searching the past posts to find some details to help others. We are all able to help in different ways.:thumb2

It is this fellowship and dedication from all it's members, that makes this club a great site.:thumbs:thumbs


Best regards,

Rustic

I totally agree, this sight is different in so many ways to others ,Not in the least that there are many members on here that have no or very limited technical Knowledge, like Me , but are still able to participate in the forum and build there knowledge thanks to other like Rick and yourself. I learn something new every day, john:thumb2

 

[Terranical]

The Spanish MOT (called an ITV) is due next saturday on my 20 year old Terrano and I am not optimistic! My daughter uses it as her everyday transport when I am not in Spain and her and her husband have a pretty shocking record when it comes to car maintenance - until something snaps or falls off there is nothing wrong with it! I asked said son-in-law 3 weeks ago to have a quick look round it (lights, bushes, washers, horn etc) to see if there is anything obvious - I'm still waiting! It does annoy me that they have totally free use of a completely funded car (insurance, ITV, road tax etc) but they won't even do basic things like checking vital fluids and tyres - sorry, rant over.It will be interesting to see what I find needs doing when I go over next Wed with only 2 days to sort it all out.

 

[rustic]

The Spanish MOT (called an ITV) is due next saturday on my 20 year old Terrano and I am not optimistic! My daughter uses it as her everyday transport when I am not in Spain and her and her husband have a pretty shocking record when it comes to car maintenance - until something snaps or falls off there is nothing wrong with it! I asked said son-in-law 3 weeks ago to have a quick look round it (lights, bushes, washers, horn etc) to see if there is anything obvious - I'm still waiting! It does annoy me that they have totally free use of a completely funded car (insurance, ITV, road tax etc) but they won't even do basic things like checking vital fluids and tyres - sorry, rant over.It will be interesting to see what I find needs doing when I go over next Wed with only 2 days to sort it all out.

Good luck with that, I found my worn ball joint by rocking the car side to side with the handbrake off, (if safe to do so) and any clunks investigated.
At first I thought ARB drop link, but they were solid, so could you get them to at least rock the car.

Are the parts easy to get ? I know they were actually built in Spain?
But here in the UK most parts are after market, with very different quality issues.:doh

Rustic

 

[Terranical]

Parts are fairly easy to get from local motor factors (there are still loads of T2s and Mavericks in Spain, they don't rust like in the UK) but they are expensive - I bought my last pair of front arb drop links from a Spanish supplier, cost me 36€ for the pair, however, they fitted correctly and have lasted well which is more than can be said for some that are available on eBay.
Good tip about the ball joints, however, I suspect it's something I will be doing myself!

 

[spinna]

Well done Rustic:thumb2:bow. How long did you say u've had your Terrano?:lol.
As your probably aware my Patrol is undergoing some restoration work at the moment but when done and she goes for mot it would be just my luck that I have missed something:doh

 

[terrano bob]

well done my mate :clap:thumbs

 

[melissachels]

Good stuff, just shows the difference when the car has the advantage of a caring owner & get looked after properly :thumb2

 

[rustic]

Good stuff, just shows the difference when the car has the advantage of a caring owner & get looked after properly :thumb2

The caring idea came from my early days, when times were hard, and I soon learnt to look after things if you still wanted them to perform.
My first car was an old mini, and the boot floor fell out, my second car was a three year old Toyota Corolla 1200E and the wings had rotted through.
I thought if only I had had the car earlier...
We eventually bought a Mk III escort new, they had just come out, BUT that was a rogue, so we got shut and bought a new Austin Ambassador, and we kept that 13 years, and that was totally rust free, following lots of waxoyl BUT it was the build quality that let that down. I was fixing something every weekend, and chasing poor assembly, like sand in the clutch slave cylinder, clutch plate not bolted on securely, loose screws in the alternator, oil pump screws came loose and we lost oil pressure, wheel bearing seals broke down and the spring part dropped into the bearing, and ball joints by the handful.

When we bought the Maverick, all my experience went into prevention rather than cure.
Over the years of car ownership, I have looked where the same model has started to rust and made sure mine didn't. But this is not something that you can do on a new model though, that's why the Ambassador scored, as there were loads of earlier Princesses about to compare.

The Maverick hadn't been out long, so it was a bit of a risk, and the alternatives at the time were the Discovery, Frontera, and the Sport track, with it's galvanised body had it's advantages, but was very van like.

Certainly getting the car from new and waxoyling it on day one, was key to the caring.

Having said that, with modern protection, even a five year old car can be treated, once all the muck is removed.
It's never too late to preserve what you have, but if the rust has already established itself, like in the gap between the boot under floor metal work, there is not a great deal you can do about it.
This area is double skinned, with no drainage, so encourages rust.