My shed :(

[205 lew]

Hi im lew ive just turned 17 and i got this car given to me and im wondering what i could do to it and i need ideas. its a 1.8 diesel wich im not going to get insured on but anyway here are some pics my only mods are new headunit and door speakers.

[Richie_asg1]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

It may not be fast and sporty (yet), but you can make the best of what it is, and gain those valuable no-claims years.
You really should shop around for insurance, - and strip off all the unecessary stuff they add on. Opt to pay the maximum excess, and the lowest value they will let you have. - Watch out on this one though, there is a lower limit - but they won't want to tell you this. just alter the value it's insured for untill it starts to affect the premium - and stick to the minumum - it's unlikely you will write the car of completely.

I had a 1.1 beige fiesta ( yes I know ) for my first 3 years - and still managed to shove the foglight into the boot when I reversed on gravel - into a rock, so just consider your first car as a disposable learning machine.

Most important mods you could probably do is just plain maintenance - keep the strut tops oiled and stop the rot in the sills and around the back end with a waxoyl/ oil mix. Keep up with anything that falls off along the way - brakes, coolant, oilseals, and you should be able to sell it without loosing too much cash on it.

You could still put a decent sound system in it, and paint is cheap.

[Stubbo]

Agreed, treat your first car as a bit of a bumper car in a way (i mean into objects, not people and cars lol) That way you arent too fussed about the odd dent or scratch cropping up!

All i did was keep on top of mainaining its exterior + engine and fitted a decent sound system, i do still miss that 205 though! the sound of every panel rattling like mad when i turned up the stereo a tiny bit, happy days!!

Btw my first car was a 205 1.8 diesel as well, you can get insured but it costs top coin, think i used budget first year so give them a try!

get friendly with the local scrappy as well

[harry182]

keep it, dont mod it, rag it, bang it and get 1 years ncb then buy something a bit nicer

[benny1985]

think of it like this mate
it may not be fast but good on fuel (Y)

[maxien78]

WOW!! 1.8 and only 17...thats gotta sting a bit when it comes to insurance. do better to take some advice and not mod it till you ahve a few years no claims and possibly wait till after your 25 too lol

Nice to have had it given to you though cus pugs look yummy when modded

[BestGear]

Hi

You could look into doing one of the post-test driving certificates to help get the insurance down.

if you really are keen, you could do your Institure of Advanced Motorists test - that certainly gets your discount from most insurers.

The IAM test, including ALL instruction is less that £100 - best ton you will ever spend.

Ok, I'm an old foggy (not that old...certainly not as old as BettySwollocks..or Stubbo ), but my 307 insurance, fully comp, is £109.... with my IAM discount.

David