James Ruppert: a modest investment can reap rewards

“When the time came for an MOT, blow me, it sailed through with no advisories,” he says. “So now I had to keep it for another year. 

“A year later it sailed through its next MOT, and now I had to make a decision: do I keep it or trade? I decide to keep it, my £500 investment looking really good now. The third year it went through again, but I was warned it would need work for the next one. Then the thrust bearing went and it made a horrible noise, and the cost was almost what the car was worth, so I traded it.” 

Sadly no picture, so it doesn’t make Reader’s Ride, but have £500 and you can certainly travel, often for three trouble-free years. If you are proud of your motor, whatever it cost, send me a picture and a few words and we will celebrate its wonderfulness. 

What we almost bought this week:

Mitsubishi-Willys Jeep: All this talk of the new Jeep Wrangler got us thinking about the original Willys Jeep of 1941. First we got the hots for a fully restored, ex-Korean War example up for £16,995. And then we did a bit more digging and found this Mitsubishi-built model from 1993 with a 2.7 diesel and just 53,000 miles. Yours, or ours, for £8295. 

Tales from Ruppert's garage:

Mini Cooper, mileage - 102,445: It was suggested to me by several ‘experts’ that fixing the Cooper by changing its head gasket would take just a couple of minutes’ spannering. I suspected that the problem was rather more serious, so dropped the car off at my local garage, which has bigger spanners. Well, this isn’t going to be a quick fix: what we’ve got is a full-on blocked-oil-and-waterway, crammed-full-of-crud scenario. Even the radiator is pretty unwell. Quite why this has happened seems to be a complete mystery. Clearly some bits of something broke off and started getting hot. This is going to be costly and time consuming. 

A to Z Bangerpedia:

J is for Justy: The original Subaru Justy was certainly unique, and for those that only needed a tiny four-wheel-drive supermini, there it was. So if you live up a muddy lane and only visit the corner shop, it’s pretty much perfect. 

It isn't hard to justify a Justy. Not much money buys a petrol four-wheel-drive car that delivers 40mpg and takes up little road space, so you won't provoke the anti-4x4 lobby. It’s trendy, too – in some markets, it was actually badged as the Trendy. You might just find a 1996 1.3 GX with minor issues for £500 to go.

James Ruppert

Readers’ questions:

Question: I’ve driven the North Coast 500 and really enjoyed it, but now I fancy a fresh challenge. What do you recommend? Paul Scott, Dartington, Devon

Answer: It’s only a quarter of the distance but we suggest you try Northern Ireland’s 120-mile Causeway Coastal Route. Like the NC500 it boasts incredible roads, breathtaking views and some memorable stopping points, including the Giant’s Causeway. The route starts in Belfast. John Evans

Question: What should I consider when looking at PCP deals? Karen Lawson, via email