Hi all!
I've been on the forum for about a week now and have been hunting for a 3 door HDI for about a week prior to that. I'm currently commuting 60 miles a day in a Golf 6R and apart from adding the miles to what is a low mileage car I'm finding myself filling up the tank twice a week. For the past year I've also been doing a nut and bolt restoration on a Phase 1 Clio 172 but it has become something of a garage queen as everything I can unbolt has either been powdercoated or zinc plated so it doesn't get driven much and never in bad weather.
Pic of the current daily driver. A great all round car with some nice modern toys but likes a drink...
A before shot of the Clio. It was in a bad way when I bought it but I've since spent a lot of time and effort on it and it now spends a lot of time in the garage waiting for Summer.
After giving it some love and attention it has started to look a lot better..
Anyway, back to the quest for a commuter and I was contemplating getting an Integra Type R - don't ask me why but they're probably slightly better on fuel than the Golf and I always fancied owning one, plus they're getting quite rare now.
I was struggling to find a decent ITR for sale as they all seem to rot away from the inside arches but I've always had a soft spot for 306's ever since driving my ex-gf's XRDT many moons ago and I heard rumours the HDIs could get between 600-700 miles on a tank so after some classic "man maths" I decided to look for a nice tidy 3 door as it would pretty much pay for itself in saved fuel costs.
It turns out that since the last time I was looking at 306's back in 2007, finding nice, tidy 3 door examples is getting much harder than it was so I decided to change my approach and look for something cheap that needed time, effort (and likely money) to bring it up to scratch. I really enjoy the process of restoring a car to its former glory and the 306 has always been a bit of a timeless classic in my mind.
After very little looking around I stumbled across an advert for a Moonstone Blue V reg HDI on facebook marketplace, the car had done some serious miles in its time but had a decent wedge of paperwork (which I didn't look at) and drove well (round the block) and the engine sounded pretty healthy (for a tractor). But enough of the good points, overall the car was a little untidy to say the least as the pictures will show, despite the bodywork looking surprisingly decent for a car of its years. I don't know why but something inside me thought sod it, it's worth a punt and everything is fixable with the right attitude plus it has 10 months MOT and a set of cyclones on which I could always sell for parts so I handed over £350 cash without a single further thought.
As I drove the car away the exhaust heatshield gave a happy rattle and when I tried to wind down the windows for a bit of fresh air they didn't work, nor, I realised, did the lights on the heater controls...
The advertisement at least highlighted all of the (major) bad points of the car. The colour of the door and the wing looked a little mismatched in this picture but on viewing the car it was just the lighting as the owner pointed out.
Ripped passenger seat, with the driver's side having been stitched up.
Cracked windscreen. I've since ordered a like for like replacement with rain sensors and green tint/hue from National Windscreens which is due to be fitted next week. It's surprising how much you can actually see when looking out, it doesn't obscure the view at all but I won't be driving the car again until it's sorted.
A couple of fairly deep key scratches to the boot and driver's door (which also has a scuff/blemish). If there's one thing I am fairly confident about it's that I will be able to remove or seriously reduce the impact of the damage with the machine polisher as the blemish is just a surface mark where paint has rubbed off onto the door and the scratches have not gone through to the primer. I've always been a sucker for Moonstone, it's such a rewarding deep colour when polished and waxed
I made a start on the interior tonight so I will post more pictures shortly. Comments welcome, even if they are ones of shock or disgust!
I've been on the forum for about a week now and have been hunting for a 3 door HDI for about a week prior to that. I'm currently commuting 60 miles a day in a Golf 6R and apart from adding the miles to what is a low mileage car I'm finding myself filling up the tank twice a week. For the past year I've also been doing a nut and bolt restoration on a Phase 1 Clio 172 but it has become something of a garage queen as everything I can unbolt has either been powdercoated or zinc plated so it doesn't get driven much and never in bad weather.
Pic of the current daily driver. A great all round car with some nice modern toys but likes a drink...
A before shot of the Clio. It was in a bad way when I bought it but I've since spent a lot of time and effort on it and it now spends a lot of time in the garage waiting for Summer.
After giving it some love and attention it has started to look a lot better..
Anyway, back to the quest for a commuter and I was contemplating getting an Integra Type R - don't ask me why but they're probably slightly better on fuel than the Golf and I always fancied owning one, plus they're getting quite rare now.
I was struggling to find a decent ITR for sale as they all seem to rot away from the inside arches but I've always had a soft spot for 306's ever since driving my ex-gf's XRDT many moons ago and I heard rumours the HDIs could get between 600-700 miles on a tank so after some classic "man maths" I decided to look for a nice tidy 3 door as it would pretty much pay for itself in saved fuel costs.
It turns out that since the last time I was looking at 306's back in 2007, finding nice, tidy 3 door examples is getting much harder than it was so I decided to change my approach and look for something cheap that needed time, effort (and likely money) to bring it up to scratch. I really enjoy the process of restoring a car to its former glory and the 306 has always been a bit of a timeless classic in my mind.
After very little looking around I stumbled across an advert for a Moonstone Blue V reg HDI on facebook marketplace, the car had done some serious miles in its time but had a decent wedge of paperwork (which I didn't look at) and drove well (round the block) and the engine sounded pretty healthy (for a tractor). But enough of the good points, overall the car was a little untidy to say the least as the pictures will show, despite the bodywork looking surprisingly decent for a car of its years. I don't know why but something inside me thought sod it, it's worth a punt and everything is fixable with the right attitude plus it has 10 months MOT and a set of cyclones on which I could always sell for parts so I handed over £350 cash without a single further thought.
As I drove the car away the exhaust heatshield gave a happy rattle and when I tried to wind down the windows for a bit of fresh air they didn't work, nor, I realised, did the lights on the heater controls...
The advertisement at least highlighted all of the (major) bad points of the car. The colour of the door and the wing looked a little mismatched in this picture but on viewing the car it was just the lighting as the owner pointed out.
Ripped passenger seat, with the driver's side having been stitched up.
Cracked windscreen. I've since ordered a like for like replacement with rain sensors and green tint/hue from National Windscreens which is due to be fitted next week. It's surprising how much you can actually see when looking out, it doesn't obscure the view at all but I won't be driving the car again until it's sorted.
A couple of fairly deep key scratches to the boot and driver's door (which also has a scuff/blemish). If there's one thing I am fairly confident about it's that I will be able to remove or seriously reduce the impact of the damage with the machine polisher as the blemish is just a surface mark where paint has rubbed off onto the door and the scratches have not gone through to the primer. I've always been a sucker for Moonstone, it's such a rewarding deep colour when polished and waxed
I made a start on the interior tonight so I will post more pictures shortly. Comments welcome, even if they are ones of shock or disgust!
190k Moonstone 3dr HDI sold
..on the lookout for a 6/rallye
..on the lookout for a 6/rallye