Hi there! My name is Rey, and I've only just considered the fact that I could, instead of making multiple lists of things I need to do to my lovely little K11, Isabelle, just make a blog thread on this wonderful forum. That kills 2 birds with 1 stone; tracks my progress, and tells me what I need to do next!
The only problem is I've had this car for a little under 6 months now, so I've done quite a bit to her already. To recap, then;
I bought Isabelle in September 2018, for about £400, I think it was. She was a bit of a sorry looking thing, but I am too, so it was a perfect match!
Quite the battered old girl, huh? But, for 74,000 clocked, she ran fine, and was a lovely little bargain in my broke teenage eyes.
Having managed to get her home on a provisional license after a 5-month gap in learning to drive, she was dubbed Isabelle thanks to the Nintendo character being announced for Smash the same day!
After a wash and in the light, she looked pretty good, but there was a few things I had to do before I was prepared to properly proclaim her a part of the family. Which, being a teenager, meant replacing the broken and battered stock head unit with a banging Pioneer one!
After that, she was mostly just used to learn in out of lessons. She was so small it almost presented more problems switching to the instructors '16 Fiesta, but I digress. I thought I'd get a bit lonely once I passed, so I quickly got a dashboard buddy to keep me company on long trips!
Isabelle, meet Isabelle!
Anyway, after passing my test (!!) I decided it was time to tackle some little things before moving on to fixing her blemishes and problems. First of all being the interior fans not working properly, which turned out to be the fan resistor, which was quickly taken care of, marking my first successful mend on a car ever! Pretty chuffed.
Having then made a catalogue of stuff I still need to do, I made the executive decision it was time to take care of those nasty bonnet marks. I was told by the previous owner it was all sun damage, and I suspect it's from not being dried properly after a mid-summer wash. Anyway, one 7-hour round trip later, I had a slightly off-coloured new bonnet for Isabelle to don proudly!
It ended up looking a lot better than I thought it would!
I then turned my attention to the interior, as it still felt a bit cold and heartless in there, even with a friend on the dash to smile me up the M25. So, 4 screws, a can of blue spray paint and a sorry face mask later, this was the result!
I'm quite chuffed with it, actually. And after a trip to Halfords, the sorry-looking floor mats, blemished beyond repair by a probable 15 years of neglect, were replaced too!
They look a lot better in person.
And today, I turned my attention back to the exterior to fix a pretty big problem; I bought the car with a hole in the passenger headlight. So, after picking up a basic tool set and cracking it for the first time in my life, I went about it!
I'm really quite happy with it! It works all good, and looks even better! It was, however, pretty grim watching half a pint of water and what looked like a bit of seaweed pour out of the old one. Oh, and I also pulled out the trim underneath the windscreen, and silicone-filled the nooks and crannies I've read cause the passenger footwell leak I've had issues with since I bought the car. Nice!
So, you're all caught up. My plans now are:
After that, who knows? If you have any ideas that won't shoot my insurance through the roof, I'd love to hear them!
The only problem is I've had this car for a little under 6 months now, so I've done quite a bit to her already. To recap, then;
I bought Isabelle in September 2018, for about £400, I think it was. She was a bit of a sorry looking thing, but I am too, so it was a perfect match!
Quite the battered old girl, huh? But, for 74,000 clocked, she ran fine, and was a lovely little bargain in my broke teenage eyes.
Having managed to get her home on a provisional license after a 5-month gap in learning to drive, she was dubbed Isabelle thanks to the Nintendo character being announced for Smash the same day!
After a wash and in the light, she looked pretty good, but there was a few things I had to do before I was prepared to properly proclaim her a part of the family. Which, being a teenager, meant replacing the broken and battered stock head unit with a banging Pioneer one!
After that, she was mostly just used to learn in out of lessons. She was so small it almost presented more problems switching to the instructors '16 Fiesta, but I digress. I thought I'd get a bit lonely once I passed, so I quickly got a dashboard buddy to keep me company on long trips!
Isabelle, meet Isabelle!
Anyway, after passing my test (!!) I decided it was time to tackle some little things before moving on to fixing her blemishes and problems. First of all being the interior fans not working properly, which turned out to be the fan resistor, which was quickly taken care of, marking my first successful mend on a car ever! Pretty chuffed.
Having then made a catalogue of stuff I still need to do, I made the executive decision it was time to take care of those nasty bonnet marks. I was told by the previous owner it was all sun damage, and I suspect it's from not being dried properly after a mid-summer wash. Anyway, one 7-hour round trip later, I had a slightly off-coloured new bonnet for Isabelle to don proudly!
It ended up looking a lot better than I thought it would!
I then turned my attention to the interior, as it still felt a bit cold and heartless in there, even with a friend on the dash to smile me up the M25. So, 4 screws, a can of blue spray paint and a sorry face mask later, this was the result!
I'm quite chuffed with it, actually. And after a trip to Halfords, the sorry-looking floor mats, blemished beyond repair by a probable 15 years of neglect, were replaced too!
They look a lot better in person.
And today, I turned my attention back to the exterior to fix a pretty big problem; I bought the car with a hole in the passenger headlight. So, after picking up a basic tool set and cracking it for the first time in my life, I went about it!
I'm really quite happy with it! It works all good, and looks even better! It was, however, pretty grim watching half a pint of water and what looked like a bit of seaweed pour out of the old one. Oh, and I also pulled out the trim underneath the windscreen, and silicone-filled the nooks and crannies I've read cause the passenger footwell leak I've had issues with since I bought the car. Nice!
So, you're all caught up. My plans now are:
- Fit the parcel shelf I have coming in the post tomorrow
- Flush the engine and change the oil + oil filter
- Change the coolant reservoir, and replace the coolant
- Fit some new wheel trims (MAAAYBE get some alloys on there if I can find any going super cheap)
- Replace the interior bulb with something brighter and less yellow
- Take the seats out and give them a proper good scrub, along with replacing a broken rear seat belt that doesn't lock in
- Install footwell LEDs and get a new gear lever knob to make the interior much cozier
After that, who knows? If you have any ideas that won't shoot my insurance through the roof, I'd love to hear them!
