My time with my BMW 728i - christened Shed 7 when I bought it – was fun while it lasted and that was, ooh, four years and five months. A rough back of an envelope calculation over the miles we were together, led me to come up with 5p per mile.

That didn’t include petrol, but did sundry expenses, plus suspension bits and tyre-shaped bobs. Even if my maths is 100% wrong, 10p is still pretty good going.

Quite simply, Shed 7 was one of the very best cars I’ve ever owned. Comfortable, economical – returning over 30mpg – and with no real issues, just a few niggles that were not even annoying.

What surprised me was the level of interest shown by you. I have never had so many emails about a car I’ve owned. Questions, encouragement, suggestions, and even offers to buy. It seems that Shed 7 was also the catalyst for others to take the plunge with an impossibly complicated old car. Yes, Shed 7 was a force for good.

How Shed 7 encapsulated the Bangernomics philosophy

Cosmetics were never a strong point of Shed 7 and the bonnet was always a bit of a mess. That’s why I decided to ‘do a Bansky’ on the bonnet. It featured a BMW CSL in full flight with Hans Stuck at the controls some time in the 1970s at the Nürburgring. That was the finishing touch which made it stand out from all the other old BMW E38s in the supermarket car park.

The first time Shed 7 let me down, was also the last. The end came on the A11 when I really needed to get somewhere important. Never mind, the AA lady was fast and efficient. The radiator had split and despite me not coming to a shuddering halt of steam, it was too late. Shed 7 was recovered to my local garage where it had already been booked in for an MOT. The garage reported that head gasket had gone and maybe a few other seals, so it wasn’t worth saving.

So many thanks to Autocar reader, Michael Bond, who sold me his 728i for just £500 and Autocar’s editorial director Jim Holder for rightly believing that people would be interested in it.