November 2001
Its always nice to have more than one source when appraising a possible second hand car. Reports on second hand - discontinued cars are not as common as they could be excepting HJ's wonderful effort of course!
They got that drole chap Quentin from top gear (in the good ol' days) to do the reviewing. Bloody funny in places, check out the Citreon BX, CX etc... for a chortle.
dan
p.s. apologies if already mentioned by someone. Read more
stuff the debate on how cheap petrol is at the moment. I saw a shelf full of Honest Johns Motoring Yearbook's (1999-2000 edition) in a bookshop on the high street for £0.50. beat that if you can! Read more
HJ wrote:
"The Honest John Annual Publication is like the Rupert Annual."
Does this mean that each answer is a followed by a picture and a short descriptive rhyme featuring Algy Pug and Bill Badger?
:-)
i am twenty one, i am currently on a mechanic course at gateshead college, i have been restoring cars since i was 11, the only reason i am on the mechanics course is because i can repairs old cars, but cannot repair these modern computerised gadgety cars, i have been welding since i was 14, and i now have the body repairs as being perfect, i also help my mother run 'car boot sales' at the linskill centre in north shields, and at the springfield community centre in forest hall. if you want to know more, please let me know. Read more
the other address is mrw@watson-fam.fsnet.co.uk but watson-fam@ic24.net can be used also.
Caught on candid camera doing 45 in 30 limit. Licence so far clean, as no traffic offences for about 30 years. What fine and how many points can I expect? Read more
Apparently according to the European Law on Human Rights you don't have to incriminate yourself. Just refuse to co-operate.
For the average punter, running a second hand motor, say 10,000 miles per year, over 3 years, which would be the cheaper to run, say a 2 or 2.2 litre turbo diesel or a 1.8 petrol{similar performance}.
I am currently thinking of changing one of my cars. I cannot decide if I should buy a diesel or not. I've always owned petrol engined cars.
A 3 year old diesel tends to sell for about £1,000 more than an equivalent pertol model {that is they had the same list price when new.}
Diesel costs 6 to 7p more per litre, potential fuel pump / turdo replacement costs to worry about, more frequent serviving etc., tend to be ex-fleet / rep cars, high miles. Pertol engines tend to last longer too? - less stressed?
Seen a Volvo 940, { LPG converted} for sale - appeared to be a good price too. How reliable are LPG systems / any potentially expensive pit falls?
Any sugesetions please on petrol, diesel or LPG and make of car - medium / large hatch / estate Read more
> It cost me £500 and as I do 20k miles a year it has already paid for itself and I save £30/week on fuel. That's 15 extra pints a week.
>
> Who's blowing his money now?
2 quid a pint ? I'm not sure I can afford to live in the UK anymore !!!
I must have misunderstood. I thought that the plastic "bumpers" they fit these days were supposed to be deformable.
Came back to my nice new motor a few days ago to find that I had been carparked. I guess it must have been a hell of a whack though, as it had split. it means a whole new bumper, metallic paint, lacquer, etc. Thus dearer than straightening one of the old metal ones. Read more
my lada has the proper metal bumpers, if another car hits them, then the little springs on the bumpers help, and if any damage occurs, it doesnt matter.
Just about to renew the anti-freeze on my Vectra TDi.
How do you get to the bottom hose to drain down. Does the complete plastic undershield have to come off?.
And are there any bleed points on this engine or is it a good easy fill up.
Thanks for any info.
Alvin. Read more
It's a little device that goes in the filler cap, then you can vacuum all the air out of the cooling system. All the rubber hoses collapse flat, then you backfill with coolant. You can get compressed air operated ones, but I have one that runs off the high vacuum pump I use for vacuuming a/c systems, and this gets down to much lower levels. The theory is, no air-no air locks. Works pretty well and saves a lot of faffing around.
I finally succumbed this week to our insurance company, which insisted that my 1990 Pajero wasn't insured against theft unless it had an immobiliser.
Now, I didn't really want an immobiliser - but I duly forked out £130, which seems to be the standard price for a proximity device put in by a fitter approved by some organisation that's accepted by the insurance people.
The thing comes with two little pods, that are read by the immobiliser and allow the car to start. I imagine they contain a fairly straightforward chip and have a manufacturing cost of about £2..
However, when I asked how much a third pod would be, the man in the shop quoted £45.
Does anybody know how I can get hold of one of these things for a sensible price?
I also noted belatedly on the instructions that came with the immobiliser that there is a recommendation that it be "serviced" once a year - apparently this costs £25, and insurers are likely to demand that this "servicing" is done at least every other year.
Since this effectively amounts to an extra tax on the device, and since the chance of thieves targeting my 11-year-old juggernaut must be pretty remote, I suggest that anybody confronted with insurers' demands to fit an immobiliser would probably be better off bearing the risk of theft themselves - rather than instead submitting to something approaching theft from the "security" industry.
Does anyone else have reservations about these wretched devices? Read more
i was never going out with crystal, i have had emma for 2 years now. i think its YOU who is the idiot.
Seen on display outside Safeways in Haverfordwest, Pembs to-day. Brand new Suzuki (I think it's the Alto, didn't have time for a close look) with decals all over it advertising an on the road price of £4444 from a local dealer. Three year / 60k warranty included, so I don't think it was an import.
Puts it firmly in the old Yugo / Lada price bracket. Anyone know of anything cheaper? Read more
well i know that i would be worrying if my name was crystal.
HJ auction string quotes the pea green audi selling today for 13K, what would it have cost from an audi dealer plus the warranty. Read more
According to Glass's Guide, £24,909. But it's old hat now because there's a new A4 Avant on the streets.
HJ
Browse
A certain type of car, of which the BMW three series is one undergoes a demographic shift at around 5 years old. The original owners who were able to afford a expensive car in the first place have gone for a new one and the cars move to the demographic who like wide wheels and baseball caps. They then fail to maintain the car because they can't afford to service it properly and then wonder why is proves so unreliable.