August 2002
Is there a rule of thumb you can apply e.g.
1.Auction hammer price = £5000
2.Dealer pays auction house £5000 + x%
Does bare minimum to car (ie Valet / new MOT)
3.Screen price = £5000 + x% + y%
4.Lowest price dealer will accept = £5000 + x% + y% - z%
go on - its not that simple though is it?
Read more
Can anyone recommend a reasonable car park at Stansted Airport for a Mon to Thur trip? or do I have to bite the bullet and cough up about £40 for the privelege? Read more
Does anyone know who was the clown who planned Stansted longstay to be soooooooooooo far away from the terminal check-in? It's an interminable bus ride compared to other regional airports. It is stupidly put in fields west of the runway instead of fields east of the terminal. [try googlemapping it and you will see what I mean from the satellite view] I bet there was a 'nimby' involved!
I wonder what the fuel/maintenance bill for the transfer buses is?
Has anyone out there got any experience (good or bad) of the various car importers and supermarkets you see advertised in the motoring press (and on this site) ? The deals often look very good but are they and does the service live up to expectations ?
Anyone got any recommendations or vice versa ? Read more
The company is A Plan and they are VERY expensive. One of their conditions is that you cannot cancel the policy for 6 months which means you cannot just use them for the import period.
By expensive I mean double the usual quote.
I've been quoted £390 by LC Charles of Crewe, Cheshire(Main dealer) for a 60,000 sevice with cam belt chnage on my 1997 Passat TDI 90. Is this reasonable or am I being ripped off?
Read more
Hi,
Does anybody know if/where stainless steel exhaust systems can be purchased for a Vauxhall Vectra Diesel Estate. I'm not looking for performance exhausts (obviously), just a standard bore system - do they exist?
Kind regards,
Cyrill666
Read more
I have had the Powerflow on my Omega for around 6 months and already it is begining to rust, albeit only surface rust. Not quite what I was expecting from stainless steel!
Is yours any better?
I've got 5 grand to spend on an "fun" car that won't break the bank with running costs. Jap import MX5 roadsters keep coming up as possibilities a less risky choice would seem to be the 158bhp Honda Civic VTi.
Anyone have any thoughts on the above or got any better suggestions?
Tim Read more
You can have fun with any car. It is not what you drive but how you drive it. =:-o)
...
How important is it to stick to exactly the same make and/or type of brake fluid, coolant, engine oil, power steering fluid etc. etc. when topping up their levels ? My Volvo manual states for example that I should top up with their own coolant (type C - blue/green @ 50% water/50% coolant) but doesn't seem to give a specification for this that I could try to match elsewhere at less cost. My local independent garage says it doesn't matter so far as the coolant is concerned but is that right and is the same true for any/all of the various other oils/fluids ? Apart from the Magnatec engine oil I supplied at the last service, I have no idea what oils/fluids have been used in the car and can't therefore be sure to match them correctly when I need to top up. Any help/advice most gratefully received !! Read more
Thanks very much Cyd - I'll bear that all in mind from now on. I sorted the coolant problem but found quite a lot of confusion regarding the PAS fluid/oil - my local dealer told me there were 2 types (red & green) but that they only had the green stuff and that would be ok to use for topping up mine (which was the red stuff). I bought a litre (smallest size available) and went away. Being the person I am, I thought I'd check with a couple of other dealers. The first didn't know anything about the 2 types and could only offer me a part no. by way of description. The 2nd said there were indeed 2 types and that mixing them wasn't the best idea if it wasn't urgent! They told me they still had the red oil/fluid available and actually topped me up for free when I got there (something for nothing at last !). On doing so I noticed the bottle used said Transmission fluid - oh heck I thought, what have they put in my PAS system ! But they assured me it was all the same stuff. On returning my unused litre of the green variant to my local dealer I spoke to someone else who confirmed this to be true and agreed that it was better not to mix the 2 types although they no longer sold the red fluid. It all seems crazy to me but there we are. Thanks again Cyd
Hi all, wanna get your 2 pennies worth of advice.
Im currently driving a puhg junior 1l d reg. doing 60 miles a day of motorway driving, and as you can imagine having done 110k its not gonna last much longer. Im looking at getting soiemthing but cant afford more than £2000 my criteria are:
- Few extras poss e/w c/l p/s etc.
- Nippy. ie turbo or summit.
- happy on a motoway.
- Not a familly car. im only 24 ive got the joys of a mondeo to
come.
Have thought possible an old f/g reg bmw 320se or a hot hatch of some sort just want some suggestions of cars.
Cheers
Read more
Right a few suggestions for you:
SAAB 900 Turbo Aero: Love it or hate it looks, but they are pretty fast and look nice in the right colours. Cheap now (anything pre 94 in your price range). All the toys. Future classic.
Agree with the others on Audi Coupe - very cheap now.
Citroen hot hatch. 2 grand should by you a nice 2.0 Volcane. Limited street cred, thus low price.
2 grand qualifies you for Porsche ownership, even if it is a 1984 924.
The real performance car bargains are with big cars though. e.g BMW 535i, serious performance for little money. Carlton GSi 3000 24V gives you 204bhp for around £1000. Cheapest 150mph you can buy.
I wish you could post pictures - I tried using my HTML skeelz but it still didn't work. Baby steps!
I have an M-reg 218TD, with 160k on the clock. Yesterday, the injector pump went, and started gushing out fuel on what I've been told, the pulley-side.
Anyway, it's due for a service - in fact, it was booked in for next weekend! :)
I've been told that injector pumps aren't cheap - £200+ was quoted. It has to be done, I know that, but what else should I also change, apart from cam belt, vacuum pump belt, oil and the filters?
Very much a novice - this will be a garage job! Just want to prepare my bank account for the shock! :)
Thanks,
Chris Read more
Chris
Don't know where you live, but there is a reconditioned pump for a L reg 418SD in Dereham, Norfolk, advertised in the local Freeads this week for £120. Tel number is 01362 687687. Not sure wither 218TD and 418SD had the same engine, but it seems possible.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
I live near Ashford in Kent and will be travelling to London, 4 people in total, on a Saturday morning for a day visit. We have previously travelled in by train, but this is 90 minutes plus on a 40-year old filthy train, full of drunks on the return journey.
My question for the great knowledge-base which is the back room is - does anyone have a better idea. The ideal for us would be to drive to a Zone 1 tube station and park, which we don't mind paying for.
Surely Park and Tube is do-able?
Thanks in advance for any tips and suggestions
Andy
Read more
I too live in Kent, and have found THE best secret in London parking. Park at the NCP Minories (very close to Tower Bridge City side) all day Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holidays for £2. (it is over £30 on a weekday). Minories car park is a 2 minute walk from Tower Hill (zone 1) tube station. I have parked there countless times both during the week and the weekend, and have NEVER had any problems. It is manned 24/7 which must help with security.
Robbo
Browse
.jpg)
I thought at auction only the seller pays a commission ie the buyer pays the hammer price and nothing else?
Thats how it worked at my local auction. So, if that is the case, you can forget number 2 and the rest should be ok.