September 2002
Oh well, it had to go! After I collected the BMW last week I decided the MR2 just had to go. Previously I'd advertised it in the local press and Autotrader in line with the various price guides valuations. I got one sniff via Autotrader from a muppet who offered me rock bottom dealer price. Like I said no!
So I took it to a few dealers with all the service history including invoices etc for a cash sale. One dealer 'offerred' me £5k for it. I laughed in his face.
The local Toyota dealer who I had bought the car off new and had carried out all service work bettered that by a grand but was just taking the urine with his offer. He knew all about the car's excellent history and his offer was just to make a quick buck for himself before he 'passed it through the trade' (his words). That was something I was not prepared to accept.
So I have now managed to sell it at what I considered a low price although that is some £1500 more than the first thieving dealer I approached was prepared to 'offer.' The lad who bought it has got himself a real bargain no kidding. If he traded it in tomorrow he would make £1k profit.
Still, the car never let me down and I had lots of fun in it and with it so, even though I have the new BM, Im sad to see it go. Anyone else sad to see a car they have owned from new or for a few years moved on when the time comes?
(Hope the new owner looks after it or I'll be very, very angry!) Read more
Can anyone help with some general advice about this car please.
I'm thinking of getting a low mileage 1995/96 2.0i auto. (ie. late 4th gen, not 5th gen).
Given that i'm more concerned with cruising in comfort than blasting around like a maniac, I think the 2.0 engine would suit me fine - I'm not fussed for the 2.2 vtec. Does the auto transmission give a good smooth ride? I've driven accords and civic autos and always liked them. What sort of fuel economy do you realistically get from the Prelude? Is it quiet on the motorway? How much should I pay for one? Any other advice, +/- points?
Cheers.
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I've sold lots of that model Prelude mostly 2.2 Vtec with probably even split between manual&auto.The Vtec is a wonderful engine it will rev for England or maybe Japan,the auto is a very smooth change,the manual is also very good.Just about faultless apart from one that the distributer went down,sourced a 2nd hand one complete via Find a Part,about £60 delivered,and about 10 mins to fit.All my Preludes i import from Japan, from late '91 to '96.Can be a bit noisy on the road but tyre choice will make a big difference.For not much money you can have a very satisfying drive,with reliability.If you dont like harsh ride stay away from any that have been lowered or budget to return to standard.
Do I need to run new brake pads in?
What's the best way to do it?
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Parp, Parp!
Note: All Toad posts come with an implied smiley. Read more
he certainly gets my award for \"Poor Taste\"
post of the week
Point taken. This is the tech board. Not really somewhere for a chat.
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Parp, Parp!
Note: All Toad posts come with an implied smiley.
Hi,
I've had a Rover 214SEi for the last 3 years, I've taken the mileage from 35k to 82k with no real problems to speak of. It's passed all three MOT's I've put it through without any problems.
However...
Soon after buying the car I noticed a rumbling sound when cornering gently at around 30-40mph. Any faster and the noise isn't heard (possibly because it's drowned out by road noise). I assumed it was a bearing on the way out and left it at that until it needed replacing. It never got any worse and is still evident now.
In addition to this the steering has never been quite right, after cornering the steering will almost straighten out by letting the wheel slip beneath my hand, but not completely - it's possible to travel around gentle bends by positioning the wheel accordingly and letting go (that's not my normal style of driving - honest!).
Can anyone explain a possible source of a rumble and/or the steering 'feature' that would remain for 47k miles without getting worse?
Coupled with the steering issue, I'm thinking along the lines of CV's joints? Other than that I'm stumped.
Any ideas?
Kind regards,
Cyrill666
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An old test for CV joints used to be to put steering on full lock and drive very slowly listening for a clicking noise; if heard this would indicate wear in the CV joints. They can quickly be ruined by the ingress of water and road dirt (which make a good grinding paste!) in thru any crack or split in the rubber gaiter
Hi,
I have a '92 Astra Merit. Bought it without a stereo (previous owner had removed it) and have got my hands on a Vauxhall Grundig SC303 which needs to run off the in-dash display. Dont think the previous stereo used the display as various coloured wires in the loom are taped up.
Anyone know what colour of wires go into the top connector on the back? Dont have the radio in front of me but I think the top connection(goes to the in-dash display) has three or four pins...
Cheers for any help on this one!
Murray Read more
The wires dont have a plug on the end, they are just singular. I'll take out the display unit and see what wires it uses, thanks.
Why is it that manufacturers seems to neglect families who have a couple of children and yet still want to enjoy the speed and looks of a sports car. I have three children and it seems nigh on impossible to find a new/used or classic car which looks really sporty,goes fast, has 5 doors and is NOT and estate( My wife wont drive an estate..must be her caribbean background )
So far we have tried :-
Seat Leon Cupra:
Likes: fast,roomy,reasonable price,looks great in yellow,airbag deactivation
Dislikes: Would have to be clean to look good,depreciation
Audi A3 1.8T:
Likes: fast,beautifully made,airbag deactivation
Dislikes: a bit small,VERY expensive(even 2nd hand)
VW Golf 1.8T and 130BHP TDi:
Likes: fast,efficient(Tdi),roomy,reliable
Dislikes: A but plain(unless someone can suggest a really good body kit),a lot of them around,have too add extra airbag deactivation kit
We have also tried the basic 206 but found it a bit plasticky
We have also thought about the mazda 323 1.8 or 2.0 sports and toyota corolla T3 but have not tried them
We have also not tried any classic cars yet because of fears on reliability
H..E..L..P
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Crombster,
I have one. Really nice smooth engine, and the low pressure turbo gives lots of torque at low revs.
It is a bit heavier than some of it's rivals but on normal roads the handling qualities are fine. Certainly sufficient for my driving skill and courage.
C
can anyone tell me where i can get plastic wheel arch like on the citroen ax gt or what will fit and where ican get it Read more
try cituning in Lancs.They do all body parts I think
Most, if not all, insurance policies include driving the car for "pleasure" (in addition to commercial and/or business and/or social and/or domestic use).
Are there any drivers who actually drive for "pleasure" as a seperate activity not connected to the other categories? Is this what "Sunday" drivers do, just toodling around with no purpose other than the joy of driving?
From most threads in this forum, it would seem that most driving is devoid of pleasure, and people seem keen to get to their dsetination as quickly as possible - to avoid the displeasure of spending time in their vehicles.
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"I just have to enquire as to why you have to
go and spoil things by referring to "darkest" Lincolnshire"
Lighten up l'Esgargot! Do a Google search on "darkest Somerset"
and you'll soon see what the Saint was driving at.
In this context "darkest Lincolnshire" is clearly intended to be somewhat
affectionate and "He ain't spoiling nothing, loike"!
Jack
PS Just be grateful that "darkest" Humberside has disappeared!
Point taken.
Hope you enjoy Lincolnshire roads as much as I do, for as long as you are able. Creep creep !!!
When I fit the space-saver spare on my Focus, it causes the traction control to be intermittently activated. Presumably, because the spare is a slightly smaller diameter and therefore rotates quicker, the traction control system thinks that that wheel is losing traction. I know that I can switch off the traction control, but I wish that the handbook had warned me. The first time I used the spare, it took me ages to realise what the solution was. Read more
How much was the difference? If it's considerable I'd be concerned
about straining the diff (up to 1/2 inch would be OK
but an inch or more would be bad I'd say).
Didn't measure it. All I know is that the standard wheel/tyre won't go in the spare wheel well. I'm sure Ford know what they are doing when they specify the space-saver spare wheel, but I'm just a bit surprised that they don't warn about unwarranted activation of the traction control system. At the time that it occurred, I only had to drive in a 30 mph area to the tyre dealer and as soon as I found that the traction was playing up I kept both my speed and my acceleration to a minimum. Other than that (and a few other minor irritations) I am very pleased with my Focus. After 60K miles from new, I can happily report that it is the most reliable car I have ever owned. My most unreliable car was a 1967 Hillman Imp. Starting to ramble on now, as well as showing my age !!
Hello,
I recently bought a Vectra Estate and noticed that the tyres on the back are 205/16/55 whilst the tyres on the front are 205/16/50. According to the handbook both front and rear should have a profile of 55.
I'm told that the differing profile will cause serious problems with the ABS system on the car.
Can anyone here comment on that? Is this true, if so, how serious?
Kind regards,
Cyrill666
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With 50 tyres instead of 55, your speedo will over-read by about 3%.
(that is OF COURSE 3% MORE than it was before)
Growler, I always wanted a mustang! Oh well ships inthe night and all.
Bill, thing was I wanted a cash sale not a trade in. I know the lad who bought it could get more if he traded it in (which wasn't an option for me) because the dealer told me he'd give me more IF I was doing a trade in.
I know a cash sale to a dealer is just about the lowest offer you'd get so did try it in the local press and autotrader. There were plenty of MR2's in autotrader priced a grand to a grand and a half above mine but they didn't have the service history according to the ads.
They did have lower mileage which is all some folks seem bothered about but dont care if an engine has been subjected to short stop and start travel which everyone knows(?) is bad news.
As a result, I didn't get a sniff!
End of the day, Im happy with what I got I suppose.