June 2003
I'm not considering buying this of course, but I saw this at a Renault franchise dealer today.
02 Vel Satis (didn't get the spec or mileage but I'm assuming 3.0 dci Privilège), £31255!
Eh!?! You could get a new E270 CDi Elegance or 530d SE for that. I'm now wondering what they paid for it and what people on here would actually give for this car. (Ideally more than the price of a cab fare).
I reckon £16k would just about shift it - whether that would be discount or the price paid is hard to say... Read more
Although a NIP should appear within 14 days of a Camera Speeding Offence, how long is it for a hand held speeding offence and the NIP falling through the letter box. Is there a time limit of this NIP as well. Regards Peter Read more
Not signing is a legal fact! You have to supply the name and address of the driver but you do not have to sign the form unless and until legislation is enacted to say that you do. Despite loads of bluster and threats that may come your way you do NOT have to sign. Full and up to date details may be found at
www.safespeed.org.uk/unsigned.html
I do not condone speeding but I think police time and effort could be put into investigating crime. A friend has just had £5,000 worth of property stolen from their garage, with oily handprints all over the paintwork, and the police reaction has been to issue an incident number for the benefit of the insurance claim and that is it. No investigation and no visit from the crime prevention office either. The law works both ways, if you don't have to sign, dont!
Anyone care to value a private sale 156,000 mile 4.2VX TD Auto 93L Landcruiser, full toyota service history, no towing or off road, alloys are all surface corroded where laquer has gone and leather seats are cracked and bolster has gone on drivers side. Drives well enough, little smoke. I know these cars are tough like all toyotas and were expensive new but the guy wants £8500 I figure £5250 as a start. What other £35k car 10 years later and 150k miles is worth £8500? no matter how good? Read more
LOL about the gypsy comment because that's exactly what I said to my wife about them. I think they are a fantastic tonka of a 4x4 but really for what I'm after it's a bit of a nuclear option! plus the fact that the TD bearing job you mentioned would need doing on this car and it's an expensive way to a big estate with 4x4 chunky-ness. Thanks for your advice though it's been extremely useful. Ian
Anyone using the cut through from M40 J11 to the Oxford bypass, the route of the old A43, should be aware that the Police are targetting the 40 mile zone just past the turn off from the M40 junction, where the pub and the abandoned garage are.
Also expect them to be out in force along the new A43 over the GP weekend. Read more
Also, watch out if you receive any fine etc for breaking the rules of the bus lane on the A38 Tyburn Road, Birmingham area.
It seems in February 2001 Birmingham City Council failed to make it and its rules permanent, after being experimental, and people HAVE received fines since that time which they should not, strictly, have had to pay.
Allegedly.
Just curious to know - I fairly often observe a lorry that has ground to a halt on a hill, leaving a queue of traffic behind it. The driver seems to know instantly that he is not going to get going again in a hurry, switches on the hazzard lights, and gets out and onto his phone.
Is there there some common occurence that makes a lorry just conk out on a hill? In my observation it is usually near the bottom of the hill, so it is not overheating. Read more
Well as if to confirm yesterday's post about clutches being the main cause of truck breakdowns on hills, the two trucks that I recovered today (yes it is my actual job) both were clutch failures. Admittedly neither were on hills but there you go.
I travel 25k a year and was wondering which is the best type of fuel for economy, Duel fuel or diesel? Read more
If you are in London and want to avoid the congestion charge, LPG.
Otherwise it depends on the car but most of the time, diesel. If you are buying used, you will have much more choice if you go for diesel.
You also know that you are safe from taxation increases (unless diesel becomes much more expensive relative to petrol) as the source of the savings is the efficiency of the engine.
You will also have no insurance problems with diesel (you shouldn't with LPG but not all insurance companies like it.) You know you can always get diesel, and therefore cheap motoring, whereas with LPG you may be forced to revert to petrol.
It might be an urban myth, but LPG engines have been said to wear out earlier (around 80k) than diesels (200k+). Diesels will also generally have more torque and flexibility, particularly as certain engines (like the VW 1.8t) with turbos don't like the conversion to LPG.
There are no warranty hassles with diesels either, as there might be if the coversion isn't done by the manufacturer.
To give you an idea
Golf 2.0 GTi, fuel costs of LPG over 25k at 32 mpg and 39.9p/litre = £1416
Golf 1.9pd GTi - diesel, 53mpg, 76.9p/litre = £1648
Of course, if one tank in 10 is petrol rather than diesel, most of that saving evaporates. Personally I would swallow the extra £4 a week on fuel and avoid the hassle.
Have a Red Peugeot 405 GLD 1990 (H) thats used as a second car, now too big so shall sell for a supermini, done 137K I defy you to find a better example, 55mpg nnil oil consumption, (oil change every 3K) plenty of history, any idea as to the value on a trade in/private sale.
thanks.
Read more
Blade,
Please e-mail me nonetheless, if you still want to sell it. I have family in Kent so I am still interested.
Cheers
Rob
"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."
I have a Mercedes SLK, worth maybe 21k trade in or 23k-ish if sold privately. If I needed/wanted to trade down to an "old banger", what would be the best way of doing this, bearing in mind (a) money and (b) hassle?
* sell the car privately? Do people buy cars this expensive privately, given the lack of a safety-net?
* sell the car to a main dealer?
* sell the car to a non-main dealer specialist?
* "part-ex" the car for a cheaper, older model and get "cashback"? (can you even do this?)
Thanks in advance,
mike Read more
I sold my SLK privately in September last year. The best I was offered by a main dealer was 20k. The same dealers were advertising similar cars to mine for c26k. I advertised it in the Sunday Times for 24.5. without a single call. The following week I put it in Thames Valley auto-trader and sold it for the (same) full asking price.
I think the problem with the Sunday Times is that without spending mega-bucks on a longer descriptive ad you are competing with other cars almost purely on price. The week-end I advertised there were probably a dozen SLK's for sale, most of which were cheaper than mine.
Having said that, next time I would probably use Top Marques and Autotrader as I only got a couple of calls from my TVAT ad. Lots of cars sell privately for well in excess of 20k and of course you can buy a warranty that's as good or even better than a dealer warranty for a couple of hundered pounds.
hi all, i undrestand that for long distance travels diesel offers a better choice mainly due to economical reasons. However purely from a mechanical point of view, is a diesel engine or a petrol engine more likely to sustain more damage if used for short runs?
on a second note and a question to Xantia owners. when the suspension is raised to its maximum height, is there enough clearance under the car for someone to tuck in, without needing to jack up the car any more. Doesn't have to be a cathedral size openning, just enough to get a man and his spanner under there.
thanks for you help - Amin Read more
would i also be right in thinking that a diesel engine is less likely to break its cam-belt as its operating at a third of the rpm of a petrol engine?
i asked my original question because i use my car mainly as a "motorised" shopping trolly, which means average journey lenght of (if lucky) half to one mile and in course of one trip i might start the car five or six times. but then that normally happens only on weekends and for the remaining days of the week, the car is sitting gracefully in the drive. i however do over service the car and generally look after it. But recently i started to have trouble with the starter. about two or three times (over a period of several months) the starter just would not do anything, and the car had to be push started. however the porblem then corrected itself each time, once i had driven the car for a few miles. i suspected that the brushes (contacts or whatever they are called) on the motor have worn out and dont properly make contact with the coil windings. then that led me to think whether it was the result of the way i had used the car, or just general wear and tear, hence the post.
I remember some time ago, a system where the speakers for the car radio/tape player were replaced by using the inside of the windscreen to transmit the sound. Does anyone remember this please, or was it just a flash in the pan ?
Thank you, petel@clara.co.uk Read more
Thank you very much. Memory is now refreshed.
Rgds.
Browse
Gen
I have to agree the new megane is a smashing looking car. With the 1.9dci engine its a cracking drive too.
Have you seen the sport tourer, sports saloon and coupe/cabrio versions ! They are not as eye catching, but I think they will be very popular.