January 2005
i have bought a few cars the last few years.(from auctions)
some for friends some i have sold.
i am sure i can make a living out of it but i see a few problems
1 when i buy from an auction they make me fill in the v5, i said i am trading now but they say i need to be buying more,i dont want to buy more if i have to fill in the v5.
2.i thought it would be good to offer warrenties would the company need prof i am a trader.
3.do i need to vat reg. i dont know how much i will be turning over
thanks Read more
I have Mk2 VW Golf.
I recently did a check on the rear wheels. I raised each wheel using a car jack and did the check.
I held the wheel's tyre at the top and bottom and applied a vertical tilting force (turning force).
I noticed that one wheel made a slight click sound when the tilting force was applied.
Any suggestions why this is? when I drive the car there is no rear wheel bearing noise and it has passed an MOT (after replacing the front wheel bearings). Read more
Thanks Peter
The wheels are steel. The sound is definetly a light click and not a dull clunk.
The click sound occurs only when the wheel is exercised top and bottom and not front & rear.
Taking all things into account servicing,price difference, price at pumps etc, is there really any point in running a diesel now unless you are doing 20K or greater miles a year?. Curiuous as to what people think.I own a 2001 Passat 1.9TDi.There is now a 6p a litre difference at the pumps,the servicing costs are greater and the cars themselves are more expensive to buy.It appears that the only plus side is the lower Road Tax and in some cases, cheaper insurance.I am thinking of changing my car and looked at the new shaped Vectra.a 2.2 SRi petrol is about £1200 cheaper to buy than the 2.2Dti Sri diesel.I do around 15K miles a year.To me s things stand, the petrol seems the better option. Read more
I certainly hope those predictions come true as my next car will be diesel, and I hope to find a nice silver one. By all accounts it won't cost anymore than a white, petrol model.
When did you last breakdown and why? Punctures don't count so i'm talking about mechanical failure that stopped wheels turning and not a fault that developed but you struggled on home.
Read more
In 25 years of motoring; three punctures,two flat batteries(at home)No mechanical failures whilst driving.
PS. I do all my own car servicing.-good mechanic or good luck?-who knows.
Hi all it's my first post on the site so please be gentle.
The car is a clio 1.4 automatic on a K reg.
Can any body tell me how to get the gear selector cable off from the gearbox end please.
Ive tried pulling the end off from the pivot but no luck. I didn't know if it's held on with a circlip or something or am i just not pulling hard enough.
Thanks
Tomboy
Read more
Hi,
I am getting a bit fed up with 318's having a 2.0l engine, C180's and C200's both being 1.8s, Saab 93 1.8t and 2.0t both being 2.0l.
BMW 316's have been 1.6, 1.9 and 1.8 in that order!, 320's have been 2.0 then 2.2 if petrol though still 2.0 if diesel!
Now take the 5 Series 6 cyl models only, we have has the 520 2.0/150bhp and the 525 2.5/192, then we had the 523 2.5/170 and 528 2.8/193, then we had the 520 2.2/170, the 525 2.5/195 and the 530 3.0/231. Now we have 523 2.5/170 again!, 525 2.5/195 etc etc.
All very confusing.
Regards.
Read more
The body that became the 200 was originally supposed to be a replacement for the 100 (metro). Late in the models gestation, they decided to make it the 200 replacement and simply fitted the area forward of the bulkhead from the 1989-1996 200 so the bigger engines would fit!
Quite why it couldn't have been the 100, and make the 1995 400 hatch a 200 is beyond me!
Just like the 1992 (ish) Seat Ibiza had most of the 1994 Polo floor-pan, except in front of the bulkhead where it was pure Mk3 Golf so the 2.0 petrol motor would fit in!
I have just purchased a solar battery charger to use whilst car is laid up for 6 weeks ( primera 1998 petrol). Although there are clips to connect to the battery in the event of the cigarette lighter being disconnected by the ignition switch. I would still like to connect from within the car if possible? I have not been able to find any gromets that I could feed a couple of wires through so I was wondering if I could connect a couple of terminals to an alternative supply from the battery. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Read more
The obvious place is the cigar lighter if thats permanently live.
Got stuck on the M25 this morning due to a massive furniture warehouse fire on the north side of the Dartford Crossing. Thankfully, traffic was relatively light at the time (approx. 10.00) but chaos soon ensued. Finally managed to exit at Jcn 1a and go home via Dartford but felt very sorry for anyone who was heading North as both the tunnel and bridge were closed due to the thick smoke drifting across the motorway.
Apparently a 25 mile diversion has since been put in place via the A2.
Anyway, according to a news item I heard earlier it's unlikely that the crossing will reopen tonight so anyone heading in that direction should either avoid it or check to see what the current situation is before setting off and allow extra time. Read more
>>Saw the warehouse in question today and it is a scene of total devastation.
I saw it the other day.Was still smouldering as I drove past..I gather part of the reason the warehouse behind didnt go up.Was fireman kept the walls cool spraying with water constantly..It was bad enough with the one going up in flames. Hate to think what it would be like if the other had gone up as well.
--
Steve
A couple of months ago my son, a self-employed jazz musician living in London and who needs his car every day to transport his double-bass, phoned to ask if I could arrange an MOT at short notice with my local garage - his MOT was due to expire the next day, and he couldn't get it done locally.
I did so, with fatherly advice to make sure in future to plan ahead, etc...
Just before Christmas, younger son, who'd recently bought his first car(a lovely little Pug. 205)noticed that the MOT had expired a week before..- more advice from dad.
Today I was filling in the details in my new diary,-came to the bit about renewal of MOT, and discovered that my MOT had expired on Oct. 14th.
Is it genetic, do you think?
P. Read more
I'm not allowed to forget any such thing any more. Several years ago I installed xReminder Pro:
www.xreminder.com
It's brilliant. Ah ha, having checked that the link works, I see that I am still quoted as saying so. I meant what I said there and I have no connection with the organization other than as a very satisfied user of the software.
Wed. before Xmas the clutch started slipping on my Alfa 156 JTD. Its was due a 96,000 service and for the airbag light to be investigated.
Actually picked it up yesterday, clutch problem turned out to be a leaking rear seal, ECU was the problem for the airbag light. Clutch takes 7.7 hours on this one! Even dealer was surprised.... Total bill was £ 1,260...Had a 156 JTS on loan which averaged 32MPG and goes quite well, this one was on 17s although not sure that I like the styling off the new wheels, prefer the 16s Veloce ones on mine.
Also test drove Alfa GT 1.9MJ whilst there. This one had leather, 17s & winter comfort pack. Highly impressed, steering slightly sharper than a 156 and very very much tighter than the 156 2.0JTS I'd just given back. However my 2000 JTD SPortwagon he valued at £ 3K and the demo GT is £ 22K so it looks like a non starter which is a shame.
JIm Read more
John,
what would it have made otherwise do you think.
Looks like they've cancelled it and refunding my monies.
Jim
Browse
.jpg)
Take it from me (been there, got the T-shirt), trading in your price range is hard going. There is no such thing as 'part-time' either - when an angry customer rings at 10pm then its not part-time. Not nice trading from home either - if there is any 'unpleasantness' then it happens at your front door. Depending on your part of the country you can meet some very unpleasant buyers too - won't go into details because the mods will remove - but you can imagine the sort of people I mean (esp. if you have an old BM for sale!).
A lot of folks (usually middle-age, middle-class women are the worst, in my experience) will expect a car to be perfect - no matter its age or mileage. Had women bring cars back for a faulty cassette player and small buckle is spare wheel! If you argue then they are off to CAB and Trading Standards and you're on to a loser.
It may sound like I'm a bit prejudiced, but you find out a lot about human nature when selling cars, and its the voice of experience speaking! You wouldn't believe how many people lie when giving you details for a P/X (or how many of the public will 'clock' a car!).
If you buy/sell cars (even a small number) with a view to making profit then you ARE a trader and will be expected to stand by your cars. Pretending to be a private seller could get you into a lot of trouble - you must declare that you're a trader in your ads.
There is a lot to know about car trading (I was involved for 20 years, and my father and grandfather before me!) - most who go into it cut their teeth by working for someone else for a while. The very cheap end of the market is gone completely now - no profit in it. In the mid-price range £2-7k its verycompetitive and a lot of people want finance etc (most of the UK is in hock up to the eyeballs). There are easier ways to make a living. Learn some plumbing skills and do that part time - far more profitable!