November 2006
If you are buying a new car, I remember people used to quote an annual mileage figure of about 15,000 needed before it made economic sense, taking into account the extra cost, and extra servicing.
If one were to be buying a 3 or 4 year old car, spending eg.£ 6-7000 , does anyone know if the "payback" mileage is the sae, or is it less or more, given that the car is cheaper to buy , but then again, the steepest portion of the depreciation curve is over.......
Petrol is also much more expensive now too (but also diesel seems to not being discounted as much as petrol)
Then again the 3yr old diesel car will probably hold its value better than the petrol one - would the chepaer purchase price of the equivalent age petrol car be a big factor in this calculation ?
Does anyone have nay clues as to what the mileage payback would be ? Or at this price range is it worth anyone going to diesel ?
I don't do a huge mileage, but am debating wether to buy a much older bigger petrol engined car, eg. (P) plate Subaru legacy , or to buy a 3 yr old modern diesel, woith hopefully equivalent performance, but which of course will be more expensive to purchase, but cheaper in fuel... eg 2003 current shape Avensis...
What are the swings & roundabouts debates :-)
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still looking to get a car and have seen a 1993 prelude.it has 95k miles,10 months mot and 5 months tax.had service history until 46k miles.the price is £700.i have not found out yet about the last timing belt change so i reckon that will be the first thing should i get the car.anybody got any advice on these cars and any common faults to check on.also is the price reasonable or not.thanks for all advice given.
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Is it a Jap 'grey' import (square back number plate, 'stuck on' rear fog light etc)? If so, not worth so much, also, if its a 4 wheel steer model, make sure it works, along with the cool digital dash! Great cars these, and the 2 litre unit is decent enough, and non VTEC so insurance not so dear as the 2.2.
£700 about right I suppose.
Driving home on the M8 swimming pool tonight, I quickly realised that the safest lane to be in was the middle lane! The outside lane had a lot of surface water and the drains obviously just were not coping with the rain.
In fact, was deluged when a lorry went down the outside lane (illegally I think?) and this acted like a snow plough throwing the water up on to the middle lane and the outside lane of the opposite carriageway.
The inside lane had its two "tracks" of worn out surface from the HGVS covered in surface water thus making driving very difficult.
So the middle lane it was! And, yes, of course, there were still cars travelling along with either no lights, or just sidelights on!
I suppose, logically speaking , there will very rarely be drainers in the middle lane so therefore it will have a suitable camber to remove the water from it as efficiently as possible whereas the other lanes will have drainers and the water will often flood at those points first if drains are blocked etc? Read more
"A decent driver will arrive quickly without frightening the passengers or anyone else and without using the brakes hard or often."
Excellent - sums it up - like the aesthetic approach too
My 54 reg Golf makes a whinning sound on start up after the engine has been off for some time. It can last 2-3 seconds or abit longer. I only noticed it after the car had it's first service. I thinking Turbo bearing which shuts up when they have got pressurised oil. Car goes into VW tomorrow for a drivers window that opens to 1/4 way when you try and shut the window if it has been opened slightly. Help would be great
Simon Read more
My Passat always does that. I just assumed it was something like the alternator working extra hard initially to charge the battery or the power steering starting or the ABS presssurizing. Never worried me in 89000 miles.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
Hi sorry if I sound a little stupid in asking this but does a 2002 previous shape Espace have a plastic roof , due to being a radio ham someone told me not to buy one as it has a Plastic roof ! This cant be true can it ? The reason I want a steel roof is that my magnetic aerials wont stay on the roof .
The other car I may be looking into is a 2004 307 hdi . The espace is so nice though ! Read more
No, I think it's all fibreglass. Certainly was on the MK1 Espace.
The car ? 2003, 318Ci
This morning (1 o?clock in the morning) driving down the M1 from London, the engine dies just after J9 - was in 4th gear, 40mph. Tried to start it several times, the engine turns but doesn?t start. More than ½ tank of fuel in the car. We call the breakdown service. Wait for perhaps 25 minutes. My wife tells me, let?s try to start it again ? turn the ignition once, the engine fires. We ask the breakdown to not to come as the car seems to be running ok. We drive a further 70 miles up the M1 and reach home - absolutely no problems ? BUT the DSC warning light stays on, all the way.
This afternoon. I start the car. It starts no problems. NO warning lights whatsoever. I drive for perhaps a mile up the road. Kill the engine. Start it again, come home. 50 yards from home, the engine dies. Same problem, it will not start but the engine turns over.
What is wrong with my car?
Cam sensor? I had the problem with an earlier car 2001 car ? but in that one, the engine would stop. But it would always start every time the ignition is turned.
Any help greatly appreciated. Read more
Aprilia, thank you very much - as ever you are a fountain of knowledge - both theoretical and practical.
Presumably something like this is a good tool?
www.peakeresearch.com/code_tool.htm
I have just purchased a used VW Bora, 90,000 miles, with a 3 month warranty. However, at higher speeds when I release my foot from the accelerator, I notice a juddering through the steering column. Any clues as to what could be the cause? It doesn't appear at lower revs. Read more
i have a 93 peugeot 106 1.4 diesel and my m8 realised that diesel woz dripping from the bottom of my car i had a look at it 2day and have traced it 2 my diesel pump. when looking at it from the front of my car there r 2 big nuts 1 above the other.the 1 that is leaking is the 1 at the bottom with an allen key to undo it can any 1 tell me wot this nut is for and where i can get a washer for it from
cheers lee Read more
na if that was the case it would be running from the front of the pump but its not its dripping from the rear underneath onto a black tray above the alternator (nearer the glowplugs) the only thing that is anywhere near where its leaking from is the fuel pipe which goes to the banjo connection at the top of the pump and that looks ok. The plug that i undone today had a big allen key to undo it and was covered with a white cap and very tight
Hi all,
I've been reading here and absorbing lots of information with the odd post for a while now, but find myself needing to ask a question at last!
I need to buy a car for £100 or less. After purchase can spend some money (~£500) making basic repairs, getting it tax/mot/etc, but basically it needs to be a runner for £100. I can do basic repairs or part replacements myself but nothing too complicated. It then needs to be able to cover about 5k miles in 2 weeks, and preferably still be in one piece at the end. The more unusual the better, though it doesn't really matter - priority is function not style. Interior doesn't matter as can easily be rectified - a good engine and other key components are far more important.
(Must just clarify this is not to be my (or anyone else's) main car. I'm shortly to be the recipient of a company Focus Titanium 2.0tdci so this is strictly a hobby project!).
Having been watching things like ebay a lot over the last few weeks looking for this there seem to be many different options I could go for. Do any of you have any suggestions on what would be a good thing to get, or indeed what it is best to avoid? Been leaning towards old examples of BMW/Mercs as in theory will have good engines but I don't really know how accurate that perception is. Simpler cars (Ford etc) will be easier to maintain or repair.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions :-) Read more
When I last looked at the requirements for the Dakar rally you were limited to £100 cost and max £15 for preparation. Spending £500 seems to me to be defeating the object of the exercise.
Can anyone recommend a product that actually works to make exterior plastic look and stay looking like new please. Most that I've used either do nothing or only last until it rains.
Cheers! Read more
In my experience as a valeter, the 2002 Passat doesnt suffer with fading plastics often.
They do have a corse surface on the plastics so you wouldnt polish them as such, but I would try a aerosol spray-on quick-wax and then a through buff. Its much harder work than plastic restorer, but can last a long time if done throughly.
Browse
surely some of the arguement for diesel is that once you've budgeted for and bought the car....... at which point you've written off that money........ your running costs following this are then less than petrol.........and the more miles you do, the better benefit you get
in other words once you've taken the big hit (and yes, at that stage, petrol might well be close to diesel in the big scheme of things) the monthly costs will be lower, which will give you more money in your pocket every month.
Unless you're paying more in a loan or similar for the diesel car (as opposed to a petrol one) your monthly accounts will be healthier..... as not many people would buy a petrol car that is cheaper than a diesel and put what they've saved into an account to offset there more expensive petrol bills, do they?