November 2007
Between 2001 and 2004 I ran a Smart fourtwo coupe cdi, LHD . It wasn't available ( and still isn't ) in RHD . It was the most brilliant car at the time , reliable and of course very economical , giving 60 mpg in suburban London and 80 mpg plus on the open road .
I bought that car brand new in Belgium , and with the VAT it cost me £5600 , with A/C and other bits , Alloys, metallic etc . I sold it two and a half years later at £5350.
I would like to repeat the exercise , but now the equivalent car is quoted at £8600 ( allowing for VAT which of course is unavoidable ) from a Belgian dealer again . The issue is , Ist time round there was no UK dealership network at the time , so I had no hassle in personally importing it and getting SMART UK when it set up to register it for the warantee ( it needed warantee work once for dodgy electrics ). Now , Smarts are sold in the UK, but crucially, not the diesel which for us Londoners represent not only free VED but also free congestion charging on account of the sub 100 g / CO2 emissions .
Why has the car gone up by over a half ? Has anyone else bought one lately ?
Smarts seem to hold their value well - no wonder .
Subject line tweaked - for the second time ! Read more
I know its not everyone's cup of tea but we have a Hilux pick up.
It's only done 2000 miles but it will be getting its first of many between sevice oil changes at about 3000 miles.
Sounds too soon i know but i've always looked after my cars in a similar way and i reckon it pays, so don't try to dissuade me.
Any of you who would find that type of motor on your shopping list used (say 3 of 4 years old) would you be happy enough for me to have receipts to prove that i've done my own interim oil changes, or would it make the world of difference if the dealer had done all the oil services?
I'm quite happy to pay the dealer to do it, its just more convenient for me to do the interims.
Thanks and ttfn Read more
In Oz, its the dust and the flies that force early changes:)
My car's rear is not reaching the ride height it used to, but it will go up to full height but not every time it is selected. I have also found that when the rear isn't at the correct ride height my brakes have to be stood on to get a result. Any advice would be appriecated. Read more
Two things spring to mind,
Rear height corrector sticking/partly seized. (do a forum search for more info).
Pressure accumulator sphere faulty. With the engine ticking over, height corrector at "normal", there should be a loudish "TICK" from the pressure regulator under the bonnet about twice per minute. A frequent regular "TICK" quicker than this suggests the sphere is faulty.
The rear brakes take their pressure feed via the rear suspension which suggests that the height corrector is the first port of call.
The Xantia weighs well over a tonne. Don't rely on the hydraulics to hold it up. A Xantia on axle stands is better than one on the head!
homepage.ntlworld.com/djrich999/Image001.jpg
Looks like some sort of kit, but I wondered if anyone knew otherwise Read more
iirc the nova kit car thing featured in the film Condorman, starring Michael Crawford.
awful rubbish that was abusive on the eyes. The film was pretty bad too.
my sons just bought a 01 polo with a beta radio. the radio code is not with the handbook and i've been unable to locate previous owner.despite the handbook saying contact a main agent for free help the main agent wants to charge me because i didn't buy the car from him. the radio works fine now but what if i change the battery or disconnect it for any other reason? Read more
HI
Phone another dealer. We supply it for free but need proof you own the car and the S/N off the radio and your VIN number.
Regards,
Merlin
I've been called for a survey by a company claiming to be working on behalf of of Nissan.
They knew I'd taken my four-year-old Nissan in for an out of warranty repair, and were asking for my opinion.
I made it clear I didn't want any of my personal details being passed to any other third parties, although Nissan had obviously passed my personal details to them!
We didn't get very far. They confirmed my car details, and after asking details about the repair, they asked for my opinion of the service department, good, bad, indifferent.
I explained I couldn't really comment as I had no subjective comparison.
They then abruptly ended the call, saying the car was outside the age parameters of the survey, after confirming the details in the early stages of the call.
I know I'm a suspicious ole git, but can anyone throw any light on what's going on?
Read more
Off topic, I know, but Audi are a good example of a car I just couldn't buy, or at least not from a main dealer. I often pass the main dealer in Camberley - huge new glass showroom, loads of fantastic cars you can see from the main road. Would I buy one from there? Never - the costs of running that showroom must be huge. Just think of the mark-up they would need to make on each car. I'm not wasting my money on helping them to look posh. I accept that's not completely rational, given that I think Audis are great cars. Must be the impact of my accountancy background!
There is a youth around here that drives an old shed, the car pumps out enough noxious fumes to smoke the population of a nearby fishery. Did I dream this or was there an on-line reporting system to VOSA to report such wretched behaviour ? Read more
hahahaha biggest laugh for ages
"have a quiet word in his ear"..
then he stabs you and steals your wallet.
or maybe just tells u to go forth and multiply
well done pug for raising this and for the replies on how/where to complain
in a ring one to one i'll fight most people
on the streets of modern Britain...nah forget it
.
Does anybody have any advice for turbo lag on my partners 2.2 Diesel as the Turbo dosn't seem to kick in untill 2000 revs, is this normal?
{Subject header expanded to include engine details. No mention of vehicle age, otherwise I would have also added - DD} Read more
Hi,
I have bought an aftermarket alarm for my 2004 convertible Astra G. I then started to think ............................. If there is a seperate blipper remote for the alarm, and the alarm is connected to the central locking etc. etc. will it have an effect on my ability to raise and lower the roof using the key remote using its central locking button? How many remotes can you have connected to the central locking, roof up/down etc. etc.!!!!!!
Anyone out there have the answer please? Read more
The alarm you need is a Cat 2 >1 upgrade which has a self powered siren with alarm control unit switched on and off by your original car remote fob when engaging the double/deadlock position.This way there is no need for an additional fob.hth
Report in local paper tonight of motorist getting a six month ban for doing 106mph on a local NSL dual carriageway (A130).
In defence the defendant used the usual 'need licence for job' mitigation but the court weren't sympathetic on this occasion, probably because he'd used the same argument earlier this year when before the same court arguing that he should not be banned for reaching 14 points!
Not unreasonably the court felt that he perhaps should have been taking a little more care about his speed for a while; having been treated leniently on the previous occasion he certainly didn't seem to keep his side of the bargain and learn a lesson for a wee while.
tinyurl.com/2ptyez Read more
I did learn...
... 1997-1998 I was doing quite high mileage for work. Car was serviced every 2-3 months (10K between services). So ended up driving a little faster at times.
One Sunday travelling from my parents in South Wales to home the motorways empty and road dry and road clear. So I went a little too fast. Zapped by a laser... a fair cop. Doing 97mph.
Had to appear in court and got a letter from work saying how work would be DIFFICULT without a car (not lose job I must add!). No other points etc. ever before that. They asked any other info they should know and since filling in the paperwork (income/outgoings/etc) I got a £2000 payrise and they said thank you for the info. Magistrates decide 5 points and £150 fine. I was expecting and prepared for worse.
I then went with clerk to pay and had the option to pay in installements. I didn't. No points or anything close since. but I do need my license for work! No points since but technically 5 points still listed since 1999. The paper part of the license still says 5 but why should I pay to remove.*
* had an accident whereby I had to give a statement and produce since... police officer interviewing looked at license and on tape said "clean license" or words to that effect ;-) So why pay to take off the points as I won't be doing anything wrong.
Browse
Hi chaps. So glad I have just come across this info. I am really interested in importing a fortwo diesel for myself and cut out the dealers here in the UK. Can anyone recommend any dealer in Belgium/Germany or advise me on how I go about it. Thanks