February 2008
I was in bed last night when the earthquake struck and the whole house shook and made various groaning / banging noises. Given that the epicentre was in the Midlands and I live in the Manchester area, it must have been felt over a wide area.
My question is, were any BackRoomers driving at the time and did you feel anything? Read more
Circumstances have changed and we have decided we need a bigger car with more carrying capacity, whilst still ticking the reliability/economy boxes. Having scanned EBay and Autotrader found a very nice vehicle, quite local as it happens. Went to take a look saturday afternoon and all checks out - service history, condition, equipment/toys etc. Discussed the opportunity for a trade-in against my present vehicle and a figure was suggested, but as the particular spec was not listed in the Glasses guide the proprietor said that he would ring round the trade to confirm the price and call me monday afternoon and I left my contact details accordingly. No call, and so I called yesterday afternoon "he's with a client, and will call you back later" and left my number - again no call.
I was working at home yesterday and again today, I can in principle pop over right now and do the deal with cash on the spot. But should I? They have not returned my calls, and seem disinterested despite my obvious buying signals (yes, I've been on the courses, done the sales job etc). If this is their attitude now, what might it be like if there is a problem with the car three months down the road? My view is that this is not the only car in the world and another good deal will come along in due course. Would you persist and give it one last shot in the window of opportunity I have today? I am not inclined to do so despite the fact I like the car and can live with the numbers indicated, it is really a matter of trust and confidence.
MGs Read more
If he's not chasing you up - then it's probably not a great deal for him.
But that *may* mean it's a good deal for you - only you can decide really.
If I get a salesperson chasing me up, I usually think it's because I'm about to get fleeced.
I'm not convinced that you can equate to poor pre-sales performance to poor after-sales.
Personally, I'd go back and see what deal I could get with the cash in my pocket.
Good Luck.
Looking for a cheap new or nearly new runabout for SWMBO. Will be used for only a minimal mileage per day but due to her working hours needs a reliable car. Also required to carry our twin 4 years olds.
Options I'm looking at.
Citroen C1
FIAT Panda
Ford Ka 1.3i
Peugeot 107
Toyota Aygo
Hyundai Getz
Your opinions or alternatives would be appreciated.
All can be bought for £6000 and under with different amounts of spec. I guess the Ka and Panda will have the most spec but does this make them the better car to buy ?
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Update for you all.
We have agreed a deal for a Nov 06 Micra 5dr 1.2 Spirita with 9k miles for £5800 in silver.
I was very surprise at the comfort and the 1.2 appears to be quite spirited.
took ot for a lengthy test drive, on town, A road and dual carriageway and appears to be ideal for our needs.
Thanks for all your suggestions.
according to KPMG.
On the basis that those who opt out of having a company car as a result of high taxation end up driving a higher-polluting older car.
www.kpmg.co.uk/news/detail.cfm?pr=3044
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>>No conjecture - you specifically just wrote that you think that KPMG are saying that CO2 has gone up:
Where? ;) <--- a smiley just to prove that I'm only trying to find out where the misunderstanding has arisen and that I'm not having a go.
I promise you that I didn't. Please point out where I did.
I have dozens of tiny stone chips all over my bonnet and I'm going to bite the bullet and try to remedy them myself with touch-up paint. It's Ford's Panther Black metallic and they are very obvious and spoil the look of an otherwise immaculate car. I would normally just dab it onto the affected area and T-Cut afterwards, but any helpful suggestions from anybody welcomed! Read more
Excellent selection there. They are all tiny so I think the cocktail stick is the way to go. Many thanks guys.
The expected introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could cut U.S. gasoline use but could increase deadly air pollution in some areas, two reports say.
That's because a plug-in's lower tailpipe emissions may be offset by smokestack emissions from the utility generating plants supplying electricity to recharge the big batteries that allow plug-ins to run up to 40 miles without kicking on their gasoline engines. Plug-ins, called PHEVs, are partly powered, in effect, by the fuel used to generate the electricity.
The rest of the USATODAY news item: tinyurl.com/yss7cr
Another example of not looking at the whole package? Read more
For tokenism at its worst, see GB's pronouncement in today's Mail.
Gordon Brown said he and his wife, Sarah, had tried to cut their carbon footprints by fitting solar panels to heat water at their home in Scotland,
Looking for a new car after havingpink fluffy dice xantias for the last 7 years.
Really love the celica, so looking at eithe rone of those of a hyundai coupe, want somthing that looks nice (and imo both look fantastic) nice to drive, and not too expensive to look after.
Anyone reckon its a pipe dream or can i realisticly find somthing decent for that price range? Read more
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I find it ironic that mainly due to insurance reasons young drivers are forced to drive round tin boxes like the 106, AX, Metro etc. All these cars have a high death point score on HJ's used car breakdowns yet are likely to be driven by 18 year olds with no experience.
Does anybody else think there is something wrong here? Hopefully as time passes these old superminis will mostly be scrapped and modern ones (which are safe) will become the bangers.
What are you thoughts? Read more
Most new drivers I know get a car on HP now so drive around in clios, corsas, fiestas etc that are probably as safe as anything and cheaper to insure than a banger!
This is what I did with my first car... Apart from the 2 star NCAP rating I've not done too bad... Not driven into anything except for the bins once (with Police Squad theme playing in my head)
Covered in dents and dings (as per mentioning in the other thread) but I've still got a reliable car now that I'm a more... sensible driver.
Daughter left her bright yellow car in the residents bay nearest what turned out to be the Camden Market fire - leaving just as the first fire engine was arriving that evening.
After a worried few days, she returned to London on the Thursday to find her car was undamaged but completely black! It has been repeatedly washed over the past week or so, including a 'professional' wash and wax. This weekend she drove drove down to Hamble and found the car was striped like a tiger! Cleaned again and on her return to Camden her stripes were back. Soot obviously deep in cracks, grilles etc.
So, if any of you Londoner BR'ers see a brunette in a tiger camouflage car - that's my girl!
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You may find that E*** fuel (Tiger in your tank) soots it better now! - sorry!
Billy
Someone pushed my car (and several other cars on the street) into a hedge last night. The resulting dent has shifted the bottom half of the boot latch, so the boot no longer closes. The car's a 97 Megane, so not worth getting fixed, but its MOT is due in a month. I was planning a botch job involving cable ties to hold the boot closed, but will this be a problem for its MOT? Read more
VOSA requires that all doors, boot, bonnet and fuel filler cover must open to facilitate proper testing of all area's. Any of these not opening could cause a 'refusal to test' rather than a fail.
However, considering the fitted carpet / trim / panels etc within the boot area, there is usually nothing accessible to test in the boot and a lot of testers don't even bother to open it to look.
Having said that - it must fasten securely closed.
Browse
my first thoughts upon experiencing all the vibrations and rattling were of poltergeist , the last occupant who had the flat before me died in bed ( my bedroom) sent a shiver down my spine as well , i put the radio on (5 live) and after about 20 mins all the texts and e-mails were coming through (phew) about an earthquake.....slept like a baby after that!