November 2008
In the never ending search for a replacement car for 'er indoors, spotted a Vx Astra 1.4 life (poverty spec, but with all the necessary gadgets). 55 reg, 26000m for £4200.
I would appreciate any informed comments on the compatibility of the smallish engine with the car and any reliability issues. A Focus was the preferred option, but this is around £1000 cheaper than an similar age Focus.
(I know these 'what car' threads can be annoying at times...but it might eventually get me to make a decision :) ) Read more
I'm renewing the car insurance shortly. For once I waded through all the paper that arrives with the renewal notice to find a new condition added under "Care of your car" saying that you must have a valid vehicle tax disc.
So if you forget to renew the tax you may find your insurance is invalidated which strikes me as odd.
Worth checking your policy.
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A number of today's papers report that Chancellor Darling is going to postpone next years VED increases to stimulate car sales - large and powerful models being those that will benefit most. VAT to come down too apparently.
Aaahh... green motoring. Nice while it lasted. Read more
... its become tedious and we're locking the thread. "
Quite. DD
Met a mate yesterday who had bought a very nice looking X type Jag about three months ago - Y reg 3.0ltr Sport 98k for £2.500 -- very nice car - He turned up yesterday in borrowed car - seems the Auto box won't select or keep a gear - they think it's a solenoid in box but not sure - He is gutted. -- at least it is easy to get box out as it's RWD (yea) ;-)) Read more
A seller is just as likely to be completely ignorant about the car ...
Hardly. The chance of a buyer knowing anything about a seller's vehicle (except in general terms) is just about zero. Many, perhaps most, cars for sale privately will have been owned by their sellers for some time, who may well (as many backroomers have stressed) be selling for a good reason. But your point must be valid for forecourt cars which have been traded in. A few may have been maintained at that garage, but the 'sellers' there are unlikely to know much about them.
Seems that not so long ago, a car would keep its value far better than these throwaway plastic pulley kind of times. Looks like buying new these days is very foolish even if new prices are lower now in real terms. I don't mean to sound bashful, but I'm gonna declare what I managed to recoup on the 2 cars I have bought new in my life and let's see if I can be beaten ?
1) Saab 9 - 3 SE Convertible Auto , bought brand new from a large main UK dealer In October 1998 on the S reg , kept 27 months & 27000 miles. Bought new at £24000 , sold on 27 months later at £21000
2) Smart cdi ( 800 cc diesel , a brilliant car ) Left hand drive bought new from a Benz / Smart dealer in Belgium in November 2000 at £4800 , add VAT paid here and fetching costs plus SVA / Light conversion , say £6k in all, kept 30 months and 24000 miles , sold on at £5350 .
I still remember the reg numbers on both Read more
This also doesn't count, probably! When I worked abroad and was able to buy cars tax free and with a 15% discount from the maker I bought a 1994 320SL, new, and made a good 25% on it as there was a waiting list for them in the UK at the time
I actually used to visit these forums many years ago before I could even drive, but came across it again today so thought I would re-join... Some of the discussions on here are really interesting, and I love talking about cars so hopefully I can add some of my wisdom to the debates, lol!
I'm Dan, 21 years old, student, and I drive a 57 plate BMW 116i. Previously I had a Ford Ka, which I had up until this summer when I had a run-in with a foreign lorry on the M40 :(
Love my Beemer and think it's the best looking/handling hatchback you can buy. I smile every time I look at and drive it. Any other 1-series drivers on here?
Anyway, hope to stick around.
Dan Read more
Welcome back :)
I can't remember who you used to be though - not the guy who had the brand new MINI Cooper and wanted to be a car salesman??
Hi all,
I have just completed a full & very thorough service on my much loved BMW 328i SE & now want to reset my service schedule computer readout. Is it possible I can do this myself or does it have to be carried out by a main dealer/BMW specialist.
I have done the servicing myself as I am mechanicaly minded & was not happy with it being done at the main dealer last time it was due, as I ended up doing things that had been missed.
Any replies would be appreciated,
Regards, redils Read more
Unfortunately it's not worked & I don't know why !
redils
Hi there.
My girlfriend's 05 plate Streetka has just started to act strangely.
The ABS light on the dash started flickering about a week ago, not staying on for any determinate time before going off again, sometimes happening once a journey, or every five secs. Then we were out and the Ignition/Battery warning light came on while driving and stayed on. We tried turning all non-essential electrics off but to no avail. I also noticed that the headlights, on dipped beam, seem to get dim/bright as you rev the accelerator. I'm not sure if all of these are linked (possibly alternator not providing power?) or three seperate problems. As a non mechanical minded person, thought I'd see if anyone can help on here.
Any advice will be appreciated as we spoke to the Ford garage, and they quoted £160 just to run the diagnostics!
Thanks for looking.
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This sounds as though the alternator isn't charging correctly. There should be codes stored in both the ABS and the engine management ECUs giving further info.
Unless it's under warranty and you have to go to a dealer; most garages now have the means to read the codes.
A few weeks back the response times of the HJ site was poor.
It got better but it seems the advertising is acting up or my PC has slowed down. Read more
........ which will affect
the contention ratio?
.......... it's having to up its LLU capacity yet again
at my exchange.
If only I knew what you were talking about! It must be nice to be computer literate!
Ive been offered a jag 2.0tdci on an 05 for around £3000 with 100k on the clock. Car has been a company car and full jag service history. The car was filled with petrol a while ago and has had a £2k bill from jag and now seems to be running fine. Its also on its 2nd clutch - is this usual?
Anyway what im after is some advice - is this a good deal and are these cars anygood?
I dont do a great mileage but would like something decent to upgrade my Astra from.
The car is a Silver Jag saloon 2.0D Classic. Glass's guide is £4125.
Thanks
Dave Read more
Chances are some of you are driving a car that was once misfueled. I guess the worst prone cars are those that have been ex rentals with many people driving them. Ex rentals are on forecourts and 'Approved used' car schemes such as Ford Direct.
From Greenflag...
Men are more likely to put the wrong fuel in their car ? and more likely to run out of petrol while on the road, according to recent research by roadside rescue company Green Flag.
More than one in ten accident-prone Brits have filled up their car with the wrong type of fuel according to new research. Half of those caused so much damage to their vehicle it took on average of £125 to repair after the cock-up.
And if we Brits aren?t putting in the wrong type of fuel ? we aren?t putting any in at all ? almost half of us have run out of petrol or diesel according the survey of 4,000 motorists by Green Flag.
But men are more likely to put diesel in a petrol car or vice versa, according to Green Flag. A preoccupied 14 per cent of blokes admitted to putting in the wrong fuel compared to only ten per cent of females.
Browse
I once made the mistake of querying something like this with my (then) insurer.
It had to have a valid MOT to be insured and they would not under any circumstances cover the vehicle on it's way to an MOT station to get one.
I've never seen the requirement for VED though.