February 2010
Hi
We're in the process of looking for a replacement for our Zafira. We want something with more boot space. We never use the 2 back seat so even with them permanently folded we need more space! We're looking at larger estates and 4x4's. With a budget of around £15k we are struggling to find the best option. Top of the list so far is the Pathfinder, a fully specced Aventura, 56/07 plate, manual, diesel. This is based on size and reasonable running costs and not too big a list of common faults.
Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
Thanks Read more
To cover what's happening in front, behind, all around..?
Any recommendations?
Any ways of modifying non-specific equipment to use in such a capacity? Read more
I'm sold. I just bought one via www.dogcamsport.co.uk/ Will see how i get on with it once it arrives. Looks to be well thought out & feature complete.
Have one of those two. excellent bit of kit.
Every time a thread starts on leasing I get ready to put this question but the thread gets closed before I get a chance.
I normally buy a car new or ex-demonstrator, keep it for 3 years and trade it in. Partly because thats the usual warranty expiry and partly due to me getting bored with cars.
My last Scenic was on a PCP and at the end of 3 years, I paid the final payment and traded it in for my Altea and I think I got, in effect, £1k for it. Current Altea is on 5 year loan, my theory being this was the car I was going to keep as it would last through the "ferrying the kids about stage".
I have looked at how much cars cost me over the years and know that I would be quite well off if I hadn't constantly changed cars. But its a cost I can afford and choose to do. I long to be one of these drivers who keeps their car for 10 years, runs it into the ground until it owes them nothing. But I think I would get bored too quickly!
Having said all that, I have looked at various leasing sites and see that I could pay roughly what I am currently paying just now and get a comparable car. But the car will never be mine. I know that is probably no different to always having a loan on it that is roughly the same as the value of the car! But to me its a huge pyschological barrier!
Maybe I have this theory that everytime I sell a car I would have a couple of grand in equity on it, and over time I would eventually be able to be loan free on a decent car. But thats not happened in 20 odd years of buying cars. Yes I know it could very easily be if I just kept my cars for a longer time, or went for much cheaper cars.
If I am resigning myself always to be paying a monthly car loan, then leasing is probably the way to go. But at some stage in my life, I will want a car thats mine and don't want to be starting from scratch with it. Is this where your pension lump sum comes in :)
So my question really is, of private buyers who have went down the leasing road, what was your thought process? Do you just treat it as another monthly cost , like utilities, community charge etc? Did you cost it versus loans / depreciation etc?
But can I stress, please no mention of companies, websites, suppliers names as I don't want this thread closed!! :)
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It's a fair point to mention Bill Payer but the poster you refer to only visited here once to grumble about two VW related issues and never returned. It did also sound like his daughter had knocked the Polo about. Poster said it had only done 9000mls in 2 yrs yet it had dents in doors, scuffed bumpers, damaged wheeltrims and tyres at the legal limit. The poster said he paid £1500+ himself to get it in a decent condition to hand back to avoid the lease people charging £1700. That must have been one abused car or the validity of the story is in doubt.
My contract clearly states all the conditions expected for paint/body, interior, alloys, tyres, glass etc in such detail there can be little room for argument. They allow quite a degree of normal wear and tear... more than I'd expected. The 9yr old Mondeo I've just sold for £1500 would have passed their end of lease requirements!
The missus is talking about buying a wee single axle caravan, it's around 700kg, which, I'm led to believe, is under the towing weight for our old 306 DT, I'm just not so sure, it's one thing towing something a couple of miles, but not up and down 200 miles of M6. Do you think we'd be better off getting something bigger?
TIA! Read more
It's the gross plated weight of the trailer that gets added to the gross plated weight of the car - no weighing is necessary by plod/gendarme/polizei etc - just simple addition so most of them can do that !
So you might be illegal even with an empty trailer.
Does any people have any views or thoughts on the relative strengths and weakesses of VW/Audi TDI CR engines v's Peugeot HDI engines. I am intersted in aspects of design that influence durability, reliability and performance. Any views or thoughts would be appreciated. A non scientific scan of the backroom archives suggest that VW/Audi reliability is pretty poor given all the marketing hype. I have had a look at the breakdown section........on this site,
Many thanks Read more
Yep our ideas about caring for these are similar. Even though mine is on contract and under 3yr warranty I'll ask the dealer for a bargain price interim 6k oil change.
Regarding getting all the old oil out. One example on that engine is that some oil is retained in the oil filter housing casting... the only way to get it all out is by using the vacuum extractor probe poked in the recess!!
Hello all, I'm at my wits end with our problem child of a Lupo, I'm hoping someone can help!
The car is a 1.4 S (75bhp) on 96K
The car has developed a horrendous misfire that is only cured by stopping and switching off the engine, restarting clears it and it can be driven again, sometimes for half a mile, other times for 15+.
Strangely when the misfire comes, its at all revs, including idle but it never stalls out, the car also seems to be drinking fuel and when the misfire occurs there is a hot smell coming out of the exhaust. No warning lights show and the car is not overheating
The car had a basic service (plugs,filters (not fuel) and oil) less than 300miles ago. My Wife has been saying for some time it felt down on power.
The latest problem came after we ran the tank low, first thought were some crud had been sucked through but the switch off/reset/restart thing is really confusing me!
Hope someone can help
Matt Read more
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to post the update after the 'quiet period' (but hope I won't need it for my daughter's 1.4 Lupo!)
Mazda 6.... 6 months old and under 20,000 miles on the clock.
This morning it drove absolutely fine. 2 new front tyres were needed so called in a national tyre chain's mobile tyre fitting service, who put on 2 Good Year Eagle NCTs.
Driving it immediately afterwards, noticed that the steering wheel is now off centre - i.e. when driving in a straight line the steering wheel points very slightly to the left..... and if you hold the wheel dead centre the car steers very slightly to the right.
Took it back to a branch of the national tyre chain that fitted the new tyres and they laser checked the tracking and confirmed all is OK. They re-balanced the tyres and refitted the wheels.
Problem is still the same.
Have noticed that the one wheel seems to have a lot of weights inside the wheel rim, and when they were trying to balance the wheel they seemed to be having difficulty.
Any thoughts? Read more
My 08 Mazda 6 2.5 sport developed the same off centre steering wheel problem which seemed to happen overnight. I took it to a national tyre chain to check the tracking. They told me that speed humps and pot holes could cause the problem. They made adjustments and told me that everything was now spot on and to come back in a fortnight for re-checking. Despite this the problem remained. I told them that I had recently had two new tyres put on the front and asked if this could cause the problem. The mechanic (a term I use with reservation) told me that there was absolutely no possibility of a connection between the too. It was now becomming a problem that was difficult to live with. I was desparate to get to the bottom of it, as i was concerned that there maybe a more serious issue. I decided to try another garage to get the car checked out, they suggested that laser and digital steering geometry setup was the answer to my problems. I handed over my 25 quid and hey presto... the problem was still there, if anything a tad worse. In desparation I asked them to swap my new tyres to the rear. Would you Adam and Eve it, the steering wheel was now dead centre once more. So before spending any money try swapping the tyres round first, it may just work for you too.
My wife & I are thinking of driving in Europe this summer. We live in London and would like to hire car here, ferry to France and then drive - probably through Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Romania.
We have found car hire firms that will allow this and with unlimited mileage. But the cost seems high; the standard 250 quid (approx) rental for 2 weeks for a compact 4 door but double that for the premium for travelling abroad. The cheapest deal I have found so far is 470.00.
Forgetting about flying and forgetting about the risks associated with the drive (insurance excesses and all that), I wonder if anyone else done this before and has any good advice?
Does anyone know a cheaper way of doing this? We want a driving holiday but as an example what about flying to say, France, and then hiring the car there?
All advice and ideas appreciated!
Tim Read more
Has anyone booked a car on www.vehicle-rent.com/? I have found the best prices here but I do not know this company and I don't want to pay extra fees when I return the car.
Some people may be aware of my last break in only two months ago, well the same thing has just happened, this time they smashed a window and broken my seat belt housing (luckily its just cosmetic, it just needs new plastic).
Waiting for the police to turn up some time never.
Again mine was the only car in the street that was targeted, and the police think somebody has seen me with all the computers and that is why my car has become a target.
This time I made the mistake of locking my car and its going to cost me £75 via the insurance to get a new glass window put in.
It certainly raises a valid point people made in the other thread about me buying a brand new car, if this sort of thing is going to keep happening I may be better just fixing the Corsa.
Nothing was taken but it is a mess :(
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i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/amazingtrade/P104...g
I am not even sure if they are coming to finger print or what so going to phone them again if not I need to phone Autoglass for them to come and sort it. Read more
Things like this make me really glad I have a garage to put the car in. I used to leave the car outside, but luckily only suffered one attempted break-in.
Hello,
Some of you may recall my car-buying problems, not least a stolen/cloned car last year. I've been looking for a replacement for nearly six months, but been put off by high secondhand prices and apprehension about buying privately again.
Well, yesterday I did it. I bought another car, privately to boot and three hours away from where I live! I was determined to follow every scrap of sensible advice - here, from the DVLA, HPI, anywhere - but I have to say that some of it proves mighty difficult in the real world. Here's a rundown:
1) I bought it off eBay, from a private seller. Its an 07 plate B7 Avant with the 1.8T petrol engine and 50,000 miles (a bit of a change from a Disco). The advert clearly stated he was selling the car on behalf of his father.
2) The chap freely gave me all the information I needed for an HPI check, where it had been serviced and stamped, who the supplying delaer had been and who the previous owner was (his father was second owner), why his father was selling, what documentation and how many keys he had, condition, etc.
3) I paid £19.99 for an HPI check - note from hpi.co.uk - and this came back clear. I followed up with other background checks with the supplying and servicing garages (it was serviced by the latter 3 times and they could recall the current owner by name).
4) I set off and the chap met me at the station. He appeared genuine and respectable. He could hold a sensible conversation and told me what he did for a living, etc. We did not go to his home address. We had agreed to meet in either Liverpool or Chester so he could get paid at a bank after I inspected the car. He said his father wanted cash so he could pay a builder for a kitchen extension. I said he could only have this if a) he accompanied me into the bank and accepted the transfer in front of witnesses/cameras and b) he brought me several proofs of his identity and his right to sell the car on his father's behalf.
5) The V5 was watermarked and appeared authentic, the serial number was not in the stolen risk range, the details matched the car to the letter and had been signed away by his father (or someone??). Chassis and engine numbers matched the HPI/V5C paperwork, although it proved impossible to find more than one example of each (in the windscreen and in the engine bay). He showed me his driving licence, a copy of his latest mortgage statement and his father's life assurance policy with addresses to match, providing me with photocopies of each to take away, despite these containing sensitive personal information. He brought a receipt for signature, as did I.
6) We parked up outside the bank, he got his cash (over £9k), chose to stuff it in his pockets, I got the car, all the documentation, wallet and keys and he asked to be dropped at the local Costco, where he was to be met by his wife and kids.
Marks out of 10?
bazomis Read more
Thanks Waino. So far, absolutely no complaints at all. The bodywork and interior are immaculate, despite the relatively high miles. Low slung and quite sporty. Very different from driving a Disco obviously (except from the fuel consumption), but I owned 3 A4 Avants between 1997 and 2002 and enjoyed them then too. The only problem so far has been a rear brake light bulb that went yesterday. Took it to my local Audi garage, paid 97p for the bulb and the workshop manager willingly offered to show me how to fit it for free! Turned out the faulty one had not been a long-life OEM one.
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