October 2017
Dear Forum members,
I am writing to you from Namibia. I am interested in importing safari type vehicles to Southern African countries. I am looking for a producer or a car dealer of safari vehicles in the UK. Do you know any one who is involved in selling that type of cars? It can be open or close safari vehicles. I am looking for someone who modifies cars like Toyota Land Cruiser or Land Rover Defender to a safari vehicle. ... Read more
Interesting.....
I recently bought a CRV, .2 diesel auto, 5 years old with full Honda service history and Honda Warranty for one year. IT was serviced by Honda just before I bought it.
On inspecting the car I found the cabin/ pollen air filter to be filthy and long overdue for replacement. I then checked the engine air filter and that too was filthy, the worst I had ever seen. I have ordered new filters and will replace them.... Read more
... I found the cabin/ pollen air filter to be filthy and long overdue for replacement. I then checked the engine air filter and that too was filthy, the worst I had ever seen.
I told HOnda my complaint and they said the airfilter was changed last year and is good for two years, and the engine filter was changed last year and is good for three years or 36,000 miles....
Looking for some advice please?
I am currently looking to find a first car for my daughter who is coming up to 21 in December. I have been looking at the usual suspects recommended in this forum but I have seen a couple of Diahatsu Sirions at about £1500 with relatively low mileage, good service history, few owners etc.... Read more
We have had three Sirions in the family. All 1.3 autos. The newest and lowest mileage was written off at six years old and 30,000 miles but looked like new. By contrast the other two (still going) have done about 75,000 miles each at nine and seven years respectively. They are bashed and battered, but have never failed in any way otherthan peripherals (batterty, tyres and the like). In fact the newer of the two drives better than the written off one did.
Strongly recommended....
I have been reading an article about the quote" problems technicians face" when changing a stop start car battery (either the AGM or EFB type)
eg the battery has to be paired or electronically matched to the vehicles battery management system. or there will be ..................trouble !... Read more
On my Mazda 6 the stop/start is switched off 99% of the time manually by me, a habit almost now and not too much a pain, Hopefully a way around the default setting will appear soon.
It also uses a huge capacitor which provides power to the car's electrics eg. Air Con, lights etc It can discharge say over approx 4 mins or longer dependant on load but charges up on decelleration within 4 seconds. The display shows it quite well, but annoyingly when in this mode it disables voice commands for some logical reason that escapes me.
'Bangernomics' make sense in many ways, but if you are driving around in a car whose market value is £500 or less, then a relatively slight knock will lead to it being written off by the insurance company. Is it possible to agree that you want to insure your old car for, say, £1500 or £2000 rather than the usual 'market value'? When you insure your house you have a specific figure printed on the certificate for replacement value. Is there any way of doing this with car insurance? I know there's gap insurance for new cars, but what about for the old ones? Read more
Sorry, I just don't get where this is coming from. Insurance companies are not in the business for the good of their customers. ...
Hi guys. Just got back in my car and the boot is open. I paked and put central locking on but boot opens. I disconnected battery to see if it was a reset thing but still the same. Any suggestions? Read more
I'm glad the problem has gone away.
I second your comments about the model! I kept mine for over 15 years, serviced it properly and on time, and had no major replacements other than the expected wear and tear items. DPF lasted 94,000 miles; original EGR, turbo, injectors, clutch etc. still fine when I sold it at 137,000 miles (compare with VAG EA189 diesels, for example). Comfortable, understatedly powerful and a huge load-carrier with the self-levelling suspension. I think C5's were very under-rated and, as used examples are cheap as chips nowadays, one with reasonable history would be worth a punt by anyone looking for some out-of-the ordinary 'bangernomics'. You could get an absolute bargain.
I'm not talking about the kind of exotica most of us would buy in the event of a lottery win but the kind of motor a salesman just loves to sell. That easy sale that generates cash for your wallet but almost certainly won't generate any post sale hassle for seller or buyer alike. The sort of car you can sell with absolute confidence and know that the buyer will have nothing to complain about and is likely to praise you for your efforts and return to you when they want to buy another.
It's worth knowing the dealers opinion on the best cars to sell as they are in general the best cars to buy.
My list of recent used sales favourites are as follows and in no particular order and in assumption of having been well maintained.
Honda Civic petrol
Honda Jazz (excluding Mk I CVT & Mk II i-shift)
Honda Accord petrol
Mazda 2 petrol
Mazda 3 petrol
Mazda 6 petrol
Ford Focus Mk II 1.6/1.8/2.0 petrol
Toyota Yaris 1.33 petrol
Toyota Auris 1.33/1.6 petrol
Toyota Corolla 1.4/1.6 petrol
Suzuki Swift petrol
I've to date never sold one example of any of the above that has caused any real trouble beyond ordinary wear and tear items for their next owner. Probably cursed myself but the reality of buying a used car on a budget is that Japanese normally asperated petrol engines are by far the least likely to go wrong in the longterm and make the best used buys.
Sadly too many have delusions of grandeur and seek to buy prestige and complex turbocharged performance cars on a basic budget. We often see them on here seeking people to back up their ideas in the pretence that they're after genuine advice then we all too often see the results in the technical and legal threads.
Keep it simple folks!
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Thank you too SLO.
Well for me it is a toss up between the Polo and the C3, did i really type that? Read more
Mark's right. They're now surprisingly good. Years ago we inherited an older Corsa as a second car. It was my late father in laws, and it was terrible in just about every way. Came to buy a new small hatchback last year and I was pushing for a Fiesta, probably thought a Polo would be the better compromise, but out of loyalty my wife bought a new Corsa. And it's fine. As Mark says it's pitched between the Fiesta and Polo dynamically. Steering is a little lifeless but the chassis is very good. There's a rough bit of road near me where a level crossing feeds into some really corrugated tarmac, and you can feel the dampers doing their job. I've had much more expensive cars caught out here. Money's been spent on that chassis. I still don't get on with Vauxhall seats but it's refined, spacious, and excellent value. Mind you two electrical niggles so far so it retains some traditional Vauxhall traits,
Feels as though there is no turbo boost under 2000 rpm, once over that it takes off, sort of feeling a dud MAF gives but I have swapped the one from my wifes car which is identical and it makes no difference.
My thoughts are a sticking turbo boost control or a vacuum leak somewhere. Anyone any suggestions? Thanks Read more
Problem sorted, it was the vacuum pump. Thanks for your input.
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