July 2019
Never ceases to amaze me. People buy a new car but only go over it and look in the boot for spare tyre and jack etc once they have driven it home.
I also had the cam belt changed 3 times on our first gen Vauxhaul Zafira and never had the water pump changed once. Even when sold at 14 years old, it still had the original water pump. Moral of the story, dont pay to have a job done when you dont need it. Read more
I have just read a road test on Autocar on the new Skoda scala 1.5 tsi se spec. The writer states that the price of the car is over £21000, but then says that most people buy on pcp these days.
The cost to “ rent” the car for 3 years and 45000 miles with a £3k deposit is £337 a month. That works out at £15132, and at the end you hand it back or start again.
You can get a decent car for half that as a cash buy and at the end of 3 years it would still be worth something or even sold earlier if you got into money trouble.
It beggars belief that people who can’t really afford a new car are going in to these deals just to have a new car to use without really working out that they are really renting a car for a fixed term without any get out clause if they struggle with the payments.
A pcp may be the correct way of driving a new car for wealthier people, who have money to fall back on if the economy goes belly up, but for the majority I personally think they’re crazy. Read more
It's a bit like the measles vaccination issue.
Why should anyone worry about other people not being vaccinated as long as you are....
Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the price of second hand Aston Martin Cygnets.They were a Toyota IQ city car with a tarted up interior and body trim with identical mechanicals. They cost about £30k in 2011 when a top of the range IQ was about £14k which was ridiculous difference. Second hand 2011 Cygnet now c£40k while 2011 IQ c£3.5k. A lot of money to demonstrate you are a prat. Read more
A friend's Aston DB2/4 has a truly ancient engine, made circa 1956. He still wouldn't sell it for 6 figures he has been offered!
Beautiful!, i much prefer these to the later DB5 and DB6.
And while that engine is ancient, it was designed by W.O. Bentley.......
My A4 has an Aircon failure which according to Advisors on the Techical Section will effectively right off the car.
I have found it difficult to even get a company to quote for the repair which includes a new compressor after the internal drive shaft of the Hella unit rounds off shedding particles through the system.
But I'm finding it difficult to find a car to replace it with because of the fabulous performance of the PD 130 bhp engine and general refinement.
Short listed cars are Rover 75 and any diesel without a DPF with a budget of £5000. Had the new cars and don't want to return .
A day testing various models didn't inspire me.
Any ideas please ? Read more
Couldn't ask for a better summing up SLO
Will take a look tomorrow and bear in mind your superb guidance ....
We live on an unmade, un-adopted road. The speed limit set by the owners of the road is 15MPH and it is signed as such.
There is a local soccer ground nearby and occasionally away fans use the road to park up for the game, after which, they invariably hare off, which is dangerous as horse riders use the road as well as kids and it is quite narrow.... Read more
I seem to remember the term"private property to which the public have access"-used to me when someone hit my correctly parked car.
Hi,
I've just moved to north Iceland and will need a car.... Read more
Most used cars of that age have done around 150 - 250,000 km here, seems like quite a lot?
My main priorities are:...
I replaced discs and pads on both front wheels of my car yesterday, and also replaced the drivers side caliper which was sticking.
Since then I have noticed that the brake pedal will slowly go down a bit when it is pumped up. I cant remember if it did this before or not however!... Read more
Suggest you apply some penetrating oil and allow it soak 24 hours before trying. If the nipple snaps off it will be a tow to a garage or remove calliper and get it refurbished....
The usual problem, in the past have tried all sorts of window cleaner, microfibre cloths, cleaners, commercial window spray etc but usually the smears return in short order, and a raked screen is not easy to clean inside.
I watched a Youtube video from the US and the guy explained why your screen gets that haze on the inside - the oils in the plastics near the screen are evaporated out by sunshine heat and deposited on the inside of the screen. Ok i've previously heard about the plasticizers in plastics causing the plume of haze on the screen from the demist outlets - but not the oils.... Read more
This is a problem, having a film of grime etc on the inside reduces visibility, and misting when conditions are wet.
I use either a wet sponge and dry off with a damp wash leather or sometimes glass spray cleaner and a dry off with a duster - neither are perfect. Best done in warmer weather to allow the damp introduced to dissipate off out the car.
A summer smile for all and a reminder to SELF to put handbrake on PROPERLY and leave in Gear!
My driveway slopes down slightly to the front of the house.... Read more
Don't you just hate it when people pull on the handbrake without pressing the knob on the handle. Sheer laziness!
That's another one on my rather long list of pet hates! ...
I would imagine that the newly introduced VED tax brackets aren't helping much either, with some of the lower emission cars now having to pay around £145 per year from year 2. Interestingly, I compared a 1 litre Citroen C1 with a Ford Mustang 5 litre V8 and both were £145 from year 2 (hardly encouraging people to go for eco friendly cars). Granted there was a big difference in the year 1 tax of £130 vs £2135, but still. Going for a 3 year old C1 results in an annual VED of £0. Read more
It seems only private new car sales are holding up - probably because many are on the PCP bandwagon and it's easy to trade your 2 or 3 year old motor for a brand new one and carry on for just a few more quid each month - just like upgrading your phone. Similarly private leasing is increasingly popular.
That's all fine and dandy if you can assume in these difficult times your income/job is secure and you are happy to take on increasing burden of debt, but with the fast changing technologies making many ICE's worth less than planned (especially diesels) I decided to get off the PCP rollercoaster and sit tight with my Euro 6 50mpg diesel that also only sets me back £30 VED.
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I've lost count of the number of letters that state "I expect the quality of (insert brand) who mean few problems". Do these folk never actually research BEFORE they spend the cash or sign on the dotted line?