Jeep Wrangler(!)

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“ I have no intention of taking sides in this dispute but that comment does not ring true to me.

All of us on here, including moderators, are pursuing a hobby. We reply to posts that interest us and ignore topics that don't. If somebody decides to invest much time in a reply that is their privilege. I would encourage thanking a helpful poster but none of us have a right to complain if our efforts are wasted or fall on deaf ears.“


While I’m often frustrated by friends and family who ignore my attempts to talk them out of buying liabilities, I still offer my experience willingly and enjoy hearing their experiences whether they follow my advice or not, it all adds to mine and their experience. I’m happy to post hypothetical questions and often hark back to the past with rum inspired posts that are just for fun but I do get a bit annoyed by people who ask for advice about cars they clearly have no intention or ability to buy but who don’t make this clear to us or those who post a question then are never heard from again. There’s nothing wrong with starting a post asking what’s the best fun car for £2,000 or the best estate for £5k but if you’re on here every other week suggesting you’re looking at completely different cars with entirely different budgets questions are going to be asked and instant hostility in reply often comes from being found out. It’s not unusual for certain contributors on here to spend a fair bit of time researching replies and looking for cars nearby the OP as suggestions and I’d rather know if it’s just for fun or real. Thanks Avant for flagging up the OP’s past posts which saves me replying again beyond this one thread.

As well as the aggressive/impatient tailgater there is the inattentive tailgater. The worst thing about this species is that they don’t know they’re doing it and are more likely to be taken by surprise in the event of an emergency. A few years back I was travelling along a road punctuated by frequent roundabouts. Following me was a young woman in a Zafira or something similar - certainly not the type of car or driver you’d associate with aggressive tailgating and she was making no attempt to overtake.

After a few roundabouts I noticed she was driving very close to my rear end so I began to accelerate away from her after each roundabout. I had to ease off the throttle each time I reached the speed limit and, sure enough, by the time we reached the next roundabout she was back on my bumper. Maybe it was a security thing, I don’t know, but she seemed to think the correct positioning on the road was immediately behind me. I don’t remember how the situation resolved itself; she maybe turned off eventually, but the motoring organisations say that you should pull over and let them lock on to the rear of the next vehicle they catch up with.

The critical issue whatever car you buy make sure it has a full service history that is documented and a minimum should be an oil change a year if not very 7-8k. Forget the MAZDA - rubbish. The Germans are ok provided they are not on a long life service regime. Try and buy a car from a rural or semi rural area owned by 1-2 owners from new. 100k mileage in London traffic is not the same as 100 k done in rural Sussex or on the motorways. Buy on condition and history not mileage. I would buy a late model Passat or Accord.

I don't understand why the UK doesn't like French cars.

Many of us like certain French cars a lot. The UK likes cars from all over the world, in stark contrast to the parochial French, whose streets are lined with predominantly French cars. If you want to avoid the dismissive procrastination of a provincial French garage when I tried to get a replacement HT lead for our misfiring 'foreign' car (a German VW Passat) when on holiday there once, I would go for the French Peugeot 2008 I suggested previously. Incidentally, today's Sunday Times magazine considers the Ford Puma to be small SUV/crossover of the year. But it's north of £20K and I wouldn't rate its powertrain above a 1.2 puretech EAT6.