August 2021
Hello. Many years ago I got the advice I needed from this forum and that's resulted in me not purchasing a car since 2006, so I really need some fair opinions on where I should turn now.
At the time I wanted a brand new, first time car for two learner teenagers. I set my criteria and my thread here lead me to buy a 1l Toyota Yaris with a fairly basic speck. The car stayed in the family and since 2003 it's never let us down. I've just handed that over to someone else to carry on motoring, but I've been happy driving this as needs be.... Read more
I have just bought a second hand Odysey Karrite 360 roof box for my 66 reg Sportage. It's one that only opens on one side. I tried to fit it tonight but can't see how I can lean across to secure the wing nuts as it's too far to stretch. The box has a 50kg limit and my car has a panoramic sunroof so I'm very wary of climbing in!
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The first two cars we used a roofbox with were conventional estate cars; a Citroen BX and then a Xantia. Various permutations of lowering the hydropneumatic suspension or balancing in internal fitting in the car made it possible to get the box on and off easily. We could leave it on our campsite pitch if we wanted to.
After moving on to a 2005 Mk2 Berlingo steps were needed. The box had to stay on and many town car parks in France (and Switzerland) were off limits. Caused a certain amount of friction with friends when we had to drive around to find surface parking in Geneva.
How I miss looking down on the bonnet of a car and having a raised marker in the centre just like fitted to the M1 Accord and Morris Miner and MB emblem .
lt gave a sense of direction and helped to navigate in confined spaces.... Read more
Returning to the original thread.
When you drive a modern car and then return to one built 20 years ago you realise how claustrophobic modern cars have become to the driver and occupants
Just like being in the. Cockpit of a plane ....
If swapping a bare engine ..all wiring and sensors back to original positions will the engine run without replacing or re setting the Engine management module?
Thanks..... Read more
If the Ecu is the original on your existing car , then no problem. The Ecu is matched to the key and immobiliser box .
Hi Guys,
New to the forum, hope you can help.
Purchased my Golf in April with a 3 month warranty. It has done around 110000 miles with full service history.
First couple of days the car was superb but all of a sudden I had a coolant fault and it needed topping up. This happened a few times and was took back to dealer. They replaced the EGR cooler and a resistor (resistor for the air con which was separate).
Then the main problem occurred. Randomly the glow plug warning light would come on and the car would go to limp mode. We have noticed this is when we go up hill and on fast roads. Been back to the garage on a few occasions now. They give me it back saying fixed but then the same issue would happen. To date they have replaced a Gasket, Vac Unit and a Hose. The last time it was in, it was there for over 3 weeks. I am over my warranty (felt like a ploy for me not to drive the car so that it passes the warranty date). To there credit they have it back in and are now fitting a turbo actuator which they are positive will work.
Anyone else had similar issues or know what it could be.
We feel like they were hoping the fault would not come on till after the warranty but maybe we are just been paranoid
Cheers Read more
Thank you guys
Hopefully that next fix sorts it out. Saves me kicking off with the garage as they seem as though they are trying
My Toyota started sounding funny and engine shaking, I plugged in an OBD scanned which showed codes p0301 cylinder 1 misfiring as well as p0303 (cylinder 3).
After I cleared the codes, it would shut down the engine straight after starting, but today I revved it a bit and it managed to run on idle for a bit, still sounding funny.... Read more
The smell of petrol is probably due too the o2 sensor and the hole in the manifold. The car is running rich. Its probably fouling the spark plugs which is causing a misfire. Ideally you want too get a new o2 sensor, fix the exhaust leak and then put some new spark plugs in. That should sort it.
I am looking for some advice on buying a used car please. So many cars to choose from and I have no idea what I should go for!
My 2001 Honda Civic finally died and has been scrapped as it was uneconomical to repair. I walk to work and do very little driving so in the past 8 years have clocked up only 10k miles. I don’t enjoy driving and prefer to walk/cycle wherever possible so have toyed with the idea of not having a car but I do like the convenience of having a car for when walking/cycling isn’t an option and there aren’t any car hire places nearby. I have family who have recently moved to Devon so expect I will be doing a few more miles than in the past as it’s a 400-mile roundtrip and guess we will probably visit 2 or 3 times a year.
My main requirement is a large enough boot (with the back seats down) to fit 2 bikes, so I have been thinking something like a VW Golf, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra. Ideally, I would like a petrol automatic. I have been slightly put off the Focus after reading about the issues with PowerShift.
Money isn’t an issue as I have savings and so wouldn't need finance. I know absolutely nothing about cars so would like something that is reliable and low maintenance, but equally I am reluctant to spend unnecessarily on a car that will spend most of its life sitting on the road outside my frontdoor gathering dust and only be used for 2k-3k miles per year. I plan to buy from a dealer and will pay for a mechanic to look over it prior to purchase.
So… do I spend the money on the best car I can find and plan for it to last me 10+ years, or go for something cheaper and save my cash? When buying a 2nd hand car is the age of a car more important or the mileage? Would a 2013 Golf be a better option than a 2016 Astra?!?
Examples of cars I have found locally…
1. 2009 1.8L Vauxhall Astra, 47k miles = £3k
2. 2014 1.6L Vauxhall Astra, 55k miles = £6k
3. 2013 1.4L VW Golf, 50k miles = £8k
4. 2016 1.4L Vauxhall Astra, 38k miles = £9k
5. 2015 1.6L Ford Focus, 10k miles = £10k
6. 2014 1.4L VW Golf, 30k miles = £11k
Any advice gratefully received. Many thanks. Read more
Thanks all for the great advice and food for thought. So glad I found this forum!
The Honda Magic Seats look amazing and has definitely made the Civic my preferred choice for the bike space and means I might even be able to get away with a Honda Jazz. I don’t really want to get an estate or large car as don’t have the need apart from when transporting the bikes. It’s only my wife and I so seems overkill most of the time and our previous Civic had plenty of space. I’m not overly keen on external bike racks as my bike is my pride and joy so prefer having it safely inside.
I think I need to do some sums to work out if I even need to buy a car or would be better off going for the taxi/hire car route. If I lived in a city I definitely wouldn’t own a car.
Thanks again for the advice. I really appreciate it.
Looking at car by car spec tab at www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/lexus/is-2005/
Why is earlier petrol IS are faster 0 to 62 than later incarnations assuming it’s the same engine and transmission combo?
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Looking at car by car spec tab at www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/lexus/is-2005/ Why is earlier petrol IS are faster 0 to 62 than later incarnations assuming it’s the same engine and transmission combo?
The later cars on the spec list are all auto, but the only acceleration figures shown for the earlier car are for the manual (none given for the auto).
Is alkaline water all it's cracked up to be?
It seems to be the latest trend as far as water is concerned. First it was mineral water and then vitamin water. Now I keep hearing of people saying we should be drinking alkaline water as other water is too acidic. ... Read more
<< This is the basis of the advertising industry, convincing people they need something which will fill the advertiser's pockets. >>
Why not fill them with Alkaline Water ? :-)...
From what I read many of these purchasers would prefer a new car but are happy with nearly new. Surely they would save money if they just hung on for a year or so-why the need to change unless their current vehicle is utterly clapped out? And it seems they are so desperate to change they are going for PCP deals on second hand cars? Goodness me.... Read more
Yes depends on the car.
Daughter's Mini Cooper S convertible (top spec) was valued by WBAC this time last year at £5875....
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Thank you all for the input. I feel a bit more confident now. To be honest it's going to come down to what we can get in the timeframe. As I say, outlay, fine performance, spec and economy details etc. are less important than just not making a stupid choice. We need a car available 24/7 and to have peace of mind that it'll be a solid car to fit our requirements.
Really appreciate everyone's time and comments..