September 2022
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8AtXxEwNZA
I'm amazed at the stupidity of some drivers - maybe I shouldn't be. Some very expensive bills looming, possibly some write-offs as well.... Read more
Number plate "BIG DORK" on the first car says it all!
I bought a new car through an online broker that had issues that were never fixed. I tried Section 75 to get my money back, but they have rejected it, stating the debtor-creditor-supplier chain was broken, making Section 75 protection invalid because I had bought the car through a car broker and not a dealership.
The credit card's argument is that I bought the car from the broker, but it was the dealership that supplied the car, so even though I paid the broker, he got the car from a dealership who in turn delivered the car to me. Because of this, they are refusing to pay up!
BE WARNED! Read more
If the credit card company had told me I wouldn't have been covered then I would not have bought the car, but luckily for them, they have no record of the conversation.
So, just to add a bit of humour into my life, I decided to contact the credit card company and ask the same question again, and I got the same answer that I got last time, that I will definitely be covered. Honestly, you couldn't make this up!!!
Hi. I am buying a new car and ordered it some months ago when the APR on the Personal Contract Plan (PCP) finance package was 4.9%. That was locked in and will be the rate I pay for the next 3 years if I go ahead with the finance option when the car arrives in a few weeks after the long delivery lead time. Obviously 4.9% is less than the rate of.inflation is at the moment and for the foreseeable future. My alternative is paying cash and buying the car outright when it arrives. With inflation reducing the real value of payments is it a no brainer that I should borrow at 4.9% because inflation will reduce the real value of payments, which are set out at the outset, more than if I paid interest at 4.9% over and above the cash price? Read more
If you have got the money in savings and are earning more than 4.9% which is highly unlikely then keep the finance.
If you don't have the cash and expect your income to rise by more than 4.9% for the term of the loan then keep the finance
Hi,
So timing belt is due on my 2017 Golf. I got a reminder from dealer rang them up for a price and came back at over £820 including water pump. I nearly passed out. I have found a local VW/Audi/Skoda specialist independent garage who have have quoted £530 Inc vat and confirmed all VW approved parts, stamp book etc.... Read more
The only condition on a PCP should be that a Vat registered garage services the car. There won’t be any stipulation regarding the timing belt, but if you intend on keeping the car longterm it may be wise to have it done. If not, then I’d leave it alone unless it’s done a big mileage. It’s not a common failure on these and VW UK are profiteering by quoting a 5yr interval and also a ludicrously inflated price. The specialist is the one to go with if you want the job done. I’d also advise against taking a PCP on any future used car purchase as they are poor value in 99.9% of cases.
Bought the hyundai used 3 years ago nearly I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars cannot find anything much about owners reviews so thought I would post this just to let people know what I think of it not much really. Its got a potential time bomb being a Gdi engine so I've read it cokes up easily and is an expensive fix terraclean are the only other place offering a clean without tearing the engine apart taking all the stuff off it to get at the engine to get the head off having that cleaned and put back together then in another 30.000 could need doing again. At 50.000 it burns a fair amount of oil so that's one of the warning signs hasn't dropped its fuel economy much yet and performance is good apart from chronic turbo lag and stop/start doesn't work 50 per cent of the time it's developed an annoying rattle/ buzz sounds a bit like pre-ignition. No garages are prepared to put a camera down the cylinder to have look but if it is pinking then thats could be another coking issue. It drives ok is still no body roll with turbo engaged it's nippy various electric sensors work or don't work depending if it's their day off. All in all not a great car but bought before prices went up in December 2020 I would get rid but as said everything is so expensive now means spending more money I'm just hoping I can get it to 100.000 without spending a lot although clutch probably won't last my distance. And suspension is squeeky. Read more
Surprised at you giving it 3 out of 5 given what you have written about the car!. But you have not said the age?.
We had an i30 1.6 turbo diesel auto, got it new in 2014 and had it 3 years. No major complaints about it, it did nothing especially well, but nothing especially poorly either. Quick enough for my needs (this was the 110bhp version), the (t/c) auto box was smooth and worked well enough with the engine unless you floored it for an overtake. Doing this would result in you being dropped into too low a gear and a point in the rev range where there was no power left to find, only noise!. But it was comfy, fairly refined, and as spacious as a car of that size needed to be.
I saw a car advertised on Autotrader in April 2022. There was a Youtube video. It looked great. One owner. Same dealer service history.
It is on sale by a main dealer but not on the manufacturer's web site (so wonder if it is an approved one).
For some reason, it popped up again on Autotrader about a month ago, disappeared and then has come back again again. I asked about this, I was told the person had trouble getting finance.... Read more
If you really like this one you can purchase the car without viewing and get it delivered, you should be covered by Distance Selling regulations. You generally have 14 days to return the vehicle.
However could be loads of hassle - best to buy local as it’s easier to sort issues later on.
I suspect that the small rise is more likely due to pre-reg-change 'bargains' (relatively-speaking) and perhaps the variation in stocks of EVs like Teslas that appear to be shipped over in big batches every few months, followed by none.
I would note that the so-called 'high' demand for EVs will inevaitably taper off soon, as:
a) they are high priced (even with any remaining subsidies) and thus won't (yet) have mass appeal. I suspect this will affect second hand values once larger numbers of pre-2020 Teslas and Leafs come on the market as second hand buys.
b) even with the proposed lower 'cap' on electricity and gas prices, the cost of charging EVs will be near to or maybe even exceed that of refuelling ICE cars.
It remains to be seen that commercial EV charging point operators will get any government help subsidising the price to the consumer, and news in thus far says that it may be very limited in scope (who gets it) and only for 6 months.
c) general cost of living issues and a very likely big and long-lasting recession will inevitably shrink the pool of people who can afford to by cars that were already expensive.
As such, EVs may not be anywhere near as attractive a proposition than 2-3 years ago.
I think this will effect new and second hand sales and resale values significantly, whether or not the logistic problems caused by lockdowns or the long-term knock-on effects (including chip and labour shortages worldwide) offset them.
I predict that the next year to 18 months is going to be a very difficult one for the industry - for all of us, except the well-off and those retired on gold-plated pension schemes that are index-linked. Read more
Read of a pub that's having a Electricity bill go from 60,000 a year to 420,000. Why would you pay that? Buy a Genny, hook it up. Ballpark figure 40k a year. Assuming you buy a new Genny every year. Build a hut in your pub garden. Bobs your relative.
That's assuming two quid a litre 50 litres a day 365 a year. If you have many solar panels a lot less I would assume. ... Read more
Back in the Yook till after CNY. Be interesting to see if I can manage without domestic space heating. Did before, but that was about 15 tropical Taiwan years ago. OTOH the incentive is greater now, there’s been some climate change, and I won’t be here in the deepest bit of the Edinburgh winter. I remember a week or so of minus 20C being a bit of a pain.
It’s the feet that get you. I deferred buying some cheap Primark wooly boots because the queue was too long and when I went back an hour later the shelves were cleared, so perhaps my frugality isn’t as weird these days.
Temperature gauge and radiator fan control switch relay earth circuit have been out for a while, though I ran a bypass wire from the temperature switch for the fan relay earth which restored fan control function.
Now the fan relay solenoid live side is out, and I've lost one (out of 3) indicators on the drivers side, and 2/3 on the passenger side. Bulbs and bulb holder contacts seem OK.... Read more
I took all the 10 panel fuses out, and (with battery and alternator out and key on) checked continuity between the half-circuits
Excluding earths (some of which could of course have been shorts-to-earth) I found no dead (buzzer-triggering) shorts between circuits, which was nice...
