June 2023
My wife's car is knackered and she is not really good with the car side of things, she works as a nurse for NHS, anybody know any good Car Dealerships that give a discount, Obviously I know my stuff so she won't be getting ripped off but having some good feedback before hand would be good as well. Read more
I currently have a 2.2 Civic Diesel 2012 9th gen model. Its a great car overall, had no issues with it, currently has about 120k miles.
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About 15k
Then a modern petrol engined car is still well worth going for, as most 'ordinary' ones can achieve a real-world mpg well in excess of 40 average, and often in excess of 50 on longer runs on fast flowing roads like motorways....
‘Back in the day’ Fiat used to offer the 126 in a not very fetching shade of dark brown. Imagination had escaped them when it came to naming the thing and it was called the 126 ‘Brown’
Indeed - I remember when I was at primary school back in the late 70s / early 80s, and two members of staff each had the boxy little Fiats, one in beige, the other chocolate brown.
I am in dispute with a main dealer re: premature timing belt failure on a 2016 Focus Eco-Boost.
Timeline is as follows:... Read more
I would also expect a decent garage to tell their customer that cambelt fibres causing a blockage in the oil pickup indicated the need to change the belt.
In fact, with my usual garage, I would expect them to phone me once they worked out what the blockage is and ask if I wanted them to change the belt....
Hi,
My kia sorrento was losing coolant, main dealer diagnosed that the radiator was corroded and I replaced it. Got it back and noticed coolant reservoir was dropping. Noticed coolant around radiator cap then saw that the overflow tube from the radiator cap had snapped and tube leading back to reservoir dangling. I assume garage had damaged it when replacing radiator and took it back. Dealer repaired the overflow pipe but said they didn't damage it and they believe head gasket is leaking pressure into cooling system and it has blown it off. I hadn't noticed any signs of head gasket failure other than coolant Leak, no overheating, no smoke/smell, no loss of power, no milkshake oil and no bubbling from radiator cap. Mechanic is saying he pressure tested it over night and is lost pressure and when running cap is rated to 1.1 bar and system is running at 1.3 bar so system is over pressured due to head gasket leaking. I took my own combustion leak test to garage to test and left it in radiator cap for 45 mins and liquid stay blue whole time. ... Read more
Maybe an airlock is gradually dissipating following the rad replacement ?
Quite likely. I now allow the coolant to boil (disabling fan) into an expansion funnel jammed in rad when the system has been drained, otherwise it takes a long time for airlocks to clear.
I've just seen this comment posted in another thread.
...... like wiper blades, I don`t wait until I can hardly see through screen to replace, I do so every year except if they show signs of not clearing screen properly, I then replace even if they are only 6 months old.............. Read more
My 63Reg Citroen C4 Picasso with 110,000 miles old is still with the original wiper blade and no sign of deterioration yet....That's unless the dealer changed it without telling me for goodwill...which is very unlikely.....
I don't believe anyone has created a wiper blade which does not deteriorate over 10 years use, so there must be some explanation. I doubt it would make business sense to make one anyway, as not many would pay the necessary premium ?
In November I ordered a new car. The “List price” (manufacturer’s price, factory fitted extras) was well inside the £40,000 threshold at which additional Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) has to be paid annually from years 2 to 6 inclusive. Normal delivery might have been expected in mid February (13 weeks) but due to the global shortage of microchips did not happen until mid May (22 weeks).
On collecting the car, the agreed price and the trade in value of my old car were honoured but I discovered that the manufacturer’s price had increased on the 1st April. I am therefore deemed to have bought the care at the new price, which I did not, but that was now £40,300 and therefore obliges me to pay the additional VED in future. ... Read more
It is not a stealth tax - it has been applied consistently for many years and should come as no surprise.
By definition any tax based upon a threshold will disproportionately affect those who find themselves around that level - either just below or just above. It is absolutely no different to (say) higher rate tax thresholds, national insurance rates, benefits caps etc....
Hi,
We bought a 2013 Ford Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost in October last year from an RAC approved garage local to us. The dealer said that they replace the cambelt for all vehicles that they sell which are due or close to being due, so we presumed that it would be changed with the car being 9.5 years old at the time (Ford interval is 10 years).
We picked the car up a couple of weeks later as they needed time to prepare the car. It has been fine since, but since buying the car I have learned about the nightmares with Ford's wet belt system. So I went through the documentation that we received with the car and there is no mention of the cambelt being changed. They gave us an RAC 82 point checklist which has everything checked off in the 'standard met' box, apart from the 'scheduled maintenance (inc timing belt)' part which has been left blank. This leads me to believe that it has not been done, which is quite alarming as these belts can go at any time causing huge engine damage. It is not a cheap job to do either, around £1000 to replace the belt and thousands more if it fails.
Obviously I will call the garage first to see what they say, but I was hoping for some advice for where I stand before contacting them. Is this our fault for not checking it had been done at point of sale? We are not car experts and given the garage is RAC approved and they advertise that they would change the cambelt on all cars that are due, we thought we could trust them.
Given that they are an RAC approved garage, will the RAC offer any help in this situation if the garage tell me it hasn't been done and refuse to replace it?... Read more
Im unclear why an independent garage would have more of a vested interest in doing a good job than the seller.
Im also unclear why you think the OP should spend big money doing what the seller is apparently contracted to do, and give himself the job of selecting a competent garage, a good trick if you can do it, by all accounts.
But im not an aristocrat. Perhaps the Herr Barone has a case of the noblesse obliges?
Care to share how you might vote in the next election?
Me: I normally vote conservative but very unhappy they got rid of Truss and not a fan of this net zero backing, managed decline type of government.Tempted to vote Reform UK, but worried we will end up with a Labour government who will take us back into the EU, or close to.
What a catastrophic wasted opportunity the last few years have been for the Conservatives. Big majority and they fluffed it for some booze. For what it is worth I was not bothered by so-called partygate but evidently enough of the MSM were.
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Thread has run its course and veered well away from the original topic
MOD.
Dear People of this forum,
I unfortunately have found myself in an unfortunate circumstance and kindly would like to ask for your help. I have come to humbly ask for some insight and help regarding a situation I am currently in. Basically, I’m in desperate need of a car, but I have a budget restraint on what I can afford. The budget I can stretch to is from £2500 to £3000 depending on whether I skimp on some food – yes that’s the type of predicament I’m in at the moment. I need to get out of the situation I am in (I haven't broken the law ) and having a vehicle will allow me and my dog to get away from my abusive troubles. I won’t bore you with any more details.
I wanted to ask you what a good car would be to get that is reliable and low maintenance and won’t cost me an arm and a leg if something was to break down. Also, what places online would you suggest I look on to try and get a car. It’s really hard for me right now to travel long distances. I know Autotrader is one place. Any hints and tips one what to look for when purchasing a car would help me greatly. Your input would really help me. I live in Bedfordshire.
Thank you so much.
Yuria... Read more
Thank you! Having a set of wheels well definitely get me up and going and in a better place. :)
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The difference is that yr nephew is paid his overtime.