April 2024
I am 80 in a few months and would appreciate some advice. Car is a 2010 reg done 91k. well serviced by independent garage. various scuffs/marks/scratches, slightly battered on body. Drivers seat sagging, One headlight developing "crazed" glass. Needed to help with Grandchildren who live 20 miles away. Am considering a general but minor refurbishment including underbody treatment. Drives well but thinking of a possible change to one of the following used cars:
A. Ssangyong Tivoli, Honda Civic, Mitsui ASX, Toyota Auris/Avensis, Honda Accord. Open to any other suggestions. Am a mitsui fan and owned 9 Galants between 1982 and 2015. Budget max 7500. ... Read more
Trying to get a road tax price for a Scenic 2015 1500 (ish) cc, should be easy to find but ain't!
Thought this thread was going to be a about a new toll road through the Yorkshire Dales ;-)
Just for info.......
Indeed. It's even worse in my county (Northants). Instead of luminous white lines, the sides of our country roads have either mostly fallen away, eroded by the nearside wheels of delivery vans passing each other, or have developed linear potholes.
The county roads are almost all destroyed anyway, even the major routes, the concreted over county has become the distribution hub of the country for millions of tons of chinese made tat, the volumes of truck and other heavy vehicle movements is far greater than anyone responsible planned for, so bad is the traffic situation now that lighter local vehicles have taken to the lanes to travel around, i myself am one such....
Been a while but I nipped in for a wee nosey at my local auction to see how prices are. Strong money paid for anything with four wheels and a Mot, particularly from online bidders who aren’t seeing the whole picture from their armchairs at home. Got an updated list of fees, which have risen markedly since I was last here, pretty much wiping out any real savings for private punters. A few examples of note.
A 2010 Toyota Avensis 1.8 saloon that had 55,000 miles up but every panel and both bumpers were damaged and the car looked very tired and highly likely to have more miles than it was showing. Exhaust was blowing too. It made £2,700 plus £350 in fees. Someone is in for a nasty surprise when they pick this one up. It’s a £1,200 car in my opinion.
2018 BMW X3 2.0 diesel with loads of kit, 24,000 miles, full history and needing no paint. Just needed a good valet inside made £22,000 plus £1,600 fees - if a private buyer. Too much money.
2015 Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSi SE 5dr - 54,000 miles. Tidy car but had poorly matched o/s wing repaint. Made £5,500 plus fees. Good car for someone who’s not too fussy.
2017 VW Golf 1.6 TDi S 5dr 103,000 miles but tidy and with good history. Made £5,850 plus fees. Emissions warning light on will mean money spent. The Skoda above was the better buy.
2018 Toyota Yaris 1.33 - Low miles but no history and nasty paint job to n/s rear arch that’ll need fixed. Made £8,500 plus fees to online buyer who obviously got a bit over excited.
Noticed a row of Open Reach Peugeot EV vans in on 73 plates for disposal at a commercial vehicle sale. These have done hardly any miles and are essentially new vans. Must not have worked out for the firm so they’re getting shot. Be interesting to see what they go for.
Several Mk I Nissan Leaf’s were lying around looking pretty sorry for themselves. Clearly been doing laps of the hall and not found buyers. Dealers not interested.
A 2015 Toyota Verso 1.6 diesel with 25,000 miles showing was getting interest from private punters but had clearly been clocked. The car was very tatty and neglected looking. More like 125,000 miles and possibly an ex taxi. But 7 seats and a Toyota badge will always draw a buyer. The trade were avoiding it though. Not sure what it made, as we left while it was going through.
As I always say, cars come to auction for a reason. No dealer will punt a tidy part-ex through the ring if it’s sellable. It will be sent if it’s too old for them (you need to know who put it in and their typical stock policy) or if it has a serious fault or mileage question mark. Almost every car that passed through had a problem that would’ve put me off as a buyer. The only car I spotted that was really worth a punt was a 2013 Toyota Auris 1.33 with low miles and good history. Needed a bumper scuff fixed but otherwise very tidy. It was entered by a large chain that don’t stock older stuff like this so I would happily believe the wee car was there for the right reason. Traders were all over it as it passed through so it made near retail money with fees.
Not the same atmosphere as it once was, loads of buyers were online rather than turning up in person (a mistake in my opinion as the car is never as good as the pics or description) and the wee cafe that used to churn out pretty decent chow and plenty of car chat is closed.
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Not all the cars at auctions are junk, but all the junk cars are att the auctions.
Hi all.. i'm a female that sadly knows nothing about cars but i'm looking to purchase a new (or nearly new) car and so i'm after some recommendations!
I nearly bought a fiesta ecoboost but was advised against it by my mechanic and have since read about them and am glad I checked. ... Read more
Yep, it's now on my list, thank you for the info :-)
Hi there, the anti-pollution warning light has recently come on in my Peugeot 307 Glx 16V. The garage plugged it in and said that it is possibly a fault with the catalytic converter, but have advised in the first instance to use some cat cleaner and take it for a motorway spin. If this doesn't fix it, they said I might need a new one, which is hundreds of pounds and probably more than the car is worth. It has only just passed it's MOT (the warning light came on a couple of weeks after), and has just has a service, so I'd like to try to rescue it if possible, rather than getting a new car. I did a bit of online research and there was a youtube video which seemed to suggest that removing and cleaning the timing control solenoid valve might help, and also changing the 02 sensor. Any advice most welcome! (I am no mechanic but have changed the battery and lights myself in the past - so happy to get my hands dirty to an extent as long as it doesn't involve potentially electrocuting myself or taking the engine apart!). Read more
I’m guessing this is a petrol engine . So no dpf fitted . Unfortunately you can’t guess what the problem is, but at least with a fault code logged , they’ll be some direction to take .
Is the Renault Laguna tourer any good as a cheap used buy ?
I had read on here that pre 2004 they were dreadful but what about the later models such as below... Read more
Tried to find a decent one but they are all so overpriced
I'm viewing a car this week from a private seller, MOT and last service done 4 months ago, should I ask for a fresh MOT? I'd pay for it of course.
Previous MOTs and paperwork all fine and seller seems genuine so part of me thinks it could be overkill and also could affect negotiation but for £50 and peace of mind......? ... Read more
<< No advisories from all previous MoTs and also full service history. Maybe I'm falling into that strange rather paranoid person category :) >>
In that case I don't know what you are waiting for - if the price is right. You may be able to talk the price down a bit ?
Hi I’m new to here. I recently purchased a used car and have encountered some issues. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on them.
I purchased the car from a dealer. The front parking sensors make noise when they shouldn't, and sometimes don't work when they should. I also noticed a huge gap between the bonnet and the front grill (as if the latch to open the bonnet has been pulled). This is very noticeable when comparing it to photos of the same model and others parked in supermarket car parks.
When I looked at the service records of the vehicle, I found an invoice for a repair involving the front bumper, parking sensors (and basically all components incorporated into the front bumper), and wheelhouse shell. The repair was paid for by the previous owner's insurance, which proves that the vehicle had a front-end collision before and was repaired (perhaps poorly).
After doing some research, I believe I'm covered by consumer protection legislation. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires vehicles to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. Otherwise, I have the right to reject the vehicle within 30 days. The burden of proof is on me to show that the fault existed at the time of purchase. However, I'm unsure if faulty parking sensors and a misaligned bumper/bonnet hood are serious enough to justify a rejection. Does the invoice suffice as proof that previous repairs were not up to standard?
Regulation 6 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 states that it is an offense (misleading omission) to omit material information that could affect my purchase decision. In my case, the dealer sold me the vehicle without informing me of its prior accident and repair history, even though they were aware of it. If I had known the vehicle was damaged and repaired, I would have walked away and found another car.
Although the car wasn't written off, it was clearly not a minor repair, such as respraying stone chips or repairing a scratch. The vehicle is 5 years old, and I'm concerned about other hidden issues, such as structural damage. Unfortunately, I’m unable to inspect behind the bumper myself.
I haven't contacted the dealer yet, as this is the first time I've encountered such a situation, and I want to make sure I don't take the wrong steps. While the dealer may rectify the parking sensor issue, I anticipate that they will deny repairing the front grill/bumper misalignment, dismissing it as merely 'cosmetic.' Do I have the option to a refund or a repair? How should I proceed? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Read more
.... I feel uncomfortable keeping the car. I understand it’s completely normal that used cars may have had minor collisions throughout their lifespan. ....
In the end, this may boil down to how much you are prepared to pay to make your 'discomfort' go away ?
Hi everyone, I bought a modified kangoo that allows people on wheelchair to ride it. It has the ramp and the electric cord. The only problem is that it’s too low and it hits speed bumps. I changed the coils and nothing. Any ideas to raise the car?
Thanks Read more
A laden Kangoo van works perfectly well when driven over speed humps carefully. These wheel chair access variants are heavily modified at the rear with a lowered floor. This means a different fuel tank and exhaust system which can alter the rear end clearance .
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Keep it, obviously, if you can get the needed bits, Devil-You-Know etc.
You dont say anything about body corrosion. On a low value (I assume. Not current with UK prices) car it may not be worth pro treatment....