April 2024
After several hundred miles, lots of test drives and a bit of drama, I have now purchased my latest car. You may recall that the aim was to buy something around £15k with good ground clearance, 4wd and relatively.low running costs. These were my findings:
Fiat Panda 4x4 Cross 0.9 Twinair 2019ish- I drove two of these. They drove identically, although one has a slightly odd noise coming from the clutch. A good, torquey engine which seems to get quieter the faster you go so surprisingly good on the motorway. Ride and handling both pretty good but not startling. Seats are not amazing. The handbrake is a bit weird, but actually.quite nice - it's more of a lever than a handle. .The engine note is very distinctive and really quite loud. At idle, it sounds like a tractor.... Read more
Hi all, a couple months back i noticed specs appearing all over my Red A class, 2016, i since found out that this is a common problem with 2 or 3 specific shades of red used on merc vehicles. I contacted the Merc dealership & there workshop assessed it and said they would make a case for repair to Merc UK, they admitted they had seen this before on other cars. Merc come back with a 50% goodwill saying the car come with 3 years warranty which is now obviously passed. Ive heard there is a separate warranty or cover on paintwork but im finding it difficult to get a confirmed timescale for that, does anyone else know if there is such a thing? Or have they experienced this with their own Merc? I dont see why i should fork out a couple thousand for the respray of my car just because the paint used by the manufacturer clearly isnt up to the standard i would expect from a premium car brand, even more so the fact had i a car the same age in any other colour this wouldnt have happend. Any feedback appreciated please Read more
I do see a lot of old French cars in the supermarket car park with lacquer peel paint problems, and a lot of them are red.
A guide to DIY repairing clear coat damage, but remember, it has to be warm when you spray, so as you feel warm in a tee shirt in the shade, and don't use the dupli-colour type cans. Get some quality two-pack aerosols, where you trigger a valve in the bottom of the can to release the catalyst into the paint before shaking the can....
Hi, I appreciate that this topic may have already ben covered previously, but was wondering if anyone have any particular advice here.
On 23rd Dec 2023 I bought a 2017 BMW X3 M Sport with 47,000 miles on the clock from an independent dealer. Took it for a test drive beforehand, seemed ok. Paid via bank transfer - £18,000.... Read more
Insurance companies are not their to donate money to their customers. How would you like it if you were forced to pay a speeding fine incurred by a previous owner of your used car?
When I bought my car in 2016, it was taxed on the 31st, so ended up paying for a whole month of tax just for one day.
When I sold my car, it was sold on the 5th, but apparently I got no refund for the month. So the Government has mugged me twice.... Read more
Agreed, in the grand scheme of things, the additional cost seems minimal. Especially considering a year of road tax is spread out over several months anyway. focusing on the overall value you got from the new vehicle is likely a better use of energy!
Hi Everyone,
I'm thinking of buying my first car and looking for a bit of guidance as to whether the one I'm looking at is good. I don't know anything about cars, just that low mileage is better. ... Read more
<< But what definitely is the case is that short journeys where an engine and drivetrain doesn't get up to operating temperature is bad for the car. It is also definitely the case that urban running (potholed streets, lots of stopping and starting, sharp turns etc,) is worse for a car than sitting for mile upon mile of smooth motorway or dual carriageway at the legal limit. >>
Quite true. But low mileage (again) doesn't necessarily mean the car has always done short trips. All the 205s I have owned during the last 20 years or so have done between 1000 and 2000 miles a year making occasional (about every 2 weeks) round trips of up to 80 miles. In fact the most recent car has surprised me by averaging 54mpg - the best I have had from a 205 1.4 petrol - by doing most of it at 40 to 60 mph.
I didn't pay much attention to this when it surfaced earlier in the year as I have so far always bought my cars outright but I see it has popped up again on the BBC website so gave it longer read.
That's where most of their profit is made from - selling finance, not cars.
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Hello
can Anyone help / advise..?... Read more
What does apply is the english law of contract. You contracted with the vendor (seller) to supply a vehicle with a "consideration" ie the money you paid the vendor.
That makes it a legal contract in law....
Hi everyone,
I'm coming to the end of the PCP for my (71 reg) Dacia Sandero, which is the bi-fuel model. This really helps me keep costs down, as I do around 18k miles a year for my job. Sadly, it's getting much harder to get hold LPG where I live (and the price has doubled in three years)... Read more
That's true. I didn't check the fees etc. I bet the amount will plummet as well as I'm not finishing the finance until September. A grand in my hand would be fine.....
We are a 3 car family. A fancy convertible for summer, a cheapo run around small petrol hatchback thats worth nothing, and a medium sized petrol SUV thats does 30 mpg and has high tax.
The convertible is summer use mainly and does under 2k miles a year, the hatchback is the runaround, 5k and the SUV when needed...towing 2 ton, using the cargo space, longer trips, maybe 2k a year.... Read more
Interesting thought Ian. But we were just thinking of running the heap into the ground.....and when it dies and goes off to car heaven, replace it with a decent 1 litre Tsi summit...Fabia estate...ish.
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Hi people
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Give the top of the dash , above the instrument pod , a thump with your hand to see if that reinstates functions .
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I like “her” Renegade a bit too much. Just been out in it and I love it every time. Can’t really say why to be honest, but I think it’s because there’s just more to do than in my car. Everything has to be operated rather than relying on automated systems.
It’s just fun I suppose. It’s way slower than mine on paper, but it feels nippy enough. I guess I’d still prefer the big car for long haul use, but for dashing about locally it’s actually a close run thing.