December 2024
I see in the online Daily Telegraph that the deadline for hybrids in the U.K. may be extended to 2035. The allowable limit is quoted as 115 grams. I think that a lot of Toyotas will meet this, including the Corolla, but a lot of hybrids from other manufacturers won’t.
Successful lobbying by Toyota no doubt who seemed slow to enter the pure electric race in U.K. Read more
News that discussions are underway for a collaboration between the two companies and Nissan May allow Honda to produce cars at the Sunderland factory which is running under capacity.
Formal agreement will be needed from Renault who are also in discussions with a Taiwanese company who wish to buy Nissan.... Read more
I know this isn't a "what's wrong with Honda dealers" thread but I will just mention my recent experience. I was looking for a replacement for my 2020 Mazda CX30 and was very interested in the new (then) Honda Civic Hybrid. Rang my nearest dealer to see if they had a demonstrator available which they said they did, however the bosses wife was currently using it while hers was off the road? I said I would be in their vicinity in a couple of weeks time and would the car be available for a test drive? They said it would so I duly turned up at the dealership only to be told that they had loaned the car out for an extended review period (2 weeks!). Apparently however, this person only lived about mile from me so they would contact him to ask if he could lend me the car for a day. Didn't hear a word, even when I rang the dealers who promised to contact him again. Again I heard nothing so gave up.
From what I saw of the car in the showroom, I was very interested but that interest completely waned after my subsequent dealings with them. Now have another Mazda from a dealer with some actual customer relations skills ...
Part of me loves this, it looks great fun if you could get it for the cost price and could dodge all the taxes and tariffs slapped on imports to spoil our fun. At £3000 or less their range of “cars” looks hilarious and could be viable city transport.
What a remarkable step from the one party state, the biggest scr*ping scheme ever conceived. So in order to force a BEV domestic market the authorities decided the end of ICE is now, forced ice sc***ping is on the move. Next year BEV will fail their inspections if batteries capacity fall under a certain threshold, and changing that on an EV will see it sc***ped too, madness.
China Observer : youtu.be/ysDMvQx5pTY?si=Xg7plW0y_QyUtGjd Read more
At the OP's request, I have made the thread "Read only" as it may still be of interest to some.
Moderator
What is the difference between an "SUV" and a "hatchback" ?
Do "Hatchbacks" still exist ? Read more
Yes. they list 70, but they are small or medium hatchbacks. The family hatchbacks have largely vanished.
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Heard of yet another case today, which after having a replacement gearbox already the possible outcome is the car will be sc***ped.
Remember VW Polo and Golf’s gearboxes in the 1.3 cars of the eighties sufferings from bearing problems. Had one refurbished but it lasted six months before the whining noise returned. Learned to live with it in the end!... Read more
The HJ review data shows that the car in general has a weak clutch/transmission - several early failures reported in the former 'Good & Bad' (now 'What to watch out for' section, and worryingly the problem never appeared to be resolved, given they show reports throughout the lifespan of the model (I suspect there were problems after the last fault report on HJ in 2019, mainly because far fewer owners bother reporting faults here any more (a shame).
The car has run flat 275/35 R19 continentals
I always keep an eye on the tread depth, which was fine.... Read more
Of your pressures are fine, get the alignment checked.
I've started a new thread for advise on cars I may consider, to make it easier to follow.
I've taken notes on all the advise offered on my previous post (automatic gearbox advice) and am trying to follow them. ... Read more
<< You don't save money by missing services. It costs you big money when something breaks. The cheapest way to run a car is to service by the manufacturer's recommendations ... >>
As makers' service intervals these days are probably longer than they should be (partly because fleet buyers don't want to spend on servicing) that is probably true. But that does not necessarily mean that every annual MoT visit should be accompanied by a 'service'. Filters or coolant don't need changing that often, for example. If you are a typical owner doing 6-10K miles a year you can have jobs done accordingly, maintaining the car and saving a bit as well. If you drive a diesel for short trips, different again....
Hi,
I was hoping for some advice. I found this car and hopefully going to look at it this week and test drive. Has anybody got any experience on owning one and what it's like? Mainly for the servicing and running costs for parts.... Read more
Done a bit more digging and it seems that the early 2 litre Ecoboost used the Mazda L block but no other parts. Later versions used a different but weaker block.
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I'd appreciate Back roomers' recommendations for a replacement for my son's Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0 TDi which is now 10 years old with 150,000 hard/abusive miles on the clock but been absolutely faultless.
His mileage pattern is a 30 mile each way commute 5-6 days/week and occasional trips plus an annual trip down to southern France. He's 6'7", one of his son's is 6'5" already and the younger son is catching up fast so passenger space is important as well as luggage space for their camping trips.... Read more
If ending back with another Octavia (which as you say is no hardship, they are good cars), is there any particular reason not to get a bit longer out of the existing car? 150k miles doesn't seem OTT to me, if it's been properly serviced.
It's a case of pre-empting potential future issues - they are 150,000 hard/abusive miles as my son doesn't take after me in that respect.
Browse
"2030 or 2025 are too far in the future for me to worry about at the soon to be 74 years of age."
Orb. I do hope you live long enough to see next Wednesday....