January 2025
So I go on well known comparison site to get quotes for my wife’s car and the cheapest is £160. I then check the information and as she’s now retired, her mileage has reduced and she doesn’t need insurance to get to work and back. I change the inputs to reflect the above, press ‘get quotes’ and the cheapest is now £190! How does that work?! Read more
I want to purchase a used estate car. My last car was a Renault Clio estate 1.5 90 hp, which was reliable and with reasonable running and maintenance costs. I need something bigger, roomier and more powerful.
My budget is quiet low though.
What i can afford is cars like Skoda Octavia SW 1.0 TSI (before 2020) and Peugeot 308 SW 1.5 130hp.
What do you think guys?
Any ideas appreciated! Many thanks Read more
My budget is around 12.000€.
Location; Greece....
Interested what people think of these smart two seaters ?
Audi TT... Read more
My vote would be the SLK. I was looking at the same 3 cars a few years ago.
SLK prices have dropped a lot recently, so you'll easily bag a bargain. And they're hardly the car of a boy racer, so won't have been "thrashed" like one on here has claimed. Many owners keep them as garaged weekend Summer-only cars....
As we have seen discussed many times on this forum, the old argument is Premium Fuel (V power etc) worth it, is there a big difference etc. Well I wtched this video earlier from James Martin JayEmm who got a fuel expert on to explain... I found it very informative, worth a watch. Link below.
Cheers ... Read more
There is a large independent supermarket nr Rye in East Sussex that has the cheapest petrol in the surrounding area-however the price of food goods for sale inside is more expensive than any of its competitors.
People aren’t fooled-at least I’m not!
Interesting video here from the owner of a 2011 AMG E63 with the M156 n/a V8 motor. He's the proprietor of an independent MB specialist in Stockport, and has done a couple of videos breaking down the ownership & servicing costs of this 480bhp Q-car.
Small spoiler: over the past calendar year, servicing & upkeep maintenance costs (including workshop time at the rate he'd charge to a customer and VAT, for the sake of clarity) worked out at £1 per mile. And this is for a well-cared for example too! ... Read more
....was presumaby intended to outperform VW's good old n/a 444bhp W12, which has very few problems despite being a considerably older design.
Certainly the AMG motor essentially being a hand-built, limited-run special design doesn't help. I do tend to think that a well-thought-out design that's mass-produced on good tooling is perhaps likely to be more reliable than a motor comprising lots of special bits (and component replacement costs will be cheaper too)....
Hi there,
I'm looking to buy a used car for £5k (7k at a push).
I know nothing about cars so would like your optinion about which of these options to go with:
-Manufacturer approved from a main dealer
-Local independent dealer (most offer AA covers)
-Private
With this budget, I wouldn't want to cover for a dealer's profit margin but it will give me a peace of mind. I'm in no knowledge position to check a car before buying and only have one friend who's good with cars but I can't rely on him to come with me or help me if any issues later on. I read that the AA cover don't mean much but manufacturar approved is a good scheme for if things go wrong.
Given all this, which option is best for me do you think? Read more
AA/RAC checks can be a right pain for a dealer selling.
It is not that they are worried about what they might find but they take ages to book and when someone finally shows as someone else has said describe a perfectly honest car as party worn out (which it will be) and the buyer gets cold feet because it has one advisory mark on the report....
Having just had a service, mot and timing belt change done at a main dealer got me thinking. Aren’t I effectively paying for a number of things twice? For example the oil change would form part of the service and the timing belt change. The safety checks performed during the service would also be done as part of the mot. Not sure what I can do about it other than staggering the mot and service? Read more
Does the itemised invoice include more than one fill of oil?
Both service and belt change involve removing the sump plug allowing the oil to drain etc before replacing the plug and refilling. To that extent you might be paying twice for tech's time but I'm not sure that's a ditch worth dying in. ...
I purchased a Honda CR-V Mk4 in February 2024 from a main dealer.
I’m confused because my car was bought in Feb 2024, but I believe the recall dates back to 2020. However, nothing about the recall appeared, when I did an online MOT history check, when I bought the car. It has only appeared now.... Read more
2018 petrol (Mk 4)
Seen a few of these Astra h diesel pre dpf 1.7 for cheap. Just wondering if it’s worth a punt for couple of grand. Decent miles. Or is it too risky? If it needs a bit spending on it I’m not bothered for that money. I’d try and get the newest one I can. Thanks in advance Read more
I have to agree. But the stand out item for my is the camshaft dephasers. That’s an expensive job. Something that is a common issue in the z16xer but I think is improved on the A16XER and B16XER. I think they redesigned the depahsers to retain oil when the engine stops. Could be wrong thow. The dephaser rattle is definitely something more prevalent on the z16xer thow. The other items I’ve mentioned I would say would go wrong on any car. Even Japanese. I think Japanese engines are superior by a mile but the bodies and rust let em down. The Astras are like tanks. Mine is spotless underneath and it’s an old car
Ran over a pothole in yesterday in Staffordshire. The pothole was deep enough to cause a loud bang in the car. Also cables visible at the bottom of the hole.
Examined the car by torchlight when I got home and couldn't see tyre or wheel damage. Just to be sure I took it to my local tyre dealer. He concurred that the tyres were okay BUT said the rear axle was out of alignment and recommended taking it to a Ford dealer. Local Ford dealer referred me to a 4 wheel alignment garage and car booked in for Monday morning. ... Read more
Must admit it was a huge relief.!!
Sometimes hitting a pothole can sound worse than it actually is. I went over a shallow sunken gap with a sharp edge across the road before I could react, and it really crashed through the car. Took it to my tyre place, and the alignment was fine....
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As per the other thread DL don't appear on comparison sites, DL have their own website.