February 2025
Hi All
... Read more
Short of asking an owner or a dealer direct , where might I be able to discover ( for free) the actual retail price of a car when it was first registered?
When buying second hand there’s plenty of info around re a vehicles history, MOT passes/fails/advisories , mileage etc plus of course the vehicles current value-but knowing what it cost BEFORE it left the showroom is for me a key piece of consumer data.
All ideas welcome Read more
In days of yore, Motor and Autocar mags used to produce buyers guides and motor show editions packed with technical and performance info as well as prices. I used to save such issues every few years and still have them for reference. My earliest is Oct 19 - 1968- 2s 6d Motor complete car by car guide Show Number. Here are a few fun facts.....
Aston Martin DB6 (top speed 147.6 mph) £4497. A.C. 289 quickest to 50mph ...(not 60 in those days) 4.4secs. £3068. Jaguar E type 4.2 (fastest 150mph) £2117. Mercedes 280SL £4003. Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 (no Ferraris tested) £7797. Lamborghini Muira £9525. Austin Mini £561. Ford escort 1100 £652. Cheapest - and slowest (58.3mph, 0-50 33.6secs) was Fiat 500F £543. But it did do 53mpg 'touring', 43.6 overall.
Hi everyone,
... Read more
Chain driven motors in the 80’s/90’s rarely went wrong, unless utterly neglected.I had an '03 Nissan with cam chain. They were, allegedly, made from cheese. The engine only held 2.7 litres of oil. I changed it every 5K miles and never had any problems during my ownership, taking it up to 50K.
In reality, no engine should give issues up to 50,000 miles - even if abused and neglected....
Lots of nonsense gets taken about this on Reddit and other driving forums. The highway code is pretty clear but people don't get it. I was hoping to get the views of posters here. Do you think it's fine as long as you don't change lanes? Fine as long as you're maintaining speed and passing a MLH? Read more
‘ Average speed check on the motorway.’
That’s a new one on me - I’m not sure I understand the logic of it.
I’m sat here stunned!
I posted on here 2 weeks ago about my clutch problems.
I’ve since had the clutch and flywheel replaced 2 weeks ago today.
All was fine, haven’t been far, few motorway trips.
I wait on the small hill where the clutch went, a burning smell ever so slightly wafts through. But all driving fine.
I get home, about to reverse into my space. What’s this? The car won’t go into reverse!
I can just about do it, I need to lift the pedal up and it makes an ungodly grinding sound!
Also notices 5th is a bit sticky also!
I paid £1300 for this job just 2 weeks ago! I’m devastated! Surely the parts are covered?
Car going back in Wednesday
Any pointers greatly appreciated.
Thank you ???? Read more
Best of luck with that. As others have said, looks like poor workmanship.
On the bright side, at least the indicators are working - from my own experience, most BMWs' don't appear to work, or at least in 'ESP mode', because other drivers are expected to know what they are about to do and make way... :-)...
Sadly after 10 years axed from sale in UK. For many on here one of the best supwerminis available for some time.
Have you any idea when the CX 3 was discontinued or is it still available please ?
The newest advertised here in the UK on Autotrader is 2019. If you live in Oz they're still avilable new last time I looked at the Mazda Australia website....
Hi all
Thanks for your great advice re cars to accommodate 3 kids in car seats on the second row.
Have decided to look for a Ford S-Max, petrol manual. Hoping this avoids too many pitfalls with engine reliability. Kids are upset that it doesn’t have sliding doors though …
Was hoping to ask your advice on two options on auto trader and about pre purchase inspections.
These are the two cars I’m considering:
www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202502048719273?s...a
This one I’ve been to see- it’s pretty bashed up in terms of body work and the privacy glass is peeling which will annoy the kids and they will probably peel more off themselves (can this be fixed?) but biggest problem is one of the seats on second row won’t tip forward.
The dealer says that they will fix the seat. On the plus side- two owners and one was Ford garage for 6 months, reasonable mileage and price with full main dealer service hx. Garage is v low pressure on sales, they really don’t care if you buy it or not.
www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412227483000?s...a
Haven’t been to see this one - they say it has full service history and MOT check looks good. Obviously more expensive and dealer seems far less established (only registered with companies house in 2023).
Both are happy for me to book a pre purchase inspection which hasn’t been the case with every seller I’ve approached. Any thoughts on who is best to use for a pre purchase inspection?
Any thoughts, or used car buying tips?
Or does anyone think the S-MAX is a terrible idea?!
There are not that many petrol manual versions out there unfortunately.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Read more
Thanks. I decided to go for it - the car looked good and the servicing paperwork seemed fine, although granted had gaps as mentioned above. I have paid a deposit and just booking a pre purchase inspection. Hoping this is the end of the searching…
Had a short test drive this morning in a LHD Frontera,
Thoughts.... Read more
Interesting. Looks as though it's the hybrids which get the chain engine, while the purely ICE models continue with the belt. For the long term low mileage user (circa 6000 miles a year), will the risks of battery pack plus chain failure outweigh the single risk of a well maintained modern (not the crumbly old DAYCO) BIO failure? Tell you in 20yrs time!
Matt at High Peak Autos has just done a video about a 2015 Range Rover Sport hybrid with 66,000 miles, which had a problem with its traction battery pack. The price that Range Rover wanted to replace the battery pack with a new one is somewhat eye-watering.
I guess any 10-year-old hybrid (apart from a Toyota / Lexus) is a risk, but you're never going to win gambling on an older Range Rover hybrid .... Read more
Of course, although a diesel may have started the fire, the involvement of EVs could well have made things pretty bad ?
More likely things were made pretty bad because I suspect most people would have ensured their fuel tanks were fairly full for the return journey home. I doubt if we are alone in filling up at our local supermarket shortly before a return trip to Luton....
Which Hybrid would you for and why, based on style, efficiency, and room at the rear?
Thank you... Read more
One afterthought re the Yaris (and any other potential choices). Test drive thoroughly to make sure your'e happy with the way the hybrid drives and make sure you're happy with road noise/ ride etc. Some versions have rather low profile tyres fitted that firm up the ride too much and kick up more road noise inside the cabin.
My Swace has 205/55 R16s and the ride is excellent but it still has more road noise than my previous Superb, saying that the Superb was shod in Michelin Crossclimate's (same size!) and I remember when they were first fitted a big improvement in road noise so when I wear the original Bridgestone's out I'll probably be swapping to those....
.jpg)
The deposit doesn't have to be £100, less is ok as long as the overall price is between £100 and £30k. Many dealers will offer a reserving deposit of £99 which can be by credit card and then covers the whole purchase under section 75. It's not legal these days to add a fee for paying by credit card however they can refuse as it costs them money (generally a percentage) but most are ok with small payments by card.
...