August 2025
Our daughter now has the Yaris we bought new 16 years ago. The last MOT had advisories for corrosion on the sills and subframe, imbalance of brakes and several other things. She has no off road parking and maintenance is not a word she is familiar with, hence the vehicle is pretty unloved and looks battered to say the least. The plan was to run it until such time as it became uneconomic. With the next MOT looming, I am wondering if that time is now.
... Read more
Thefts of these control units have been rising especially in London.
They are then resold on auction sites etc for a fraction of their replacement cost but still need programming at the main dealer .... Read more
I thought the fig leaf for the programming of components was to prevent the use of stolen bits, and not at all to force repairers to use the dealer.
How then, if programming is required, is there still a market for these stolen bits?...
Bought a 6 month old Ford Explorer Premium Extended Range RWD last week, to replace my 5 year old Puma. The Puma was a great car, bought at 3 years old. The only downside to it was that I struggled to get comfortable in the seat on long journeys, the seat base is very flat… As I cover about 25k a year, it gave me a reason to look for another car, I generally only keep cars a couple of years and had the Puma seat been better, I could have seen myself keeping it a bit longer than usual.
SWMBO was a key factor in this purchase, she liked the Explorer when we tested it, so the deal was done. Who knows, this car may be one to keep for more than 2 years. We still have SWMBO’s Puma, and I’ve got an older XC70 for alternative use, so going electric won’t present any issues.... Read more
Predominantly VW technology underneath .
Is this normal for this car ? While driving and easing off the accelerator the revs drop to zero and then when the accelerator is pressed again the engine restarts. Occurs in any driving mode, at any speed and switching off the stop/start feature has no effect.
I have another VW (tiguan) which stop/starts correctly at traffic lights for example - but the golf is doing this even while driving. A local garage didn't find anything on the diagnostics... Read more
My Mk1 Lada (not a hybrid) did it for a while. I quite liked it, so let it get on with it, but eventually it became a bit reluctant to restart so I had to investigate.
Seemed to be due to G-sensitivity caused by breakdown of the carbon core in the original Soviet ignition leads, causing loss of ignition on deceleration. Once at rest the ignition leads would mostly work again to restart. Acceleration didn;t seem to have much effect....
I like having a wee sift through cars for sale, looking for a “bargain” I don’t need. This morning I found this rather cheap and very practical big Skoda. These are fantastic big family cars, they cost buttons to run, they’re huge inside and they ride very well. With a range of around 200 miles and the ability to fast charge from 20-80% on around 20 mins, they’re very much capable of fulfilling the main family car duties.
I really rate these as a used buy, and prices are getting very appealing. That it only needs a service every two years and has an 8yr battery pack warranty (assuming it has been serviced) only seals the deal.
Obviously I haven’t looked at this particular car in the metal, I’m just using it as an example of how much value can be had with used EV’s now.
www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508015052141?u...p Read more
Seriously? Have you seen the shadows, the wheels tyres (nice slicks), the lack of any photos of the vehicle?
Cinch is WBAC. Stock AI heavily edited images and they deliver the vehicle with that plate on it....
Thinking of getting an SUV (used). I have three in mind, the Volvo xc60, Tiguan or the equivalent Kia. Any thoughts? Read more
The KGM Rexton uses an 8 speed automatic from Hyundai’s gearbox division.
Last friday we wnt off to Mersea island to eat at "Seafood at Dawn " ...... In case anyone not too far away likes seafood at very reasonable prices......
Anyway, cooling was not at its best so booked it in yesterday and £129.98 later we have nice cool air ready for the trek to York on Sunday. Read more
This afternoon I saw another korando...
First other one I've seen....
I’m considering buying a 2015 Cat D - the pre-2017 equivalent of Cat N. I’m satisfied that the car’s in good condition, it has been on the road since 2017 with full service history. This would be my first Category car. Could someone with real world recent experience tell me about insurance? I’ve had a couple of phone quotes (eg Adrian Flux) which are double what I’d expect to pay for a non-Cat. The usual price comparison sites don’t offer the chance to declare Cat status upfront, and even after inputting the registration they come back with standard offers. (I inputted a lower vehicle value reflecting the Cat D status.) I checked through the terms and conditions on Churchill and Admiral policies and there’s nothing about requiring the policy holder to declare Category status, or any suggestion that failure to disclose it would invalidate the policy. Is it safe to go ahead and buy a standard policy online? Or perhaps someone can recommend an insurer? Read more
Certainly used to be way cheaper, but latterly it became pretty much my default in the UK so its possible I could have done better on comp even then.
Latterly of course I've mostly been on the Taiwan govt mandatory insurance, which is peanuts, but i believe only covers 3rd party medical, if that. (Untested, fortunately). Concentrates the mind when anywhere near black Mercedes (traditionally run by gangsters) though if one survived for long enough skipping the country might be an option in such a case....
My partners Captur suddenly displayed an engine fault message and don’t drive.
She has noticed the cooling fan continuing to operate for a long time after parking up .... Read more
Nice one! Always good when people come back with a follow up, so many don't...
I'm sure we are all very familiar with the, "warning, vehicle reversing" coming from various (usually) commercial vehicles for some years now. But today was the first time I'd heard one warning of turning (right in this case).
But, and this is a serious question, it got me wondering who these messages are for?. Without really thinking about it, i'd assumed they would be for someone blind, or nearly. But how would someone who is blind know which direction the vehicle was facing?. And if they didn't know that, then how would they know if the vehicle was reversing towards them or away from them?. Same for turning, if you can't see which direction the vehicle is facing, what help is the message?. ... Read more
The lane was turn left or straight on.
Changing cars is almost always costly, not just initially but also ongoing depreciation, which a 16yr old Yaris would no longer suffer from. I may have missed it in this long thread, but ..what is its mileage? Toyota are renowned for their powertrain reliability, so should not be causing major problems much below 150,000 miles if kept oiled and watered. The killer for most Asian cars seems to be rust, but it can't be that bad if it's only 'advisories' at this stage. If the mileage has been no more than around 5k p.a. it would make financial sense to get underneath and spend a few hundred or so (or do it yourself) to halt the existing corrosion. Brake problems on cheap mundane cars are not usually expensive to fix.