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• Greetings from the South ... 4 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  On a lighter note, there was a classic advert juxtaposition on TV the other day, midway thru the West Indies v SA cricket match. The pretentious new BMW 5 series ad, featuring all kinds of strange images, immediately followed by an ad for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals: "Erection problems are common, but can be cured..." How we laughed!
• New Girlfriend: new car? 15 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  With this sort of mileage (and I do quite a lot of miles anyway without these extra ones), anything reasonably new will lose value quickly. I like the BMW 320 diesel, meets most of the requirements except the last one. Would a secondhand one be a good choice? Or something comfy and cheap like a C5? How old? Other factor is that I like driving on roads other than motorways and so something that handles well is a preferred choice.
• Auctions - Why buy from a dealer?! 12 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  Example prices: Saab 900 2.0 96/N 100k miles - nice and clean - £900 Audi 1.8 2000/W - 114k miles - FSH, all stamped, very, very clean - £4900 Rover 25 GTI - 2001/Y 26k miles - Immaculate - £4950 BMW 318se 02 plateb - Silver, mint, 22k miles - full spec - £13,200 VW Golf 2.0GTI - 2001/Y Reg - 35k miles - £8,500 mint. Unbelievable.
• Forester sturbo vs xtrail tdi 23 May 2003 (Forum)
  SWMBO would like to go 4wd on the school run and the BMW compact is struggling with the 3 wheel baby buggy! joking apart it is needed to be a big estate and general family workhorse all in one. Would like some opinions on the economics of buying a 99/00 sturbo for £10-11k or a newer £14-15k for an early tdi sport xtrail as plugged by HJ!
• In the market for a new Citroen Picasso 22 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  Is it worth ordering a new car for March registration? How much would that affect re-sale values? Each month I keep the BMW costs me about £300 in tax (why didn't I sort this out earlier?!) PS The local dealers quote is approx £2000 more than one sourced via this site, and another via the Picasso site. Unbelievable!
• Rear view mirror...why bother? 13 Dec 2002 (Forum)
  Rear view mirrors are, in my view, redundant in a car with decent door mirrors. 4. The only use for the rear view mirror is letting you know that the white van/BMW/mercedes driver behind you is driving on full beam, is 2 ft from your rear bumper, and does not consider your overtaking the slow lorry at 90mph to be fast enough. And yes I do not use my rear view mirror-it is angled to the ceiling- and I only use the door mirrors.
• Appropriate Oil 18 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  Quote from \"uk.rec.cars.maintenance\": \"I own a Rover 75 2.0 CDT auto which uses the BMW sourced diesel engine. According to the handbook the engine oil to be used in this engine should be a 10W-40 or 15W-40 viscosity to ACEA A3 and B3 specifications (I believe that this designates a synthetic or semi-synthetic oil).
• New car now collected! 13 Jul 2001 (Forum)
  Without going round in circles, how would I know that he was an expert - and how much should I have expected to pay? For those who are concerned about such things, the car is a BMW 318i estate (oops, sorry TOURING), the dealer is Snows in Portsmouth. For the record when asked a few months back, HJ suggested going for something else instead - but that's the good thing about advice - you don't have to take it.
• Service history 7 Aug 2020 (Forum)
  A quick google of the supposed servicing BMW specialist however revealed that they’d never seen the car despite the multiple stamps in the book apparently from them. Another was a Lotus Elise again with a faked specialist history and a BMW 320d with a genuine main dealer fully stamped history book that was from another car.
• Most impressed by 17 Apr 2020 (Forum)
  I tried to find a good one a few years back but almost all are ruined as you can’t get body panels for them anymore and cheap repairs are common. BMW 325 E36 - The last BMW I liked. These were light, nimble, fun yet civilised and reliable. Not as solid as it should’ve been perhaps but it was more robust mechanically than later variants as it was much simpler.
• BMW 3 Series E36 - Increased Deceleration and a lack of Acceleration! 18 Dec 2012 (Forum)
  The car has had a new BMW oem crank sensor (following failure) within the last couple of months. This was very difficult to install. (sensor very very tight in the block used some lithium grease). My current intentions: Change gearbox oil.
• The car you drive.. 21 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  Alfa Passionate and romantic, you fancy yourself. A bit unreliable, and can be eccentric too. You hate BMW drivers, but think and act just like them. Audi You would like to believe you are part of the new generation that is caring, environmentally conscious and family-orientated. Actually quite boring; nothing more than a glorified wuss.
• Lexus, Toyota, GM, others - Hybrids - good to drive? how about 2nd hand 24 Jan 2014 (Forum)
  Hi, I was just this week in Sri Lanka being driven around in a very recent BMW 5 series with 2.0 diesel engine and stop/start technology.  Even as a passenger it drove me mad, going from stationary to moving, every time hearing the diesel start up afresh. A diesel start up is hardly an enticing thing.
• HELP!!!! VW cc GT, C-Class, 3 Series, A4/5??? 13 Apr 2013 (Forum)
  VW cc GT - £15,299 - Passat cc GT 2.0 TDI CR (140) 4dr 2010 - 21k (full spec inc sat nav, leather, sunroof etc) C Class - £14,500 - C220 CDI Blue Efficiency SE 4dr 2010 - 17.5k (basic spec) or C Class - £14,850 - C200 CDI Blue Efficiency Executive SE 4 dr 2010 -31k (better spec, command nav etc)  3 Series - £14,800 - 318d 2.0 TD M Sport 4dr 2010 - 16k (basic spec) or 2010 32k for £14,450 Business edition with nav system and other upgrades A4 - £15,989 - A4 2.0 TDI 143 S Line 4 dr 2010 - 20k (basic spec) A5 - £17,950 - A5 2.0 TDI Sportback 170 BHP 4dr 2010 - 24k (basic spec) The BMWs and Merc are showing 70+MPG (extra urban), what are the servicing costs and levels for these, anything major coming up that I should be aware of? I know the cc recommends cam belt change at 40k, so I'd be doing this every other year, anything similar on the others and am I going to be paying a lot more at the BMW and Merc service stations compared to VW?
• from a big v6 to a small diesel - HELP! 7 Aug 2012 (Forum)
  I really do loath diesels, my last 3 cars (all company cars) were a Leon, a BMW 330d and a BMW 530d. All of them were fantastic cars but as an old fashioned car lover, the rattle and the smell at the pump arent really for me. Not sure why but they dont feel right but times can be hard and Id rather have the cash in the bank than the pump.
• BMW 5-Series E34 (1987 - 1996) - 91 3.5 Won't start. 28 May 2009 (Forum)
  So my '91 535i was running strong as always. I went to get new tires. while I was heading there, it stumbled twice, but small, just a single missed fire...
• Honda UK - Where did it all go wrong? 22 May 2009 (Forum)
  Comfortable, certainly, but not exactly a brand flagship. Accord - A failed wannabe 'premium' saloon that looks badly dated next to E90 BMW and latest C-Class. Mondeo also thumps it dynamically and value-wise too. S2000 - Now discontinued. A great car, but a niche car and off the class pace for a few years now. The popular CC sector cars sidelined it years ago.
• CARS OF THE YEAR UPDATE 3 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  CAR OF THE YEAR Your choice: Runaway winner: MINI (runner-up: MCC Smart; 2nd runner-up: New Mondeo) Quentin's choice: BMW X5 Jeremy's choice: Noble M12 GTO Ken's choice: MINI George's choice: MG ZT190 (runner-up: BMW M3) SENSIBLE CAR OF THE YEAR Your choice: VW Golf TDI (runner-up: New Mondeo ; 2nd runner-up: SEAT Leon) Quentin's choice: Ford Ka or new Nissan Primera Jeremy's choice: ????
• VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 9 Jan 2025 (Forum)
    One thing he's learned is that Android Autoplay for him is a must now, and preferably LED or Xenon headlights.   Another option he's considering is a BMW 1 series - he's never been in one before - any opinions on these? I know that someone was saying never to get a diesel auto or one with DSG, but then the same person said to get a Mazda3 which he's had nothing but trouble with from day 1...
• Buying advice. 19 Jan 2024 (Forum)
  I prefer small car and auto, would consider manual if auto is not a good option but really would prefer an auto. A BMW 1 series was a car I was craving but having read a load on here, I guess it needs to stay a dream, my 2nd choice was an Audi A3 but my budget is probably too small for a good condition car so I think a Mazda 3 is probably a good choice?