Hi guys!

I can't remember if I mentioned this yet, but I just got a call earlier in the week to tell me I've been promoted at work so I'm now making some decisions about what to do with my business.

I've decided I'm better off winding up the driving school (it's not yet fully established) as I cn't say no the promotion, this leaves me the issue of what to do with the car.

I'm well aware that my Focus is stil depreciating fairly heavily, and my answer, I think, is to swap it for an equal value MGTF which I honestly think will hold it's value better and be worth more in 3 years time than an equivalent Focus.

Another MAJOR factor in this is quite simply that I want one as I've fancied a soft top for a while now. Am I likely to be right about the value thing? I thought that even if the car stayed out of production it's residual should remain reasonable, if they put it back into production then it's a bonus!

I'd be swapping my 53 reg Focus for an 03 or 53 MGTF, probs the 1.8 135 (1.6 is too underpowered).

So, just looking for people''s opinions and advice about the likely pitfalls really, I already know that the engine is prone to HGF, I'll just have to hope that it doesn't happen to me in the 2 years or so that I'll own the MG, if it does, it shouldn't be too expensive to put right if caught early I hope! Also, I know that I don't really like the MX5 and have no desire to own one, likewise the MR2 doesn't really float my boat, although I might consider a decent specced one if it were available for £7K.

Ok people, do your worst :-)

Blue Read more

I was idly thinking of buying a new car for swmbo to replace aging Volvo. Years ago we used to reckon that if you drove off the forcourt with a new car and returned the next day to px it for another you would lose around 25%. Does this apply today? I bought a couple of new Padas years ago but have gone the 2nd hand route for a long time now. Read more

What with the high cost of french s/h cars I'm minded to buy a RHD car in England, run it here for a while to make sure any bugs are sorted out and then drive it to the french holiday house where (with right-hand dipping headlights) it will live out it's natural life. It certainly won't have much retained local value as RHD!

I'd make sure I took a clutch cable too.

I would use it for airport trips, taking rubbish to the dump and towing a trailer for the bigger items of rubbish. I imagine it would be pressed into carrying building materials as well.

I am prepared to spend a couple of thousand pounds to get me a pretty reasonable run-about. But what to buy? I like the idea of a Citroen Xsara Picasso (horrible to look at, but it will do the job) and could maybe get a 80000 mile Y reg or 51 for just over £2k. A Berlingo or similar looks more pricey.

It would want to be french and a hatchback, estate or MPV for the dump trips. Diesel or petrol - it's all the same as I don't expect to do more than a couple of thousand miles a year if even that.

Any views? Read more

The time has come to choose my wife's next lease car.
As the cost is heavily subsidised, we have decided that it would make sense for her to drive the larger car. Whilst I'm happy with my Toledo, the saloon bodystyle does have some compromises in terms of load lugging for our regular camping trips, so we decided a small estate would be ideal, eventually i can then downsize to something smaller.
We narrowed the list down to the folowing cars:
Alfa 159 Sportwagon 1.9 diesel Lusso
Skoda Octavia 2.0TDi L+K estate
VW Passat 2.0TDi SE estate
Audi A4 2.0TDi SE Avant
BMW 320d SE Touring

Not surprisingly, the Skoda came out cheapest. But much to our surprise, the Alfa is only £10 more a month. The tax is a little more on the Alfa however. The VW is same price as the Alfa. The Audi and BMW are both significantly more expensive.

So, we now have a head vs heart decision, the Alfa or the Skoda? We've looked at both, but test driven neither yet. Both of us love the styling of the Alfa, and as this is a fully maintained/insured lease deal, the reliability concerns are less. However, the Skoda is (slightly) better equipped, slightly cheaper, and something at the back of my mind is saying...the Skoda might just be a better proposition for our 15k miles a year.

Does anyone have any experience of these two cars, specifically with these power plants? VW group diesels are often critised for their lack of refinement, but seem to offer reliably good economy. By comparison, I've not heard much about the 1.9 150 Fiat/GM engine.

Your comments much appreciated! Read more

i have read recent threads on this subject but.......im just wondering what may be the most obvious causes of this problem?

I lock the doors via the key lock (remote doesnt work) they automatically pop up. I thought it may be the 'dodgey' door loom as ive had problems with electric windows.

This is a bit arkward to say the least to sort out so is there any way around this?

Thanks Read more