April 2020
Hello,
I am looking at buying a Y reg Toyota Yaris that has not moved in at least 18 Mths, and simply doing it up myself ( even though I am not a mechanic ), it has not had tax or mot for 18 mths but I have looked at the mot history and it is not to bad over the last 12 years.... Read more
Lockdown boredom challenge.
I often look back at the cars my dad bought and thought about what I would’ve had myself instead at the time for similar money.
Him - 1976 P Renault 16 TX
Me - 1976 P Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 GL
Him - 1982 X Volvo 340 1.4 GL 5dr
Me - 1982 X Vauxhall Astra 1.3 GL
Him - 1987 D Volvo 340 1.7 GL 4dr
Me - 1987 D Rover 213S
Him - 1986 C Saab 900T16 4dr
Me - 1986 C Saab 900T16 4dr loves that car.
Him - 1989 G Volvo 240 GLT
Me - nAh, kept the Saab
Him - 1990 G Volvo 440 Turbo
Me - 1990 G Vauxhall Cavalier SRI 130 (£2k cheaper and quicker)
Him - 1991 H Audi 80 16v Sport
Me - 1991 H Audi 80 16v Sport (nice thing that he weirdly never liked)
Him - 1993 K Honda Civic VTi 4dr
Me - nah, kept the Audi
Him - 1994 M Mercedes C180 Classic
Me - Nah, kept the Audi
Him - 1995 N Mercedes C180 Elegance Auto
Me - 1995 N Audi A4 1.9 TDi
Him 2009 59 Honda Jazz 1.2S
Me 2009 59 Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec 5dr
We shared the same oil for blood but I would never have wasted the money he did on cars and I’m a bit more mainstream than he was when it comes to my choices. That said he did make some strange choices. I got the first 340 which was bearable in 1982 but the second one in 87 was horrid and hugely dated.
The 240 in 1989 was an antique and the wind noise was biblical above 60mph, the Saab before it was a vastly better car while the 440 Turbo that replaced it was nice enough it was hugely overpriced compared to better built rivals.
The Audi 80 Spott was nice but the Honda Civic VTi was like a plastic car, it didn’t even feel anything like as quick as it was supposed to be and was too low for comfort.
The two Mercs served him well but he made a mistake with the first one by forgetting to opt for the auto as the manual box was horrid and mismatched with the foot operated parking brake. The later auto lasted him 13yrs until it was time for a wrinkly mobile, a Honda Jazz.
Sheer boredom but can anyone else do better than their old man when it comes to picking cars?
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My Father (b1924) learned to drive just after the end of the war and cut his teeth on his Father's Citroen TA. I think his Mother could drive but never did. After his Father died, and for the early years of his married life from 51 on, he used the bus. Family legend has it he saw an Austin A30 from the bus and gave up cigs to buy one. That was followed by an A35 and (IIRC) a Somerset.
Shortly after I came on the scene in late 1959 he and three colleagues set up in partnership to import and distribute dyes and chemicals for the textile industry produced by the French company Francolor. The main office was in Lancashire but he headed up the operation in Leeds. ...
We need to produce more products in this country. Far too much reliance on importing everything. Read more
My car has a private plate, just before the lockdown we bought an ex demo Puma, but couldn’t pick it up until, as it turns out , would have been this weekend, obviously I want to transfer the plate over, and I understand that I have to pay £80 to put it on retention, but, I’m not sure what to do next, if I put the plate on retention I will be issued a new number plate, great, but will I be able to get a set of plates made up due to the current situation?, I understand I can’t drive it on my old number as it’s done immediately ( online) , yes the car I’m buying has been registered so I could drive that home and put the plate on later, just not sure about my current car, Read more
I’m in a similar position . Recently changed wife’s wheels , I have the private plate on retention, and I have the plates . Still waiting for the new V5 reg documents. However, looks like any private plate service from the Dvla is currently unavailable.
Hi, I had a whole new exhaust fitted yesterday with Kwik Fit (including cat). I started the car this morning and for the first 10-20 seconds the exhaust is making a rumbling noise on start up and for the first few revs. Best way I can describe the noise is like a boy racer exhaust. I work as a community carer so the car is stop start all morning and it was making this noise for the first few hours until eventually going away. However having been idle for a few house this afternoon I went to start it up and it made the noise again. Is this normal? Any help would be appreciated. I did take it back to kwik fit after work and they could find nothing wrong, although they didn't hear the noise I'm describing as by that time it had stopped. Thanks Read more
When cold the exhaust is possibly touching a part of the body or suspension, soon as it warms the metal expands a little so moves far enough to stop vibrating...or there's a bad joint, which again expands and stops the noise.
You'll either have to leave it with them long enough to cool down, or pinpoint the source yourself so you can show them....
Having been a bit of a Jack of all trades master on none I’ve had a large number of different jobs over the years and with them many small car derived vans, some of which were terrible and some excellent. I do miss the convenience of having a small van but I currently have no need. Here’s a wee list of them over the years and my views.
85 B Hyundai Pony Pickup known as Harry Hyundai. This thing was awful in every way. Terrible to drive, downright dangerous brakes and unreliable to boot. I hated every moment of driving it.
90 H Toyota Liteace 1.5 - Lethal handling, almost as if each wheel was pulling in a different direction. Slow and noisy but tough and reliable.
93 L Toyota Liteace Mk II 2.0D - What a difference, a genuinely great wee van.
90 H Mitsubishi L200 2.5D - Tough as old boots, never went wrong but rear brakes locked up as soon as you looked at the pedal.
93 L Vauxhall Astra 1.7D - Great motorway pounder.
81 W Renault 4 GTL 1.1 - Brilliantly weird and surprisingly comfortable and very reliable but sadly it had holes in the floor by its 5th birthday so it had to go.
86 D Renault Extra 1.4 - Great wee van, kept it 14yrs and it suffered no major failures.
00 X Renault Kangoo 1.9 - Should’ve been great with simple old tech engine and well designed interior but it kept suffering electrical faults and went at 6yrs.
06 06 Renault Kangoo 1.5dci - Great wee engine, a vast improvement on the 1.9. Went well, had loads of extras but sadly electrical faults aplenty and a bad knock from the steering rack or front suspension that the useless local Dealer couldn’t solve despite two new racks and three suspension strip downs. I needed to rely on it so it had to go.
2007 57 VW Caddy SDi - Best wee van I’ve ever had. No complexity, simple normally aspirated diesel motor and no gadgets, it suffered a badly juddering clutch at 24k and just before its warranty was up and VW replaced it and the input shaft seal for free which was great. My phone rang constantly when I advertised this for sale, I wish I had a constant supply of them.
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Biggest pain in the butt going. You strive to improve yourself and buy a nice house in a quiet residential cul de sac then, about 10 years later, white van man buys a house in the street and starts parking his monstroscity churning up the grass verge and such that the refuse collection wagon cannot get in.
Hmm, there are a few different points to this post, but in response to the first one,...
Im very sorry about my actions on here and that I have driven people away, I hope in time I can be a valuable member of your community and that posters might want to engage in discussions with me. I will be nicer, more considerate and behave in a better way
You have said that before and have always failed to keep your word.... Read more
I didn't know that - I thought you had one of those old Mercedes estates that lasted forever.
Last night, on TV. Car rolled down hill into building
Police officer noted that brakes get hot, you put handbrake on, they cool, handbrake loosens... Read more
All of the three cars of my own that I used for driving instruction, a Corsa C, Honda Civic 1.7 D and Civic 2.2 had no trouble with handbrake effectiveness because the handbrake lever was up and down like a fiddler's elbow all the time during driving instruction so it kept the cables, linkages and self adjusting mechanisms free and working as they should.I suspect the average driver doesn't use the handbrake much if at all!
I was told by my Toyota dealer that a hybrid 12v battery would likely only last two weeks max without the car being run and Toyota has put out advice to run the engine once a week for 60 minutes blog.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-ma...e
So several months seems optimistic.... Read more
One good thing is the peek is this week like i have said and there were less deaths today so surely the government should relax some measures if they don't then the government have no clue what they are doing to be honest and risk having riots in the future
Blimey are you really trying to stir things up - there is still only a relatively small percentage of the population that have had this so this can and may become much bigger again - especially if they release the shutdown too early and without strict controls and testing. Hopefully the reason there is less of an increase in deaths is because of the lockdown a few weeks ago.... Read more
Agreed - assuming it's a he, i.e. Samuel rather than Samantha.
Correspondence on this subject is now closed.
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There is a Claudine Keegan Skiles on Fakebook - same one perhaps?