The Car thread

[ClaphamFox]

11 hours ago, Kopic said:

It was a 2010 diesel, was about 6 years ago so not remotely new but advertised with low mileage (35k) and 1 owner from new. They clearly knew it had the problem as when we finally started using it, we noticed the coolant tank had the lid off and placed under the bonnet from when it was delivered, and we had the engine flushed and there was what my mechanic said was head gasket sealant in the system. Pretty quickly noticed something was up, got it tested at a specialist who confirmed head gasket. The place we bought it from would do absolutely nothing to help. She was always a very nervous driver, whilst learning and after, and that piece of shit absolutely wrecked her confidence to this day. Left them an absolutely atrocious review which they were not happy with.

That's the least they deserved. I agree that buying any used car is a risk. When I find a car that looks promising, I always read the reviews of the dealer offering it. The pattern is invariably the same:  lots of five stars reviews from people with suspicious names like 'Ron S' who are effusive in their praise but are quite vague and also use the same phrases over and over again, then a handful of very detailed one-star reviews from people with full names who've had absolutely terrible experiences. 

Anyway, thanks to you, @Izzy and @jgtuk for your comments. I've decided against buying the category S car as it would always be on my mind and I don't want that anxiety, especially with two kids in the back seat. Interestingly, the dealer hasn't responded to my very polite enquiry for more information about the damage and repair work. Another red flag.

[Zear0]

On 19/11/2024 at 18:04, Izzy said:

There's absolute uproar amongst our slipper wearing, golf playing, dad joking, thongs in the glove box, Jaaaaagggg community. 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/02/images-of-new-electric-jaguar-car-leak-out-before-official-miami-unveiling

 

Think you'd look pretty cool in one of these. 

[TeamRocket]

Need help anyone. My cars interior light stop working cos a blown fuse. Got it changed a week ago and it's stopped working again. ( made sure amps were correct and installed correctly) does anyone know why it's blown again? Car is a hyundai ix20 if that helps. Also have searbelt beeping every so often even though no one is sat on the seat( not always but sometimes) thanks

[Silebyfox_89]

Liking the look of the new Renault 5, too small for my family but as a city car looks nice.

[tom27111]

On 28/12/2024 at 08:57, Silebyfox_89 said:

Liking the look of the new Renault 5, too small for my family but as a city car looks nice.

 

I saw these the other day.

 

They look pretty cool and definitely reminded me of the old Renault 5 turbo.

 

But why do what they've done to the interior?

 

If you want a top spec, it's a horrendous yellow inside and no other option.

 

Manufacturers need to realise that people actually don't like shit like that.

[BirminghamFox]

So I picked up my Fiat Abarth 124 Spider exactly 8 years ago today. Been a great car but need something more practical now.

 

anyone have experience of the Cupra’s or can recommend anything? Open to ideas at this stage. 

[Ric Flair]

My knowledge of cars is the absolute pits but my PCP is up end of March and I've got £2-3k in equity if I chop it in and get another car from a dealer by the looks of it.

 

I need something that tows a 4 berth caravan well. My Kuga is fine until you have to tow on wet surfaces/grass and then it's a nightmare as its not AWD/4WD. 

 

Prepared to have to pay more than £240 a month than I'm currently doing for what was then only an 18 month old car but anyone got any suggestions on a decent tower that won't cost a fortune 2-3 years old? Cheers

[tom27111]

21 hours ago, BirminghamFox said:

So I picked up my Fiat Abarth 124 Spider exactly 8 years ago today. Been a great car but need something more practical now.

 

anyone have experience of the Cupra’s or can recommend anything? Open to ideas at this stage. 

 

Fancy a Nissan? 

[tom27111]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

My knowledge of cars is the absolute pits but my PCP is up end of March and I've got £2-3k in equity if I chop it in and get another car from a dealer by the looks of it.

 

I need something that tows a 4 berth caravan well. My Kuga is fine until you have to tow on wet surfaces/grass and then it's a nightmare as its not AWD/4WD. 

 

Prepared to have to pay more than £240 a month than I'm currently doing for what was then only an 18 month old car but anyone got any suggestions on a decent tower that won't cost a fortune 2-3 years old? Cheers

 

Got some 4 wheel drive Qashqai's.

 

Depends on the weight of the caravan though, I think the Qashqai tows 1500kg.

 

The X-Trial's pull 2000kg, but they're a lot of money.

[FoxesDeb]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

My knowledge of cars is the absolute pits but my PCP is up end of March and I've got £2-3k in equity if I chop it in and get another car from a dealer by the looks of it.

 

I need something that tows a 4 berth caravan well. My Kuga is fine until you have to tow on wet surfaces/grass and then it's a nightmare as its not AWD/4WD. 

 

Prepared to have to pay more than £240 a month than I'm currently doing for what was then only an 18 month old car but anyone got any suggestions on a decent tower that won't cost a fortune 2-3 years old? Cheers

It's all about the weight with a caravan and tow vehicle, how heavy is the van?

[Ric Flair]

15 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

It's all about the weight with a caravan and tow vehicle, how heavy is the van?

MiRO 1093kg / 21.5cwt

MTPLM 1301kg / 25.5cwt

[adam]

2 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

My knowledge of cars is the absolute pits but my PCP is up end of March and I've got £2-3k in equity if I chop it in and get another car from a dealer by the looks of it.

 

I need something that tows a 4 berth caravan well. My Kuga is fine until you have to tow on wet surfaces/grass and then it's a nightmare as its not AWD/4WD. 

 

Prepared to have to pay more than £240 a month than I'm currently doing for what was then only an 18 month old car but anyone got any suggestions on a decent tower that won't cost a fortune 2-3 years old? Cheers

I've got a seat ateca. All wheel drive, diesel auto. Tows my van great. Think it can tow up to 1900KG but mines only 1400. 

[Ric Flair]

6 minutes ago, adam said:

I've got a seat ateca. All wheel drive, diesel auto. Tows my van great. Think it can tow up to 1900KG but mines only 1400. 

Will have a look, cheers

[Ric Flair]

Bought a Ssangyong Rexton, It's costing me a decent whack but they supposedly hold their value due to how good they are for towing etc.

 

 

[HEGGSY]

Can anyone advise, basically I've got a private plate (nothing pretentious, literally just a regular plate with my sons name as the last 3 characters) I'm looking at getting a new car and want to keep the plate, but I can't say when I'll get the new car, and I just want to take the plate off so my car is easier to sell.

 

I want to retain the plate, my question is, can I still drive it on that plate while I wait for the new log book? Or can I not drive my car until I receive the V5, as most places now need proof that the plate is yours.

 

i didn't retain the original plate, so there's no guarantee they'll reassign me that either.

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

Edited 10 January by HEGGSY

[tom27111]

42 minutes ago, HEGGSY said:

Can anyone advise, basically I've got a private plate (nothing pretentious, literally just a regular plate with my sons name as the last 3 characters) I'm looking at getting a new car and want to keep the plate, but I can't say when I'll get the new car, and I just want to take the plate off so my car is easier to sell.

 

I want to retain the plate, my question is, can I still drive it on that plate while I wait for the new log book? Or can I not drive my car until I receive the V5, as most places now need proof that the plate is yours.

 

i didn't retain the original plate, so there's no guarantee they'll reassign me that either.

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

You can drive on the private plate until you receive notification from the DVLA of what plate will go back on the car (which is usually it's original plate, unless it was first registered with the private plate, in which case, they allocate an age related registation).

 

I've never done it myself, so not 100% sure if they notify you immediately when you put your own plate on retention online, if not, it will be when you receive your V5C (logbook).

 

I do know that a few people are struggling to do it online and the DVLA are asking for it all to be done by post, which delays the process.

 

Sorry, that probably isn't much help.

 

Don't forget to notify your insurance company of the players change.

[HEGGSY]

56 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

 

You can drive on the private plate until you receive notification from the DVLA of what plate will go back on the car (which is usually it's original plate, unless it was first registered with the private plate, in which case, they allocate an age related registation).

 

I've never done it myself, so not 100% sure if they notify you immediately when you put your own plate on retention online, if not, it will be when you receive your V5C (logbook).

 

I do know that a few people are struggling to do it online and the DVLA are asking for it all to be done by post, which delays the process.

 

Sorry, that probably isn't much help.

 

Don't forget to notify your insurance company of the players change.

Thanks mate

[tom27111]

Some shameless self promotion...

 

If anyone is looking for a brand new car, give me a shout. Nissan are offering some mad deposit contributions at the minute. At least a grand extra for every model in quarter 1 of this year. That saves you about £23 a month.

 

Some models are getting £4500!

 

Just gone back in to work today after a week off. It was utter chaos. We're only open 10 till 3 and I dealt up 4 people.

[SkidsFox]

Looking for general advice.

I may need to get a car, that will be used to travel approx 125 miles per day (60 each way to and from work). Second-hand purchase or lease, either is possible.  What should I be looking out for? Would a 1.2/1.3 engine be ok, or should I search for a bigger option? 

Edited 25 January by SkidsFox

[The Bear]

With those sort of miles and time spent in the vehicle, you want something as comfortable inside and as economical as possible. Whether that's diesel or petrol. 

 

Probably looking at a saloon/estate that will likely be 1.6 or bigger. You could go for a smaller engine but they tend to be smaller cars which likely won't have the same level of comfort inside. 

[FoyleFox]

9 hours ago, SkidsFox said:

Looking for general advice.

I may need to get a car, that will be used to travel approx 125 miles per day (60 each way to and from work). Second-hand purchase or lease, either is possible.  What should I be looking out for? Would a 1.2/1.3 engine be ok, or should I search for a bigger option? 

I strongly suspect @tom27111will have just the one for you 

[dsr-burnley]

10 hours ago, SkidsFox said:

Looking for general advice.

I may need to get a car, that will be used to travel approx 125 miles per day (60 each way to and from work). Second-hand purchase or lease, either is possible.  What should I be looking out for? Would a 1.2/1.3 engine be ok, or should I search for a bigger option? 

1.2 is fine.  I've got a 13 year old Corsa that does about 45 mpg over that sort of distance and it's easy peasy driving up to 75 mph or so, which is plenty.  If you want to push it to 80 mph then you have to hold the wheel firmly and your mpg goes down.

[tom27111]

18 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

I strongly suspect @tom27111will have just the one for you 

 

Always!

[kenny]

On 25/01/2025 at 13:32, SkidsFox said:

Looking for general advice.

I may need to get a car, that will be used to travel approx 125 miles per day (60 each way to and from work). Second-hand purchase or lease, either is possible.  What should I be looking out for? Would a 1.2/1.3 engine be ok, or should I search for a bigger option? 

Get a car with amazing seats. Everything else should be a secondary consideration IMO.

 

Seats in my mini are as good as any car ive sat in.

 

[The Bear]

12 minutes ago, kenny said:

Get a car with amazing seats. Everything else should be a secondary consideration IMO.

 

Seats in my mini are as good as any car ive sat in.

 

The Mini Clubman is supposed to be a good car.