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Countryfox

The Car thread

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I think mine is a crossover, a Renault Captur? We lost the Volvo estate company car and sold my Clio, and bought the Captur a couple of months ago. It's great, sits higher and has a bigger boot than the Clio, not too big for just the two of us, but big enough when the family (eventually!) can come over. 

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6 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

I think mine is a crossover, a Renault Captur? We lost the Volvo estate company car and sold my Clio, and bought the Captur a couple of months ago. It's great, sits higher and has a bigger boot than the Clio, not too big for just the two of us, but big enough when the family (eventually!) can come over. 

 

Yeah, it's a compact-SUV.

 

Like a Clio on steroids lol

 

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I have a knacker of an old Honda CRV as I wanted a big car for cheap. The fuel efficiency is terrible but pre-COVID I probably only drove 5k miles a year, now it's probably 1,000 miles. Doesn't actually handle that badly, what I like is that it doesn't make you want to drive like a tit unlike when I previously had hatchbacks, plus hardly anyone tailgates you which is a massive bonus

 

Plus you've got the armrests and sunroof, and can actually fit adults in the back if necessary

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4 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

 

I must admit I've never driven one, but don't they drive like shit compared to a normal car? Heavier and higher centre of gravity.

 

Added bonus of being more dangerous for pedestrians (especially children), needs more energy to make it go, and considering how massive they are, often surprisingly cramped inside

Nah, my car before last was a Sportage GT and it was lovely to drive. 
 

I’m getting a Soul EV next week, never had an electric car before, quite looking forwards to it. Longer journeys are going to be a bit more of a challenge though. 

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12 hours ago, Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo said:

I have a knacker of an old Honda CRV as I wanted a big car for cheap. The fuel efficiency is terrible but pre-COVID I probably only drove 5k miles a year, now it's probably 1,000 miles. Doesn't actually handle that badly, what I like is that it doesn't make you want to drive like a tit unlike when I previously had hatchbacks, plus hardly anyone tailgates you which is a massive bonus

 

Plus you've got the armrests and sunroof, and can actually fit adults in the back if necessary

We had a 2002 CRV for 5 years, its a reliable spacious workhorse.  Literally nothing went wrong with it in that time.  Not one thing.

The Landrover Discovery 4 we replaced it with on the other had is twice the car with half the reliability.  Still love it though.

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I saw a Honda e on the road yesterday (hadn't heard of or saw any marketing for this car before) and have to say I was well impressed with the look of it. Looks very basic as a car but when I saw it in my rear view I thought it was an old school Golf of Polo coming up behind me. Quite a striking front with just the lights and no grill. No idea about how well it drives or its range or anything but thought it looked quite cool. One that the next generation of kids who start driving will go for I think.

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Need to get rid of an old 08 VW Polo. it's very basic but fine, fullish service history, few nicks in the paintwork and scuffed wheels are the only problems, cosmetic or otherwise.

 

Need to get shot of it by the 11th of April. Am I best taking it to webuyanycar? Not dealt with them before. Can't really be arsed with organising personal viewings, but I've heard WBAC like to knock several hundred off their already low valuation once you turn up - so a bit of effort organising privately could be worth it in this instance?

 

Any general tips on selling? Never done it before.

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8 minutes ago, egg_fried_rice said:

Need to get rid of an old 08 VW Polo. it's very basic but fine, fullish service history, few nicks in the paintwork and scuffed wheels are the only problems, cosmetic or otherwise.

 

Need to get shot of it by the 11th of April. Am I best taking it to webuyanycar? Not dealt with them before. Can't really be arsed with organising personal viewings, but I've heard WBAC like to knock several hundred off their already low valuation once you turn up - so a bit of effort organising privately could be worth it in this instance?

 

Any general tips on selling? Never done it before.

Only in that I'd have thought you'd not have much problem shifting that. There's still demand from younger drivers for low insurance cars, and if it genuinely is OK then you're at an immediate advantage because so many cars of that age will be knackered

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3 hours ago, egg_fried_rice said:

Need to get rid of an old 08 VW Polo. it's very basic but fine, fullish service history, few nicks in the paintwork and scuffed wheels are the only problems, cosmetic or otherwise.

 

Need to get shot of it by the 11th of April. Am I best taking it to webuyanycar? Not dealt with them before. Can't really be arsed with organising personal viewings, but I've heard WBAC like to knock several hundred off their already low valuation once you turn up - so a bit of effort organising privately could be worth it in this instance?

 

Any general tips on selling? Never done it before.

I'm no salesman but I've sold our family's used cars before.  I've never sold via a web based company but I'd expect them to offer you well under market value so that they can maximise their profit - a bit like a car dealer would do.

 

I've been most successful in selling through local/regional papers - the buyers can get to you easily.  If you get some interest then getting potential buyers to view your car on the same evening if possible makes it more convenient for you and shows them that there is interest in your motor.

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4 hours ago, egg_fried_rice said:

Need to get rid of an old 08 VW Polo. it's very basic but fine, fullish service history, few nicks in the paintwork and scuffed wheels are the only problems, cosmetic or otherwise.

 

Need to get shot of it by the 11th of April. Am I best taking it to webuyanycar? Not dealt with them before. Can't really be arsed with organising personal viewings, but I've heard WBAC like to knock several hundred off their already low valuation once you turn up - so a bit of effort organising privately could be worth it in this instance?

 

Any general tips on selling? Never done it before.

 

Don't do it.

 

It's worth the hassle of doing it yourself.

 

As @Bellend Sebastiansaid, there'll be a good demand for that car.

 

We Buy any Car and similar companies give you the top value, called cat clean, on the website to get you there.

 

Then, their staff make their commission on how much they can knock you down. And it will be a lot.

 

If part exchanging with a dealer, you're in a much better position than going to WBAC.

 

The dealer will low ball you, but in negotiations, you can drive the price up, but really in that situation, the key figure is the cost of change or monthly payment.

 

As a guide for how much you want to sell your Polo for, use the WBAC valuation tool and the Auto Trader valuation tool.

 

Then add a bit on for wriggle room. But not too much, or nobody will come to see it :thumbup:

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My new Ranger is just so much better than old Betsy (sorry Betsy) ..  4 years old and 40k on the clock but looks and drives like new  ..  still not got over the novelty of having a sat nav, hands free phone calls, Siri playing music  through the truck stereo, central locking, windows that open !! ..  lockable tailgate, and !! ..  a bloody reversing camera !! ..  no more just creeping backwards till you hit something ..   over the moon !!  :)

 

(Samys in Bedford ..  specialise in 4x4s ..  good place to go). 

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2 hours ago, Countryfox said:

My new Ranger is just so much better than old Betsy (sorry Betsy) ..  4 years old and 40k on the clock but looks and drives like new  ..  still not got over the novelty of having a sat nav, hands free phone calls, Siri playing music  through the truck stereo, central locking, windows that open !! ..  lockable tailgate, and !! ..  a bloody reversing camera !! ..  no more just creeping backwards till you hit something ..   over the moon !!  :)

 

(Samys in Bedford ..  specialise in 4x4s ..  good place to go). 

I quite like the chunky looking ones.  Not about to chop in the Disco though despite it costing me £800 this week.

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1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

I quite like the chunky looking ones.  Not about to chop in the Disco though despite it costing me £800 this week.

 

Depends what you want it for really ...   mainly road work and transporting family the Disco but for utility work and load carrying nothing beats a pick up ...   would have probably gone for the Toyota Hilux tbh but nothing in my price range and the Ford was better value.   Just fitting a winch and she's good to go ...  :thumbup:

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My fuel line has popped off the injector and pissed petrol over my engine bay....Will it just evaporate over 24hrs or does it need a full clean before I should drive it again?? I know nothing about cars just that Petrol + Heat = Bad things. Any help would be greatly apricated.

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37 minutes ago, Sambiasso said:

My fuel line has popped off the injector and pissed petrol over my engine bay....Will it just evaporate over 24hrs or does it need a full clean before I should drive it again?? I know nothing about cars just that Petrol + Heat = Bad things. Any help would be greatly apricated.

Personally, I'd give it a good clean just to be safe.

 

Ideally you'd get the whole engine bay steam cleaned/pressure washed but if you DIY, you could just use a good degreaser, detail brush and microfiber towels to remove the main petrol residue.

 

Not sure I'd risk just letting it evaporate tbh. Here's a quick video on how to safely clean your engine bay without using a pressure washer

 

 

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On 26/03/2021 at 16:01, tom27111 said:

 

Don't do it.

 

It's worth the hassle of doing it yourself.

 

As @Bellend Sebastiansaid, there'll be a good demand for that car.

 

We Buy any Car and similar companies give you the top value, called cat clean, on the website to get you there.

 

Then, their staff make their commission on how much they can knock you down. And it will be a lot.

 

If part exchanging with a dealer, you're in a much better position than going to WBAC.

 

The dealer will low ball you, but in negotiations, you can drive the price up, but really in that situation, the key figure is the cost of change or monthly payment.

 

As a guide for how much you want to sell your Polo for, use the WBAC valuation tool and the Auto Trader valuation tool.

 

Then add a bit on for wriggle room. But not too much, or nobody will come to see it :thumbup:

A bit late to this thread but, for anyone thinking of selling a car urgently, WBAC.com will rip you off. As Tom said, they make commission by buying at the lowest possible price. The agent will go over every single nick, scratch, the tiniest dent, scuff, mismatched paintwork, tiny scratches on the alloys and then tell you the car has to be auctionable as that's where they sell them on. They then give a below-auction value and explain that they have to make a margin. 

We took my wife's car to WBAC and they valued it at £2,000. We declined and sold it privately online for £3,000. They're scamming people, albeit legitimately.

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1 hour ago, Parafox said:

A bit late to this thread but, for anyone thinking of selling a car urgently, WBAC.com will rip you off. As Tom said, they make commission by buying at the lowest possible price. The agent will go over every single nick, scratch, the tiniest dent, scuff, mismatched paintwork, tiny scratches on the alloys and then tell you the car has to be auctionable as that's where they sell them on. They then give a below-auction value and explain that they have to make a margin. 

We took my wife's car to WBAC and they valued it at £2,000. We declined and sold it privately online for £3,000. They're scamming people, albeit legitimately.

 

I'm amazed that Phillip Schofield does their adverts and is happy to be associated with them.

 

An auction will sell practically anything, you shouldn't be beaten down over little scratches and scuffed alloys.

 

As part of my part ex valuations process, we'd photograph all of the stuff like that and it priced up all the little damage, known as smart repairs, and you're talking a few quid to have it fixed.

 

That was mainly if it was a car that we'd retail and send off to our prep centre to have it tarted up.

 

We didn't even look at tyre treads or anything like that, but WBAC will look at them and immediately knock a few hundred off because they say you need a new set lol

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41 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

 

I'm amazed that Phillip Schofield does their adverts and is happy to be associated with them.

 

An auction will sell practically anything, you shouldn't be beaten down over little scratches and scuffed alloys.

 

As part of my part ex valuations process, we'd photograph all of the stuff like that and it priced up all the little damage, known as smart repairs, and you're talking a few quid to have it fixed.

 

That was mainly if it was a car that we'd retail and send off to our prep centre to have it tarted up.

 

We didn't even look at tyre treads or anything like that, but WBAC will look at them and immediately knock a few hundred off because they say you need a new set lol

How would you buy a car, given what you know, Tom?  I've had my last couple from main dealers and the experience has been largely OK, but prices seem high these days and if I can avoid paying a premium when I get round to changing I'd really like to.

 

I used to have a bloke that would buy cars at auction for me, one was great, the other less so, and although they were cheap the hassle I had with the second one put me off

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12 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

It really depends what you're looking for.

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy from an auction. That's mainly where my company got their stock from, ex lease cars, typically up to 4 years old.

 

But they were sent to our prep centre and the average cost to get them ready for retail, was about £600. 

 

To you or me, that'd be closer to a grand to have it tip top mechanically and looking the part.

 

You can pay a premium at a main dealer, mainly because it's associated with the manufacturer.

 

Car supermarkets offer good value, but some of them are absolute stinkers.

 

I'd always advise shopping around, don't buy the first thing you see, even though the salesman will do everything he can to make you.

 

Only commit if you're happy. If something isn't right, or seems too good to be true, trust your gut and walk. Something else will come up.

 

It's a very competitive market.

 

I'm not convinced by the online retailers either. Although they offer a week or 2 week refund if you're not happy, it's more complicated than that...Registering with the DVLA, insurance, tax and it gets very messy if you're buying on finance, will affect your credit rating.

 

You wouldn't buy a house online without seeing it, why would you with a car? Especially if you haven't test driven a similar car.

 

As I've said before, if anyone is thinking of changing, give me a shout anytime, more than happy to help out and even help you find something.

 

There's a few that can back me up on that.

 

Hate seeing someone ripped off. There's always a good deal out there that suits the buyer and the seller :thumbup:

 

Just an edit to that, my boss, a typical sales bloke, would point out that we do this everyday, the public do it every 3 to 5 years, so they can be ripped off.

 

Fortunately, we aren't all like that and the bloke who replaced him was a lovely bloke who worked in the industry for years. He's always fair and he had customers follow him to any dealer he worked for because they trusted him.

 

That's a much better way to deal with people than fleecing them.

All sound advice. I keep fantasising about a new motor, but it might be a while. Had current one for six of its 11 years and although it's running very smoothly, it's starting to look its age a bit.

 

I THINK I know what I want to replace it with, but as usual I'm making life hard for myself by wanting something that's vanishingly rare

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

All sound advice. I keep fantasising about a new motor, but it might be a while. Had current one for six of its 11 years and although it's running very smoothly, it's starting to look its age a bit.

 

I THINK I know what I want to replace it with, but as usual I'm making life hard for myself by wanting something that's vanishingly rare

 

 

 

Don't tease! 

 

What have you got now and what are you thinking about? 

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1 minute ago, tom27111 said:

 

Don't tease! 

 

What have you got now and what are you thinking about? 

Oh go on then. I currently drive a Mazda 6, which is great for space, drives well but is thirsty (it's a petrol) I'd cheerily have another but there's no hatchback anymore for some reason (although the demise of the Mondeo suggests they're just not wanted).

 

I'd probably go for an Octavia as a replacement, not because I think they're great, just because there's not really any alternatives. I'd go for the older 1.4 engine as the newer 1.5 is causing problems that I'm not convinced VAG have found a fix for and knowing my luck I'd get one of the affected cars. These are 10 a penny even in the spec I want (SE-L) but the hassle comes in that if I got one I'd want one with the upgraded sound system ('Canton') which cannot be retrofitted and isn't an option many buyers went for. Apparently this isn't always even mentioned when cars are being advertised, which isn't helpful. I'd even consider an estate if one ticked the boxes

 

 

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I genuinely didn't even know there was a soundsystem upgrade in the Skoda!

 

I drove one as a demo for a while, a 67 plate, but the 2 litre. Very good on fuel and a good, practical car. I actually had it in lockdown 1 and was brilliant for lugging around a load of DIY equipment. 

 

The Superb is worth a look too in the estate.

 

With a car like that, I'd almost certainly say a car supermarket would be your best bet as a lot would have been lease cars from new.

 

Some people have negative thoughts about lease cars, but to be honest, they're usually well looked after so the company or individual who leased it doesn't incur extra costs when they hand the car back, plus they will have had regular services as part of the lease.

 

There's a place in Rushden, Croyland Motors, who have a sister company that leases cars. Instead of sending them to auction, they cut out the middleman and sell them themselves after being fully prepped, I'd recommend having a look on there. I sorted out a deal for my father in law there and they were very good.

 

SW cars in Peterborough are also good. I said about them months ago and I have a contact there now too.

 

If and when it does come up mate, by all means, give me a shout. It can be an absolute minefield.

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