Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Nov 17, 2022 12:16:53 GMT
I saw a Yaris GR on the way into work this morning. I’ve got a Clio Trophy, one of the best hot hatches of all time, but I was still a little jealous I had a 2002 Ph2 172 which was probably my favourite car Ive ever owned, even more than my ep3 type-r. I got rid of it because every time I took it out, bits fell off it like a clown car and it was literally costing me a few hundred quid a month to keep it on the road. I saw it up on autotrader a few years ago and someone had restored it and had it up for 6k. I was so tempted to buy it back, like one of those episodes of wheeler dealers.
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EMarkM
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Post by EMarkM on Dec 7, 2022 15:08:02 GMT
Hello, vehicle fans!
Before I do something I regret, does anyone actually know if the Internet’s favourite method of buffing with toothpaste will properly work to get rid of the scratches on my headlight lenses?
They’re not too deep, having arisen from over-zealous demisting/defrosting over the years.
Thanks!
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quadfather
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Post by quadfather on Dec 7, 2022 15:25:28 GMT
I think I know where it’s coming in now quadfather I took it to the main dealer as I thought they’d have some expertise and experience but it was sadly lacking. Didn’t have to pay the £132 though, which was nice. I think they were a bit pissed off to be honest. When I turned up to pick it up this afternoon I said “I’m here to pick up my car” and the receptionist walked off without so much of a word, didn’t even ask my name. Came back, gave me the keys and said “Out that door, turn left and you’ll find it” I’ve done some research and I’m certain that it must be blocked with leaves and gunk under the scuttle panel so instead of water draining out, it’s coming through under the dashboard I need to take the scuttle panel out and the whole wiper mechanism to fix it. Or possibly blast it with a jet wash and see if it dislodges the crud How did you get on with your leak?
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minimatt
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Post by minimatt on Dec 7, 2022 15:28:03 GMT
does anyone actually know if the Internet’s favourite method of buffing with toothpaste will properly work to get rid of the scratches on my headlight lenses? yeah think so - have to do that with our ancient honda to get it through mot and while I've got a tube of whatever the guy at the motor store sold me it's texturally the same as toothpaste i think once you do that though you are committed to doing it fairly regularly - have to do ours because of age, uv yellowing, if you're doing it to buff out scratches you're also going to buff out whatever manufacturer anti-uv coating is remaining
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EMarkM
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Post by EMarkM on Dec 7, 2022 15:31:20 GMT
Smashing: I’ll probably have to give it a go. Noted re: the protective coating bit. Thanks
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Post by paulyboy81 on Dec 7, 2022 15:32:13 GMT
Yeah the toothpaste trick works, used it to clean up some Civic headlights that had fogged up with oxidisation over the years.
Not sure how well it will cope with actual scratches mind.
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Post by Dougs on Dec 7, 2022 15:46:09 GMT
Someone ran into the back of me earlier, as I was stationary waiting to pick my son up. Was very confused, had clocked them pull in and went back to browsing on my phone and then was shunted. Jumped out to find the woman wondering how on earth it happened. Can only assume she'd not put the handbrake on and took her foot off the brake and didn't realise. Minor damage really, scuffed up bumper and light but obviously still want it fixed so exchanged details etc. Fast forward to tonight and I get a text from her husband...it's a guy I went to school with! Makes things much easier. Will get a quote and see what he wants to do re insurance job or not. Timely bump, this is finally being fixed on Monday, hire car from Friday. 2 months nearly, good job the car was drivable...
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Post by retro74 on Dec 7, 2022 17:27:15 GMT
quadfather I’m no further forward really but it’s almost completely dry now. I don’t know if it’s a leak or just an incredible amount of condensation build up to be honest Even after a day the windscreen inside is completely wet, I left it 3 months without driving when the puddles appeared so it could just be that I’ve been driving it every day since to avoid a repeat but I really need to get back into the Golf now
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quadfather
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Post by quadfather on Dec 7, 2022 18:25:24 GMT
retro74Could be that. But then, how did the water get in, in the first place? Mine is dry at the minute, but only coz it hasn't rained for a while. It's due a service in a few more thousand miles, so I'll see what the guy says. He's helpful and I've done the majority of the labour myself, and even know from within where it gets down to the boot so maybe I can pin point it to the guy a bit better this time. He says.
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Post by retro74 on Dec 7, 2022 19:30:03 GMT
Yeah true, there must have been a point of ingress at one stage, and maybe the inside condensation now is the last remnants of what’s left?
It was probably what I said, something under the scuttle plate wasn’t allowing the rain to run away and because it was on a slope with front wheels higher than back wheels it was coming into the cabin
It’s parked front wheels low now and I’ve not had any more puddles
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minimatt
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Post by minimatt on Dec 15, 2022 7:56:21 GMT
did anyone ever invent windscreen washer jet pre heaters? and if not, where do I collect my millions?
* this post brought to you by smearing salt sludge across the windscreen and completing the journey by braille
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Post by PatrickEwing on Dec 15, 2022 8:46:07 GMT
My tesla (cunt) has heated windscreen pipey tubey things but doesn’t fuckin work. Been on all week and nothing. Can’t be bothered to get decent non freeze wash so spraying windscreen with a house cleaning spray. Pisses me off
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Post by killerbee on Dec 15, 2022 10:26:08 GMT
You can definitely get heated washer nozzles on a Skoda, so someone got there first I’m afraid!
So cold this morning that my door locks froze - opened fine, but then one of the back doors wouldn’t lock again. Bit worrying as I only noticed by accident. It seems to have sorted itself out after the drive to work with the heaters on max.
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Post by retro74 on Dec 15, 2022 11:30:36 GMT
Yeah my drivers door wouldn’t close after I’d eventually prised it open yesterday. Just kept slamming it until it did, not sure if that’s the best way to fix it but it worked
It was like the catch mechanism had frozen in place and refused to engage
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Fake_Blood
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Post by Fake_Blood on Dec 15, 2022 12:11:44 GMT
My tesla (cunt) has heated windscreen pipey tubey things but doesn’t fuckin work. Been on all week and nothing. Can’t be bothered to get decent non freeze wash so spraying windscreen with a house cleaning spray. Pisses me off I think you're supposed to put a Tesla in a garage (car hole).
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Post by Nitrous on Apr 12, 2023 5:18:56 GMT
So the wife has had enough of her 58 plate Ford Fiesta. The battery was dead over the weekend probably caused by the boot sensor basically saying it's open again so the lights will have come on. The radio doesn't work at all now and none of the buttons are lighting up. Leaks from the boot which has caused a puddle behind the driver's seat and smells like a pond. ABS has an intermittent fault message on the dash when it starts sometimes but clears and the door seal has started to come away. Any sign of a frost and it ices up on the inside of the front window but other than that runs fine.
I think the plan is she has my 15 plate Fiesta, and I use hers as a trade in for something else or flog it to we buy any car. Question is where do I start? I've only ever purchased new cars on fiance and would like to avoid that and buy cash but I've never had a used car before.
Cinch? Autotrader? Local small dealers?
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Post by freddiemercurystwin on Apr 12, 2023 7:02:04 GMT
Local independent or a main dealer for my money. Avoid any of the big chains, but that's me.
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Apr 12, 2023 8:11:34 GMT
Some of the big chains are alright. Ive bought a few cars from The Car Shop and they just want you in and out quickly so the price is the price and they make their margins by hitting you super hard on financing, warranty and all the extras. If you sort your money out before you go in, its fine.
Its good if youre not much of a haggler. The sticker price is usually at the low end of the market so you can just go in and pay.
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dogbot
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Post by dogbot on Apr 12, 2023 8:48:07 GMT
Yeah, that's basically my experience, too.
We went to Cazoo a couple of years ago for the Mini* and they were pretty good, but very pushy about things like finance.
The cars that they had in stock were all very good, though. There's none of the dodgy stuff you used to see on forecourts these days with the big sellers.
*Which I'm in the process of trying to change now. FWIW, Cinch seem to have a better range of cars.
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Apr 12, 2023 8:50:34 GMT
Anyone have an S-Max? Thinking about getting rid of my Kuga for something that has more space (and seats) but isn't just a bigger SUV.
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quadfather
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Post by quadfather on Apr 12, 2023 9:07:58 GMT
Honda Jazz, that's what you want.
Bizarrely, my boot has reduced the amount of water it's letting in. I really don't get it. It pissed it down for 2 days - one of those days, I was driving, so the car was moving in the rain, and the other day, it was parked up. Checked it after the 2 days. Bone dry. Bit weird, but I'll take it.
However, it still runs really well, I have to say. I'd love to have a test drive of a brand new on, or a civic or something. I definitely get on with Honda.
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Apr 12, 2023 9:12:33 GMT
We had a Volvo XC60 hybrid last week on hols and I have to say, its the best car Ive ever driven. I got back and jumped straight onto autotrader.
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Post by killerbee on Apr 12, 2023 9:19:23 GMT
If buying new, I found DrivetheDeal to be pretty good. Saved me about 20% on list price and they just put you in touch with a main dealer to complete the transaction - part ex, finance etc is just like any dealer transaction.
Try to find something that is in stock or has a guaranteed delivery date. Some cars still have very long waiting lists (and I say this as someone who has been waiting 15 months for a Skoda Enyaq through my work car scheme… I made a bad call, but can’t find anything now that comes close to the price I’ve agreed…)
For nearly new, the car supermarkets aren’t bad. I’ve bought from Motorpoint before and the price and service was good - just don’t touch their finance. You’ll be better off getting a personal loan if you need it and being a cash buyer.
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quadfather
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Post by quadfather on Apr 12, 2023 9:26:45 GMT
One thing that might be worth considering if you're in this specific scenario is, if you have a car on pcp lease, depending on how long you've had it, if you contact Motorway.co.uk, they will value it for you. I did this with a 19 plate bmw that had done 13k miles (because of covid). They told me they'd give me 15.6k for it. BMW's settlement figure was 12.5k. So I walked away from the whole lengthy pcp deal with 3k in my pocket and bought the jazz. It was a great feeling finally getting out of that finance agreement. NEVER AGAIN.
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Post by killerbee on Apr 12, 2023 9:33:25 GMT
Anyone have an S-Max? Thinking about getting rid of my Kuga for something that has more space (and seats) but isn't just a bigger SUV. I don’t have direct experience of the S-Max, but have some friends who had one and said it’s the worst car they’ve ever had for unreliability. It was constantly broken and in the garage. I’m sure they were just unlucky, but they’ve forever sworn off Fords as a result. Do you need the extra seats for kids? If you’ll be loaded with 5+ people regularly then I’d recommend looking for a car that has three full size seats across the middle row - Peugeot 5008 is a good bet. The current model is an SUV, but the older one was a decent medium-sized people carrier. BMW 2-Series Grand Tourer is meant to be a good premium brand option, but I’ve not driven one. If you can get away with a regular 5-seater but just need more room, the Golf SV (aka Golf Plus), Merc B-class (basically just a more spacious A-class) are good. My wife has the current B-class and while it’s not fashionable, it’s a very good car, with great tech.
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Post by PatrickEwing on Apr 12, 2023 9:42:24 GMT
Anyone have an S-Max? Thinking about getting rid of my Kuga for something that has more space (and seats) but isn't just a bigger SUV. I had two S-Max's when the kids were young when we needed three baby/child seats to fit. Didn't particular enjoy ownership and so tried a Discover Sport which was equal shit and so went back to the S-Max They are depressing as hell to own but if you want space for three seats it's one of the few options to allow equal space and reduced arguing / shouting, each seat has equal width and leg space and they recline independently. (plus the 2 seats in the back to give lifts to other shitty little kids when you need to) In hindsight I would have considered a VW transporter.
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Apr 12, 2023 10:03:32 GMT
Cheers. Missus wants the extra seats for convenience at this stage. We'll have a second baby come the summer and she likes to sit at the back for long car journeys. I think we can make do with a normal 5 seater as long it has good boot space, but I'm just the driver. I'd like to avoid going bigger than the Kuga if possible. And I'm also umming and ahhring about getting another Ford after the issues I've had with it. A Skoda Scala is what I'd quite like really. A smaller car, that actually has more boot space than the average SUV from what the specs/reviews suggest. And I've always enjoyed Skodas when I've driven them at work.
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Post by PatrickEwing on Apr 12, 2023 10:12:27 GMT
I would agree stay clear of Ford for reliability and quality of materials. Go with your gut on Skoda, they make good use of space with added compartments like umbrellas in doors don’t they?
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Post by Nitrous on Apr 12, 2023 11:00:55 GMT
Fwiw I have had no issues with my 2015 Fiesta and would consider another for the wife but the opportunity to test drive and own something else is hard to pass up. The wife will give me between £5/7.5k for mine and her car to trade in which once you factor in everything that's wrong with won't be worth much.
At the moment I'm leaning towards a Yaris if I can get on with that CVT gearbox. Never really wanted an auto but then could I find another 10k to go towards GR...
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Post by Nitrous on Apr 14, 2023 14:02:06 GMT
Had a test drive in the Yaris and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm dragging it out until the end of the month as apparently I'm likely to get a better deal.
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