garethj Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Not live? This was last week, although still relatively new by Daily Express standards. The faithful Suzuki has been brilliant, never had a ftp or anything even close to it however the lack of aircon in this recent heat has been a bit of a trial, especially with only one window that opens. The other problem is the daily commute is along a road with many, many speedbumps and where there's not a speedbump there's a pothole. Everyone else appears to just hammer over them at full speed, still I wonder why so many cars are getting snapped coil springs, it's a mystery, innit? In the winter time especially when commuting is done in the dark, the view in the rear mirror is some xenons getting really close as you slow for the bumps, then the icy blue searchlights bump up and down and then it begins again. We need an alternative, something reliable, roomy would be good and with aircon too. I mentioned the Honda Civic 'spaceship' to Mrs_garethj and she pulled a funny face, one that says "if you get one of those I'm going to park it on your head". My next favourite was the previous generation Civic, preferably a Type S for speedy subtle driving. Apparently it looks too much like a suppository for some people's tastes so that was out too. CRV it was, I did loads of research and it seems like the Mk2 (2002-2006) is better than the Mk1, newer would be too expensive and the diesels can be a bit crap as well as much more expensive to buy. After lots of ebay, Autotrader and Facebook searching I found that dreadful disappointment could be had for £1200 to £2000+ Anything below that had 150,000 miles or more and anything more expensive was just more expensive disappointment. It's the kind of price where backstreet dealers grab the stock so finding stuff that's sold privately and therefore with less profit is more difficult. Eventually the planets aligned and a car was spotted that was only 40 miles away, had only 80,000 on the clock, wasn't silver (another request from Mrs_garethj) and didn't have an MoT history that would be more often commonly seen on a Mk3 Escort. We drove down in the Volvo V70 which may be the world's most perfect practical car and on a blindingly hot day had a look at the Honda. If you've never been inside one of these, they're really good. I'm 6'1" tall and with the driver's seat all the way back for me to drive, I can still have reasonable legroom in the back. There's no centre console, no transmission tunnel and so even the person in the middle seat at the back gets somewhere to put their feet. The rear seat slides backwards and forwards so if you want to change the balance between carrying French wine and making the kids suffer even more, it's easy. I haggled a bit because the alternator was whining and it needed a new tyre, did a bank transfer and off we went. We stopped for petrol and Mrs_garethj was wondering what the actual fuck I was doing taking a picture of the car on the petrol station forecourt. The drive home was quiet and comfortable, there was no smoke at all under acceleration when I followed it and despite the impression that it leans in corners it's not really any worse than the Volvo, just obviously not as flat as the sporty Suzuki. Aircon blows really cold, this is just the SE model so it's only aircon rather than climate control but that's fine. The radio needed a code and even then appears to have zero radio reception but the CD player works and I'm going to get an aux lead for bluetooth stuff anyway. It's had a pair of new Michelins on the front and a new alternator has made the engine as quiet as it should be. Hopefully it will be as reliable as we need. holbeck, gm, wuvvum and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 4 wheel drive Hondas are for winners. garethj and Jim Bell 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Great cars - keep an eye on the oil level - some do burn a litre/1000 miles .If it makes a funny squeal from the back on full lock it needs the diff oil flushing and replacing with Honda dpsf.Handbrake cable adjustment under passenger seat.Low idle and stalling often caused by lazy fuckers not setting the valve clearances ( every 25k) There you go a quick intro to the crv mk2 Oh and to change the alternator take the drivers headlight out ( bumper corner off first ) Wingz123 and garethj 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Does the HRV take DPSF as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Yup it sure does wuvvum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 I have discovered that the Japanese seem to make the shittest aerials in the world. I can only assume they have radio transmitters every 200 yards over there or something. I can just forget about trying to listen to the radio in Wales, unless I'm not in a Japanese car. I find this odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi paul Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Lovely cars. Mine was a mark one and I gave it to my brother who has just sold it to a farmer Giles type in Devon. Think I read that the drivers window mechanism will break, mine did. It's an expensive day out to be fixed. Also agree with the Ariel business. My jap has original head unit in it. Reception is crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethj Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 I could live with a crap radio reception but this one has nothing at all. Is there a normal looking coax lead in the back or is it part of the multiplug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi paul Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Should be a normal lead somewhere. Maybe they took the good radio out before selling and forgot to connect it back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethj Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 Good guess, looks like it’s had an aftermarket radio and when they put the original back in they left the new aerial adapter in place. It’s a tiny bit smaller and the central core wasn’t touching anywhere so I took it out, plugged in the original cable and we’re good to go. Thanks for the help chaps, next week it’s aux bluetooth time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0ldCh0d Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Have you found the table in the boot floor yet?.....remove the plastic boot floor cover..it is a fold out table. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethj Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Yes, I knew about the picnic table although I'm gutted this one doesn't have the shower attachment option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Father-in-law seems to be getting on OK with his one. Got it through a couple of MoTs without too much hassle. He doesn't do a big mileage, I haven't got a clue whether it's using much oil (ought to check next time I'm down there). His has niggly issues that it would be nice to sort (like a broken sat-nav/ICE screen), but for his purposes it's absolutely fine. He didn't pay much for his (under £500 from memory). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethj Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 The prices for these seem all over the place, it’s only when you start to load up the list of requirements: not silver, low miles, clean previous MoTs... that you limit the number available. I also had a bit of a deadline because Mrs_garethj is driving to France next weekend and I quite like the idea of 2 weeks knocking around to make sure it’s alright. Last night I discovered the rear seats recline as well as slide forwards and backwards. It really is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Not silver is the biggest hurdle ! NH623M ! Christ I’m dull garethj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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