The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

It's quite nice out. Also, black is a horrible colour. This car is NEVER clean.

[DVee8]

Does either of you also fancy doing some welding in around 5 months' time?  If so, I have just the thing...

 

(would obvs be somewhat cheaper than the 500 quid I was asking for it before)

Tell us more.

[xtriple]

The bullet is well and truly, bitten! I have booked the Kia of much indifference in for an MOT test tomorrow at 11:00, I am secretly sure it will fail in grand fashion

 

However, went to the local car accessory shop to buy some decent jumpleads (more in a moment on this) and while distracted by the chap as I was walking away, missed my footing, walking stick slipped on the smooth floor and I went down like a sack of shit. Consequently, the guy behind the counter ended up helping me check lights and wipers and stuff as they were worried I'd sue. I wouldn't, ever, just one of those things but it was really nice to play the 'poor old soldier' routine and get some help   Everything was fine....

 

Reason for jumpleads: the battery on the Bentley is flat, can't remember the last time I used it (I am a useless twat), called a mate who came out with the cheapest, thinnest, mankiest leads I have ever seen which started getting very warm, smoking and then the positive clip fell apart all within about 30 seconds! The battery is not dead flat, all the lights work and stuff, radio coming on, just too flat to start so it only needs a little boost.... I hope!

 

As I couldn't use the Bentley, I had to do the unthinkable and go and put petrol in the Kia, near broke my heart it did

[Kiltox]

Colt is gone.

[richardmorris]

Glad you're ok xtriple. At least you slipped - when you start talking of "having a fall" the care home is a mere Bentley ride away!

Do you have power in your garage? I keep my X1/9 permanently plugged in on a conditioner. Last battery was fine at nine years old.

The last time I used my jump leads was to rescue a damsel in distress at egham shell. Her car wouldn't start and was asking for help- I'd seen a couple drive off whilst I was filling up the cx and so couldn't refuse.

[Kiltox]

Might have a grotty old Mk4 Astra van coming in soon, MOT fail mostly on brake pipes

 

No idea what I'll do with it

[Bear]

I keep being tempted with this C5 Tourer. It's only a bit over 7 years old. It has a colour LCD display in the middle of the dashboard, with menus in, like a modern car.

 

Is it bad that finances aside, the main thing holding me back from such an eminently sensible beast is that I just feel wrong not driving a Mercedes?

 

(It does 60mph cruising, six-speed gearbox and it handles well too. Even the tailgate opens without having to touch it).

[vulgalour]

Had a lovely little windfall this month, in part thanks to the pound doing a Hindenburg against the dollar so my project income translated into considerably more than usual.  That means I should have enough now to get the Renault's engine measured and possibly even fixed this month providing I can get the parts and it's nothing too serious.  There is a certain irony when you consider the likely cause of the economic crash and the nationality of the vehicle it is assisting.

[Six-cylinder]

I keep being tempted with this C5 Tourer. It's only a bit over 7 years old. It has a colour LCD display in the middle of the dashboard, with menus in, like a modern car.

 

Is it bad that finances aside, the main thing holding me back from such an eminently sensible beast is that I just feel wrong not driving a Mercedes?

 

(It does 60mph cruising, six-speed gearbox and it handles well too. Even the tailgate opens without having to touch it).

I have a friend who had a 2003 2.2 diesel and that was a bit of a pain with poor cold starting that could not be traced and a faulty electronic arial. His current 2006 C5 2.0 diesel auto old shape seems ok, no issues so far. I think you will probably be ok but they do seem prone to electronic gremlins, which are are hard to trace/expensive if they hit you.

[Guest Hooli]

I completed the LED test on the milometer t'other day.

 

[barefoot]

The 944 was returned to me last night after it's clutch and torque tube change. To say that the car is transformed is an understatement.

All transmission shunt has gone, it is as smooth (almost) as the Jaaaaag and much, much more brisklier than I remembered.

[Bear]

I have a friend who had a 2003 2.2 diesel and that was a bit of a pain with poor cold starting that could not be traced and a faulty electronic arial. His current 2006 C5 2.0 diesel auto old shape seems ok, no issues so far. I think you will probably be ok but they do seem prone to electronic gremlins, which are are hard to trace/expensive if they hit you.

 

 

Yeah, I wouldn't like to be responsible for one after the 'ten years part supply' agreement ended - that's why I don't have an XM. This is a 2009 model so quite close to the last ones on sale (no idea which engine beyond it's 2.0 according to DVLA). Moot point, kinda - I can't afford it, but it's nice to get to play. Rationally, for what it would cost, I'm an idiot as I'd probably get 2-4 years of relatively pain-free (and comforable) use out of it. Half the asking price is pretty much accounted for by the new tyres on it!

[Roverageous]

So fucked off with the state of Buckinghamshire's roads. Had to do Aylesbury to Slough today for a meeting & roads were horrifically rough - sounds like droplinks have gone AGAIN (3rd set within a year - and no there's nothing wrong with the suspension causing them to go - it's been looked at by two specialists).

 

And the round trip took a total of 4 hours 45 minutes. For a 40 mile round trip.

 

Pathetic.

 

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[beko1987]

So fucked off with the state of Buckinghamshire's roads. Had to do Aylesbury to Slough today for a meeting & roads were horrifically rough - sounds like droplinks have gone AGAIN (3rd set within a year - and no there's nothing wrong with the suspension causing them to go - it's been looked at by two specialists).

 

And the round trip took a total of 4 hours 45 minutes. For a 40 mile round trip.

 

Pathetic.

 

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You get used to it! One of the reasons I went liquid suspension!

[MarvinsMom]

the roads bout Nottingham are no better, the front end of my 75 has started clattering again after driving over these freshly ploughed fields roads to get too and from work.

 

these have done reasonably* well having been on the car for 6 months.

 

in common though with everything new though, the only replacement bits all seem to be made of cream cheese....... 

 

which pisses me off even more!

[Roverageous]

Sorry chaps didn't mean to grumble but I'm getting really fed up with 75 suspensions (this one has had 2 sets of droplinks, lower arms, bushes etc...) - to be honest I've never had one that was quiet which ruins the experience somewhat.

 

There's a really nice one owner, low mileage, cambelt done, C5 exclusive for sale around here which is really starting to tempt me.

 

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[dollywobbler]

The RAV has a soft rear tyre. If one of my lovely new Michelin tyres has a puncture, I will not be a happy boy. 

[Bren]

Sorry chaps didn't mean to grumble but I'm getting really fed up with 75 suspensions (this one has had 2 sets of droplinks, lower arms, bushes etc...) - to be honest I've never had one that was quiet which ruins the experience somewhat.

There's a really nice one owner, low mileage, cambelt done, C5 exclusive for sale around here which is really starting to tempt me.

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Vectra c is just as bad - poor quality parts, perhaps never good enough in the first place and crap roads keep euro car parts in business.

[twosmoke300]

Was gonna ask where you guys are getting your suspension parts. Some cheap stuff is complete rubbish .

[RobT]

Was gonna ask where you guys are getting your suspension parts. Some cheap stuff is complete rubbish .

I think the front shock absorber bushes on my XJ6 need replacing, anywhere you'd recommend? Britishparts have them for 15 quid the complete kit, which sounds reasonable unless they turn out to be shit!

[MarvinsMom]

suspension parts? well, fleabay, if desperate, i've tried dealers off of the 75 owners club forum, rimmer bros and the local motor factors. 

 

all have been much of a much-ness though the range of prices asked does vary widely!

 

after trying expensive MGR genuine? parts and cheaper bits, i've come to the conlusion that they are all crap.

 

so, i won't use firstline ones (about £12 each for drop links), as they are shit lasting only a couple of months, and the genuine ones (they were £25-30 each?) and were pretty rubbish too, lasting 6 or so months before the rattle started again.

 

i've settled on Delphi ones. they were maybe £15 or so each, but are cheap enough to change as a service part if needed and imo they seem to be better than some on sale, and no worse than others.

 

as BMW's use the same wanky bit of crap to fasten the ARB to the bottom of the strut, i have wondered what parts they use, and if they are interchangeable with the Rover ones?

[Barry Cade]

Stay away from ecp ocap stuff,in a black box. It really is chocolate. Why can't people make rubber stuff that lasts now either?

[Pete-M]

I got a call from a friend yesterday. "Can you come and help me, I'm buying a car on ebay and want you to check it over before I give the guy the money". "Where is it?", "Down south somewhere".

 

So, I get the number of the bloke who's selling the car. Ask the usual questions and the seller gives all the right answers, car is described as "lovely, totally reliable, used every day, had it for ages, whatever it has needed it's has had, money no object. Only selling due to having bought something more family friendly, etc". Car sounds like exactly what my friend is after, but the seller will only be around either early in the morning or late at night as he's an electrician. My pal takes the day off work and we set off at 3.30am this morning to go and collect the car.

 

5.5 hours and 286 miles later we're outside a house on the Sahhhhf coast. Mr 'electrician' is nowhere to be seen but has left his son to deal with 'signing the paperwork'. The house has all the signs of a home trader, there's a scruffy Range Rover sport up the drive along with a dead Jag X type, a couple of dead Peugeot x07s and the back end of a recovery truck half hidden out of sight.

 

The car we've gone to get, a Mazda MX5 is in the street. Filthy and seriously abused. The 'used daily' Mazda has all four brake discs rusted around the brake pads, plants growing through the alloys, cobwebs half an inch thick around the crank and alternator pulleys, and an engine with a big end a knock you could probably hear from Ohio.

 

According to the 9 month MOT the car has done just over 3000 miles since passing the test 3 months ago. I don't think that car had moved for a minimum of six months.

 

So, as usual, the 'avoid cars with 9 month remaining MOT' rule should have been adhered to.....

 

Didn't buy the car.

[SiC]

Bleeding heck. That's a long way to drive for an MX5 no matter what spec it is!

[mercrocker]

What do these berks think when mis-describing their scrap?    That people are going to rock up and say "Fuck me, thats shit....Tell you what, though, we've come a long way so we will buy it anyhow?"  

 

Probably be re-advertised due to "timewasters".......Pity there is no "fuck-knuckle" button on Ebay listings.

[Bear]

What do these berks think when mis-describing their scrap?    That people are going to rock up and say "Fuck me, thats shit....Tell you what, though, we've come a long way so we will buy it anyhow?"  

 

 

Pretty much...

[wuvvum]

Tell us more.

It's as it was in the for sale thread (http://autoshite.com/topic/25698-mgf), except it's now had the front to rear coolant pipes replaced (good) and I poked holes in the back of both outer sills (bad).  It's going to need the rearmost 8" or so of each sill welded for the next MOT in March next year, and probably another smaller patch further down on the nearside.  Underneath is all good, as are the front half of the sills.

[Timewaster]

I got a call from a friend yesterday. "Can you come and help me, I'm buying a car on ebay and want you to check it over before I give the guy the money". "Where is it?", "Down south somewhere".

The house has all the signs of a home trader, there's a scruffy Range Rover sport up the drive along with a dead Jag X type, a couple of dead Peugeot x07s and the back end of a recovery truck half hidden out of sight

5 minutes looking on Google earth could have saved a lot of time and grief.

[Pete-M]

5 minutes looking on Google earth could have saved a lot of time and grief.

Yup. The ebay seller not being a lying tw@ would also have the same effect. The house wasn't on street view, not all of them are.

 

Also, if you look at my house on street view, there's a Granada Mk2 estate, an XJR and an Impreza WRX outside. I've not owned any of the above cars for something like three years.

[320touring]

Apparently my new sparkly stick of metal gluage is due today:)

 

Woooop!