beko1987 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 34 minutes ago, lesapandre said: Potholes - and they wonder why people buy 4x4's with decent suspension. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67957584 "The AA said it dealt with 631,852 pothole-related incidents related to tyres, wheels, steering, and suspension last year - another five-year high according to the organisation". Sounds a very high number of 'incidents'. Apparently robots and making the roads out of plastic is the answer. Must be a slow newsday - and another free advert for the AA. Part of the reason I plod along with the Xsara despite being bored of it is it's lovely 15" steels, £30 tyres and cheap suspension components! 👌 I'm sure I've knocked my tracking back out since having it done in September 😡 lesapandre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EyesWeldedShut Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 37 minutes ago, lesapandre said: Potholes - and they wonder why people buy 4x4's with decent suspension. and then stick 22" ultra low profiles on them HillmanImp and beko1987 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lankytim Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Drove over to the in-laws today and gave the FOX a very quick going over with a bucket and sponge. It hasn’t been washed in a couple of years and was pretty green. First of all I swapped the battery for a fully charged one. What’s with this stupid plastic cage on top of the battery? I couldn’t figure how to remove it and it ended up breaking. No doubt a YouTube video would demonstrate how easy it is to remove in 10 seconds or something. The engine bay itself looks like it belongs to a car that’s been parked up for decades, lots of ally corrosion and cobwebs. With a fresh battery the FOX started first time. Everything seems to work, electric power steering, brakes, windows etc and nothing is seized. Cleaning it showed it to be in pretty good shape with a few small thumbnail dents on one rear quarter and the the odd scratch. Very good for its age. Interior looks very good with nothing broken or badly worn. The paint is a weird pewter grey colour that used to be popular a while back, a good polish should bring it up very well. I think it might’ve had one of those ceramic treatments dealers used to offer as there doesn’t seem to be any oxidisation. One tyre is badly perished (Michelin obv) but the spare has a new tyre fitted so will get swapped over. Despite being very smoll the Fox is pretty tall and my 6ft1 frame fits behind the wheel with no issue. The rear seats are pretty comfy too although it’s strictly a 4 seater rather than 5. It deffo seems too good to crush. Should I give the Laguna a break for a few months and experience some South American minimalist motoring? HillmanImp, Coprolalia, AnnoyingPentium and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogee Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 22 hours ago, dozeydustman said: old rotten giffer-made workbench out of the garage We had one of these when we got keys to current house. Estate agent asked if we wanted a 'workbench' in the garage, so I said yes please, expecting, well, a workbench. What I discovered was not a workbench, it was a hot mess of 2x4, ply, no more nails, screws and some distinctly non-compliant electrics as the icing on the cake. The guy was an absolute bodger, he'd wired up the (metal) shed with a fluorescent tube supported by cable ties. We're still discovering little surprises he's left for us around the house. Twat. BorniteIdentity, Rust Collector and loserone 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogee Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 52 minutes ago, Lankytim said: With a fresh battery the FOX started first time. Everything seems to work, electric power steering, brakes, windows etc and nothing is seized. I liked these when they came out. The muttering rotters were a bit dismissive about its 10/10ths handling, completely missing the point as usual. What appealed to me was the low-tech robust design suited to Brazilian roads, ie long travel suspension and good ground clearance - something the average Brit still doesn't understand when they moan about buckled alloys on their new Audi with 21" rims. RoverFolkUs has said that a few of the 1.2s have escaped from valve trouble, maybe by being ACTUALLY SERVICED as opposed to the usual shopping car neglect. The one thing I didn't like was the spec seemed to be quite basic unless you forked out for 'Urban' or the like which pushed the price into Polo territory anyway. Probably brilliant as a WBOD as I bet that little engine warms up quickly. chodweaver, Lankytim and Asimo 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozeydustman Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 11 minutes ago, grogee said: We had one of these when we got keys to current house. Estate agent asked if we wanted a 'workbench' in the garage, so I said yes please, expecting, well, a workbench. What I discovered was not a workbench, it was a hot mess of 2x4, ply, no more nails, screws and some distinctly non-compliant electrics as the icing on the cake. The guy was an absolute bodger, he'd wired up the (metal) shed with a fluorescent tube supported by cable ties. We're still discovering little surprises he's left for us around the house. Twat. The garage wiring is definitely non-compliant, so I’m not running anything over 1kW power in there. Mainly lights and occasional power drill. grogee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lankytim Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 4 minutes ago, grogee said: I liked these when they came out. The muttering rotters were a bit dismissive about its 10/10ths handling, completely missing the point as usual. What appealed to me was the low-tech robust design suited to Brazilian roads, ie long travel suspension and good ground clearance - something the average Brit still doesn't understand when they moan about buckled alloys on their new Audi with 21" rims. RoverFolkUs has said that a few of the 1.2s have escaped from valve trouble, maybe by being ACTUALLY SERVICED as opposed to the usual shopping car neglect. The one thing I didn't like was the spec seemed to be quite basic unless you forked out for 'Urban' or the like which pushed the price into Polo territory anyway. Probably brilliant as a WBOD as I bet that little engine warms up quickly. I did notice the high ground clearance, it’s quite utilitarian. On the V5c it’s listed as an URBAN FOX 55, I’m guessing that’s why it’s got electric front windows. Googling these 1200 3cyl engines gives mixed reviews. Many have had timing chain problems. I guess it’s the nature of the market segment that these cars get neglected and impending issues get ignored until it’s too late. grogee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozeydustman Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Today has been busy. I did a half day this morning due to lack of supervisors. 04:00 - 09:00. Then did 800m in the swimming pool. At the weekend @Scrap’s Saab 9-3 (ex @CaptainBoom) managed to hoover up some water in the air intake, thankfully no damage caused and a new air filter sorted out the rough running. Old one was drenched. I also showed Scrap how to do an oil change. Couldn’t be bothered to get all the undershields off, so I popped my vac-pump cherry. Glorious* carpet. The Saab now sounds a lot better with clean liquid dinosaurs running around its internals, and it’s a lot easier to get to the filter than the poxy Fiat lump in mine. After this I cleared out the remaining old shite in the garage that is either destined for the shed or tip, assembled to table saw I won on eBay for £30, and parked the Citroën under cover. Still some shed stuff in the garage, but once I put some hangers and hooks in the shed I can clear the deck. Yes, the wiring is terrible, but it’s one of my next projects. Yes, I have installed a garage door opener. Does this make me a tosser? Tickman, Rust Collector, Supernaut and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogee Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 8 minutes ago, dozeydustman said: garage door opener Tosser. Not really, I bet it's very useful and I'd like one. dozeydustman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozeydustman Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 7 minutes ago, grogee said: I'd like one This was a universal one I got on eBay for about £140, since gone up in price. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113812043157 grogee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 2 hours ago, Lankytim said: Drove over to the in-laws today and gave the FOX a very quick going over with a bucket and sponge. It hasn’t been washed in a couple of years and was pretty green. First of all I swapped the battery for a fully charged one. What’s with this stupid plastic cage on top of the battery? I couldn’t figure how to remove it and it ended up breaking. No doubt a YouTube video would demonstrate how easy it is to remove in 10 seconds or something. The engine bay itself looks like it belongs to a car that’s been parked up for decades, lots of ally corrosion and cobwebs. With a fresh battery the FOX started first time. Everything seems to work, electric power steering, brakes, windows etc and nothing is seized. Cleaning it showed it to be in pretty good shape with a few small thumbnail dents on one rear quarter and the the odd scratch. Very good for its age. Interior looks very good with nothing broken or badly worn. The paint is a weird pewter grey colour that used to be popular a while back, a good polish should bring it up very well. I think it might’ve had one of those ceramic treatments dealers used to offer as there doesn’t seem to be any oxidisation. One tyre is badly perished (Michelin obv) but the spare has a new tyre fitted so will get swapped over. Despite being very smoll the Fox is pretty tall and my 6ft1 frame fits behind the wheel with no issue. The rear seats are pretty comfy too although it’s strictly a 4 seater rather than 5. It deffo seems too good to crush. Should I give the Laguna a break for a few months and experience some South American minimalist motoring? Nice find. As regards the battery cage, that's typical VAG. Everything made of pointless and intricate plastic mouldings that have no obvious way of dismantling without the full factory workshop manual. But it looks so neat! Lankytim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefoot Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 1 hour ago, grogee said: I liked these when they came out. The muttering rotters were a bit dismissive about its 10/10ths handling, completely missing the point as usual. What appealed to me was the low-tech robust design suited to Brazilian roads, ie long travel suspension and good ground clearance - something the average Brit still doesn't understand when they moan about buckled alloys on their new Audi with 21" rims. RoverFolkUs has said that a few of the 1.2s have escaped from valve trouble, maybe by being ACTUALLY SERVICED as opposed to the usual shopping car neglect. The one thing I didn't like was the spec seemed to be quite basic unless you forked out for 'Urban' or the like which pushed the price into Polo territory anyway. Probably brilliant as a WBOD as I bet that little engine warms up quickly. I had one of these as a courtesy car for a week and it was fine. As you say, a bit basic but not the worst thing I've ever driven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Tidybeard Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 OMG AN FOX WOT ISN'T RED SHOCKER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back_For_More Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Local garage lads seem to keep finding these unmolested crackers as side projects...... the bastards 😁 Was garaged 2014 by giffer owner apparently Has a couple of garage storage dents and dings..... But looks to be a corker - obviously I put in a hopeful 'is it available' query but I'm not holding my breath. HillmanImp, dome, Minimad5 and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozeydustman Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 1 hour ago, Back_For_More said: Local garage lads seem to keep finding these unmolested crackers as side projects...... the bastards 😁 Was garaged 2014 by giffer owner apparently Has a couple of garage storage dents and dings..... But looks to be a corker - obviously I put in a hopeful 'is it available' query but I'm not holding my breath. That looks a real peach. Hopefully they get back to you Back_For_More 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Thought this was interesting from the home of the automobile Asimo and grogee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Collector Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 'following standard budgeting advice, which says you shouldn't spend more than 10 percent of your monthly income on car-related expenses' grogee, CGSB, nomiST and 22 others 2 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 That 10% figure of monthly income is interesting. Even if I forget the years when I had finance to buy something, I suspect that tax, servicing, insurance etc was never very often below that amount. egg and grogee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camryv6 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 21 hours ago, dozeydustman said: Today has been busy. I did a half day this morning due to lack of supervisors. 04:00 - 09:00. Then did 800m in the swimming pool. At the weekend @Scrap’s Saab 9-3 (ex @CaptainBoom) managed to hoover up some water in the air intake, thankfully no damage caused and a new air filter sorted out the rough running. Old one was drenched. I also showed Scrap how to do an oil change. Couldn’t be bothered to get all the undershields off, so I popped my vac-pump cherry. Glorious* carpet. The Saab now sounds a lot better with clean liquid dinosaurs running around its internals, and it’s a lot easier to get to the filter than the poxy Fiat lump in mine. After this I cleared out the remaining old shite in the garage that is either destined for the shed or tip, assembled to table saw I won on eBay for £30, and parked the Citroën under cover. Still some shed stuff in the garage, but once I put some hangers and hooks in the shed I can clear the deck. Yes, the wiring is terrible, but it’s one of my next projects. Yes, I have installed a garage door opener. Does this make me a tosser? I read that as you did 800 miles in the swimming pool, i presume i read that wrong ? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dozeydustman Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Just now, camryv6 said: I read that as you did 800 miles in the swimming pool, i presume i read that wrong ? lol 800 metres. Which in miles would register at 0.5 or thereabouts. Haven’t swum that sort of length since I was 11! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BL Bloke Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said: That 10% figure of monthly income is interesting. Even if I forget the years when I had finance to buy something, I suspect that tax, servicing, insurance etc was never very often below that amount. Last year I spent 13.5% just on tax and insurance. If I add in servicing, repairs, fuel and garage rent it went up to over 30%. 😲 Time for a clear out, I think. In other news, I was on the A456 in Halesowen earlier and saw a Class 09 diesel shunter on the back of a low loader, not something you see every day. Rust Collector, egg and catsinthewelder 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, egg said: Thought this was interesting from the home of the automobile The plan is working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesacosa Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 chodweaver, PicantoJon, Back_For_More and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcyonecorporation Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 @dollywobbler has a drone. He inadvertently ended up making something that looked like a late nineties grunge video. I got the filters out. Well, fuck you, I liked it. chodweaver, AnnoyingPentium, CaptainBoom and 21 others 8 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnoyingPentium Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 14/01/2024 at 20:19, grogee said: Went to BiL's house today for a family gathering. He rents his garage out to a mate who is a car dweeb like us and previously there was some JDM saloon in there that he's now done up and sold. Now he's got this Celica GT-4 which has just been in for bodywork and it looks the bollocks. I'd love one of these. Very very nice. Reminds me of my Dad's one. grogee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Excellent! Had one of those, they're great little things. Manual or auto? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vantman Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 27 minutes ago, wuvvum said: Excellent! Had one of those, they're great little things. Manual or auto? Auto--1.3 Hopefully! wuvvum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Same spec as I had then. Not that great on fuel (as is normal for a small petrol engine with a torque converter auto) but nice and easy to drive, apart from slightly heavy steering. Also way ahead of their time styling wise. alcyonecorporation 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJK 24 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 American car buying advice above is interesting. They will claw a bit back compared to use with the cost of petrol? Well, the ones driving 1600cc Kia’s will. The others driving huge V8’s, less so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJK 24 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Does this belong to someone on here? Seems really familiar, but annoyingly, I can’t place it! G reg Renault 5 in Liverpool. Red with white wheels. Brilliant photo of it leaving Aldi in miserable winter weather! alcyonecorporation 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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