The new news 24 thread

[Jazoli]

Anyone want a Ford Focus? It is a 55plate 1.6 petrol red 5 door 94k miles mot till Jan16 £500.a little worn.

 

One of the lads i work with is spunking £400 a month over 3 years to lease a Mondeo so that's around £14000 for a car that he won't own.

 

So he asked if i knew anyone that may want a Focus. i said i would ask around.

 

This colour.This is NOT the car,just a guide on the colour.

Yep we are looking for something like that, where is the car located? Cheers

[diesel=ambrosia]

Just sold my van. Was quite sad parting with it, served me very well over the past year. On the plus side I now have £650 quite burning a hole in my pocket ready to be spent on a winter project.

[DVee8]

Jazoli the focus is around Sunderland,North East.

 

 

Edit :- The focus seems to be sold to his G/F's  brother.But he didn't seen to convinced and said he would come back to me,so watch this space.

[xtriple]

Thanks for the words of encouragement chaps, I shall off to jolly old Exeter in a minute or two and report back.

 

I thought the red one was a bit steep on the price but being private, I can haggle hard and beat the bugger down - never had so much luck when trying it on with dealers! However, having had a chat with Specialist cars, they are selling it for a customer... so, no real reason to buy from them?

 

This is one of those decisions that I really shouldn't even be contemplating as parking round here is a nightmare and I don't think a BTR will fit inside a disabled bay! However, I bought an MX5 when I had two dogs and could barely walk/use a clutch so sense doesn't seem to figure highly in my decision making!

 

Mentioned this to Jo yesterday and I was NOT greeted with any enthusiasm and I was told to buy Premium bonds instead and stop being so 'bloody stupid'! How is it she is running my life (or trying to) when she is my 'not my girl friend' ?

 

Also, do I keep the Honda (more keen as the prices of them have risen - how the fuck....?) or sell it and just have one heap?

[tooSavvy]

WayyHayy.... My Amazon foot rubbers have just turned up 

 

 

 

 

 

£8 of anyones cash....

 

 

TS

[Coprolalia]

Stealth skudder in local VW-man having rear brake calipers and bearings done.

 

Useless VAG rubbish.

 

Her indoors days I can't play with my toys until I've finished insulating the cellar. Boo.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Thanks for the words of encouragement chaps, I shall off to jolly old Exeter in a minute or two and report back.

 

I thought the red one was a bit steep on the price but being private, I can haggle hard and beat the bugger down - never had so much luck when trying it on with dealers! However, having had a chat with Specialist cars, they are selling it for a customer... so, no real reason to buy from them?

 

This is one of those decisions that I really shouldn't even be contemplating as parking round here is a nightmare and I don't think a BTR will fit inside a disabled bay! However, I bought an MX5 when I had two dogs and could barely walk/use a clutch so sense doesn't seem to figure highly in my decision making!

 

Mentioned this to Jo yesterday and I was NOT greeted with any enthusiasm and I was told to buy Premium bonds instead and stop being so 'bloody stupid'! How is it she is running my life (or trying to) when she is my 'not my girl friend' ?

 

Also, do I keep the Honda (more keen as the prices of them have risen - how the fuck....?) or sell it and just have one heap?

As you don't appear to do many miles keeping the Honda would seem a bit perverse,especially if it's still worth what you paid for it. That situation will change overnight, get out while the goings good, also a Bentley will suffer from lack of use, so you need to be using it at least a couple of times a week.

As for the Not Girlfriend - chicks love Bentleys, well I say chicks more milfs and they might love the thought that you might be a millionaire more than the Bentley , but the effect is the same. Just get them to take their shoes off before a leather dash roll or headlining gets punctured.

[The Moog]

Thanks for the words of encouragement chaps, I shall off to jolly old Exeter in a minute or two and report back.

 

I thought the red one was a bit steep on the price but being private, I can haggle hard and beat the bugger down - never had so much luck when trying it on with dealers! However, having had a chat with Specialist cars, they are selling it for a customer... so, no real reason to buy from them?

 

This is one of those decisions that I really shouldn't even be contemplating as parking round here is a nightmare and I don't think a BTR will fit inside a disabled bay! However, I bought an MX5 when I had two dogs and could barely walk/use a clutch so sense doesn't seem to figure highly in my decision making!

 

Mentioned this to Jo yesterday and I was NOT greeted with any enthusiasm and I was told to buy Premium bonds instead and stop being so 'bloody stupid'! How is it she is running my life (or trying to) when she is my 'not my girl friend' ?

 

Also, do I keep the Honda (more keen as the prices of them have risen - how the fuck....?) or sell it and just have one heap?

Can I have 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 in the (not) rolls Royce roffle

[anonymous user]

Stop procrastinating and just buy the Bentley, if you've always wanted one and can afford it without borrowing the money get it done. My biggest regret is not buying a Bristol when I could afford it, I was "sensible", now I doubt that I will ever afford one.

[xtriple]

Been to see it and was .... mightily impressed! Not a bit like the other shonky heaps I've viewed. All four wheel arches are mint with not a trace of rot or rust or blisters (rare!) and apart from a tiny weeny bit of blistering round the left hand rear door handle, no alloy corrosion problems either. Under the bonnet is mint (turbo is the size of a small house - rent it to immigrants?) and the engine is silent when started - tiny bit of tappet noise which went in a couple of seconds. All four tyres are lovely Avon Turbosteels and as new, and the interior is lovely. Boot is mint and has a full toolkit/CD changer and bottles of mineral oil behind the flap.

 

Driving it was LOVELY! I didn't think it had any punch to it but then you glance at the speedo and it's a lot higher than you expect, lovely quiet V8 burble, smooth box, good brakes (getting new pads before sale) and everything works beautifully.

 

It was very different to drive than the Honda!

 

The steering is smooth and heavier than I expected, brakes are heavy (er than the Honda) and the auto-box was simply sooper! It was lovely. Only faults are: loads of paint chips and the odd car park dent but, the passenger side doors have been repaired from what looks like a scrape and while the colour match is perfect there's loads of sub surface scratches, which annoys me! Do the job right you twats!

 

From a foot away it's invisible and there are no dents or anything so not too bad - just wanting perfection for sweet FA money!  It really is a lovely old thing and just feels wonderful to drive and not anywhere near as big as it is, suspension is sporty (!) and it handles well, and the underside looks perfect as well with no leaks, bugger all rust marks, and perfect sills and floors.

 

I bid £8500 which the guy doesn't think the owner will take as he has a couple of nasty bills to pay still!

 

Their prices for servicing surprised me somewhat. It's just had a 'B' service (plugs, filters air and oil etc, gearbox oil and filters, axle oil etc) and they charged £1100. Then there's £800 for the DIM (driver information module) which just tells you which gear you're in to pay as well. Apparently, an oil and filter service is about £500 which sounds a fooking lot to me for ten litres of oil and a filter from Halfords!

 

SO, thoughts?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Are you sure the £500 is just an oil change, that sounds about what independent places charge for a 6,000 mile service ,which isn't much more than an oil change but would mean everything would be checked and all levels topped up etc. plus that valuable history gets another scrap of paper!

[dome]

SO, thoughts?

Get. It. Bought. As long as I've been on this forum you've wanted one. Sounds like you've found a good one so do it. It's meant to be.

[Lord Sterling]

KV6 of heartache is now ready. Mahmoud also discovered that the flapping noise coming from the engine was the small belt to the right of the engine, the belt has been stretched and is therefore flapping a bit. He is going to try and adjust it. The flapping noise has been there since I got the car in 2013.

 

Apart from that, Rover is back in the game, at least for now.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Get it bought man!!! You might find an adjustment in Jo's 'not your girlfriend' situation for a start. And you will be able to chip in some shite* ownership experience contributions on here. Finally you can annoy thick bastard 'benefit scrounger' moaner types by cheerfully telling them you bought it with 'some' of your incapacity benefit money

[panhard65]

Yeap just buy it you won't lose much on it but I wouldn't pay thier prices for a service. They aren't that difficult to look after. The red brooklands wouldn't be a turbo so the active ride Mulsanne is the better car and in green will be easy to sell on. Don't worry about the "not the girlfriend" thinking it's a bad idea she hasn't had a ride in it yet, that would change her mind

[anonymous user]

Yesterday I went straight from work, in a hired van, to collect the Ifor Williams canopy I've bought off ebay ready for the Land Rover. New Transits are quite comfy and go a bit quicker than I expected, enough to get the sat-nav to tell me off a few times. The bit that made me grin on the trip was that I had the radio on and just as I was entering the tunnels by Monmouth it was playing Matt Monro "On days like these", luckily a Transit is not a Miura and no excavator was waiting for me.  The canopy slotted in the van nicely and I was able to unload it myself when I got home. I picked up the four missing J bolts, needed to fix it to the load-bed, from a local fixings supplier, so it's ready and waiting.

[dollywobbler]

Agree with Bentley buying. Get the job done. If you buy a decent one, you shouldn't have much bother shifting it on again. I haven't owned many actually nice cars, but have managed to avoid crushing losses. There are LOTS of specialists for these out there too, so do shop around. 

[Skizzer]

In much the same spirit, I may have just bought a V12 XJ-S.  I found a seller hidden away that hasn't yet heard that they've suddenly become stupidly expensive.

[Six-cylinder]

I have been to Earls Barton Classic show near Northampton this evening, what a selection of cars something for everybody. I could not believe my eyes two BMW 2000CS s together!

[RobT]

Been to view a slightly shonky Merc W123 after work today. Rear arches contain wob and there's some poor quality re-spraying in parts. But the lad selling it was decent and he's done lots to it mechanically, so instinct tells me it'd be a good proposition. I know bugger all about these and they've never been on my radar, but I love the bouncy driver's seat with built-in suspension! After a bit of research I reckon a grand to £1,200 is a fair price, am I close do you reckon? It's a 2.3 petrol with 167k miles, and apart from a dubious OS rear sill is solid underneath.

 

Seems a bit odd contemplating spending that much on a car when I normally reside in sub-500 land buying worthless old shite.

 

Can't upload pics on this ruddy tablet at the moment, but here's the link

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151805142426?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[derskine]

Been to view a slightly shonky Merc W123 after work today. Rear arches contain wob and there's some poor quality re-spraying in parts. But the lad selling it was decent and he's done lots to it mechanically, so instinct tells me it'd be a good proposition. I know bugger all about these and they've never been on my radar, but I love the bouncy driver's seat with built-in suspension! After a bit of research I reckon a grand to £1,200 is a fair price, am I close do you reckon? It's a 2.3 petrol with 167k miles, and apart from a dubious OS rear sill is solid underneath.

 

Seems a bit odd contemplating spending that much on a car when I normally reside in sub-500 land buying worthless old shite.

 

Can't upload pics on this ruddy tablet at the moment, but here's the link

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151805142426?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I was looking at these recently, that ones looks alright to me.

The 2.3 is the desired engine, you can pick up a diesel or a 4 pot cheaper but I was angling for the 2.3, I heard it feels a bit more refined than the 2.8.

I reckon that's a fair price for that one.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I was looking at these recently, that ones looks alright to me.

The 2.3 is the desired engine, you can pick up a diesel or a 4 pot cheaper but I was angling for the 2.3, I heard it feels a bit more refined than the 2.8.

I reckon that's a fair price for that one.

Yes,the 230e is the engine of choice ,but it's a 4 cylinder not a 6. The only 6 cylinders available in the UK were the 280 in carb (pre 81) and injection flavour and the 250, again only early ones, when the 230 got injection it made the slug 250 surplus to requirements.

I've had 230E Wagon manual , 250 Limo and 280E saloon- the 230 was almost as fast as the 280 yet used half as much fuel. The 250 Limo could barely pull itself along ,but to this day remains the car I made most out of selling.

Check the inner wings ,although mine were so long ago they probably rot in loads of other places now.

[RobT]

Yep, inner wings were fine. The front valence looked a bit dodgy and it had a few rust spots here and there, but no sunroof to worry about, and floors looked OK. I've been drooling over series 2 Jags recently, but reality check time on that one I think. Plus they won't fit in my lockup without clearing out loads of crap first.

[Ghosty]

I have been to Earls Barton Classic show near Northampton this evening, what a selection of cars something for everybody. I could not believe my eyes two BMW 2000CS s together!

 

That Golf between the pineapple buses is a Rallye - G60/supercharger, wide body, 4wd...

[Six-cylinder]

That Golf between the pineapple buses is a Rallye - G60/supercharger, wide body, 4wd...

There was a strong VW presence although many of them slammed.

[Six-cylinder]

Been to view a slightly shonky Merc W123 after work today. Rear arches contain wob and there's some poor quality re-spraying in parts. But the lad selling it was decent and he's done lots to it mechanically, so instinct tells me it'd be a good proposition. I know bugger all about these and they've never been on my radar, but I love the bouncy driver's seat with built-in suspension! After a bit of research I reckon a grand to £1,200 is a fair price, am I close do you reckon? It's a 2.3 petrol with 167k miles, and apart from a dubious OS rear sill is solid underneath.

 

Seems a bit odd contemplating spending that much on a car when I normally reside in sub-500 land buying worthless old shite.

 

Can't upload pics on this ruddy tablet at the moment, but here's the link

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151805142426?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The W123 is very fashionable at the moment, I think it will make over £1200 but we will see.

 

I like the model and you sit on that bouncy seat and think this is not very luxurious, then you get of it after 8 hours driving and you can still walk! I worked for a company in about 1997 that had a 1984 280TE that I used a fair bit but it did struggle for 20 mpg.

[the judge]

Been to see it and was .... mightily impressed! Not a bit like the other shonky heaps I've viewed. All four wheel arches are mint with not a trace of rot or rust or blisters (rare!) and apart from a tiny weeny bit of blistering round the left hand rear door handle, no alloy corrosion problems either. Under the bonnet is mint (turbo is the size of a small house - rent it to immigrants?) and the engine is silent when started - tiny bit of tappet noise which went in a couple of seconds. All four tyres are lovely Avon Turbosteels and as new, and the interior is lovely. Boot is mint and has a full toolkit/CD changer and bottles of mineral oil behind the flap.

 

Driving it was LOVELY! I didn't think it had any punch to it but then you glance at the speedo and it's a lot higher than you expect, lovely quiet V8 burble, smooth box, good brakes (getting new pads before sale) and everything works beautifully.

 

It was very different to drive than the Honda!

 

The steering is smooth and heavier than I expected, brakes are heavy (er than the Honda) and the auto-box was simply sooper! It was lovely. Only faults are: loads of paint chips and the odd car park dent but, the passenger side doors have been repaired from what looks like a scrape and while the colour match is perfect there's loads of sub surface scratches, which annoys me! Do the job right you twats!

 

From a foot away it's invisible and there are no dents or anything so not too bad - just wanting perfection for sweet FA money! It really is a lovely old thing and just feels wonderful to drive and not anywhere near as big as it is, suspension is sporty (!) and it handles well, and the underside looks perfect as well with no leaks, bugger all rust marks, and perfect sills and floors.

 

I bid £8500 which the guy doesn't think the owner will take as he has a couple of nasty bills to pay still!

 

Their prices for servicing surprised me somewhat. It's just had a 'B' service (plugs, filters air and oil etc, gearbox oil and filters, axle oil etc) and they charged £1100. Then there's £800 for the DIM (driver information module) which just tells you which gear you're in to pay as well. Apparently, an oil and filter service is about £500 which sounds a fooking lot to me for ten litres of oil and a filter from Halfords!

 

SO, thoughts?

My thoughts are if you are going to snuff it,buy it and leave it to me!!

 

In all seriousness,if it will give you a grin,buy it,and put the dogs on the back seat and take them the to the beach. That will make purists squirm. Buy a big boating hat too with a "B" on it. Live the dream mofo!!!

[the judge]

Been to see it and was .... mightily impressed! Not a bit like the other shonky heaps I've viewed. All four wheel arches are mint with not a trace of rot or rust or blisters (rare!) and apart from a tiny weeny bit of blistering round the left hand rear door handle, no alloy corrosion problems either. Under the bonnet is mint (turbo is the size of a small house - rent it to immigrants?) and the engine is silent when started - tiny bit of tappet noise which went in a couple of seconds. All four tyres are lovely Avon Turbosteels and as new, and the interior is lovely. Boot is mint and has a full toolkit/CD changer and bottles of mineral oil behind the flap.

 

Driving it was LOVELY! I didn't think it had any punch to it but then you glance at the speedo and it's a lot higher than you expect, lovely quiet V8 burble, smooth box, good brakes (getting new pads before sale) and everything works beautifully.

 

It was very different to drive than the Honda!

 

The steering is smooth and heavier than I expected, brakes are heavy (er than the Honda) and the auto-box was simply sooper! It was lovely. Only faults are: loads of paint chips and the odd car park dent but, the passenger side doors have been repaired from what looks like a scrape and while the colour match is perfect there's loads of sub surface scratches, which annoys me! Do the job right you twats!

 

From a foot away it's invisible and there are no dents or anything so not too bad - just wanting perfection for sweet FA money! It really is a lovely old thing and just feels wonderful to drive and not anywhere near as big as it is, suspension is sporty (!) and it handles well, and the underside looks perfect as well with no leaks, bugger all rust marks, and perfect sills and floors.

 

I bid £8500 which the guy doesn't think the owner will take as he has a couple of nasty bills to pay still!

 

Their prices for servicing surprised me somewhat. It's just had a 'B' service (plugs, filters air and oil etc, gearbox oil and filters, axle oil etc) and they charged £1100. Then there's £800 for the DIM (driver information module) which just tells you which gear you're in to pay as well. Apparently, an oil and filter service is about £500 which sounds a fooking lot to me for ten litres of oil and a filter from Halfords!

 

SO, thoughts?

My thoughts are if you are going to snuff it,buy it and leave it to me!!

 

In all seriousness,if it will give you a grin,buy it,and put the dogs on the back seat and take them the to the beach. That will make purists squirm. Buy a big boating hat too with a "B" on it. Live the dream mofo!!!

[xtriple]

Been thinking about fooking cars all night! I've now decided that I HATE the Honda! It was fine until yesterday afternoon but driving home was... horrible.

 

Isn't it strange how your attitudes change with age/incapacity? When I was just a very few years younger, buying anything even remotely exotic scared me not one jot as I could get m hands dirty, tear into it and enjoy fixing the thing while complaining loudly and swearing like a trooper.

 

Now, scared stiff. I like the Honda 'cos it's cheap to fix and reliable and I can throw it at the garage without a huge bill forcing me to eat stale bread for a few weeks. Bentley could hurt...

 

Years ago I actively hunted down anything posh/big/expensive with problems as they were cheap and I knew I could fix them. I don't like garages much (even the one I own a tiny share in!) as so few do a decent job. At least if you do it yourself and fuck it up, no one to blame but yourself.

[Ghosty]

Hondas are boring. It seems Old Man passively thought the same as he's regained a lot of enthusiasm for cars since he chopped in his 50000 mile Civic for the A4.