Ask a Shiter

[stuboy]

driving the focus. i feel cramped in, i only bought it as came right time and price, im not bult like the hulk at 5'10 but broad shouldered with XL tshirts, mk2 mondeo before was ok, sierra etc anyone else find this too?

[tooSavvy]

SWMBO complained (every time we both got in the Savvy/seatbelts on) that 'this car is too bloody narrow'.

 

Elbow Fencing... I call it!

 

Carina II is 'this car is very low and difficult to get out of'.

 

Fuck U pet!... I call it

 

 

TS

[Kiltox]

Ok I know we have all heard of the site and either find the info useful or not,but I wanted to ask,my Safrane V6 RXE auto is showing 2 on the road as of Q3 2017 with 11 SORN,a few times it has dropped to only 1 roadworthy,BUT when you look at all the other info listed...

 

1993 1994 1995 Licensed 0 1 0 SORN 7 3 1

 

 

Capacity Licensed SORN Petrol Diesel Other Petrol Diesel Other 2900cc to 2999cc 1 11

 

 

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

 

It clearly shows only 1 on the road from 1994? so why is it listing 2 on the front page?

I don,t get this no other random years of reg listed and everything points at only one being on the road....

There’s a way to get the raw data that HML uses, someone posted a link to it a while ago. Hopefully they’ll see this and do so again

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

HML list a licensed 635csi diesel and one 'other' so... I don't know what that means.

[SiC]

Ok I know we have all heard of the site and either find the info useful or not,but I wanted to ask,my Safrane V6 RXE auto is showing 2 on the road as of Q3 2017 with 11 SORN,a few times it has dropped to only 1 roadworthy,BUT when you look at all the other info listed...

 

      1993 1994 1995           Licensed     0 1 0           SORN     7 3 1

 

 

Capacity   Licensed   SORN     Petrol Diesel Other   Petrol Diesel Other 2900cc to 2999cc   1       11    

 

 

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

 

It clearly shows only 1 on the road from 1994? so why is it listing 2 on the front page?

I don,t get this no other random years of reg listed and everything points at only one being on the road....

There’s a way to get the raw data that HML uses, someone posted a link to it a while ago. Hopefully they’ll see this and do so again

The link is at the bottom of the HMY page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vehicles-statistics

[Kiltox]

I keep meaning to feed that data through Splunk (www.splunk.com you dirty minded bastards) and doing some analysis on it

[MikeR]

Holes in car floors are acceptable . in fact are very useful for letting water out  , if you have water coming in , it means the wheels are nearly half submerged , this is bad for the bearings etc and the wheels will also be buoyant and helping the car to float  , this is when problems start .........

[cobblers]

driving the focus. i feel cramped in, i only bought it as came right time and price, im not bult like the hulk at 5'10 but broad shouldered with XL tshirts, mk2 mondeo before was ok, sierra etc anyone else find this too?

I don't think I could even sit in an MX5 again. I ran one daily for about a year but just found it so claustrophobic. Plus the smell of damp etc etc. It's giving me a headache just thinking about it! Plus the sheer ballache of getting in and out of the fucking thing on my steep drive with the big doors on it. 

[sierraman]

Holes in car floors are acceptable . in fact are very useful for letting water out , if you have water coming in , it means the wheels are nearly half submerged , this is bad for the bearings etc and the wheels will also be buoyant and helping the car to float , this is when problems start .........

I'll get the drill out...

[stonedagain]

A 6-inch nail & 2-lb hammer do a better job, carpet gets tangled round a drill bit! ( Don't ask how I know)

[Cavcraft]

Someone I know very ill and needs to sell her car. Trouble is there's about £800-£1,000 difference in what she owes compared to what it's worth. I'm assuming the finance company will just rob them blind if they hand the car back? I did suggest a loan to pay finance off then sell it privately, but I don't think that's an option.

Any ideas, please?

[HH-R]

What kind of finance is it? With certain types you can just hand it back without penalty if more than half of it has been paid off.

[Cavcraft]

I don't know, sorry. It was with Evans Halshaw I believe, pretty confident they won't be half way into it though sadly.

[Dick Longbridge]

I own an ok 2003 MR2 which has been with us for a record 2.5 years. It’s a fun little thing, and it’s cheap as chips to own as a toy. However, it’s got the standard 140bhp lump which is underpowered to be honest. It doesn’t feel like it realises the full potential of the chassis.

I’ve got an opportunity of buying a scruffier 190bhp converted (2ZZ engine) MR2. It isn’t cheap, but it appears good value for a 2ZZ converted car. They’re few and far between as most people cba with the hassle of the conversion.

My problem is that I still like my own car, so long-term plan would be to get the oily bits on both cars swapped over, keep my own car, and punt on the donor running my old mechanicals, to get some £££ back.

 

Overly complicated? Expensive way of doing it? Plain mental? My logic* is that I could give the donor car a good shakedown and will get a decent idea if the motor is decent. Problem is, I’ll be just over £4K in with both cars sat there, and that’s before I get any engine swaps done.

 

On the flip side, I’ll have an engine which is used in the Lotus Elise as standard, sat in a car that I am fond of. It’ll be a proper little weapon. I’ll also get some ££ back when I sell the donor car.

 

Hmm...........

[cobblers]

Someone I know very ill and needs to sell her car. Trouble is there's about £800-£1,000 difference in what she owes compared to what it's worth. I'm assuming the finance company will just rob them blind if they hand the car back? I did suggest a loan to pay finance off then sell it privately, but I don't think that's an option.

Any ideas, please?

When I was last trying to shift my Abarth I owed about £800 more than it was worth to WBAC etc.

To sell the car I'd give WBAC the car and £800, then they'd pay the finance off.

 

All the "buy your car" places are very used to people being upside down on stuff so it's no big deal at all, obviously assuming they can stand the £800 or so.

 

Alternatively they can sell privately if they can get a buyer that'll trust them - A few mates have sold cars like this. The buyer just pays the funds straight to the finance company. This could put a lot of people off OBV.

[sierraman]

Usually its in everyone's interests for the finance company to come to an arrangement that works for everyone, they are rarely as hardnosed as you think unless you've willfully broke terms. I'd call them and come to some sort of arrangement possibly under the halves and thirds rule.

[Supernaut]

I own an ok 2003 MR2 which has been with us for a record 2.5 years. It’s a fun little thing, and it’s cheap as chips to own as a toy. However, it’s got the standard 140bhp lump which is underpowered to be honest. It doesn’t feel like it realises the full potential of the chassis.

I’ve got an opportunity of buying a scruffier 190bhp converted (2ZZ engine) MR2. It isn’t cheap, but it appears good value for a 2ZZ converted car. They’re few and far between as most people cba with the hassle of the conversion.

My problem is that I still like my own car, so long-term plan would be to get the oily bits on both cars swapped over, keep my own car, and punt on the donor running my old mechanicals, to get some £££ back.

 

Overly complicated? Expensive way of doing it? Plain mental? My logic* is that I could give the donor car a good shakedown and will get a decent idea if the motor is decent. Problem is, I’ll be just over £4K in with both cars sat there, and that’s before I get any engine swaps done.

 

On the flip side, I’ll have an engine which is used in the Lotus Elise as standard, sat in a car that I am fond of. It’ll be a proper little weapon. I’ll also get some ££ back when I sell the donor car.

 

Hmm...........

How scruffy is the 2ZZ one? Bodywork or just trim / interior pieces? If the latter, I'd just swap over the better bits of trim / interior in your situation.

[dome]

I own an ok 2003 MR2 which has been with us for a record 2.5 years. It’s a fun little thing, and it’s cheap as chips to own as a toy. However, it’s got the standard 140bhp lump which is underpowered to be honest. It doesn’t feel like it realises the full potential of the chassis.

I’ve got an opportunity of buying a scruffier 190bhp converted (2ZZ engine) MR2. It isn’t cheap, but it appears good value for a 2ZZ converted car. They’re few and far between as most people cba with the hassle of the conversion.

My problem is that I still like my own car, so long-term plan would be to get the oily bits on both cars swapped over, keep my own car, and punt on the donor running my old mechanicals, to get some £££ back.

 

Overly complicated? Expensive way of doing it? Plain mental? My logic* is that I could give the donor car a good shakedown and will get a decent idea if the motor is decent. Problem is, I’ll be just over £4K in with both cars sat there, and that’s before I get any engine swaps done.

 

On the flip side, I’ll have an engine which is used in the Lotus Elise as standard, sat in a car that I am fond of. It’ll be a proper little weapon. I’ll also get some ££ back when I sell the donor car.

 

Hmm...........

 

We plan on doing this to our Mk3 MR2. There's loads of guides out there on how to do it. The hard work is done for you though so it'll amount to not a lot more than a straight swap.

 

I can't wait to get one in ours.

 

Would it be cheaper to fix up the scruffy 2zz car though?

 

Give me a headsup if you don't go for the one with the 2zz....

[robinmasters]

Someone I know very ill and needs to sell her car. Trouble is there's about £800-£1,000 difference in what she owes compared to what it's worth. I'm assuming the finance company will just rob them blind if they hand the car back? I did suggest a loan to pay finance off then sell it privately, but I don't think that's an option.

Any ideas, please?

[mercenary answer]How ill, and do they know? Extend the term of the loan to bring the payments down to £not much, over a period she won't see out?

[dome]

Hendry, I'd be stripping down your calipers-clean up and lube the sliders, carefully push the piston out, peel back the piston seal and as long as it's not too corroded then lube it up and press it back. I do this to pretty much every car I buy. As long as the pistons not corroded and the seal is OK you'll be fine.

[Pillock]

Someone I know very ill and needs to sell her car. Trouble is there's about £800-£1,000 difference in what she owes compared to what it's worth. I'm assuming the finance company will just rob them blind if they hand the car back? I did suggest a loan to pay finance off then sell it privately, but I don't think that's an option.

Any ideas, please?

 

Speak to the dealer, and the finance company. Explain the situation so they're aware.

 

Ask about giving it back (a Voluntary Vehicle Termination) - this is part of the Consumer Credit Act rather than the finance company being nice so it's a legal right and can't be avoided by the bank. Whilst they can't penalise by making admin charges etc they can charge if the car isn't in reasonable condition (this will be the BVRLA guidelines that states how many dents and scuffs etc are acceptable. I can get a copy of this if you need)

 

If she's not paid 50% off, then the car can still be given back with a payment up to halfway mark.

 

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?77612-A-guide-to-voluntary-termination-Your-rights

[3VOM]

Hole in the pipe? My wife's grandmothers Jazz sprung a leak and emptied the container. It overheated and cooked the headgasket before she saw the warning light on. New gasket and pipe allowed her back on the road to be a menace once again.

I'm now favouring duff radiator cap and restricted heater. I'll have another go tomorrow.

[Cavcraft]

Thanks, folks.

[Dick Longbridge]

We plan on doing this to our Mk3 MR2. There's loads of guides out there on how to do it. The hard work is done for you though so it'll amount to not a lot more than a straight swap.

 

I can't wait to get one in ours.

 

Would it be cheaper to fix up the scruffy 2zz car though?

 

Give me a headsup if you don't go for the one with the 2zz....

It would be more sensible to fix up the 2ZZ for sure. My problem is that I’m really fond of our car, and, unusually for me, I don’t like the idea of a new owner driving off into the sunset with it.

Having said that, I know the 2ZZ totally transforms the driving experience of a Roadster, it’s a conversion Toyota should have done themselves, and it would make the car even more of a keeper. I guess it’ll bugger up insurance prices and will drink more, but the positives outweigh that.

 

I’m tempted to buy it, drive it and think about it. It’ll be a piece of piss to shift again if I think it’s all a bad idea.

 

Oh what’s that? Of course, I’m on reduced hours and parking’s a bit tight at the mo.

 

Based on the general buying logic on here, it sounds like I need to visit the nearest bank...

[Sir Snipes]

I think they put the 190 engine in the mk3 but only in Japan. I’ve remember them from Gran Turismo 2! A lot of them didn’t make the claimed power, I think 170 was more like it.

 

A lad in the Celica club sunk a fair bit of money into N/A tuning a 190 Celica a few years ago and it showed 190 on the dyno!

[SiC]

I've bought a cheap, red box compression tester off eBay. Never done a compression test before so not entirely sure how it's done.

 

Take all the spark plugs out? Or leave the others in?

What do you do about the carbs and stopping fuel being sucked through?

I guess do it all once dry and then wet. Is wet necessary if you get good dry readings?

When wet, is one squirt from the oil can sufficient per cylinder?

How do you remove the oil from the cylinder after? (I have no compressed air)

 

Cheers!

[Des]

All plugs out, full throttle, turn over 7 puffs and watch the gauge to see how quickly the needle moves. I've always wanted to see minimum about 100 PSI build up soonish, although happy enough with a begrudged 90. Wet is only to determine if it's valves or cylinder loosing the compression as will help rings seal but not valves, You remove the oil afterwards while rebuilding.

[DSdriver]

Thanks, folks.

Is it insured and does she smoke?

[DodgeRover]

Can I have suggestions on getting an engine and box from Redruth Cornwall to Gatwick, Surrey? Have asked seller if they can drain the oils and strap it on a pallet.

[Volksy]

Depending on what type of finance she has on the vehicle depends on what she can do.

I work as a buyer for Evans Halshaw, so deal with this daily.  

 

HP - as mentioned above, you can hand the car back and walk away at a certain point in the agreement.

 

PCP - No chance of doing the above, as with the 'balloon payment' at the end you will never be over the threshold to had it back until the end of the agreement. Where the options are, pay off balloon payment or hand car back or refinance.

 

 

First things first, get a settlement figure from the finance company. Normally this will be more than the car is worth, however, I've had a few instances where the opposite has been the case - Had a Corsa on a PCP the other week, which had a big dent in the rear qtr, and had gone over the mileage allowance. we costed out a repair and the cost of the excess mileage, on top of the finance settlement, and the customer ended up getting around £120 back as a balance as the car booked quite high.

 

We'll pay more than WBAC, often only by their admin fee, but often we will pay quite a bit more if it's retailable stock. WBAC are owned by BCA so everything goes to block, hence the low values given.

 

You can get a free valuation on EH's website, obviously it doesn't take into consideration any damage, we'll look round the car when the cust brings it in. But it will give you a ball park figure.

 

If in negative equity, we will still take the car, with the customer stumping up the difference, and we will clear the finance for them. If it's the other way round, we'll pay the cust any difference via BACS transfer.