Dollywobbler's Consolidated Tat Thread

[AxWomble]

12 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

I can't bring myself to spend more than £2k - that was a bit of a leap. Decent family wagons that aren't old are darned pricey at the moment, and I'm not sure newer actually means more reliable. 

Agreed - prices of everything seem to be up everywhere apart from this small, beige corner of the Internet that is forever Autoshite.

On the topic, I saw a 2003 Fabia diesel (an SDI, you didn't even get a turbo) in very average/poor nick for £2000 earlier, which I thought was mad. Everything seems pricey apart from knackered Vauxhalls and Xsara Picassos.  There's certainly very little low-risk motoring around at the moment, for under £2k. Fixing the wonder-wagon (or getting it fixed) would probably be a lot less risk than cutting your losses and spending another similar amount on something else that might poo itself at an inopportune moment. 

[Yank Tank]

i think its perfectly easy to buy reliable family transport for under £2k.  i reckon i could have bought two or three for £2k that would offer perfectly good service for a year.  but the temptation of something a bit different blinds us all.

i did a quick search and i would just give it to a jap specialist to do properly. rob burke, japex, poleposition.  it'll be under £1k and for three grand you've got the car you always wanted with the right engine in perfect condition.  look after it from there on, and it'll last forever.

[stuboy]

22 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Decent family wagons that aren't old are darned pricey at the moment, and I'm not sure newer actually means more reliable. 

exactly my 2007 mondeo engine went and now i got a 2001

[Rusty_Rocket]

Yup, current used car prices are strong for anything late-ish.  Poor timing due to bloody Covid.

Everyone needs a reliable beater.  That way, you can enjoy the fun* cars without worrying if they'll get you to work on Monday morning.

I know I harp on about it, but the £800 I invested in a 2009 Kia Ceed Estate three years ago has been money well spent.  It has done 180k now and never gone wrong bar a wheel bearing and a few bushes/ links etc.  I know it will always start and stop and I can leave it anywhere without worry.  I don't bother locking it where I live and it gets a 6-monthly wash whether it needs it or not.

It would be a total non starter for youtube content, but I reckon that's a good thing- you can literally ignore it and just use it as an appliance.

[Lacquer Peel]

11 hours ago, Rod/b said:

Aye and claim you've got whiplash and that the trader used the wrong pronouns when he spoke to you too. 

It’s a 2 grand car at a time when 2 grand doesn’t really buy a lot, especially not from a trader. 

Doesn't stop it being a shitty thing to do and £2k is a lot of money to many people. 

[garethj]

18 minutes ago, Yank Tank said:

i did a quick search and i would just give it to a jap specialist to do properly. rob burke, japex, poleposition.  it'll be under £1k and for three grand you've got the car you always wanted with the right engine in perfect condition.  look after it from there on, and it'll last forever.

Sometimes when you’re in the market for a car, paying 50% more can be quite a squeeze.

[PrinceRupert]

My 600 quid 75 has been perfectly reliable over 18 months, not sure spending ten times that would have made it that much more likely I'd have got a reliable vehicle. Luck of the draw.

Agreed that the dealer is a shyster and id be giving him a call and sticking in a money claim even if just to piss him off

[Mally]

Couldn't sell my 75 Tourer on here at £350 not long ago. It's passed a clean MOT since then.

[Spurious]

I think he needs a few strategic poor google reviews to warn everyone else.

[Yank Tank]

20 minutes ago, Spurious said:

I think he needs a few strategic poor google reviews to warn everyone else.

well it didn’t warn off DW

[maxxo]

all depends on how much you like the car, and the condition of the rest of it etc......

take my old picasso for example, sentimental attachment and being a first car etc got the better of me and i poured about 2k into that

got it sorted, in fact, one of the best out there......until a new wave of issues started and you know what, i got absolutely sick of that car

similar with my current C5, i've put 3k into that now and it's worth it, really worth it actually, really nice example and it's been much, much more reliable

if you think it's worth it, and it seems to be a good'un (which i think it is btw) then do it, that's a very very rare camry and it's worth preserving

[dollywobbler]

1 hour ago, garethj said:

Sometimes when you’re in the market for a car, paying 50% more can be quite a squeeze.

I can swallow that, thankfully, though it's eating into other project funds. Then the bodywork will need attention at some point. I've already waxed critical areas. But I think the Camry might just be worth it. In hindsight, I should have sunk another grand or so into the Citroen C5. The next owner has done exactly that and so far enjoyed 5000 pleasant, wafty miles in it. I do miss 50mpg, though the Camry wins for soundtrack. And rear wipers.

The cheap car market has taken quite the hit of late. Even Xsara Picassos seem to be mostly over a grand now. The difference over the past year is quite remarkable.

 

 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Mally said:

Couldn't sell my 75 Tourer on here at £350 not long ago. It's passed a clean MOT since then.

Uh, really? Tell me moar.

[Mally]

7 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Uh, really? Tell me moar.

Gone, but not forgotten . I loved it, but I love my Saaab more.

 

[goosey]

Maybe worth a watch 
Same model Camry I think, 

be warned it’s over 2 hours 

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

The cheap car market has taken quite the hit of late. Even Xsara Picassos seem to be mostly over a grand now. The difference over the past year is quite remarkable.

Mk3 Scénics seem to be pretty cheap at the moment.  Funnily enough the values seem to have dropped very shortly after I bought mine.

[Mrcento]

11 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Mk3 Scénics seem to be pretty cheap at the moment.  Funnily enough the values seem to have dropped very shortly after I bought mine.

I've seen a couple of the Mk2 RX4's come up really cheap lately near me.

I think Scenics, Zafiras, Picassos and the bigger ones like Galaxys etc have all fallen so far out of fashion to SUV's they are pretty much the go to things for bargains just now.

Sadly things like Berlingos have gone the other way. Micro camper...innit?. (oddly see the odd Kangoo at ok money, though).

[wuvvum]

5 minutes ago, Mrcento said:

I've seen a couple of the Mk2 RX4's come up really cheap lately near me.

Have they all had the propshaft removed "for economy"?

[Mrcento]

Just now, wuvvum said:

Have they all had the propshaft removed "for economy"?

Actually, at least one of them didn't!, Seller went out their way to say it still had functioning 4wd 'unlike most'.

I was shocked too. 😂

[warren t claim]

On 12/21/2021 at 7:12 PM, dollywobbler said:

Yeah, looks pretty sure it's got a gasket on the way out. I'm thinking Steel Seal is worth a go.

Have had many cars with cool vents, but you've always been able to turn them off! I suspect a flap or servo motor is stuck.

I know of a couple of Astra dizzler taxis running around happily on that stuff. The trick is to follow the instructions to the letter.

Your problem is if the head requires a cheeky skim as well as a new head gasket.

[Minimad5]

If you're going to use bottled 'repairs' , then you're pissing in the wind thinking it'll be a trouble free daily.

If you want too- Seek legal advice if you purchased it via a car sales chap, as you might get some pennies back. But you have to give then a chance to repair or refund (deducting any miles etc)

But I wouldn't bother doing anything until you've had it 100% diagnosed, even more so by a local / trusted garage, as a bit of paper with said garages name on could help any legal matters.

Your show old chap, but for two seconds stop thinking 'What would the viewers like' ... as HubNut didn't seem to start off like this, it was more so - Mr Seabrook and his odd ball cars.

If it were me - Approach garage to see if they'll entertain helping you out (I.e returning the car for a refund), and then buy a known good car off here. With any left over £££ - Get some parts for one of the other cars, and make that a bit of content 'OMG HUBNUT REPAIRS' 

Most importantly, don't let a few bits of tin drag you down, be it mentally/ financially or physically. As much as I love my 2 and 4 wheeled bits of shit, at the end of the day they're just that 🤷‍♂️

 

[cobblers]

It's a shame the car isn't right, but lets not kid ourselves here, trying to diplomatically get even a penny back off the seller would be one of the most miserable wastes of time imaginable. 

You don't sell old shite used cars for years without becoming a complete expert in the art of fobbing people off. 

[Remspoor]

If this dealer sold the car supposedly knowing the fault(s). One would assume you could not trust them. So why let them repair the fault(s) and hand it back to you?  I certainly would be sceptical of the quality of repair.

 

[cobblers]

They'll chuck some K seal in, at best.

Even if the dealer was feeling incredibly generous this time of year, at best you'd end up with some £40 a day cash in hand "mechanic" to hastily fit a new gasket without skimming anything, no new belts, new parts, head bolts or fluids etc who would make everything very much worse. My grandad was in this game all his life so I got to see the shithousery from behind the scenes.

[St.Jude]

1 hour ago, Remspoor said:

If this dealer sold the car supposedly knowing the fault(s). One would assume you could not trust them. So why let them repair the fault(s) and hand it back to you?  I certainly would be sceptical of the quality of repair.

 

This.

The air con in my LandCruiser didn't work when I test drove it. He said it'd be fixed when I bought it, which it was. Then it broke again 2 weeks later, so I handed it back to him and he had it for a full month doing fuck all on it. Finally got it back, then the air con shat itself again 2 weeks later. 

I could've, maybe should've, handed it back for them to sort it. But all that would've happened would be the bare minimum, regas, and then it'll be fine for 2 weeks. At which time the shitty bit of warranty expires. 

The cars not been back, I'm done with the second hand dealer. 

[Remspoor]

Wise words from @richykitchy

[dollywobbler]

Indeed so. I will be reducing the fleet in 2022, and will also be shedding a Fox I suspect. But, I'm putting it in for an MOT in Jan, sending it away for improvement works and then want one last hurrah. Roadtrips I miss hugely, and Foxanne has never really had a chance to shine, having been rushed together for Bromley Pageant of Motoring in 2019, then barely used since. Yugo is going and I welcome any interested parties, Oltcit parts car at some point (and I suspect the newer one too, but again, road legality and a roadtrip await), Charade is likely to stay and take one of the back-burner places as we still have plans for it, but another small replacement may come in.

That leaves me with something approaching core fleet. 2CV, Invacar, Matiz, Fairmont and probably the Camry and GSA. I fall in and out of love with the latter on a regular basis...

Whether I achieve any of this remains to be seen, but there is actually a plan.

On the Camry, I've been chatting to a former Toyota tech with plenty of knowledge. He's not entirely convinced it's HGF and has suggested it could be a result of all the gloop in the system from previous 'potion and hope' fixes, though I do wonder why such potions were tried. Plan is to do some compression tests first of all, then discuss what to do next. HGF isn't the end of the world, but we'll try and diagnose it accurately before diving in. You know, exactly the opposite of my Daihatsu strategy...

[Andyrew]

I may have said this before but

If i can offer one suggestion to boost mojo, not from an OMG youtuber perspective because im not one but as someone who has a barn/ workshop but also known for having too many wanky cars/ projects ,  having come from years of not getting shit done to having a fairly productive year. This has been an absolute game changer for me. 

No more Putting off a job as you are not in the mood to fuck around with all of the axle stand bollocks and rolling about on a cold floor trying to find the jacking point etc etc. Which this time of year can be a real problem for mojo.

The lift has its dim witted moments and its not a cheap tool but is 100% the best tool ive ever bought just knocking my welder off the top spot.

Get waving that youtube sensation discount card at one of the suppliers of these type lifts (mine is strongman tools in coventry at 1700 quid) 

 

 

 

[grogee]

15 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

I may have said this before but

If i can offer one suggestion to boost mojo, not from an OMG youtuber perspective because im not one but as someone who has a barn/ workshop but also known for having too many wanky cars/ projects ,  having come from years of not getting shit done to having a fairly productive year. This has been an absolute game changer for me. 

No more Putting off a job as you are not in the mood to fuck around with all of the axle stand bollocks and rolling about on a cold floor trying to find the jacking point etc etc. Which this time of year can be a real problem for mojo.

The lift has its dim witted moments and its not a cheap tool but is 100% the best tool ive ever bought just knocking my welder off the top spot.

Get waving that youtube sensation discount card at one of the suppliers of these type lifts (mine is strongman tools in coventry at 1700 quid) 

 

 

 

I do like the principle of this. How is it powered, do you pump with a lever or plug it into a 13A socket?

[Andyrew]

1 minute ago, grogee said:

I do like the principle of this. How is it powered, do you pump with a lever or plug it into a 13A socket?

230v 16a