Winter car required. what do you suggest??

[gtd2000]

Cheers for that scaryoldcortina, unfortunatly i went to a Catholic school at a time when dyslexia was re-badged as lazyness so i never got the chance to perfect the written word.. will keep it in mind!

 

thanks for the ebay links trigger, im amazed you can buy a 2000 reg car for £500 ill have a look through later!! ill be down in ips on weekend so will also have a good look around the local estate (Chantry)

 

cheers

 

Earlier sarcasm aside.... oops

 

My GF has to use software called "Writepoint" to check all her submissions for grammar etc., to say it's fucking hopeless would be to endorse it fully. It couldn't spot and error right in front of its nose but it can tell you that something is "too flowery" - it beggars belief!!!

[gtd2000]

or a 2000 Hyundai Coupe with a tatty body for £500 or offers?. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2000-HYUNDAI-COUP ... 3362d51f4b

 

In fact that Coupe doesn't look bad for the money, years mot and only just been listed.

 

Seats look bloody brand new!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Sierra. Maybe at a push you could find an old Astra.

 

I did notice you said not ford or vauxhall, by the way, it's etc. not e.c.t. (unless you want electo-convulsive therapy)

 

edit.. I'm sorry, that sounds bitchy and patronizing. I'll have another go.

 

Hello all

 

I'm still waiting for quotes to have the sherpa fixed, and I'm thinking I'll wait until summer. However in the mean time I need a reliable motor to get me back and forth to Ipswich/Lincoln over the next few months (or years if it is good enough) while I complete my PhD..(another word for super skint student!! ) my ABSOLUTE MAX is £500 and i need a good few months MoT and tax. It's got to be as reliable as possible and reasonably solid... sounds easy, ehh well it's also got to be an Automatic!

ohh and parts need to be readily available, and preferably a low insurance band or old enough to be on classic insurance. As for engine size, I'm not too fussed, I've owned a 2.5 ltr volvo 850, mazda 323, and now the sherpa.

 

Unfortunately, I'm loathe to buy a ford/vauxhall unless pristine one owner condition etc.

I would consider anything from a 4X4 to an Aixam (if i had the money id buy a london taxi,..)

 

thanks

 

James

 

There, that's as close to Queen's english as I can get it without a re-write.

What's the PhD in? Budgeted for proofreading?

 

Right. That's better. Now, a sensible suggestion. Be less fussy if you only have 500 quid. I'd bet there is a sub £500 t&t'd motor with your name on it, but not one that fullfils your myriad conditions. I could draw you a venn diagram to explain if you like.

 

All cars since the mid 80's have been pointless. And condenserless.

 

'80s

[scaryoldcortina]

I'd argue with that actually. Both forms are correct, '80s as a contraction of 1980s and 80's as a shorthand of "eighties" to differentiate it from "eighty s" in pronunciation terms. It is not the same as misuse of 's as a plural.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I'd better put an apostrophe after every date then. I was born in nineteen eighty six, 1986'

[scaryoldcortina]

I'm pretty sure you don't need me to explain the saxon genative to you, and you are just being picky anyway.

 

 

edit for typo (eeePC keyboard is tiny, as is the screen)

[Guest]

I would recommend a VW Golf (Mark 3).

 

Why? Well, they're shit, so they're bound to be cheap. Inevitably they'll be rusty, but it matters not when you can flog it senseless and then punt it on to a OMG YO RAT LOOK dubber moron. Otherwise I'd stop being so bloody fussy and take the first automatic sub £500 car that comes along, provided it doesn't resemble a shed and the MOT and tax are long enough for your requirements. Buy and bin at the end with as little expenditure \ maintenance as possible.

To reiterate, a Mk 3 Golf would be perfect. You could even go to a few DUB CRU meets in it!

 

Can I also enquire as to the needless pedantry in this thread regarding punctuation and grammar?

 

Carry on.

 

In other news, I know of a terminally cabbaged 480 Auto, but you don't want it. It will finish you off.

[scaryoldcortina]

That's my fault. I just found it funny that a PhD student made so many errors, I failed to consider that there could be a good reason for that, and I have apologised already

[Guest]

That's my fault. I just found it funny that a PhD student made so many errors, I failed to consider that there could be a good reason for that, and I have apologised already

 

Ah well, at least you don't have to apologise for the purchase of an automatic Mk 3 Golf. That would ruin my night, and possibly the subsequent week in hand.

[Richard]

I'm pretty sure you don't need me to explain the saxony genative to you.

 

Could you explain it to me please?

[Richard]

It's ok, I JFGI.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I would recommend a VW Golf (Mark 3).

 

Why? Well, they're shit.

 

My Mk3 Golf is alright, it was made in 1996' and has lived in the Highlands for most of its life, it's fairly rust free considering.

If you buy a decent one I think they're a better car than the beloved (on here, anyway) Mk3 Astra. A bit more pleasant to sit in and nicer to drive than the wooden and leaden Astras.

[Formula Autos]

How about a Vento? Same qualities as a Golf, but zero image and thus almost zero monetary value. Unless you need a hatchback, why not? The boot is mahoosive in any case, and they all came (I think?) with a 60/40 split rear seat.

 

I ran one for a short while (1.8 pez) and it seemed pretty good (stingy spec and slight tendency to crustiness aside). As Leonard/Milf says, better than an Astra of similar vintage (IMHO).

[Albert Ross]

What about this honey. Only in Louth too! Diesel, Auto, shite!

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-CITROEN-ZX-1 ... 3362c157b4

 

[michael1703]

for a winter car, you want something on the button with a good heater

 

diesel is the answer to both, you get better heating and you dont have to fanny with a choke

[Cavcraft]

What about this honey. Only in Louth too! Diesel, Auto, shite!

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-CITROEN-ZX-1 ... 3362c157b4

 

 

Ace cars these things. I reckon it'll fetch decent money but will hold it's value well if it stays sensible.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Do diesels have better heaters than petrols? I haven't noticed that. How many sub-£500 cars in 2010 have a choke anyway?

One handy feature of older diesels is their torque at low revs, great for selecting the highest gear you can in slippery conditions, and heavier engine which gives slightly better traction.

[garethj]

for a winter car, you want something on the button with a good heater

 

diesel is the answer to both, you get better heating and you dont have to fanny with a choke

You sure? Diesels reject less heat to coolant compared to petrols so the heater is usually less efficient. Whether the manufacturer has made the heater matrix bigger or not I don't know, but some of the very newest diesels have an auxiliary heater to warm things up inside.

[michael1703]

alright, not a choke but on a damp cold morning you might get tracking HT leads on a petrol car, diesels just start

 

diesels run hotter than petrol cars, the radiators are thicker, sometimes twin fan, the temp gauges are rated higher too, therefore the heater gets hotter water through it compared to petrol

[fiatdaft]

mmm,not sure as diesels take an age to get a heat in them.

[Albert Ross]

So... my 1970 Land Rover diesel clears the screens quicker than the 1961 Land Rover petrol. Does that mean the head gasket's gone in the '70 or the heaters clogged in the '61?

[garethj]

diesels run hotter than petrol cars, the radiators are thicker, sometimes twin fan, the temp gauges are rated higher too, therefore the heater gets hotter water through it compared to petrol

'fraid I'm going to call your bluff on this. Water boils at the same temperature whether it's around a diesel engine or a petrol one. Do diesels run a much higher pressure cap? If so, why not do the same for a petrol engine?

 

So... my 1970 Land Rover diesel clears the screens quicker than the 1961 Land Rover petrol. Does that mean the head gasket's gone in the '70 or the heaters clogged in the '61?

I'd be surprised if it's not both

[Rusty Pelican]

I thought diesels ran at a cooler operating temperature , I used Transit diesel thermostats in my Imp as they were rated at 73 degrees whereas petrol ones were 82 degrees

[M'coli]

for a winter car, you want something on the button with a good heater

 

diesel is the answer to both, you get better heating and you dont have to fanny with a choke

You sure? Diesels reject less heat to coolant compared to petrols so the heater is usually less efficient. Whether the manufacturer has made the heater matrix bigger or not I don't know, but some of the very newest diesels have an auxiliary heater to warm things up inside.

Why do many diesel cars have bigger rads than the petrol ones then?

[The Moog]

My Dizzler Xantia runs cooler than any petrol car I have had. Thought it might have been better with a turd blower (like my saab) but not so.

 

Bedford cf runs at 100c, Saab used to be 90 ish Xantia is 80

[Pete-M]

The Jag takes a bloody millenium to heat up. Diesels I've been driving lately take a while then get toasty.

 

Neither compare to any Volvo I've driven. Volvo heaters are volcanic.

[Richard]

I thought a Ford man like you would be singing the praises of Ford heaters. Ford know what their customers will notice so they make their heaters good.

 

Both the Transit and the 940 (which is a diesel) produce noticeably warm air within half a mile of setting off. The C5's heater isn't quite so quick or hot but it's more than adequate (apart from the distribution being utter shit).

 

The amount of heat you get inside the car is entirely down to the design of the heating system. That's why you see Ford drivers going around in their shirt sleeves while the drivers of French cars are wearing all the clothes they own.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I've found 405 TD heaters excellent, unless you want to select a temperature between tepid and the boiling pits of hell.

I wonder if the high compression ratio of IDI diesels helps them heat up quicker.

[Father Ted]

Heaters - the micra takes about 5 miles to heat up properly ( but as my commute is 6 miles this equates to still being freezing cold right up to just about pulling into the works car park).

The Zafira Dizzler on the other hand takes an Imperial Ice Age to get hot, today Im off to Trafford (to see father christmas) and you can bet that it will only get hot somewhere round about Farnworth.

[retrogeezer]

Surely how good a heater is varies from car to car? Thermostat opening properly, water ways clear or gunged up etc etc.

 

My 87 Bluebird and 96 Mondeo are both warming up within a mile of home, even in this weather.....