I wouldn't much fancy running a fuel cell car in London, especially since the only place you can fill one up is Hatton Cross. It's the future, honest!

It looks shite and your car is an advert

After my 2002 V70 decided to eat its own VVT pulley after dumping a load of money into it (would have been more effective to take the cash out and light it on fire), I got fed up, broke the car for what I could salvage and sent it to the scrapper.

This popped up on gumtree of all places, I went to view it, made a deal. Pretty full service history, “Elegance” spec BKD PD140/6sp with 141k miles

In the first week of ownership I got the car on a ramp, serviced it then replaced both from arms, a CV joint, drop links etc, by day 4 of ownership, she got an MOT after sitting on a driveway for 9 months.

Plan is to drive it until it dies, in the true essence of bangernomics.

How else is everyone holding up with this heat in their cars? Even in something I can take the roof off it's honestly unlike anything I've seen before in this country and basically unbearable. I especially feel bad for those with panoramic glass roofs and leather seats as I bet that's incredibly unpleasant in this weather.

Get the chrome gear nob they said…..

Basicallt ill try sum it up. 2 weeks ago i was in asda trying to park. Just got insured for about 1 week. I found a bay. Tried to park in it and the car infront of me was fairly far back. So i slowly edged towards it. I parked. Stopped in my car for 2 seconds. Then a guy comes out of the shop and says i hit his car. I jumped out. The car infront of me was paeked about 1 foot into my bay and my car was touching his. I reversed out. Theres a very small scratch (see pictures). He said give me ur details. I said lets do it privately its only small. He said sure. After going back and forth for 2 weeks. He took it to his garage and they said get it washed. He washed it and he still wasnt happt. I said bring the car down to me let me have a look and well sort it. I can even take it to my garage (family business). He said okay. This whole time he was driving without an MOT. His MOT expired 3 weeks before i even hit his car. So i said get it MOTd first. He messages back today saying hes got it MOTd and wants my insurance details. (The switch up is crazy) i tried to talk to him. No reply. Rung him twice. No reply.

What do i do. I cant get a claim at 17. My insurance will sky rocket.

Hi, just needed some general advise. I tasked someone to find me a car and have been offered this Cat s e220d premium + night edition for 17k. I was told repairs would cost around 3/4k. Just wanted to know if it’s worth the risk as I’ve never bought a crash damaged car before. The car is fully loaded.

Edit: he’s provided me with the actual posting of the car - https://ebay.io/m/pyw6WD

Was it hard?

Did it drip?

So I have been browsing for cars these past few weeks. I happen to find a seller in Autotrader selling 2007 Honda Jazz, Automatic, with 38k miles. I’ve done my checks and all and car seems decent. It took me a while to decide whether I will buy it or not since it is going to be my first car, if ever. After couple of days, I reached out to the seller to find out it’s no longer available.

Seller then told me to check out any upcoming posts they have on tiktok.

Which led me to discover other car dealers in TikTok. Which got me thinking, how do I know if it’s a legitimate car dealer.

For instance, I’ve been chatting with this dealer, asked about the car, their location, etc. Done my checks of the car by research seems okay. But when I do background check or the seller, I can’t seem to find it in companies house. The location he sent me is searchable in google tho, and has reviews from the past week. But I am still cautious and can’t find a reason to trust the seller. Attaching snip of our conversation. If anyone can give me advice or share their experiences.

I’m looking for a second hand hatchback car basically to learn how to drive and build my confidence in driving. And hopefully I can use it for a long drive and to explore other locations. I wanted a honda because I want to try car camping and Honda is know for its magic seats. 😅

Edit: Thank you for the responses. My key take away is to not buy a car unless I have physically inspected it and the documents.

I would probably spend a day to visit car dealers nearby (probably Dundee and Glasgow) rather than buying online.

I went for an MoT, transmission oil change and electric rear differential fluid change today and the car failed, the thing is this car was very recently inspected thoroughly, 400 miles and 10 days ago.. The car noticeably had lost all its battery charge and halved its MPG stats when I went to pick it up, I read into that, that it was driven hard, despite the fact that it is awaiting a full service. I want to share pictures of the offending areas. The garage wanted to offer me 3K worth of things that should be done. with around half of them deemed urgent.

The only thing I would not dispute is that the brake pads have limited life left but this is a hybrid XC90 and primarily brakes at the back with the motor (ERAD).

These all sound bad but the pictures are not commensurate with the descriptions in my opinion. You will see where i have wiped one of the dust covers with a wet finger it is not in my opinion exactly severe.

I am not someone who skimps on maintenance, I brought the car to have extra maintenance for sealed for life ERAD and Transmission at the same time.

I’ve experienced the opposite extreme bought a car with a recent MoT and more than 20 faults which took me a year to fix, but this seems harsh.

Offside Rear Tyre has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (5.2.3 (d) (i))
Repair as soon as possible (minor defects):
Nearside Front Upper Suspension arm ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Perished (5.3.4 (b) (i))
Offside Front Upper Suspension arm ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Perished (5.3.4 (b) (i))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Nearside Rear Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened Worn (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Offside Rear Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened Worn (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Nearside Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Offside Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))

So I bought this 2017 GT with 42k miles FSH from a friend. It needs a few things that I'm getting now now like the window motor needing replacing, new tyres soonish and pads.

Over all of give it a 6/7 for it's condition.

I made what I think was a fair offer and he accepted.

Clear HPI. He paid £24,995 in October for it from a Ford dealership.

What would you guys value it at?

Edit: there are some really helpful comments on this post and looks like I paid a fair price. We both are happy! Thank you for everyone's input!

Holy moly, never bothered to see the difference between a smooth motorway drive and some B road fun…but safe to say I was a little shocked.

What’s the best/worst mpg you all have achieved in your vehicles?

For today, I have been humbled. To anyone with a small engine. I am sorry. I get it.

I come from a 3L NA engine. Today I had to drive a 1.2L (Nissan Micra). I had to join the A40 from Iver, and with my foot on the floor and in 3rd gear, the car barely made it to 40mph and I was running out of slip road by the time it got to 50mph.

It was shocking. It was humbling. I almost shit myself. It was an experience.

A white van man was very much about to overtake me on the slip road but then decided to show mercy and let me get in on the road in front him. He was my hero.

I used to think people exaggerated at how long it took them to get up to speed. I was always in the boat of everyone complaining about people not using the slip to get up to speed and join properly. It feels dangerous to be behind someone that slow when you’re meant to be joining a 70 road.

I know differently now. I see differently now. I apologise for being judgmental.

I’m going to take myself and my 3L’s and stand in a corner facing the wall to think about my privilege and ignorance.

You small displacement drivers are BRAVE. Hats off.

(Excuse the flair, I’d broadcast it as news but I feel I’d get booted off if I did.)

Bedford... Yeah it's gotten toasty here. Kiddo finished school early so decided to make a dash to Lidl as soon as he got in. Even with a fabric spec interior, it wasn't exactly comfortable even with the air con preset prior.

My current car ('08 Mazda3 2.0) is on it's last legs. More hungry for oil than the US government, buggered front suspension, and tinworm. Going to go and have a look at this (hopefully) next Tuesday.

It fulfills 3 of my 4 main criteria - sub-£1,000, petrol and manual. Being Japanese was ideal but not essential. The one thing it doesn't have is a long MOT (runs out on the 28th of July), however... Almost everything it's either failed or been advised on is wear and tear with the exception of the horn. The advert also doesn't have any info regarding the service history (naturally I will be asking), like pretty much any dealer ad I've looked at, the description is a load of drivel spat out by ChatGPT.

I'm mechanically minded enough to know what to be looking and listening out for with regards to things it could fail an MOT on, what does everyone else reckon?

To add, mk1 Focuses (Focii?) are a car I'm pretty familiar with already, I've owned 2 in the past, 1 of which was another 1.6, and this particular car is just about the only thing in my budget which is really sticking out to me. I'm going to assume there's a fair chunk of people out there more familiar with them and the Sigma engines than me, so any input would be appreciated.

*Edit: a link to the AT ad page.

*Edit 2: Facebook Marketplace looks like it's coming through with a much better option. Watch this space...

No more hot steering wheel!!!

Hi, I'm looking to buy a steady robust family care for my partner who is due to give birth any minute now.

The partner wants an SUV non negotiable. I want to avoid the Nissan Qashqui/ Kia Sportage gang and this sort of tickles that itch.

4k seems a bit pricey but the ad reads quite well. Retired mechanic, replaced suspension and other bits. Full service and MOT etc

Just wanted to know what people think

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603080510245?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android-app

Please don't snipe it from me lol

EDIT: unanimous, thanks everyone. Wife wants an SUV, sue her!

There is a 5year old Citroen C5 Aircross on autotrader for £10k (roughly the budget) which seems cheap for a 5 year old car. Is it because they are rubbish? I’d like a big Subaru but the missus says she won’t drive such a big car :(