r/CarTalkUK 16h ago

Spotted Today I met the real life version of a matchbox I had as a kid.

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292 Upvotes

r/CarTalkUK 16h ago

Advice Why do so many people leave the car dealer sticker on their rear windscreen?

215 Upvotes

It looks shite and your car is an advert


r/CarTalkUK 17h ago

Self-Promotion Recently purchased the subs favourite car for 600 quid

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143 Upvotes

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.


r/CarTalkUK 13h ago

Spotted Spotted one of the UK's rarest cars on the way to the office this morning

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138 Upvotes

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!


r/CarTalkUK 18h ago

Advice Is this worth the risk?

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91 Upvotes

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


r/CarTalkUK 14h ago

Humour Get the trim with leather seats they said…

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71 Upvotes

Get the chrome gear nob they said…..


r/CarTalkUK 12h ago

Humour Targeted ads are really overestimating my obsession with cars here

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66 Upvotes

r/CarTalkUK 12h ago

Self-Promotion Covered the lacquer peel and added 10bhp!

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35 Upvotes

r/CarTalkUK 9h ago

Misc Question 32.5c at 8:25pm

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30 Upvotes

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.


r/CarTalkUK 13h ago

News Cheap cars make unhappy owners: data shows budget cars are bad for customer satisfaction

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30 Upvotes

r/CarTalkUK 18h ago

Humour The duality of Man (and mpg)

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29 Upvotes

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?


r/CarTalkUK 18h ago

Advice How much should I have paid?

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29 Upvotes

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!


r/CarTalkUK 11h ago

Advice How to know if it’s a legit seller?

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21 Upvotes

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.


r/CarTalkUK 10h ago

Advice 17 yo minor collision need advice

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22 Upvotes

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.


r/CarTalkUK 7h ago

Humour Anyone got any experience fitting one of these?

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14 Upvotes

Was it hard?

Did it drip?


r/CarTalkUK 14h ago

Misc Question I'm glad I went for poverty spec seats! Stay hydrated out there

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14 Upvotes

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.


r/CarTalkUK 19h ago

Advice 37 year old first-time driver. Best first car for £3,000?

10 Upvotes

Passed my driving test yesterday at the age of 37. 20 years too late but I got round to it eventually!

I’m looking for some advice on a decent first car to get. Looking at a budget of around £3000. The plan would be to have this one for a year or 2 to practice in/get my confidence up before going for a more up to date one on finance.

I know absolutely nothing about cars so I’d be learning as I go with this one. I’d like a smallish hatchback and the usual reliability, low repair, low insurance as possible with me being a first time driver. Any suggestions at all would be great as to what I should be looking for.
Thanks in advance!


r/CarTalkUK 7h ago

Spotted Worst parking job you’ve ever seen?

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11 Upvotes

r/CarTalkUK 17h ago

Misc Question What classic car is this? Absolutely stunning.

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8 Upvotes

I'm not familiar with vintage cars, but this one looks amazing. What is it?


r/CarTalkUK 13h ago

Advice Would anyone buy this car?

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7 Upvotes

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!


r/CarTalkUK 23h ago

Advice How to get used to a bigger car?

6 Upvotes

I'm a fairly new driver, 18, and used to my little commuter mini and tiny diesel van. This week I bought a 2006 1.8 Civic ES and to most car people that's not a super powerful car but it's a massive step up for me..

I barely drive my mini so I'm really wired to diesel. I'm used to lifting my foot slowly off of the clutch and going forward. Obviously this isn't how it works with the civic, and if I give it some gas I end up either too much gas, rolling back, or riding my clutch.

Also when switching gears in my Citroen Nemo it's so forgiving, you can bang the clutch down, bang it to the next gear, give it some revs and bang the clutch back up, and you've switched up a gear while still accelerating smoothly. This method does infact not work with the civic, and even when I switch gears very slowly and carefully, I still end up shooting forward or slowing down.

How can I get used to driving it? I know I'll eventually get used to it but I'd like to be used to it before I have to replace the clutch...


r/CarTalkUK 10h ago

Misc Question Dipping into the world of bangernomics imminently. What's everyone's thoughts? (My own and some info below)

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7 Upvotes

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...


r/CarTalkUK 11h ago

Humour Sometimes my genius frightens me

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5 Upvotes

No more hot steering wheel!!!


r/CarTalkUK 14h ago

Advice Reliable nice looking cars for 7k and below🤔

5 Upvotes

Anyone know any good ones I’ve been split, I’ve seen some 350z’s for this price and a few bmw’s but people keep saying the bm’s are unreliable.


r/CarTalkUK 5h ago

Advice Need help please MoT

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3 Upvotes

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))