F**king cars

[xxnick1975]

Cars? IMHO, go either nearly new or less than a grand. Everything else is a risk

 

[raleighrider21]

ill be sticking to less than a grand then lol

 

[Koupe]

Incidentally what was so flawed about the original Beetle??? I mean, compared to the other cars around at the time.

They were a decent design when they were very first produced, but by the late 60s there was no excuse for them IMO. It bugged me (sic) when I was younger that everyone raved about them so much when there were far better classic cars around. There's a saying that the Mini was perfectly designed but badly-built, and the Beetle was badly designed but well-built, and if VW had built the Mini, that would've been the perfect car, with no competition.

 

[Koupe]

ill be sticking to less than a grand then lol

Exactly - unless you have money to burn, there's no point in spending any more than three figures on a daily driver. I actually wouldn't spend more than £500, but then I'm a proper tightarse.

 

[Alison]

Cars? IMHO, go either nearly new or less than a grand. Everything else is a risk

Sorry but everything is a risk, I worked for a breakdown/recovery firm snd one bloke with a Defender was furious as his brand new car had broken down so often and they'd refused to replace it I got all the stick. I think you can get a new car and have shit or a 20 year old one and never have a breakdown, just luck of the draw.

Alison

 

[Alison]

ill be sticking to less than a grand then lol

Exactly - unless you have money to burn, there's no point in spending any more than three figures on a daily driver. I actually wouldn't spend more than £500, but then I'm a proper tightarse.

OK, you come with me and show me a reliable £500 car and you can have my £2700 Mondeo

Alison

 

[raleighrider21]

ill be sticking to less than a grand then lol

Exactly - unless you have money to burn, there's no point in spending any more than three figures on a daily driver. I actually wouldn't spend more than £500, but then I'm a proper tightarse.

your not the only one whos a tight arse. gf spent £4k on her c2. its been plagued with issues, fuel pump went first. then it was front drivers wheel bearing. then the rear lights didnt want to work at all. wipers played up for a bit. was a period when the dash and radio didnt work. at the moment the heater is buggered, the passenger door seal is gone and the speedo doesnt work and its 5 years old? but then again its french.
got the focus for £450 cant fault it anywhere so far. i was looking at £2K-£3K cars but i thought nah. i dont think ill ever spend more than £1500 on a car and itd have to be a really nice car for me to spend over £1k on a car lol
allison, what about taking a mechanics course at a local college?

 

[raleighrider21]

ill be sticking to less than a grand then lol

Exactly - unless you have money to burn, there's no point in spending any more than three figures on a daily driver. I actually wouldn't spend more than £500, but then I'm a proper tightarse.

OK, you come with me and show me a reliable £500 car and you can have my £2700 Mondeo

Alison

i could do that. we got a 1.6 piccasso 57k miles on the clock for £250 just had to mot it. its not let my grandad down yet. had it 9 months and gets used to tow a car transporter trailer. i just wouldnt do it for your "£2700 mondeo" because its not worth that anymore lol

 

[Koupe]

Exactly - unless you have money to burn, there's no point in spending any more than three figures on a daily driver. I actually wouldn't spend more than £500, but then I'm a proper tightarse.

OK, you come with me and show me a reliable £500 car and you can have my £2700 Mondeo

Alison

Sorry, again I didn't mean to sound like a smartarse but my current car ('95 N-reg Xantia) cost me just over £400 and has never given me a hint of bother since I bought it. I don't have any street cred, but I'm too un-cool to be concerned about that. I'd really rather not swap it for a Mondeo of any age, but you're welcome to test-drive it if you're ever in the area!

 

[highlandsflyer]

Well we have an S Max that is nearly four years old and had only one fault in all that time.

I had numerous Beetles with next to no problems covering large mileages, ditto VW campers. Had Merc Sprinters for years with little or no issues. Mondeo, Galaxy, Focus, all did miles with little issue.

Many vehicles in fact, some new, some old, but all low milers when I bought them and well maintained.

Change the fluids regularly regardless of miles and get used to the right sounds coming from the vehicle and most issues are forewarned.

Beetles are very simple, I can't really understand the suggestion there are much better classic cars. Different yes, but the Beetle does its job very well indeed. Over engineered is the word.

I wouldn't give up on your Mondeo just like that.

It is worth getting it diagnosed by a mobile mechanic, it may be a reasonably cheap fix.

Try disconnecting the battery for a day, it might reset the ECU.

As far as ECUs go, we have two 1990 Pajeros that only have an ECU to control the plug heaters, bypassed on one of them. They have air con, heated seats and electric windows. No airbags or ABS though.

I wouldn't want to do motorways regularly in a smaller vehicle without all the latest safety gear though, so we will retain a 'modern' for the long hauls. Day to day getting around in any conditions though, I would trust these very old Pajeros with my life, and probably have.