[James H]

oooh I hadn't even thought of one of them. I'll try and find one in my local area

That ones in a 40 mile radius of Bracknell

[The Deadly]

winning!Excellent job James!!

[Yudster]

He's good isn't he?!

[James H]

No problem everyone, I am but a servant!

You may also find more stuff branching out from AutoTrader. Gumtree, Carandclassic.co.uk and PistonHeads are all places to consider.
Along with the obvious eBay Motors!

And to chrysostom: I'll write my winner's speech and get back to you. Although I dunno about the last award!

[Yudster]

Is it really safe to buy a car off ebay?

[James H]

Is it really safe to buy a car off ebay?

I've bought a couple from eBay, so long as you can view it beforehand why would be it be any different to Auto Trader?

The other place to look at is the owners clubs of the car you're looking for. For example if you wanted to buy a Micra you would check out the Micra Sports Club, that's one I help run, by being a general internet geek and keeping the forum software ticking over (clang!)

[James H]

More car geekery, I got an MP3 player addon for my car, which simulates being a CD-changer, meaning I can now pick and choose from tons of music! Just started with a couple:



Then tonight I'm going to fit an amp and a set of components to my stock system using a Line-level converter more to come soon!

[dimtimjim]

Is it really safe to buy a car off ebay?

I've made a few high value purchases through eBay, no need to be afraid if you use your noggin (as I know you would). Ensure collection is arranged and walk away if in doubt - the eBay processes will back you up if not suitable following sales descript. As ever, you can get a good estimate from the listing itself.

And I back up James's point re Owners Forums. If you have a specific model in mind for purchase, its worth spending a few hours forum browsing to get an idea of likely faults and things to look out for when viewing a potential vehicle.

More car geekery, I got an MP3 player addon for my car, which simulates being a CD-changer, meaning I can now pick and choose from tons of music! Just started with a couple:

Then tonight I'm going to fit an amp and a set of components to my stock system using a Line-level converter more to come soon!

Yeah, tis good innit Jimbo. I have a head unit which accepts USB sticks and plays MP3's through that. Very useful.

[dimtimjim]

Ok here's a challenge for you - find me a car for around £6 - 7k, about 3 or 4 years old, medium sized hatchback (Astra, Peugot 308 kind of size) which will give me excellent economy (anything upwards of 45 mpg) combined, and preferably has a low VED cost. In North Essex/South Suffolk.

My 2p worth (based on not much search time!)...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

[James H]

Not bad, I do like the Seat Leons. And the 1.9 TDi engines. The only downside is it's in VED band E (same as my 2.2 DCi as it happens), which is £120 a year tax.

[dimtimjim]

Yeah, cracking little cars they are. VAG parts collection for SEAT prices.

[Yudster]

I've been told anecdotally that the Seat's are a bit heavy on fuel consumption so I hadn't considered one, but I think the Leon is a lovely looking car. And whilst that tax band is not as low as some, its not out of the question.

Your next task is to send me £6000!

Actually you both missed a mega - negative factor - the damn thing is in Belfast.

[dimtimjim]

Yeah, I wasn't using that as a specific car, just an example of the breed. Given your criteria, it'd be my suggestion.

The generic VW 1.9TD engine is not the most economical in the world, but as MPG is mostly down to driver attitude and not engine capability I wouldn't get too caught up in that. A BeeEm with a 3.0L petrol engine can be more frugal than a Prius, depending on how you drive 'em.

[dimtimjim]

Although, i should highlight to anyone looking at a 'new' car at the moment, there are some cracking deals about at the moment on PCH cars (Personal Contract Hire). Bag yourself something nice for £300p/m. Shop around and play a main dealer off against a specialist PCH company for the best deal. This time of year manufacturers will offer some mega deals to shift a few units before the next 'plate' comes out in Sept.

Oh, and a bit more generic advice. Don't get too caught up in diesel and its 'economy'. 80% of new cars sold in UK at pres are Diesel. Manufacturers know this and charge a premium for the D motor (average £3k more). Add to that the increased price of Diesel (per L) over petrol and taking into account the massive advances in Petrol fuel economy over the last few years and if you only plan to keep a car for a few years (2 or 3), assuming mild mileage (12,000 p/a) the Petrol can usually work out cheaper overall over the same time period as the Deisel equivalent.

[The Deadly]

What are Seat Leon's like to insure. I'd imagine it would be pricey

[Yudster]

The problem I perceive with PCH is the mileage limits - they charge a bloody fortune if you exceed them I hear, and we would almost certainly do more than 10k miles a year. But if you reckon there might be deals knocking around, I might re-visit that thought.

I take your point about diesel/petrol, and I agree that petrol is a real economy option these days. And as for the Prius - owning one is one of the least environmentally friendly things anyone can do. Fact.

[dimtimjim]

Ok if you don't go for the Cupra/FR models (liked by thieves).

Insurance group 6 (for the 1.9TDi). My car is group 16.

[dimtimjim]

The problem I perceive with PCH is the mileage limits - they charge a bloody fortune if you exceed them I hear, and we would almost certainly do more than 10k miles a year. But if you reckon there might be deals knocking around, I might re-visit that thought.

I take your point about diesel/petrol, and I agree that petrol is a real economy option these days. And as for the Prius - owning one is one of the least environmentally friendly things anyone can do. Fact.

Yes, don't EVER buy a Prius for 'enviro' reasons - a marketeers lie.

You are right about PCH cars if you go over annual mileage, but you get the agreed p/p/m cost (for mileage over and above annual limit) agreed with them at start of contract and you can also alter deal according to mileage estimate.

I can't get a PCH car 'cos as soon as I tell them I do 50,000 miles per year, the price goes through the roof as the car would be effectively 'dead' (from a re-sale point of view) after 2 years contract!

[James H]

Spot on on every point in the last few posts Mr. DTJ!

I think I work out cheaper to own a diesel at the moment, my trip counter is now at 10,200 from when I got the Almera, on the 1st March and with me booting it most of the time it's still giving 44.6 mpg!

Oh, and I've just got a new set of front tyres, a pair of Toyo Proxes T1-R. Love them. Had them on nearly every car I've ever owned and they just transform the car. I don't care that the compound is quite soft, it's amazing!

Next stop: Lowering/coilies!

[dimtimjim]

I use Conti's (SC3's) if I'm feeling flush or Falkens (452's) if not. Tyres are the single most important 'thing' on a car. DO NOT BUY CHEAP TYRES PEOPLE!

When lowering remeber two vital points;

1) The lower you go, the more it'll effect your toe angle, but also it'll effect clearance gaps with other parts.
2) Dampers are where the £'s need to go - any old spring'll do (within reason).

When looking to replace my shocks (due to hitting a fallen tree few years ago) I looked for the smallest ammount of lowering possible. Ended up with 15mm. Now, this may not sound like much, but it has completely messed with my steering geometry. So now, no ammount of messing with the tracking will get my wheels perfectly aligned as the lower wishbone now clashes slightly with the ARB mounting points. The WB should be pointing at (approx) 100 degrees (from vertical), but due to the lowering kit it now points slightly above 85 degrees (again, from vert). Only a small point, but a mildly irritating one which causes the car to pull ever-so-slightly left.

You will find numerous coil-over kits out there for OK £'s. My advise, if you can afford it, is to go with quality dampers and buy separate springs. With dampers, go with a decent brand like Koni, Eibachs, Spax or KW.

[James H]

Yes, I made the mistake of not getting the shocks too with my Micra, although it did handle loads better, it never felt right, especially at high speeds.

My friend had a set of Bilstein motorsport spec dampers on his Micra (A Nissan Motorsport model):


God that car was a riot. Unfortunately the ECU went pop and because it was a one off (I think it was made by Pectel), and the loom was all custom, it would have cost thousands to fix!

My ex-housemate also has a 1989 March Superturbo. It's a compound charged Micra that has a supercharger and turbocharger. He managed to get the 930cc engine up to 200bhp and doing 14 second quarter miles at Santa Pod, that thing was TERRIFYING!

[The Deadly]

Oooooooh I've found a Ford dealer selling the new Focus on finance without you having to put down a deposit and I'm very tempted. Insurance group 11 though and Im guessing that's going to be quite pricey.

[James H]

Oooooooh I've found a Ford dealer selling the new Focus on finance without you having to put down a deposit and I'm very tempted. Insurance group 11 though and Im guessing that's going to be quite pricey.

Is that insurance group 11 in the 1-20 rating, or 11 in the 1-50 ratings, if it's the new ratings then that's actually not too bad!

What's the spec/engine?

[The Deadly]

It can be either a 1.6 or a 1.4 depending on what you want. It just says insurance group 11 so not too sure on which scale that is due to not knowing anything about car insurance and being useless at car stuff.

[James H]

According to the ABI, the 1.4's are group 6 out of 50. The others are a bit of a mixed bag. You can look em all up on here: http://www.thatcham.org/abigrouprating/ ... p?page=343