Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I'm hoping that after driving it and getting used to it my wife will grow to prefer larger car and we can consolidate on something newer. Plus my mk1 mx5.

Yeah, the prices for UK petrol XC70’s have shot up in the last few years, partially due to ULEZ.

I paid £2K for my 2006 one about 4 years ago; a friend has just bought an identical one, down to every spec, service record and mileage, for £7K! Bonkers.

Scheiße. Neither of those are cheap fixes.

Mazda 6 Estate

Always forget about it but when I thought there was hope for an estate that was high in my research list.

Also really enjoying this old thread

https://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17061&page=11

I have read that the autos were less reliable, but no idea if any of those issues would be transmission related. Fingers crossed I’ve not just bought a money pit.

I've extremely kindly been bumped up to 3 cars by my brother and sister in law. While the Volvo has been out of action, they lent us their 2013 E Class diesel hybrid, but they since upped their kindness by saying we can keep it because they don't use it. It's not ulez compliant so it'll have to be traded in or sold next year, but still, it's nice to have a modern car that has nothing wrong with it and does 50ish mpg.

2013 E Class diesel hybrid... not ulez compliant

Really? I'm quite surprised by that.

It's only Euro 5, I can only hypothesise that ulez is assessed on emissions specifically from the ice engine, so hybrids don't get any benefits, and petrol hybrids only pass because Euro 4 is quite old.

I popped over to the local VW van centre at lunch, had a walk around their various different versions of the T6. They're surprisingly small, even the LWB ones - or they are when your bike is 6'6" long anyway. I think I'd end up taking the entire length of the load area on an SWB van, and putting the bike in behind the second row of seats in for e.g. a Kombi or Shuttle would need a) the LWB version and b) to take the front wheel out.

I had a chat with a place that customises Transporters (turns them into campers) and a slide out deck in the back for bikes would be ~£500 on top of the purchase price. That way you could run it out under the tailgate, lift the bike straight off and put the front wheel in, slide it back in and off you go.

Seen just now near me Daimler 250.

Can park wherever the hell you want if your cars this nice.

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There's more to go wrong I suppose.

From my reading the E46 is a good engine if looked after properly but it gets fucked quickly if the oil isn't changed regularly and/or cheaper oil is used.

It’s first on the list and appears to have been replaced every 5k miles at least. Will try and do filters while I’m at it.

As long as the oil meats BMW spec it is fine.

EDIT Seals wear, and is it the brake servo?

Looking forward to this escalating to “Dammit buys an HGV to carry his mountain bike”.

Castrol 5w-30 c3 is the one IIRC.

Has a notice on the back about meeting BMW spec.

Will he bid on ebay drunk?

Do VW still make the cravter

Personally I go for branded oils on offer. At the moment going through alot of mannol in 20l barrel seems decent enough spec for the pandas, micra and other bits. Mannol oil seems to be a decent spec and from ebay conatct the seller direct for the same price ;)

So have had the UK car cloned in France, we are now getting speeding tickets from places I didn't go.

So far 4 tickets have arrived.

Nah, the transmission servo

would need a) the LWB version and b) to take the front wheel out.

• coughs *
  

Clearly the solution is one of these:

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It is the forum choice.

Nothing seems to last, look up citroen/pug rear suspension collapsing and panda/500/ka spring bases rusting out and failing.

Clearly the solution is one of these:

I have to say I can't really bring myself to acknowledge that vans cost ~£25,000.

You can get a properly fast car for that.