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

Re. My A6
2007, 152k miles. No MOT - failed due to a worn brake pad (that's all)
Faults -
Air con broken - too dear to fix
Broken spring
Weeping shock
Drivers door lock doesn't work with central locking
Wheel bearing needs fixed (happened this week)
Rust patches on drivers door, door sill, bit below the door - all treated with rust killer but needs tidied up
ERG removed (remapped etc for this)
Scores and scrapes due to age

Further to my chat a few pages back on looking for a car- I'm currently looking at 2020-22 Hyundai Ioniq electrics , price and running costs look good. I can charge on my drive overnight . Other than making me look like an Uber driver are there any reasons why this is a bad idea?

My GF has a 2024 Ioniq and loves it.
Daily charging is not necessary, she charges it twice a week.

Hello driverists, I've only been driving since December and since then we've done a few trips to rural Wales which has some very narrow lanes, proper 1 car width things despite being 2 way. I've noticed the left side of the car has become a bit scuffed, not full on scratched but you can tell it's rubbed against bushes or whatever despite my best efforts not to. Has anyone got any advice for how to deal with this? Can I just polish the scuffs out or something?

Who needs reverse?

Thanks- that's appreciated . I'm looking at the much less sexy older model , unfortunately budget doesn't allow the newer ioniq 5

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depends how much you care about the outcome.

wash > polish > wax will improve appearance of low depth scratches.

personally i just live with it.

I'd skip the A4 s line unless you are mainly on motorways, went for a drive last night and I can feel every bump. To the point I've always been interested in switching for an A6 all road or similar with adaptive suspension.

16"s will fit, there's a Corolla spec with this size steel wheels. But wheel size is only one factor affecting comfort, before you go changing. I have a GR Sport on 18"s, it's sportyish but I wouldn't have said a harsh ride, is pretty well controlled. Can you try first?

I have bought this

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Thanks. Yes going to test it but it’s a bit of a mission outside London, so wanted to see what my options are, and if it wasn’t worth it in the first place.

First few goodies for the 996 at the weekend - spacers and Zunsport radiator grilles.

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Might be interested as I need a car to go get my stuff from France.

But broken spring and leaking shock will be a fail.

Nice.

Does that jack fit under it?

Good question, not really, and hard no with the pucks I bought to fit on the jacking points, had to be a bit creative( I already had the cheap jack).

Probably won't work as I'm in NI. The MOT Centre didn't detect the spring or shock issue. They found the excessively worn brake pad. The spring and shock are at issues are at the same corner.
I bit my tongue and accepted the 'excessively worn' thing but the car passed the brake test therefore. My head said that an excessively worn tyre is ok providing its depth is legal.
If you have a genuine interest, drop me a PM and I will see what works. I can get it MOTed if needed but from this point on - I'm not footing the bill.
Full disclosure - I want rid with no hassle 😀

UPDATE - new car has arrived. Agreed sale of old car to my mechanic for £450. He has the skills to sort it out at minimal cost - which I wasn't prepared to do.
He bought my last A6 and had 7 years of driving from it - it would be good if the same happens with this one but I don't think it will last unfortunately.

That must be a while ago? Quotes are coming in £800+ outside London's famous London..! As you say, PITA job. Local garage said the clutch is only about £120. Rest of the money spent being under the car. What a piece of shit. We've decided to get rid. We need something bigger anyway.

Does anyone have any experience of a Mazda CX-5? Are there better alternatives I should be considering? Budget is £10k max.

Yep - had a CX-5 for about 10 years now. Been a really solid car for us. Drives nicely enough.
No issues whatsoever and very comfortable. At least when I researched before buying it had one of the better load volumes for the overall size too, so that's good. I think the general advice is avoid the AWD version and swerve the low profile tyre options.

@Haggis You also selling the cargo box / rack?

Looking at different Mk3 Octavias. Ideally would like the top spec with cruise control, auto lights and auto wipers (and nice seats), but realistically the lower (but not basic) spec SE models fit the budget better.

Will I miss those things if I've never had them before. Cruise control (non-adaptative) being the main one.

Or to put it another way - is it better to have a higher mileage car with maybe worse service history for the sake of the extras.

Auto lights - completely pointless
Auto wipers - actively annoying, i always have mine switched off
Cruise control - useful for empty toll roads in France. Vaguely useful for 50mph average speed zones but otherwise pointless on UK roads

Do you do much on the motorway? If so, I'd highly recommend CC. I have only ever used non-adaptive and it really, really improves the journeys for me.

Cruise is nice, auto lights are nice. Nicer things are nice.

auto lights (especially auto/adjusting full beam) and cruise control are excellent. dont think i could own another car without cruise control tbh

Has anyone updated their garmin Honda Sat nav. We’ve got a 2019 hrv. Is it possible to put the 2024 update on there