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

Wow in the past insurance usually over a pittance for older cars.

Pricing is just weird at hhr moment.

Roof boxes - which ones won't break my bank?

Ones from a kind fellow parent who will happily be reimbursed with booze for your week’s loan. That way you don’t have to worry about storing the thing when you get back either.

I had a basic Halfords one - hard to see what paying any more would get you

That said I enjoyed borrowing one so much I am considering buying for more regular use. Even just storing it in our garage (boast post) for a few days was a massive pita.

Borrowed one was a Halfords advance but had a ‘made by Thule’ sticker on the inside.

Is there such a parent out there willing to lend me a roof box in SE London?

I am this close to buying a V50.

Which o e?

Nggghhhh.

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Me.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS. SPAFSeverywhere

I might holler at you this week!

It's normal to be super anxious about the purchasing decision you're about to make right?
I'm just waiting for everything and anything to go wrong.

I went to the dealer (in Shoreham), it was a pleasant experience, the car was quiet, the seller pointed out what's being fixed before sale, I was ready to ask a question about the tyres (as they're flagged on the advisory) and that was raised before I asked. Went for a drive, quiet, no weird noises, felt nice, experience felt ok, sale felt none rushed, matched the reviews I'd read, long term car dealer. Noticed two things while driving, horn sounds odd and the inbuilt sat nav started up even though the console didn't raise. Mileage matched up.

It's going to die on me isn't it?

Hopefully it comes with a warranty. Anything that doesn't die within that time that subsequently does is part and parcel of owning a second hand car. At least, that's what I tell myself. Get a recovery service or see if one is included in your insurance. Maybe even bring the car to a local mechanic (either a Volvo specialist or just whoever you would be bringing it to for service/MOT/when something goes bang) and see if they'll do a healthcheck/inspection. Even after you've bought it, cos if they find something, they can always go back to the dealer and say "here mate, this bit's fuckoed".

If you're not doing it all the time, it is daunting. I have only done it three times now (licence at 18, first car owned at 36). Each time was less stressful despite the costs increasing.

It's going to die on me isn't it?

Oh yes. Don't even tell us the make/model as you'll get conflicting info, anecdata and confirmation bias. Just enjoy it.

horn sounds odd

Deal breaker.

Just enjoy it

This.

My 14yo, 40k mile Panda cost £2k and I got two glorious years out of it. Including a drive to Belfast and back with a 6 month pregnant ms_com in the passenger seat. MOT after two years came back with some bits that are known for that car and would have cost more than it was worth to fix. Sold it on ebay for scrap for £300 (person who bought it probably fixed the bits and flipped it, but I don't care).

13yo 60k mile CMax that replaced that was £4k and my first auto (never going back to manual). Alternator died within a month, leaving me stranded outside my mother in law's in Brixton. RAC got me home by plugging in a battery back and following me back to Thornton Heath. Bought from a dealer in Surrey, they said they'd fix it under warranty but I'd have to get the car 17 miles back to them. Got quotes for recovery which were all over £100. 1 year of Green Flag with home recovery (a lot will only cover you over 1/4 mile away from home) was cheaper. Signed up for that, called them up next day and said "You'll never BELIEVE what just happened!? I know! The day after I signed up!" They came and took the car back to the dealer, who fixed it and brought it back. After that, for the 3.5 years I owned it I had it serviced every year, replaced the tyres once, but then it started to have more frequent issues that cost a few hundred quid at a time. Plus it was shit on petrol so decided to get something more fun (for me) and more economical.

April this year I bought a 2013 90k mile Octavia Estate VRS. £9k but traded in the C Max for £1,250. 0-60 in 7 seconds and 150 mph, which is fast, for me. Considering the above ownership history. O2 sensor started complaining soon after i bought it but ultimately getting that fixed myself was more economical than losing a day of work and arguing with the dealer to get them to fix it. I have since also had a bit more of a drains up service done to be preventative (injectors pulled and cleaned, valves inspected (didn't need cleaning), DSG gearbox serviced, full service etc - interestingly, spark plugs were only finger tight, but even on the mechanic's road test drive, he didn't notice any issues, just surprised him when he went to pull them). From now on I expect it to just be normal service and cost of ownership things. Eg. I'll probably replace the tyres before the next MOT and maybe even get the wheels refurbed at the same time (a good bit of historic kerbing). There are probably lots of things I would worry about going wrong, but if I get it regularly serviced by people who know what they're doing, I am happy I've done all I can to extend the life of it.

Coincidentally, I realised the other day that I had never actually tested the horn in the Octavia so gave it a bip. I must have watched too much Ogmio's.

I can lend you mine if you want? 330 litres Kamei Husky

I've only ever bought privately (so no warranty or right of return etc) and have a tendency to google the f- out of a model which is not advised (no one bothers posting on a forum that their car is fine).

We had a 38 year old camper van which we drove to the alps and back without issue - meanwhile our (new to us) 2014 Yeti broke down on the A1 last week and had to be recovered by the AA. Frustrating as we were off to a wedding and then on holiday (which we had to finish in a hire car). Cue a week of worrying the engine was totally borked, but it was fixed with new spark plugs and coil pack.

Things do go wrong, but they probably won't. Have breakdown cover just in case.

Don't worry about the Sat Nav as it'll be rubbish anyway assuming the car is over 10 years old.

I have a 6 month warranty (still shaking sofas and children on the street down for cash atm). so that calms some concerns, insurance will have b'down cover.

There's a volvo specialist in Charlton - but there's a place in Bellingham that gets love on here from the Catford dads.

@M4xime - might shout later on this week?

I am sure I'll be back when it goes wrong.

It's normal to be super anxious about the purchasing decision you're about to make right?

It's a total crap shoot but it sounds like you've done your due diligence. Go for it.

The STi has been great since I (maybe) cleared the fault codes, no more check engine light. Is this normal? Could it just have been an undeleted code, will that keep going off until it's been cleared?

Sounds like you've done everything you can. It's such an asymetrical encounter, buying from a dealer - they sell cars every day but you buy one once every five+ years or so.

I've always done an independent inspection on anything I've bought (I found a good guy on whocanfixmycar.com last time), I've always thought that was worth the extra hassle of organising and any dealers have accepted it and agreed not to sell out from under me.

All this roof box talk has reminded me that the roof boxes appeared in the expanse and fire fly as sleep chambers.

It is sad that I noticed.

If youre in Shoreham I can 100% recommend these guys:
https://ambergarage.co.uk/

Volvo experts and can vouch for them. They serviced mine a few years ago and were brutally honest with everything they found, didnt try to upsell me or charge me for anything it didnt need.