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

Thanks - Hefty also. I tried Back to Blacking the vinyl roof on my Dolly a few months back and wasn't particularly impressed with the streaks - I'll check those out.

Had a flurry of nice cars when I was a bit younger, before I moved to London: 106 gti, saxo vts, clio 172, jdm dc2r, e36 m3 evo. Moved to London, got rid of the car, survived just fine. Moved back to Dublin and bought a nice e39 520i msport, moved back to London and brought it with me. It was getting a bit tired so I finally bit the bullet and done something I never thought I would do, buy a nearly new car with a warranty and service plan. Set out to buy a sensible diesel estate, came home with this...

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diesel >>>

Re: battery woes, for the same price as a Halfords battery if you're an AA member they will come out and install one 7-days a week. I'm going to drop a new one in mine to see if it copes any better with sitting around for months at a time.

I've got a charger and the battery is on it now. I just think it's an old battery and not holding charge in the cold with no driving. I'll throw a new battery in soon.

Eurocarparts are doing 30% off this weekend, includes batteries.

If you've got those in London anyway

Anyone fancy my shitbox citroen? Found something far more appropriate for me.

Was looking for £75 on here because it just got a new tyre and battery.

Volvo for life: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article12316941.ab

I know there are batteries that can provide more juice but are there also any type of car battery that hold their power longer than others? ie. our car sits unused most of the time, will a silver-based battery work better than a calcium one?

I remember you could buy special high current batteries for cars with huge stereo installations in them that needed loads of power for amps.

Hmm, they're still almost as much as AA charge to come and fit one.

Wait, my bad, you have to apply a code.

Capacity60 Ah
CategoriesBatteries
CCA 420 A
Guarantee3 Years

Actually, missus has a workmate with trade discount so looks like he'll grab us one. Cheers peeps.

You need as many CCA, 'Cold Cranking Amps' as your $ will buy.

I had a similar problem in late Spring early Summer.
(Diesel) car would not start after a wet week of no usage.
Battery attached to charger, overnight, started fine.
(Noted battery had indeterminate QA/QC sticker '10/11'.
either way 5 or 6 years showing at end of life).

Failed to start the following week,
picked up a Bosch S4 from Costco,
for the same price, (cost + delivery) as the online battery 'shops'.

Month later, battery warning light illuminated on dashboard,
sure enough alternator was on the way out,
as checked by MOT garage I use, alternator only producing an 'under-voltage' output.

Hopefully electrics now sorted for Winter.

Good news, I don't need a new head, engine was fixed pretty easily.

Bad news, the floor is totally rotten and I need a new shell.

Guess it's new car and swap all my goodies over time.

MX-5's seem to rot out quite easily, were they never sealed very well from the factory?

No, they don't salt roads in Japan so they're not sealed. Mine apparently rusted from the ex-rollcage holes out.

Order shell from Japan, seal, profit?

Alright, moneybags. A fresh import would be ideal but so much money these days!

£?

Saaarf Efriken?

£5k

I know nothing about this. I was thinking of getting someone (qualified) to have a bash with a clay bar on my paint.
My understanding is that once this is done, you get microscopic holes left in the paint where the grot used to be that the clay bar pulled out. Then you have to seal / wax the paint to shut these up.

Is that correct? My question - does this then force you into a schedule where you have to start regularly waxing your car (which I don't currently do)?

Why is my hardtop so fucking noisy?

your hardtop is noisy because you bought a car with no roof.

[btq...]