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

I'd have thought that the place that swapped the springs would have then done an alignment, but that to one side, uneven wear is a classic sign of an alignment issue.

If you take it to a place with a Hunter alignment rig they should tell you if any parts are borked

That’s my understanding too but at the moment which it failed I ran out of
Composure and lost enough power that I couldn’t stop or make the turn I wanted to so ended up through the fence. We returned later in the night and drive it home mostly along the beach using a combination of handbrake and light foot braking.

You need an alignment. Specifically your camber is wayyy off.

Reasons to have really bad camber:

• Needs basic alignment, but this would be surprising to me based on how bad it sounds.

• If the car is lowered it can be hard or even impossible to reach the correct camber without camber plates.

• if your rear subframe is shifted then it can be impossible to camber correctly on one side only, and if the previous alignment tasker was not up for the challenge of fixing subframe position, then he / she may have focused on symmetry instead making both sides limited and poorly cambered.

• A$$hole "fitment" with spacers and tucking the wheels.

Based on your description of the tires your alignment is probably way way off and I would not be surprised if there was more to the story than a basic alignment.

Long story short take it to a good VW shop who cares about these cars or else you'll probably be chasing your tail.

I've been through this and had to basically call around basking a bunch of shops near me who would take the time to properly center my subframe before alignment. Finally for it done and made all the difference in the world.

fair bit less delicate than bleeding bike brakes

Probably the most frustrating job I've ever done on bikes but this is good to hear. Will the drums be cable operated?

Only the handbrake is cable, the drum itself is on a split hydraulic circuit with the front

It's a bit like if you had a disc braked bike, but you have a brake lever with a reservoir with two outlets, one to the front and one to the rear, and the size of the caliper controls how much force is applied to each brake

Thanks! I'll get it booked in.

Should've clarified as well, car is completely stock. Not lowered, no spacers or tucking etc.

Seen some good advice on here and I am in a similar situation to some others.

I need to get a 1.4-1.6 ish (no bigger) petrol run about that may also do 2x cornwall trips a year from the midlands. Got about 2-4k to spend on something that won't be a money pit, won't be too expensive to insure and will be fine on fuel. Thinking some kind of 2004-2009ish golf/polo/leon/ibiza

Any ideas? Cheers

then may be only an alignment but sounds really way off. probably fixable without new parts though.

by the way is it a good example of an R32? post pics.

I'd go for something like a Honda Jazz. Well built, well designed. Small but big enough to do decent journeys. Should be cheap to run and insure. 3-4k should get you something around 50,000miles circa 2008-2010.

New car day. After driving her 25 miles home I’m deaf, shaking and grinning like an idiot.

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Why not an Audi A4 1.9 tdi? Bullet proof and economical

@ricky2slicky will take a look cheers and @TGR it'd be really expensive for me to insure but thanks for the shout

so much yes Olly that is awesome. 1980? love it dude. consider it appreciated!

run about that may also 2x cornwall trips a year

My key takeaway from your brief is that 99.9% of your driving will be short practical runs.

In which case something small and economical is the way to go. Pretty much any car made since the '00s will be fine for those odd long trips.

Anything like a VW / Audi will carry a premium, which will carry through to your insurance.

Personally, having considered buying one, a Jazz sounds like the perfect balance. There's also something pleasingly utilitarian about them.

Left field, that I doubt anyone will agree with, is a Panda (ideally a Panda 4x4). Again like the Jazz there's just something I liked about it's utility.

If there's a specific reason you need something bigger have a look at Hyundai - excellent spec for the money. My 2p don't bother with Mazda 3 - your extremely unlikely to find a good one for sale. Idk if owners keep them or what.

Hopefully you can see this xls. which has some of my notes on models, trims, etc. and Bear in mind our brief was much more about room and comfort for driving through France a couple of times a year plus more A road driving, and insurance wasn't a factor.

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• golf - like options .xlsx

Thanks man. Yeah it’s a 1980 SIII petrol. The needs case is very flimsy, but had to have one!

Absolutely lovely.

We also had a new car day, and it’s just fantastically ridiculous. I can sleep in the back.
Also does 0-60 in a frankly ridiculous time.

Our neighbor came home with a huaracan (I think) on the same day. Thing is goddamn noisy af.

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Money saved on the car into insurance? This was random google for a rough price.

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Wow, that looks slick. What is it?

Xc40. Get great reviews.

Looks ace @eyebrows

@hugo7 Thanks very much!

My commute is 10 miles each way which I bike 4/5 days a week. Most of it is short journeys as you say, but it would be good to be able to fit 2x bikes in or get a roof rack. I visit uni mates at weekends quite a bit so some motorways other than just cornwall runs. I'm also 6ft5 so can't be too small.

Have thought about Kia/Mazda if I can find something clean at a good price

Totally worth the reviews, so easy to drive, even been managing an acceptable 30mpg around town in eco mode. Which given its AWD and crazy fast is class leading.
360 cameras are unreal, just fitting the final safety features to bring it to class 2 (+) autonomy which will be nice, as lots of long miles in the year ahead.
And it can tow the mini...

On the same day though, our neighbor (not in our block) brought this back...

He’s been aimlessly revving it for the past 12hrs.

I'd be tempted by a cheap TDI A4 Avant but you could easily spend what you paid for it on parts and labour when it breaks.

Good mechanic. Spares are not too bad. Just pick the right car. My old A6 has the 1.9tdi engine. My mechanic bought it from me. I think there are around 250000 miles on it. Obviously a few issues - bodywork on front wings as always. New turbo fitted at 210000 miles. Various other bits but they can be sourced from a breaker to save money. If you get a good one, it should be no more expensive than anything else. It might be cheaper as parts are reasonably plentiful.
I miss my old car!

Yeah, it's an 06, only done 63k mi. It was my mum's, then my brother's and now mine. I'll see what I can do about pics...

I'll give Colin Gunning in Hertford a shout tomorrow, he knows his VWs.

Also, the alloys (standard vw zolder 18") are a bit knackered. Anywhere in North London (or ideally Herts) anyone would recommend for refurb? And any idea how much refurbing four of them would be likely to cost?