Honestjohn Backroom Posts

Advice on replacing my car in UK - sellers market? (UncleBlobby)

UncleBlobby — Wed, 15 May 2024 18:47:14 +0000

They may have a point, but I dislike car salesmen (it usually is men) who want to argue with you about what they do for a living (and therefore know a lot more than you about) rather than sell what you want. A lot of my problem is simply not finding a salesperson I like and trust. It makes an amazing difference to me. I bought a Kia last time because he was the only saleperson I liked and trusted out of all the dealerships I visited. Sadly he no longer seems to work there and the only salesperson I've really been impressed with this time was a lady in Volvo, but they are sadly too pricey by a long shot. Your advice about a standalone dealership is good thanks. Hopefully they'll be less carsalesmen like in a place like that. It always amazes me they aren't better. I won't say which specific garage but Ford were the worst 10-years ago and hadn't really changed when I visited recently. They actually seemed reluctant to sell me a car, like they were doing me a favour, which is a shame as the Ford Focus Estate ticks a lot of boxes. Thanks again for the advice.

Honda Jazz Hybrid - Multiple Honda 2020 model Brake Servo failures (Marie95)

Marie95 — Wed, 15 May 2024 18:41:51 +0000

Thought people might be interested in this. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=By0__W7GWKs

Advice on replacing my car in UK - sellers market? (Adampr)

Adampr — Wed, 15 May 2024 18:14:37 +0000

You have to know your stuff AND be lucky to get a good one. However, you don't need to be a mechanic; there are plenty of very simple checklists you can download if you want to give a car a thorough inspection. Autotrader and Cinch are very different animals. Autotrader allows anyone to sell anything; Cinch are selling the cars themselves. They are generally ex-fleet cars with decent history and they have a decent reputation. Ultimately, it's a car supermarket but online. Talking of car supermarkets, Motorpoint have a good reputation but all car supermarkets have perhaps been pushed out by Cinch and don't seem to have the best stock anymore. As I said before, I'd avoid them if you don't like pressure; selling you finance and warranties is how they make their money. In fairness to your Toyota dealer, they're probably right and a hybrid would be better. As I also mentioned before, try a more rural standalone dealership.

Vauxhall Grandland X - What are the facts about 'wet cam belts', Vauxhall and others? (Andrew-T)

Andrew-T — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:38:42 +0000

<< I would suggest a belt change every 50k miles. Change oil at twice the interval recommended by Stellantis (poor piston sealing on these engines means the oil becomes contaminated quickly and the contaminants attack the elastomer in the belt). >> rerepo, I'm sure you mean half the interval, not double ? :-)

Vauxhall Grandland X - What are the facts about 'wet cam belts', Vauxhall and others? (Lee Power)

Lee Power — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:02:28 +0000

I wont purchase another Stellantis group product ever again after my experience of owner a Puretech powered Peugeot for 4 years. Best thing I ever did was trade it in for a new Toyota.

Advice on replacing my car in UK - sellers market? (UncleBlobby)

UncleBlobby — Wed, 15 May 2024 16:46:00 +0000

Thanks. Must admit I'd discounted Seats as my knowledge of them is Seat Leons being the favourite of boy racers, which makes me assume high insurance.

Advice on replacing my car in UK - sellers market? (UncleBlobby)

UncleBlobby — Wed, 15 May 2024 16:41:03 +0000

Thanks for all the advice. Still no progress. Thought I'd found a good option with a Kia pre-reg Ceed estate, 12 miles on the clock available from a local dealership but above our budget. However the dealers will not even come down £1 on the list price! Is this normal now? Whenever I've bought cars previously you never paid the asking price, like buying a house. Has that changed? As I said in my first post it does seem very much a sellers market now but I'm amazed they won't shift at all. They have a few very low mileage "ex demo" cars but I see on here people saying not to buy very low mileage cars as they've often done lots of short journeys. What are people's thoughts on this? The clutch went on my previous Kia went after just a few thousand miles. Took it back to the dealers and they pointed out that on page 7, paragraph 4 it states that clutches are not covered. To be fair to the dealership they did replace it for me in the end, but after lengthy discussion. Warranties often seem to exclude everything likely to realistically fail in the period they cover in the small print. As regards the likes of Autotrader/cinch and other second hand market sellers, as stated above I've had terrible luck with these in past. Reading the incredible depth of knowledge in here and the many many pitfalls for the naive buyer like myself, I realise you really have to know your stuff not to get sold a pup and its not down to luck but knowledge. I really don't know enough and the sellers can tell. I may revisit the Toyota Corolla hybrid. The Skoda Skala looked too small for our needs as a family car. The Toyota dealership put me off again as, just as they did ten years ago, they wanted to argue about why hybrids were superior rather than sell what the customers want. Motorpoint Burney is one place I'm considering. Has anyone any experience of them?

Mercedes and BMW - Alloy wheels cracking (Steveieb)

Steveieb — Wed, 15 May 2024 16:27:47 +0000

A spare wheel is becoming a necessity on these cars otherwise you are stranded unless the tyre store loans you one while the wheel gets welded

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (galileo)

galileo — Wed, 15 May 2024 16:09:00 +0000

Its generally accepted in automotive engineering that, all things being equal, increasing engine Specific Output (kW output power per litre of displacement) will negatively affect durability and reliability. That is because the engine will be operating with higher pressures loads and temperatures. A small forced-induction engine is typically going to deliver 30%+ higher Specific Output than a NA equivalent. And then of course the turbo engine will have many additional components. So as a rule of thumb a bigger naturally aspirated engine is a better choice if you're concerned about long life and reliability. I worked for 36 years at a turbo manufacturer, which experimented with passenger car turbos but concluded it was a better plan to stay with the type of diesel used in trucks, buses, and industrial gen sets, where weight and packaging factors were less restricting. A significant improvement they made was to variable geometry turbocharging. Durability of truck turbo engines may not be so good as the old NA Gardner units but for power and fuel efficiency there is currently no practical alternative. (unless you believe Elon's fantasies)

Mercedes and BMW - Alloy wheels cracking (gordonbennet)

gordonbennet — Wed, 15 May 2024 15:46:17 +0000

Daughter's chap has given up on the 19" OE wheels apparently made of cheese fitted to his Type R Civic, had numerous of them straightened due to pot hole damage. He's replaced the lot with aftermarket 18" (can't go any smaller due to massive brakes) and so far so good.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) thread Vol 9 (Terry W)

Terry W — Wed, 15 May 2024 14:58:27 +0000

First the carrot to pull in new EV owners - low tax etc. Now the stick to beat aspiring ICE buyers - quotas and fines For some this could be a win-win: the trade in value of ICE will increase partly reflecting the increased cost of new ICE cars demanded by those who can't or won't embrace electric the price of my shiny new EV will continue to fall as manufacturers (a) need to hit sales targets and avoid fines, and (b) costs of production are anyway falling We could arrive at the somewhat bizarre situation where a new EV is cheaper than a (say) 2 year old similar ICE. Trade in your old ICE and get a brand new EV + some folding.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) thread Vol 9 (daveyjp)

daveyjp — Wed, 15 May 2024 13:16:03 +0000

There are already bargains. Look at prices of pre reg Leaf with the smaller battery, £17k, if you are happy with a few thousand miles £12k for a 23 reg,

The Electric Vehicle (EV) thread Vol 9 (mcb100)

mcb100 — Wed, 15 May 2024 11:49:25 +0000

Stand by for EV bargains towards the end of the year as manufacturers pre-register large numbers in order to hit the 22% target.

Ford and evs (SLO76)

SLO76 — Wed, 15 May 2024 10:32:20 +0000

It’s legislation like this that’s driving up prices of conventional powered cars. EV’s aren’t getting cheaper, they’re just pricing us out of petrol and diesel alternatives by pushing them up to parity with hugely overpriced EV’s.

Ford and evs (barney100)

barney100 — Wed, 15 May 2024 10:16:56 +0000

Apparently a top Ford exec has warned that they will cut the amount of ice cars they will sell in the UK. This is to avoid huge penalties for not meeting the governments demands on the percentage of EVs sold. The ice cars will be sold on other markets.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (paul 1963)

paul 1963 — Wed, 15 May 2024 10:05:01 +0000

A very interesting thread and helpful for me to realise it's not just me that notices that lack of torque at just over idle with a turbo motor. As others have said, I'm not the slightest bit disappointed with our 1.4 Vitara, it's just some I am aware of. Indeed, the thing pulls like a train from about 1500rpm and feels genuinely quick. Much quicker than our previous Civic 1.8 but having said that, the 1.8 engine was tolerant of ridiculously low revs and would trickle along at 1000rpm in 5th or 6th, something the current Vitara isn't as good as. Acknowledged though that it is somewhat lazy driving and I should really be in a lower gear. That's where the mild hybrid component kicks in,( you can feel, and see providing you have the correct display on the dash showing ) the electric motor give a helping hand.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (chesterfieldhouse)

chesterfieldhouse — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:44:50 +0000

Very interesting, thanks all. I guess it goes back to the first line in my original post, it’ll require a test drive of both. I would still like to hear any perceived or potential issues with the Boosterjet engines, if anyone’s aware of any.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (bazza)

bazza — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:44:01 +0000

Interest free (Catfood)

Catfood — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:28:38 +0000

I was actually thinking only if the consumer has a choice of fitting/picking/tuning up the motor, gear ratio, suspension damper setting, battery just like RC cars (toys) then it could be fun to have EV car.....

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (daveyjp)

daveyjp — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:19:07 +0000

Drive both before buying to see how the turbo affects power delivery and how it drives in your typical day to day use, We had a smart forfour turbo and I drove both n/a and turbo before buying. We had owned 2 smart cars years ago so knew what to expect and the turbo did give a huge 'lump' of power which was fun which sold it to us, but in reality it could be tiring to drive, you'd pull away, then the lump of power then having to slow etc We sold it after 12 months. It had had a new turbo by then (less than 2 years old) and it was a car we no longer wanted to own long term. The n/a Yaris has been a far better vehicle.

Interest free (Stackman II)

Stackman II — Wed, 15 May 2024 08:55:55 +0000

I have read the Autocar for as long as I can remember, starting with my Dad's copy in my teens, so more than 40 years. I have just rang them up and cancelled my subscription. When asked why I said that there were only so many electric SUV's I could get excited about. I love the technical side of cars, from an academic point of view rather than getting my hands dirty, but electric vehices leave me cold. Getting 600hp from a petrol engine takes some skill and art. A 600hp electric motor just needs more windings! I have driven a few new cars recently and they were all extremely competent but anodine. I could appreciate the technology of the Kia Sportage hybrid and how seamlessly it managed the complicated drivetrain and could see the appeal but at the end of the day it felt like an appliance.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (Rerepo)

Rerepo — Wed, 15 May 2024 07:38:59 +0000

Its generally accepted in automotive engineering that, all things being equal, increasing engine Specific Output (kW output power per litre of displacement) will negatively affect durability and reliability. That is because the engine will be operating with higher pressures loads and temperatures. A small forced-induction engine is typically going to deliver 30%+ higher Specific Output than a NA equivalent. And then of course the turbo engine will have many additional components. So as a rule of thumb a bigger naturally aspirated engine is a better choice if you're concerned about long life and reliability. Having said all that, Suzuki do build a very good engine. I'm often amazed at those little Suzuki K-series engines used all over the third world (and Suzuki-Maruti in India) - they seem virtually indestructible.

Subaru XV - LED tail lights (Rerepo)

Rerepo — Wed, 15 May 2024 06:53:21 +0000

Just before Covid struck I had a six month consultancy contract at the design HQ of a company that makes very expensive cars (I'm not going to name them). Now by coincidence I already owned one of these cars and it had a cracked rear light lens (caused by me reversing into a bin on my driveway). The dealer price for a new light unit was well over £1000 and so I had been looking for a secondhand replacement. When I started my contract I asked if they had any used units available (e.g. left over from testing or sc***ped test cars). I was told 'No, but you can buy a new part at cost price'. It turned out that employees could purchase parts at cost price for cars that they owned (on production of a V5 registration document in the employees name). Even though I was a contractor they let me use the scheme. The new light unit cost less than £30 !!

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (badbusdriver)

badbusdriver — Wed, 15 May 2024 06:29:26 +0000

That's easy. As I said, it's the linear power delivery. The turbo engine in our Twingo, for example, has a very obvious surge when the turbo kicks in. It means that you are quite often on the margin of the boost and need to adjust your right foot quite a lot to keep it calm (if that's what you want). That is a different engine though. If you look up reviews of the turbo versions of the Twingo and Smart Forfour, pretty much all of them are critical of the power delivery and say that the N/A car, while obviously slower, is nicer to drive because of this. I don't recall reading such criticism of other small turbo engined cars, suggesting the unit in the Twingo is the exception rather than the rule. Looking at the figures goes some way towards explaining why, with peak torque in the Twingo's 90bhp 0.9 turbo coming in at a highish 2500rpm (peak torque in the 90bhp version of VAG's 1.0 happens from 1500rpm by comparison). Add in the tendency for most modern cars to have gearing which is too long, along with the fact that the Twingo is surprisingly heavy for a car that size (the much bigger SX4 S-Cross is only around 70kg heavier) and that old school turbo power delivery is only going to feel more noticeable.

Vauxhall Grandland X - What are the facts about 'wet cam belts', Vauxhall and others? (Rerepo)

Rerepo — Wed, 15 May 2024 06:17:01 +0000

You clearly have scant knowledge of wet belt technology. I'm a professional engineer in the motor industry That should mean you have a Mech Eng degree. If not, your opinions will be much the same weight as mine. Unfortunately there were almost immediate problems with wet belts, including fibre shedding, depolymerisation and delamination of the belts etc etc. The solution has been to dispense with the belt.... The solution was to use better spec oil and a better belt, e.g. Continental CT1228 I recently looked at a torn-down Stellantis 1.2 that had covered 92k mi. with the revised belt and the belt was on its last legs.... ...with what history? What sort of oil? How often changed? What exactly was the 'revised belt'? Anecdotes like this are meaningless without detail. Motor forums used to be full of horror stories of perfectly good original belts being replaced by belts of possibly inferior quality and failing a few tens of thousands of miles later. Good quality modern belts designed for oil immersion aren't cheap. John F I'm not going to bore everyone with every detail of my 35+ years in the motor industry - but in brief... Double First in Physics, MSc in Advanced Engineering. PhD in ICE combustion & emissions (sponsored by Ford). Worked for Ford, Rover, Aston Martin, JLR, BMW, plus a few others. SAIC-GM PATAC in Shanghai and GM ATC Shanghai (where I am now). 178+ technical publications and two books published by SAE. You did ask ;-) The PureTech is recognised throughout the industry as a design that looks great on paper but the realisation had been a disaster. Its not just the cambelt. Its oil consumption (piston ring design and poor materials), injector problems etc etc. Almost every component of the engine is sub-par. There were supposed to be manufacturing changes made in late 2020/early 21. We'll see how they pan out. The PureTech does drive well and its a nice engine when running properly. But with so many shortcomings why would you choose to buy one? If you are unfortunate enough to own one of these engines the saving grace is that (unlike EcoBoost) the belt is fairly easy and cheap to replace - rather similar to a dry cambelt in fact. Removing the oil filler cap will enable you to see the belt condition. Tools are available to check belt condition with the belt in situ (belt swelling check) and lock the drive to change the belt (check out Ebay - £30-40). I would suggest a belt change every 50k miles. Change oil at twice the interval recommended by Stellantis (poor piston sealing on these engines means the oil becomes contaminated quickly and the contaminants attack the elastomer in the belt). Dayco are the originator of the BIO drive used by Stellantis (licenced to Gates and Continental). A Peugeot-supplied belt will be re-packaged Dayco. They have gone through at least three revisions in the last few years. Dayco-branded aftermarket belt kits are actually very reasonably priced. Or you could just buy a Toyota and get on with life.....

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (catsdad)

catsdad — Wed, 15 May 2024 02:57:03 +0000

I don’t know about the 1.0 but the Suzuki 1.4 power delivery is smooth all the way through the rev range. There is no sudden unpredictable kicking in of the turbo. Same with my 1.4 Golf. The car that preceded our Vitara was a 1.6 Mazda 3, normally aspirated of course. Although these are well regarded and nice drive on the flat it was slow up hills, especially if laden. Of course you adapt your driving style accordingly but for relaxed driving our turbo cars are far better.

Mercedes and BMW - Alloy wheels cracking (edlithgow)

edlithgow — Wed, 15 May 2024 01:33:30 +0000

I damaged a left front wheel on the Accord a year or so ago, hit some debris in the dark on a country road, ripped the sidewall out of the tyre and damaged the outer rim. I found a wheel refurb shop here in France about 50 miles away. Excellent one man band shop, an ex machinist like me, he had a huge selection of specialist machines for straightening and trueing wheels. My wheel wasn't bent, the Honda wheels are massively heavy, so the rim was bead blasted, TIG welded and remachined on a CNC lathe, the diamond cut face reworked, two pack paint matched to the colour etc. His shop was full of BMW wheels, they are so skinny and light they crumple up like a coke can if they hit anything, he says his main profit is from BMW wheels. https://atelierskerene.fr/ Going too fast on a mountain road, I clipped a rock wall with the passenger side front wheel. That side of the car went 2-3 feet up in the air. Thought I'd better stop, anticipating fitting the spare, and maybe suspension damage on this fairly lightweight economy box. Dent in the rim, no hissing. Drove on, a bit more sedately. A few months later, fitted replacement used tyres. One man band shop, he had a big hammer, and removed the dent. Steel wheel, so no bead blasting, TIG welding or CNC lathing required. Compare and contrast.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (Adampr)

Adampr — Tue, 14 May 2024 23:57:18 +0000

. Not the only curious statement though, I'm baffled as to why Adampr thinks an engine which needs to be revved quite high to get anything out of it will be more relaxing to drive than one which doesn't?. That's easy. As I said, it's the linear power delivery. The turbo engine in our Twingo, for example, has a very obvious surge when the turbo kicks in. It means that you are quite often on the margin of the boost and need to adjust your right foot quite a lot to keep it calm (if that's what you want). The 1.6 in the Vitara is the opposite in that there is no boost so the power delivery is more predictable and therefore more relaxing. If you want to go fast it certainly isn't relaxing, particularly with the auto box I have, but going fast is overrated.

Mercedes and BMW - Alloy wheels cracking (focussed)

focussed — Tue, 14 May 2024 23:41:30 +0000

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (Big John)

Big John — Tue, 14 May 2024 23:39:40 +0000

I'm not a fan of the power delivery of any turbocharged engines. Even though they are quick, there is always a flat spot just above idle where it isn't boosting and nothing is available. Agreed in a way, but... With a NA petrol power curve is smooth from tickover but the real power comes on at higher revs so if you want to get a move on you need to get the revs up and possibly drop a gear unless you have a large cc engine. However my small cc turbo Superb 1.4tsi manual pulls strongly from 1500rpm all the way through to 6000rpm but is not happy pulling hard at 1000rpm. In real life though that's never an issue and infact you don't need to rev to make surprising progress and it feels relaxed and refined at speed (2400 rpm @ 70)

Vauxhall Grandland X - What are the facts about 'wet cam belts', Vauxhall and others? (Andrew-T)

Andrew-T — Tue, 14 May 2024 23:27:12 +0000

<< I'm a professional engineer in the motor industry and I've yet to meet an engineer who thinks wet belts are anything other than a lousy idea. >> I am (was) a chemist and I wouldn't think it was a clever idea to hope that a rubber belt (however modern) would perform satisfactorily while immersed in hot oil - however much that oil and rubber had been optimised for the job - at least when compared with the same belt in dry conditions.

Interest free (Andrew-T)

Andrew-T — Tue, 14 May 2024 23:19:45 +0000

<< I simply don’t desire anything in current production . >> You aren't expected to, SLO. Cars now are boxes with too many safety and gimmicky features, which will soon (allegedly) take you anywhere with very little input from you.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (tim10597)

tim10597 — Tue, 14 May 2024 21:58:48 +0000

Not the same I know, but my daughter has a 1.0 Boosterjet Baleno automatic. It’s a nippy little thing, quick off the mark, but does run out of steam at speeds above the legal limit. I know the SX4 is a bigger car, but we have been very impressed with the 1.0 Suzuki engine, it is very economical and my daughter loves it. In 8 years ( it was my mothers car before my daughter bought it) we’ve had no issues with it mechanically, though it has only covered 17,000 miles in that time ??

Interest free (tim10597)

tim10597 — Tue, 14 May 2024 21:54:37 +0000

I’m exactly same. Grew up around cars, nothing flash, always bread and butter cars. But they interested me and since I’ve been old enough to drive, I’ve gone through a significant number of them. But I’m not excited by them at all any more. Will I change my current car after 2 years, which is what I’ve typically done because I enjoy driving different cars? Maybe. But will I be excited about changing it? Probably not if I’m honest. And nothing really grabs my interest enough to get excited about changing it. And the more I see of electric cars, which I have nothing against, the more I look at their size, bulk and design and think to myself, is that the best design that people can come up with.

Interest free (SLO76)

SLO76 — Tue, 14 May 2024 18:08:35 +0000

Again a brilliant car, one I do like but the list price now is £45-£60k and that makes it a rich persons toy rather than an affordable hot hatch for the masses, even at £38k it was hugely expensive in my opinion. If manufacturers weren’t punished for selling them then a lower spec 2wd model that looked similar but cost under £25k would be popular. If my lottery numbers come in however I’ll make sure there’s room in my garage for one.

Mercedes and BMW - Alloy wheels cracking (Palcouk)

Palcouk — Tue, 14 May 2024 17:21:24 +0000

Low Profile, hardly surprising, also makes for an uncomfortable ride BMW/MB posing status

Mercedes and BMW - Alloy wheels cracking (Steveieb)

Steveieb — Tue, 14 May 2024 16:57:48 +0000

My friend has had two wheels damaged by potholes and one tyre. The tyres are 35 profile and the tyre store reported that he had seen seven similar cases recently. The wheels were welded and reused but a spare wheel is essential according to my friend. So no damage to the suspension but seven similar cases at one tyre store , all MB or BMW

Interest free (Ex Alfa mail)

Ex Alfa mail — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:05:11 +0000

Without wishing to disagree. I bought my GR in December (23) and it was specced with the Circuit Pack, Pearlescent paint, and a few other goodies and it came in around £38,000. That's not an outrageous premium over a well specced Yaris. I'm told by people who know more than I do that the additional parts (especially wheels and underpinnings) are high quality (and expensive). Hence my personal view is that the value is actually there. A financially astute friend reckons it is priced in line with a Golf GTI from its glory days when adjusted for purchasing power. Returning to your original point though, this is a car that does bring back the joy of driving almost irrespective of the journey. Life is short...

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (bazza)

bazza — Tue, 14 May 2024 14:24:29 +0000

I haven't heard of any major problems with the turbo 1.0 and 1.4 apart from a couple of head gasket failures but these do seem isolated. We have the 1.4 which is extremely pleasant to drive, with plenty of performance available combined with a very lightweight car. But overall, the 1.6 has a great reputation for robustness and economy, I wouldn't mind at all swapping to one as I'm not a fan of the power delivery of any turbocharged engines. Even though they are quick, there is always a flat spot just above idle where it isn't boosting and nothing is available. One doesn't feel that with an atmospheric engine, and in my opinion they are more tolerant of very low revs, lazy driving etc, like me!

Interest free (SLO76)

SLO76 — Tue, 14 May 2024 14:07:04 +0000

May I suggest those who miss the passing of truly exciting small hatchbacks try a Yaris GR. I can honestly say I simply love the performance of this car. Those brought up on 205 GTIs will recognise the experience, albeit brought up to date with modern technology. This is the car that I find excuses to drive, even volunteering to fetch visitors from our local station. And it's a Toyota... A brilliant car, but Toyota have priced it outwith reality in its latest form sadly. They start at £45,000 and go beyond £60,000 depending on specification. This kills the love for me.

Nissan Qashqai - Low miles (little service history) Vs Higher (fsh) (SLO76)

SLO76 — Tue, 14 May 2024 14:03:18 +0000

Nissan essentially build rebadged Renaults, ask yourself if you’d trust a highly complex automated manual twin clutch transmission and an untested 1.3 high pressure turbocharged engine if it had a Renault badge. I wouldn’t touch any of them personally. The gearbox type has a poor reputation for longevity and with this particular one it is still too early to know if they’ve finally got it right. It speaks volumes that the actual Japanese manufacturers Honda, Toyota and Mazda gave up trying to get these types of gearboxes to work years ago. If you want a robust small SUV with an automatic box I’d look instead at a Mazda CX30 or a Toyota CHZ, both will be vastly more reliable and much easier to sell on again afterwards.

Nissan Qashqai - Low miles (little service history) Vs Higher (fsh) (Zazi)

Zazi — Tue, 14 May 2024 13:45:04 +0000

Thank you! That does make sense... One of the higher mileage vehicles (with the best spec) does have 19" wheels, whereas the other has 18"... I think that's the clincher! :-) This forum is excellent; it's helped me focus my mind and make a decision, so thanks again to both of you.

Quarter million pound Impreza? (badbusdriver)

badbusdriver — Tue, 14 May 2024 13:19:38 +0000

OK £240k isn't quite a quarter mill, and yes it is a 22B, but that asking price is still a bit of a shock! C1705341 (carandclassic.com) Makes the dearest Evo on there, a 2001 Tommi Makinen at £80k, seem like an absolute steal!

Ford Fiesta - 12 year old Fiesta worth advisory work if selling? (Andrew-T)

Andrew-T — Tue, 14 May 2024 12:56:21 +0000

If this car change was only about money -is not the cheapest way forward here to get the advisories done and keep the car rather than risking a poor price for the Fiesta and the financial uncertainty of whatever your next vehicle has hiding under its bonnet etc Agree. These days decent used cars can be easily sellable, while finding a better replacement may be tricky. If this Fiesta looks worth preserving, best to do that, as you can be more certain of the way forward - unless it is going to cost a lot to do.

Nissan Qashqai - Low miles (little service history) Vs Higher (fsh) (badbusdriver)

badbusdriver — Tue, 14 May 2024 12:53:34 +0000

Nissan Qashqai's are not regarded as being particularly reliable. DCT transmissions can be reliable if driven with a degree of mechanical sympathy (how would you find that out on a 2nd hand car?), otherwise they can be a bit fragile and don't tolerate abuse very well. So I'm afraid I wouldn't be very keen on any of them. But ignoring that, my first concern would be why the low mileage car has only had one service (at just under 6k miles) in 4 years and 20k miles?. Without a satisfactory answer, i'd leave that one alone. Between the other two, I'd be more concerned with practical differences rather than trim levels and mileage difference. By which I mean, due to the state of UK roads I'd be looking at the wheel and tyre size and if one car had wheels of a smaller diameter (with tyres of a taller profile), that would be my preferred choice (assuming no other negatives show up re condition and how the car drives). A tyre with a taller profile on a smaller diameter wheel is not as vulnerable to damage from potholes and/or kerbing.

Nissan Qashqai - Low miles (little service history) Vs Higher (fsh) (Zazi)

Zazi — Tue, 14 May 2024 12:40:51 +0000

Thank you! Sounds like sensible advice. Cheers!

Nissan Qashqai - Low miles (little service history) Vs Higher (fsh) (FoxyJukebox)

FoxyJukebox — Tue, 14 May 2024 12:36:06 +0000

I’d go for the higher mileage cars-but would want to see evidence of brake pad/discs condition/replacement and also whether the tyres had all been changed. Nothing sinister about this-just sensible maintenance and running costs.

Nissan Qashqai - Low miles (little service history) Vs Higher (fsh) (Zazi)

Zazi — Tue, 14 May 2024 12:10:53 +0000

I know the general advice is to avoid low mileage vehicles, as they could have done a lot of short runs, whereas higher mileage ones have been used consistently and probably for longer journeys... But if there's a significant difference in the mileage, am wondering if there will be less "worn" or "coming to replacement time" parts on the lower mileage vehicle... Looking at a Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DiG-T 160 N-Connecta 5dr DCT [Glass Roof Pack] 2020 with 21595 miles on the clock at £15777; only one service by Nissan at 5,902 miles on 03/12/21 and again by dealer selling the car at 21,592 miles on 19/02/2024 (1 owner car). Vs Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DiG-T 160 Tekna 5dr DCT 2020 at £15,640 with 50012 miles on the clock or Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DiG-T 160 [157] N-Motion 5dr DCT 2021 at £14,957 with 46359 miles on the clock, both with full service histories. The higher mileage vehicles do have nicer spec (leather heated seats, better trim, etc.), but not much difference beyond that... All seem to look in reasonable nick from photos. (Not been to see them yet; there at various Car Stores around the UK.) All automatic transmission, petrol-engines... Cheers!

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (badbusdriver)

badbusdriver — Tue, 14 May 2024 11:16:07 +0000

Larger engine every time. No replacement for displacement. I'd hate to think what our 1.5 turbo Arona would be like to drive if it had the engine from my previous 1.5 n/a Mazda2 in it :) It is an anachronistic statement originating from across the pond ("ain't no substitute for cubic inches") in reference to the supposed advantage of a larger n/a engine over a smaller n/a engine. So a curious statement to use here comparing n/a to turbo. Not the only curious statement though, I'm baffled as to why Adampr thinks an engine which needs to be revved quite high to get anything out of it will be more relaxing to drive than one which doesn't?. The 1.0 and 1.4 booster jet engines seem to have a few issues with the added technology. Also slightly alarmed by this statement. I (and I don't think I'm alone here) was under the impression Suzuki's Boostejet engines were reliable units, so perhaps the good doctor could expand slightly? The differing opinions won't have done anything to help the OP though!. So I'd just like to add that while I'd prefer the 1.0 turbo given the choice, I wouldn't avoid a nice 1.6.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross - N/A or 3 Cylinder Turbo? (Adampr)

Adampr — Tue, 14 May 2024 11:13:36 +0000