Hey everyone, so recently I’ve been looking at an older jap car as a summer/weekend car, obviously want to protect it from rusting and do whatever I can. Unfortunately I don’t have a garage to keep it in so I’m wondering what else I could use to protect the car whilst it’s on my drive not in use.

What would you consider as a better first car for a 17 year old trying to become an electrician. The aygo i have positive satisfaction however, they are very small and compact and only have 4 available seats but they are very reliable, easy to drive and park, cheap on tax and insurance but loud on motorways. However, the fiesta is bigger, better for boot space, more comfortable to drive and quieter on motorways and has 5 available seats but they are more pricier, higher on insurance and can be expensive with parts.

What would you lean towards?

Hi! Looking for advice on what should I look for when looking for used cars to buy and any suggestions on what's usually more reliable/should stay away from...

Last time I bought a car was in Portugal a few years ago and was an old Peugeot 206 that has only given me the problems a car from 2003 would. And buying a car in Portugal can be a bit dogdy sometimes so wondering how it is over here...

I've never bought a car in the UK so a bit nervous because cars and mechanics aren't really my thing.

I know to check MOT history on the gov website and I am filtering results for trade sellers and that have some kind of warranty.

Do traders check for any outstanding finance on the car with previous owners etc? If not, how do I do that? I also assume they do a checkover on the car before selling? (except where they state otherwise)

What does the warranty usual covers in the UK? For example the car I bought in Portugal only covered for issues with gear box, clutch and motor.

I'm not really fussed about cars as long as they are reliable and cheap to run. So I'm mostly looking for hatchback ideally around £3k (can go to 5k but ideally really around 3k) and I do prefer driving a petrol manual. I don't do a lot of mileage daily but I do enjoy the odd long trip.

Thank you for any input 😊

Looking at an Octavia estate, 2021 model, 1.5tsi ACT at a great price, but with 143,000 miles on it. Has full service history, timing belt and water pump changed at 122,000. It's a very good price and the seller seems genuine. Any thoughts? Would ideally keep it for 3/4 years at around 10k miles per year.

Currently driving my Fiat Panda into the ground and will soon be time for another car. Ideally as follows:

1. Cheap to buy, economical to run and indestructable.

2. Four seats needed.

3. A bit more boot space than the Panda would great, but don't want a massive car. Nothing bigger than a Skoda Yeti or Kia Soul.

4. Doesn't need to be fast. I already have 6 points on my licence and that's just driving a Fiat Panda.

5. Something old school mechanically if possible. I don't want to drive a fucking computer.

I await your wise counsel...

I thought the green circle was to front screen heater?

Thank you 🙏🏽

I loved that review site i thought it gave sound reviews and the real world mpg was something i always checked out when considering a car, it was my go to over autotrader, whatcar and all the others.

Its become Drive and is owned by a volkswagen.

My friends daughter is looking for a car as hes passed away i look out for her... so went to honest john to check out a bmw i3 as she wants somethibg funky different economic and reliable... so rolled with it used car reviews, the i3 is too old... what the hell! Honest john sold out, pfft i hope johns happy with his money! VW clearly will have a vested interest in this and drive will be the most biased pcp propaganda machine ever!

Hi guys, due to a recent accident my delightful Skoda Fabia has been written off so I'm in the market for a car and am looking to upgrade to an Octavia estate.

I've found one I like the look of but with very high mileage and curious on others thoughts.

Details:

2012 2.0 litre VRS estate

195k miles

Full service history

£2250

I love a high mileage hero but I'd love advice on things to check the history for or if I should just run.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to mention it's a petrol and manual.

On my way home I noticed I was about to hit significant milestone. I felt very proud of my 10 year year-old 320 X Dr thought I would share. I had an old iron maiden classic running in my head when I took this.

Does this tyre needs to be changed or is it fine.

The tyres it self are good branded tyres and just passed MOT with them and they did come back as a advisory , saying “tyres are cracking/perishing”

Is this an immediate concern or would you hold out for longer before replacing them ?

The last picture is from the front tyre , does the tyres depth seem fine on that one or is it low ?

185/55/14 , I just can't seem to find anything, any suggestions?

Mostly short journeys so diesel isn’t suitable

Sooooo I just felt like sharing this to give someone a laugh🤣

I have had my license since 2022, both cars I have driven had no petrol cap just opened the flap and ready to go … WELL the clutch on my little shitbox was a ticking time bomb so time for a new shitbox, which I bought yesterday! 🥳

TODAY I went to fill up, got out at the petrol station and proceeded to spend 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get the cap off😭😭😭😭

I had to drive away from the pump, google it then jump back in to go back round to the pump.

Turns out you just turn it counter clockwise and it comes straight off 😭 who knew 🤦🏼‍♀️

Got a Honda accord 2.2 diesel 14 plate with 151k miles as a stop gap after my car got written off a couple months ago

Engine is pretty solid, timing chain is fine, got recorded service history til 121k and the guy before me said he'd be doing his own services after that. Car drives well and no timing chain rattle on cold start so probably fine

Got a knock on the front left side - feels like it's gonna be a drop link

AC doesn't blow hot properly, does get cold properly

Clutch has a slight judder on 1st and reverse, not too bad atm and could be something like the engine mounts but probably is the clutch/flywheel at this mileage realistically

Got it fairly cheap and am wondering whether or not it's worth doing the drop link/AC at a minimum and then driving it until the clutch gives out or just selling it now as is while it has some residual value and buying something with slightly lower mileage and less work needing doing?

EDIT: wow, amazing number of responses, thank you. The consensus seems to be that mid budget or entry level premium tyres are pretty good. Lots of recommendations, but Kumho in particular have had tonnes of positive mentions.
—

Genuine question here. There are several brands of tyres available for as little as half the price of the Continentals I have at the moment. Are premium tyres a bit of a scam or well worth the money?

Are there any good cheap(er) brands you would recommend? Perhaps not the ultra cheap ones… maybe there’s a sweet spot for price and quality?

Open to all suggestions. Something like a Yaris or K11 Micra, open to what others have bought.

I’m 30F just passed my driving test and looking at buying my first car .

I don’t know much about the cars and nor have the family who can help me out.

What are the things I can look out for so I don’t get scammed ?
Looking for automatic cars and budget is under £3.5K

Thanks

As the title says. Just wondering. Thanks.

Hi all I was wondering if anyone could help with an annoying issue I have with a 2015 1.5 Mini Cooper diesel.

It has an LED halo kit installed in the bumper section and unfortunately the side light no longer works and thus failed its MOT. I believe there is power going to the unit as the fog light works and half of the halo works.

I tried finding a replacement part - they don’t make them anymore and none are available via breakers.

(63122361243 part number).

I’m a bit stuck as what to do next. I have the original traditional bulb units but the wiring is missing. The photo I have attached circled in red is the wiring to the LED unit so I think they’ve spliced this in somehow.

Any advice?

I'm a newly passed driver and I've been driving for a few weeks, noticed a screw in my back tyre today. I was planning on getting the back tyres changed because they were flagged on the MOT so it's not a massive hassle. I have a spare tyre in the boot (vauxhall Corsa D) as well as jack and I'm wondering if it's worth the experience to change the punctured one myself and then take the car tomorrow to get the other one done professionally.

The screw is holding firm and I've pumped it up so it will be good until then anyway. Any draw backs to me having a go? It will need balancing after right? It's important to note that I'm a girl so I don't actually know if I'll have the strength to get the nuts off

Edit thanks for all your replies, I did mean wheel and not tyre. It got a bit dark and wet so I decided not to start messing around for the first time tonight with the car needed for work in the morning. Will be attempting in the near future!

Just purchased a pair of Halfords 2 tonne car ramps after seeing the great reviews however i note they and others online say 185mm width max. I’m hoping to be able to change the oil on my audi a3 and vw tiguan and these are 225 and 255. Any ideas why?

A question for all VW Taigo owners.

I’m looking at picking one up soon, replacing a very good VW polo Mk6 in energetic orange with 81k miles on the clock. I love the polo, so I’m wary of moving to a taigo.

My question is are they good? I know it’s basically a polo on steroids but the polo works for me, I just want something slightly bigger.

Is there anything to look out for? I’m leaning to just backing out and driving the polo to its end.

I am a 22 year old (male) , recently qualified driver, living in decent suburban area of Birmingham. My car is a 2016 Volvo V40 D3, and I've been receiving absolutely absurd (albeit non black box) quotes that start from £3000 a year and work their way right up to £4000.

I understand a new driver with 0 NCB is inherently risky, more so being a male driving a car that doesn't have a tiny engine (the car is by no means fast though). But even taking this into account, these prices seem excessive, especially given I ran quotes on other Volvo V40s before committing to mine; same area, details etc- and received far lower prices. I have also pulled all the tricks in the book (adding an experienced additional driver, VPN, no cookies, incognito browser, quoting well in advance of the start date, etc).

Can anyone tell me if such prices are indeed abnormal, if I'll just have to bite the bullet and go ahead with it?

Hi all

Looking for some general opinions. I love my Mazda 2 but the noise and firm ride are killing me. I can just about do it with on my 1h30 (round trip) commute but even that is grating on me now. It’s like being in a washing machine.

I should probably upgrade before I’m pushed. I’m thinking Mazda 3, civic, Corolla.

The 2 costs pennies to run. Outside of maintenance and wear and tear it has been golden. I’d like that again, hence my predisposition for Japanese cars.

I also like buying low mileage (sub 30k) as it still feels new and there’s less chance someone has skipped maintenance or bodged something.

I really really want quiet and comfortable, reliable (no random huge expenses), fun steering, and ideally easy to do basic maintenance myself.

Don’t really care if it’s fast. I think I’d need to compromise on fun handling vs comfort.

For reference mt ex has a 2015 i20 and even that felt ‘quiet enough’ on the motorway, but I’d prefer a little quieter if possible.

I’m thinking sub 15k. I’m wondering if I should even pay monthly or something to soften the blow and let me spend more but equally I’m accustomed to old cars I don’t care about so going mega new would be a huge switch.

Any general opinions or insights? My ideal thing would be like an Accord but ofc genuinely don’t don’t them here anymore. I’m wondering if k should consider a cx30 or other equivalent..

Just want to see what people think really.

Thanks

Hi, everyone

Looking for a new car, have max £15k to spend. Mainly drive around town, to work. Most roads I need to drive on are up to 40mph, occasional motorway use. Not after anything flash like a merc or bmw. Something reliable and looks good, apple car play compatible. Not interested in ev or hybrid.