Your fleet running reports

[Delphi]

928 update -

2 new rear shocks
new ARB bushings
hard brake lines cleaned up and soft lines replaced
hard fuel lines cleaned up and undersealed
new ABS sensor

Next up is the A/C compressor and the HVAC vacuum leak, followed by the the N/S door mirror then it should just be respray and interior left to do.

"Just"?

Well, they are the priciest items. Forgot to mention there's a missing undertray to go on too. By the time this is all done, I'll be a lot poorer but I'll have a completely sorted car.

[GG.]

997 passed its 5th consecutive MOT with me. Only one advisory for worn front discs - bit annoying as I know the discs all round need doing but was too slow to book it in at 9e and have to wait until late November so it now pops up on the MOT history. Anyway - that's already sullied by the silly garage that I bought it from who listed everything as "advisories" that they noted in the pre-purchase inspection (e.g. screen fluid which needed changing and rusty exhaust bolts )

Anyway, as for the discs and pads themselves, they've done just under 20,000 miles of me owning the car and who knows how many miles with the previous owner. Given they get a hammering, that's pretty good going I think - just need to steel (no pun intended) myself for the upcoming $$$ to replace them. With the 4k bill for coolant pipes, refurbed steering rack, new coffin arms and rear boots and a replacement rear light in the last year, it has been an expensive 24 months!

Car has also done a little more mileage this year with the trip to Scotland. Usually only around 3k a year whereas this year it's done a shade under 5k.

[Gavin]

@GG. ooft, that is a steep bill but I guess a 911 at least keeps it's value (or rises) which is nice!

The E is in for MOT and 2 rear tyres. I decided to go OM so I think it is P Zeros going on at £150 a pop.

[JonMad]

Similar to @Jobbo I am contemplating wheels. Saw these as an option for the Swift. Bolt straight on, with some spigot rings.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-INTEGR ... 5355919485

I like the wheels. The tyres, Toyo T1Rs (as opposed to the later TR1s) get less than favourable reviews (lethal in the wet, worst tyre ever etc). Currently the tyres are putting me off.

Another option is a set of combined spacers/5x100 to 5x114.3 adapters and I could run a spare set of VAG wheels I have for the Fabia.

[integrale_evo]

Everyone hates on t1-r but I’ve always liked them and got on with them

Had 225s all round on a 300bhp M3 with no traction control and didn’t die

[Jimmy Choo]

Over half term we've had trips to IWM in Duxford and Drayton Manor and it's shown just how well suited to long cruises the XJ6 is. We did 482 miles on a tank with 10 miles still showing on the range but 10 litres left in the 85 litre tank. It's quick enough to overtake when needed, handles predictably when pushing on, is very comfy and is just a lovely place to sit.

Its flaws are many but it's really got under my skin in a way that no car has since the 166.

[16vCento]

Over half term we've had trips to IWM in Duxford and Drayton Manor and it's shown just how well suited to long cruises the XJ6 is. We did 482 miles on a tank with 10 miles still showing on the range but 10 litres left in the 85 litre tank. It's quick enough to overtake when needed, handles predictably when pushing on, is very comfy and is just a lovely place to sit.

Its flaws are many but it's really got under my skin in a way that no car has since the 166.

The 3.0 is a great all rounder.

Better than the diesel, not miles away MPG wise, quick enough when given the beans, and the lightest so best handling.

I so very nearly bought a X358 XJR when I bought my XF, if I'd known I'd have been buying the V60 as well I think I'd have done it.

That XJ is a properly brilliant car, glad you're enjoying it

[V8Granite]

Everyone hates on t1-r but I’ve always liked them and got on with them

Had 225s all round on a 300bhp M3 with no traction control and didn’t die

Snap, they were the tyre of choice on the Focus, great in the wet, nice when they did let go. I did have to run a little more pressure in them but great value for money.

Didn’t they have a dodgy batch for a while though ? I’m sure there was a marking which denotes which plant they had come from.

Dave!

[tim]

Over half term we've had trips to IWM in Duxford and Drayton Manor and it's shown just how well suited to long cruises the XJ6 is. We did 482 miles on a tank with 10 miles still showing on the range but 10 litres left in the 85 litre tank. It's quick enough to overtake when needed, handles predictably when pushing on, is very comfy and is just a lovely place to sit.

Its flaws are many but it's really got under my skin in a way that no car has since the 166.

What has surprised me most about mine is how flat it'll corner if you drive it like a knob.

[Beany]

Everyone hates on t1-r but I’ve always liked them and got on with them

Had 225s all round on a 300bhp M3 with no traction control and didn’t die

Snap, they were the tyre of choice on the Focus, great in the wet, nice when they did let go. I did have to run a little more pressure in them but great value for money.

Likewise for the Puma, with similar behaviour - a bit more pressure gave the sidewalls a little more solidity it felt like (they were a bit squidy at the standard pressures).

P'raps it's just a generational thing - they were better suited to cars where there was an expected amount of tyre movement dialled into the suspension, whereas more modern cars are benchmarked on super-stiff track tyres (cup2s etc) so they just don't suit that sort of application?

[Swervin_Mervin]

I like the wheels. The tyres, Toyo T1Rs (as opposed to the later TR1s) get less than favourable reviews (lethal in the wet, worst tyre ever etc). Currently the tyres are putting me off.

I wonder whether what people really mean by "lethal in the wet" is "lethal when cold". I remember years ago having Yoko Parada Spec 2 on the front of the track Clio with Firestone Fuelsavers on the back and people thought me and my mate were mental.

And yet, around a very wet Cadwell Park we were keeping up with or even lapping some much more serious machinery. I binned it on the very western end of the Snake Pass one winter's evening on the way back from an evo meet. Wasn't even going that quick However, it was compeltely dry, but temps just above freezing.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Went for a swim in the geothermal pool at Penzance last Thurs and sadly came back to see some fvcker had hit the o/s rear door and arch. There's no cctv either so we'll have to sort it ourselves.

The door looks to have been pushed in and popped back out as it has some ripples which arent obvious at first glance. The rear arch has taken the worst of it:



I'm hoping that a PDR type will be able to sort it and that I can polish the scuffs out. It's hard to see if any of the scuff marks have gone below the paint layer.

Took the Superb to someone to see if it could be spart repaired. Despite him being confident he could get all of the scuffs out no issue, he reckons the dents themselves are sadly a bigger job. It's right where it's double-skinned and you can't get access properly.

Arse. I hate having to go to bodyshops as I'm rarely happy with the results.

[Jimmy Choo]

What has surprised me most about mine is how flat it'll corner if you drive it like a knob.

What surprised me was how easy it was to control a slide when the DCS crapped out and I exited a junction vigorously.

[Sundayjumper]

I totally forgot to mark a small milestone last week. Last Wednesday, the 27th, was the tenth anniversary of me buying my 996. That is by a very long stretch the longest I have ever kept a car.

[GG.]

Ha - weird. I bought the 997 on the same Saturday 5 years later. Also the longest I’ve owned a car I think.

[Swervin_Mervin]

I'm about a week or two off owning the 330i for 9 years. That's twice as long as the 197 before it which I really didn't want to own for anything like 4.5yrs. And far longer than anything else I've ever owned.

[JonMad]

To continue a theme, last Saturday marks 7 years since I bought the Yeti. Also the car I've owned for the longest by far.

[Sundayjumper]

I can’t help thinking this keeping-cars-for-ages is simply a reflection of our own advancing years

[JonMad]

I can’t help thinking this keeping-cars-for-ages is simply a reflection of our own advancing years

Indeed. I nearly added the same thought.

I can't see myself replacing the Yeti unless it's something EV, and I can't see that being for ages. In part because, company cars and cheap Golf R lease aside, I've never paid more than £13k for a car and a decent range, newish, family friendly sized EV isn't going to be that for some time to come.

• £13k - A late E30 325i cabrio I bought from Barons BMW in Farnborough after a couple of Friday lunch time pints on the way back to work, which involved walking past the dealership.

• £13k - The Yeti

I seem to have established that as an arbitrary car buying price cap
It does rule out nice, low depreciation things I also like looking at, like Alpines, Atoms, R8s, so maybe I should talk myself out of it some day.
Coincidentally it's probably about the total value of my entire fleet.

[Barry]

I reckon I've had the Civic about seven years too, but mostly as I'm too tight/lazy to change it.