OV9

Hang on, wasn’t that advertised as not even running? Wonderful, you and Gav are going to razz around like dodgem drivers

That is epic

I've genuinely tried to get my son into something interesting and a late manual ForTwo was on the list but he wants a fuckin Corsa!

On a positive note Toyota's used warranty is first class. We've had to wait 10 days for a ramp and parts but they are fitting a new clutch, flywheel and thrust bearing to my daughter's GT86

I'm going to tell my wife she's set off a craze of Smart buying...

Jobbo wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 6:37 pm Hang on, wasn’t that advertised as not even running?

It was advertised as "Smoky but starts, runs and drives". The bloke started it up for me and - no smoke at all. He revved it and we got some white clouds but it looked to me like normal condensation you get from a petrol engine on a cold / damp day. Holding my hand over the exhaust just made it wet; no oiliness. Oil & coolant don't show any signs of mixing. It's clear it's not been driven for years so it wouldn't surprise me if it's just a bit damp and needs to run up to temp properly a few times to dry out.

I've just been out there now with my code reader and there's no engine or gearbox errors showing up. I'll pull the spark plugs tomorrow and see if that tells me anything but right now I can't see anything wrong with it !

GG. wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 8:31 pm I'm going to tell my wife she's set off a craze of Smart buying...

I knew someone else on here had one. What version does she have ?

Sundayjumper wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:03 pm

GG. wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 8:31 pm I'm going to tell my wife she's set off a craze of Smart buying...

I knew someone else on here had one. What version does she have ?

A 453 ForFour 0.9 turbo. Been a good little car. She's done about 5,000 miles in it I think since just before Covid (Jan 2020) - 99.9% of which are doing the 2 mile school run round the south circular which its perfect for.

When I only had the 997 as a second car it also did a couple of airport runs - it almost exactly fits one large suitcase in the boot - resting on its side, edge to edge

We recently went to Rome and it was hilarious - literally every fourth car was a Smart - no exaggeration!

It's MOT day on the Smart. Hopefully should be fine after all the work Sundayjumper put in last week, although we also need to be pragmatic about the fact it's a 20 year old car.

On the plus side, I've asked my friendly garage next door to take it to their MOT guys, because they seem to have a very favourable relationship with the testing station.

Gavster wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:31 am a very favourable relationship with the testing station.

Do they take bribes in cash or is it whisky and cigarettes?

GG. wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:33 am

Gavster wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:31 am a very favourable relationship with the testing station.

Do they take bribes in cash or is it whisky and cigarettes?

The place that did my Compact wanted cash.

duncs500 wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 6:18 pm Looks like fun! Are you now buying cars just for the fun of fixing them up? Or do you genuinely want this car to use?

Err, probably a bit of both ? It was fun working on Gavster's car, and it was fun whizzing around in it. The major difference to the long term usage is that for Gavster in London it makes massive sense to have a small car. Out here in the (relative) wilderness of Berkshire I rarely have to parallel park, and outside of rush hour we don't really have traffic to deal with.

I'll fix it up and with an MOT under its belt it's worth far more than £400. Whether I keep it or not, it's a win.

Unexpected - wifey really likes the colour. If she also likes driving it we'll probably keep it.

Sundayjumper wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:49 am
Unexpected - wifey really likes the colour. If she also likes driving it we'll probably keep it.

Plus, if she ever complains that you shouldn't have X vehicles, you can now legitimately advise that you in fact only have (X-1).5

GG. wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:33 am

Gavster wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:31 am a very favourable relationship with the testing station.

Do they take bribes in cash or is it whisky and cigarettes?

I think they're all brothers in a wider sense of global brotherhood.

Amyway, the DVLA site has been updated - passed with zero advisories

And I now have photos of mine in its previous life

There's one doing a similar job (but in a much worse condition) round the corner from us.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NKcH4FWLQnQevKQXA

Skoda had it's rather delayed MOT yesterday. Passed, as you would hope for a not quite 5yo car, but an advisory for a misting n/s front damper. Bit crap for the age of car and 32k imo, but the tester said that's pretty standard for VAG products - that they no longer seem to be up to the job of dealing with the rigours of British roads.

So we're considering options - without any prompting the wife has suggested we look at the costs of upgrading to decent aftermarket dampers that will help quell the existing crap damping. It's got that classic VAG trait of wallowiness combined with an ability to really make you feel all the bumps. So I need to look into Bilstein's B4 and B6 offerings. A quick read on Briskoda suggests generally positive feedback from those that have fitted the B6 and kept the original springs, with it retaining the majority of the comfort but tightening up the control.

@Swervin_Mervin I replaced both front dampers on my 5 y/o Skoda this year too with the same issue. Cunts.

duncs500 wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 12:35 pm @Swervin_Mervin I replaced both front dampers on my 5 y/o Skoda this year too with the same issue. Cunts.

My Mums Citigo is suffering terribly with paint and awful corrosion on all the suspension fixings, seized solid. Compared to my Dads same age Sportage it feels like a 30 year old Vauxhall.

Dave!

For the benefit of @JonMad...

I'm amused to see that my average car is a 3.6 litre with nearly seven cylinders and slightly less than half a turbo

duncs500 wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 12:35 pm @Swervin_Mervin I replaced both front dampers on my 5 y/o Skoda this year too with the same issue. Cunts.

I've felt for some time that VAG products are fairly flaky Duncs, but not sure if this is a more recent thing with them, as the testers suggested. Having driven/owned a few F-series BMWs I wouldn't be surprised if they're not much better.

Swervin_Mervin wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 1:12 pm

duncs500 wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 12:35 pm @Swervin_Mervin I replaced both front dampers on my 5 y/o Skoda this year too with the same issue. Cunts.

I've felt for some time that VAG products are fairly flaky Duncs, but not sure if this is a more recent thing with them, as the testers suggested. Having driven/owned a few F-series BMWs I wouldn't be surprised if they're not much better.

That's my worry TBH, I quite fancy a nicer daily, and would love something a bit more 'premium' eg. Merc/BMW, but I just feel there's big bills and issues everywhere you look.

I wonder whether it's worth getting a relatively new well-engined 5er touring, then just maintain it at an indy and run it until it dies (which is hopefully a long time). That way you can sort out the early niggles and have a relatively low long term maintenance cost. Dunno if it would work like that, but in my head it's a good excuse.