The car

[Skean Dhude]

My car is due for replacement. I'm thinking of getting a pickup.

The best part is that four years ago it failed it's MOT and the garage told me it was now fixed but when it failed it would be irreparable so as it was worth about £500 I said I would drive it until it broke and then replace it. Every year it gets through the MOT Tax and my mechanic pal says maybe this year. Although I suspect that it won't break as we expect but will fail its MOT on some stupid rule because you can't get some parts now. My Van failed its MOT because the passenger door didn't open and the unit that we needed wasn't supplied by any of the car part firms. Found one on Amazon though from abroad. The biggest polluters are government and manufacturers rules. Making a perfectly good vehicle a write off because you can't get a common part. In this case they changed that unit every few years and each year had different parts, only slightly different but enough.

[bigpaul]

I had a problem getting a new headlight for my old Agila, the normal parts places didnt have one, eventually managed to get one on eBay, but wife convinced me it was time to buy something newer which we could get the parts for.
I'm still getting used to the Corsa but the tyres were due for replacement which is why I went for the top of the range all weather tyres.

[Pete Grey]

Our daily runabout is 23 years old, (when it was 21 we gave it a full service) and still runs ok, I consider it does not owe us a penny.

If you ignore tax and insurance, which you have to pay for any vehicle, with the cost of the MOT any parts required and consumables “the car” costs us about £200 a year, £4 a week, cheap motoring, I can live with that.

Also at 80 do I want to fork out for a newer car I know nothing about ?, I think not.

[Pete Grey]

Hi BP how’s the Corsa, hope it’s going well.

One thing we did with our old car shortly after we bought it was get rid of the pathetic OE jack, and replaced it with a good 2 ton scissor jack.

If you grease it well there’s nothing to go wrong, no hydraulic fluid to leak.

SHTF it can also be used foraging to force open bared windows, gates etc).
.

[bigpaul]

HI Pete, the Corsa is going fine, nice little car, great for Devon's deep narrow lanes.
the new all weather tyres have now been fitted and the difference is noticeable, very noticeable.
I have my own old fashioned jack which has served me well for 30 years.
one thing to remember is that modern cars dont come with a spare wheel, they only have a can of puncture foam, I ditched that and got a spare wheel with a new tyre on Ebay.

[Pete Grey]

BP a “proper” spare wheel is a wise choice, even the temporary get home wheels some cars have should be binned.

A puncture foam can could be useful if you’re in a threatening situation and you don’t have time to change the wheel safely, for that reason there are 2 in each of our vehicles.

With the camper the spare is underneath and hard to get to, and with the car I would need to empty the boot to release the spare, normal times I would call out the brakedown service.

In the camper for when I’m on soft ground, like a soggy campsite, as the beast ways 3 ton, I have a piece of aluminium checker plate and a block of wood just in case the jack sinks in the mud.

Take care and keep safe.

[bigpaul]

when I had the Berlingo the spare was underneath and I had to wind the cage down to get at it.
wife's car has a get you home tyre, couldnt get a proper one without going to a scrapyard which is miles away, so far she hasnt needed to use it, both cars have breakdown cover.

[Pete Grey]

(5 September 2024, 19:19)Pete Grey Wrote: ......the beast ways 3 ton....

ways ?, wheys ?, oh weighs (that’s the one) .

.

[Pete Grey]

The Car passed its MOT no problem, soon be time for winter checks and preps.

[earthman]

(1 September 2024, 11:02)Skean Dhude Wrote: My car is due for replacement. I'm thinking of getting a pickup.

Which one you thinking of getting? I've been running a Isuzu D-Max over the last 10 years, can't really fault it but being a 2.5L diesel, the road tax is over £300 a year now, more proof that they are trying to get us all off the roads I know. I'm not sure how much the newer 1.9L is to tax but every owner who I've spoken to said that they prefered the 2.5 when it comes to towing or carrying a heavy load.
The Toyota Hilux is well known for being a good choice too,.....unlike the Navara and L200, depending on the year, both of them seem to have had their fair share of common failures shall we say.