Be Excellent To Each Other

We have a Zafira and it's great for us and two kids. Plenty of space and it feels really safe.

Lapping the ring, aye?

*smirk*

Oh, that's six pages back...

Good work, Sat.

Saw the Picasso today. Looks in good nick. Couldn't start it up as the guy with the keys has gone to Glastonbury.

*alarm bells*

Why?

"Couldn't start it up as it needs all its fluids doing right before you do as it shits them all onto the floor overnight".

Or, if you're not as suspicious as me, at the very least it only has one set of keys, and that's piss annoying.

Yeah. I think there are 2 sets. That he has both of

He's taken them to Glastonbury or they're locked in his house while he's away?

The second one

Avoid any Blue period stuff, you want Cubism at least.

£57 for discs and pads. £57!

I can't tell if you're exclaiming because they're cheap, or because they're expensive.

I'm assuming the former, as I basically cried into my cornflakes thinking back to how much discs and pads cost me for the M5 when I had it.

I am just having a grumble about it as I have to change them and I seem to have spent a fortune on cars of late.

Heh I was thinking the same

Discs and pads all round for the Scooby, about £800, and that was without labour

Car's in the garage today, MrsZ said its been making clunky noises turning right (not driven it myself for two weeks) sounds like it's just a spring, let's see...

Does your heart attack affect your license or insurance at all, Z?

When you apply for insurance, they ask if The DVLA know about any medical conditions. I'm not sure if you need to declare it for insurance, as long as the DVLA know.

I've just read that and it make no sense.

No, was told by Dr when I had my heart attack to not drive for 4 weeks and to tell my insurance company. They just said that's fine and there's no need to contact them again just resume driving after the 4 weeks. Got a 6 week period of no driving after my op but that's to give my sternum time to heal back together have to see Dr and he'll tell me if he's happy for me to drive again.

Show us the scar, Z!

It's just a thin straight line from the top of my sternum to the bottom of my ribs with three 'x's underneath from the drains. Oh and a 9" scar on the inside of my left leg where they took a vein out to replace one of the arteries ( other two removed from chest so same scar).

'Twas the spring. £127 with vat & labour.

Mumble grumble...

Pipe split completely. Looks like MrsA is not getting that daybed this month. I'll ask them to do the brakes as well if it is going in...

Still haven't got the Picasso. Getting twitchy now. Need car.

http://www.platinummotorcompany.co.uk/u ... 6114239451

660 with 10 months mot and soga protection.

Oh, I'm definitely getting the Picasso, it's just taking longer than I'd like.

*twitch*

Just heard from my grease monkey (father in law). The Picasso started first time. Paid for. Now for the MOT. Wish me luck

MOT passed! No advisories! Father In Law forgot to fill up the washer bottle! Test station staff laughed at him! He's been a mechanic for over 40 years!

£290 for new cat and to fit the disks and pads. Not too bad.

Got the car. Finally. I'm back on the road, baby!

Trooper! You're useless!

I can't do the tax online as my v5c/2 only has an 11 digit reference number!

I've just swapped the 650i for a 750i Sport.

I really must stop this car-buying stuff, this is number 22 now.

Ooh, Vroom Vroom!

There's no law against posting pics of this sort of thing you know.

I do like the big-engined Beemers, but the scary bill potential scares me off, especially since I'd rather be seen dead than get underneath a car with a spanner.

They're so alluringly cheap to buy now though, £10K or so buys an awful lot of car. BUT THEN THE BILLS.

Will get pics when the weather clears up and I finish work.

The 4.8L engine in the '50s is p. much bulletproof apart from occasional oil leaks on some (and only minor) - they don't have the same level of problems that the other big V8 BMW engines have.

The one I've just taken delivery of is on 139K but you really couldn't tell, it's still just like driving a big armchair on wheels.

Here it is.

I also looked at the Mondeo Estate that they have there (I know, not the same type of car, but apart from having horrifically crashy suspension it was super quiet inside, I was very surprised)

Same dealer also currently has a gorgeous V12 Jaaaaag, which I was very tempted by. It was just worrying about THE BILLS that put me off

Page not found!

I'll wait until you can grab some pics

Pics of the 750i...

Bargetastic!
That looks like a very nice place to sit.

That's a whole lot of car! How much is something like that going for now? (And what year is it? I know you've already said it's on pretty big miles.)

I do like me a big car (I loved the C6 apart from the dreadful habit it had of things breaking on it, but y'now, big French car.....), and was wondering about something nonsensical like this for my next vehicle, although I've been eyeing up Honda Legends - but am open-minded to most threads of insanity really.

The next car definitely has to have back doors on it.

Late 2007 model, on 139K or so miles (about 138400 currently I think). Paid £7,495.

I'd love a C6, they're hugely cool to me and very rare too. Problem is, I can't stand Citroens.

Looking at Gaz's new car reminds me of Lady T's dad, he's got a 56 plate S350 with loads of toys, which he doesn't use as he's got another car that is cheaper to run and tax, and he doesn't want to scuff it up (he's a bad driver) so the S class is left in the garage doing nothing apart from getting dusty and looking sad.

He won't sell it as he keeps telling everyone it is a 70 grand car and he doesn't want to make a loss on it. Meanwhile, the value is dropping lower and lower and lower. I think it's done less than 10,000 miles.

Tenner, final offer

I know, right

Going to take a look at this on the way home from work.

It's WAY over book price but it's already been reduced to £9700, at which it's still WAY over book price but we can always talk around that.

It looks pretty much like a regular Passat but is packing a 3.6L V6 that puts out nearly 300bhp, 0-60 takes 5.6 seconds and it tops out at an electronically limited 155mph.

Masses of standard kit and this has the few upgrades that were offered, such as sat-nav, upgraded audio, reversing camera, built-in 30GB hard drive for MP3 playback etc.

I'll sell it to Mrs Hearthly with, 'Look, more doors!'

Not decided yet but I deffo want to take a look and a test drive. Quite a rare car too, not so many of those sold. Couple of things to watch out for though, those DSG clutches for example can be a bit dodgy apparently.

What do you have now? that Citroen thing?

Nah there's been two cars since that

Currently on a 2008 Honda Civic Type-R GT.

Nice engine, though a little on the thirsty side - there's a version of it available in the Skoda Superb though it only gets 260hp as standard.
Is the Passat 4WD as well?

Took it for a decent test drive and there's a lot to like about it.

(It's quite remarkable really, I parked a distance away from the dealer and turned up on the forecourt looking it over (so I wasn't seen arriving in my own car), guy came out and chatted to me about it for a bit, and then just gave me the key and said take it for a drive. Like, he didn't even check if I could drive, had my own car, or even had a driver's licence, or anything. Literally just 'Yeah here's the key for this 300bhp 155mph car, off you go'.)

Took it for a drive to Peel and back, stopping on the way back at a picnic area to pop the bonnet and give it a good look over. It's a good drive as it's got twisty bits and fast bits and bumpy bits, nice quiet road too.

PROS:

Comfortable and practical, not too big.
Stupidly fast.
Handles nicely.
Not too noisy or flashy.
Reasonable number of toys on it but not all.
Seemed to run perfectly.
I mentioned fast right? But seriously, in a straight line it's insane.
The DSG works really well and is incredibly smooth.

CONS:

I wouldn't call it 'tatty' or 'scruffy' but it definitely looked like it could have done with being looked after better. There were a couple of scuffs and scratches, and it's had a minor ding at the back which has put a small crack in the plastic of the bumper and popped it out of its housing slightly towards the wheel arch.

Similarly the interior isn't perfect, some of the switchgear is visibly worn, and it could have done with a clean. The thing is, my Civic is the same age as the R36, and yet its interior and switchgear is immaculate, basically showroom new or not far off. So I don't understand why the R36 doesn't look like that.

(I've been told they've not had it long and it'll be getting a full valet and the body stuff sorted before it's sold.)

It's got a bit of a weird spec, so it has the nav upgrade but no camera, it has an SD slot but I don't think it's got the hard drive. It doesn't have the keyless entry and starting. It does have the upgraded speaker system though.

Under the bonnet wasn't perfect either, I mean, everything was solid and intact but there was sort of 'debris' for want of a better word, like a couple leaves and a bit of muck and stuff, that'd clearly been there for a while. Most worryingly was what also looked like a bit of a silt build-up or something, but I can't imagine it's really been submerged in water.... I should have got a pic of that.

Overall it's hard to explain, it just didn't feel like it'd been looked after the way you'd expect a car of that rarity and expense to have been looked after. Oh yes, like the blue paint had come of the brake callipers in a few places too.

I'm told it's got a full service history from new but he couldn't find it whilst I was there, so I definitely want to see that.

OVERALL:

I'm torn. He's offered £6350 for my Civic, he's said he'll knock the R36 down to £10K and put a year's tax on it which is £463 (!!). Also six month's warranty and a full service before I take it. So I need to put up £3650 cash to make the switch and should then have no expenses other than fuel for a year. I can do that, but I'm not sure I should.

Oh yes on the price the £9650 was an error apparently and it's always supposed to have been £10650. Parkers puts it at £7K but in actual fact it's damn near impossible to find much of a guide on prices, Autotrader has precisely ZERO of them up for sale in the entire UK.

I did find this thread on Pistonheads where someone sold one in 2013 privately for £13100 - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1286659 - but as you can see, they're seriously rare.

Another mention in that same thread from September 2014 where an '09 R36 went for £11.5K.

Gah! I dunno. Maybe I'll go back over the weekend for another look, and let Mrs Hearthly and Hearthly Jnr take a look......

I'll get some pics if I do and maybe make a short video too, see what you chaps think if you'd be so kind as to let me know your thoughts

Part of me can't help but think it could end up being AMAZINGLY EXPENSIVE if anything big goes wrong though....

It was an epically lovely car to drive though, as fast as a my old Scooby STi but a much nicer environment to go that fast in.