Help with a change of car.

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Sheal, Nov 7, 2013.

  1. Sheal

    Sheal Total Gardener

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    :lunapic 130165696578242 5: I can just picture the scene! :biggrin: My other half suited and booted on the back of a three legged nag climbing up this side of the island to the mountain road wheezing, coughing and spluttering and in need of a change of horse halfway up! Mind you it'd be downhill all the way on the other side. It's also a twenty six mile round trip. Nahhhh, I don't think this is gonna work because he'd need 'driving' lessons as well. :heehee:
     
  2. Jiffy

    Jiffy The Match is on Fire

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    I used to lend mechines out to people i knew, the same happern to me, so i put time limits on them, but that didn't work, So it's no lending from me now, they got quite upset about it, so i just largh at them

    Any way, why don't your OH go and get the digger, you can drive that to work and level the track on the way in and out :dbgrtmb:
     
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    • Scrungee

      Scrungee Well known for it

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      Shame, when I lived in a farmhouse nearly half a mile from the nearest road I found a Bedford TK coped well with the track.
       
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      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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        I think finding a TK nowadays would be a bit of a stretch Scrungee :heehee:
         
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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          I thought that's what they sold at TK Maxx :scratch:
           
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          • clueless1

            clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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            Or, in the case of my one and only Japanese car, it goes and goes, slowly, until the radiator bursts without warning, with the temperature registering as normal, and then shortly after blows its cylinder head in the most spectacular fashion I've ever seen. It went BANG, and when I checked under the bonnet to see, steam and smoke was coming from:

            * The new gap where cylinder head meets cylinder block
            * The new gap where exhaust manifold meets cylinder head
            * The new gap where inlet manifold meets cylinder head
            * The new gap in the thermostat housing
            * Assorted hose junctions
            * And finally, somewhere towards the bottom of the block:)

            I didn't even bother to think about fixing it. It was dead. The only time it moved after that, it was assisted by a winch and a recovery truck, and its final journey was to the scrappy.
             
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            • Fat Controller

              Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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              Blimey, what car was that clue?

              I don't think I have had a bad Japanese car to be fair - Nissan Primera would probably be the best of the bunch too. My bosses wife had one identical to mine, delivered on the same day, even the same colour; I ran mine over thousands and thousands of miles, with not a murmur whereas hers broke down at around 70,000 miles. It was trailered into the local Nissan dealer, where a friend of mine worked, and he called me to go and have a look at it - he took me under the car whilst it was up on a lift, removed the sump plug and asked me what I should expect - oil to come out, obviously, says I; he then took a bit of thick wire which he had kinked the end, shoved it up through the sump plug hole, and drew out a black goo that was like tar. It transpired that my bosses wife had taken hers back for its 1000 mile inspection, and it hadn't seen a spanner or oil can since.

              All credit to their mechanics, they stripped it, cleaned it all and reassembled it filling with nice clean oil and it was running like a watch without any non-consumable parts being replaced - the only thing I would say is that it never had the same 'grunt' that mine had after that, but it never let her down until she got rid of it.

              The only one I have had fail on me was a Mazda - started misfiring when I was on the motorway heading home, so I just kept caning it and praying it would get me home. When it finally dumped me on the hard shoulder, I lifted the bonnet and the distributor was glowing red hot - I was certain I had killed it stone dead, so called the AA out for a tow home. AA man arrived, listened to my sheepish story, and set about taking the dizzy apart - - turned out the points had stuck, so he fitted a new set for his van (for the princely sum of £2.35), set up the timing and away it went as good as new; that wee car never missed another beat with me, although admittedly I only had it another few months.
               
            • longk

              longk Total Gardener

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              If it's not going to get a lot of use, then the Mk1 Mitsubishi L200's are getting cheap here on the mainland. Tough as old boots, and will double up for other jobs when you need to carry a largish load.

              As a rule I say avoid Japanese (parts can be mega dear, and modern Jap diesels are grenading the engines far too much for my liking), but the L200 is a good tool.

              What about a Daihatsu fourtrack. They rot, but are cheap.
               
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              • Sheal

                Sheal Total Gardener

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                Thanks Longk but they're to big and to juicy. :)
                 
              • Fat Controller

                Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                All modern diesels seem to be a bit keen to self-destruct sadly - suppose that is the price to pay for squeezing so much performance out of them whilst wringing their necks for emissions.
                 
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                • longk

                  longk Total Gardener

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                  Not as bad as you'd think, although they are large.

                  You could go mad and seek out a 2CV - loads of ground clearance on those, and a good giggle to drive!
                  Or you might even consider an old Renault4. Both are pretty rugged.
                   
                • longk

                  longk Total Gardener

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                  That is the sad truth. I would avoid a modern diesel and go for petrol every time. But the Japs do seem to be especially fragile for some reason. Of the five engines we've done for the lease company that we look after, all have been Jap diesels.
                   
                • clueless1

                  clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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                  It was a Toyota Carina estate. Managed a whopping 82 bhp from that 2 litre turbo diesel engine before it blew up.
                   
                • longk

                  longk Total Gardener

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                  I had a Mazda RX7 - nuff said about that sad episode:gaah:
                   
                • Fat Controller

                  Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                  Let me guess - Mazda 6's? I'm hearing that they have been a nightmare one way and another, although I believe the latest generation is better.

                  Thats the rotary engined fellow, isn't it? Drinks oil and petrol like there is no tomorrow apparently.
                   
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