So what does the panel think then?

A Lucida is about 1/2 the price of an Avensis.

Reply to
Elder
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That's just how it is though I'm afraid.

Unless you buy an actual sports car. MGBs have great leg room.

Reply to
Bob Sherunckle

Every 405 I see now is well past anything you'd drive without wearing a Gordon Brown mask.

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

This one looks good:

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Reply to
SteveH

There's an idea. Get a 520d or E220cdi on finance and that'll stop you changing your car for ages as it'll be at least 3 yrs before the car value is back in line with the settlement on the loan, you'll soon get used to the more sedate performance, you'll get main dealer warranty and not have to worry about repairs and breakdowns and you won't look like your driving a pikey 405 / 406.

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

How do you know it's not supposed to be like that?

I can't imagine that the sort of person who buys that sort of car new has much interest in barreling down back roads.

Is it just gubbed shocks?

Just wondering, like.

Reply to
Douglas Payne

The elusive, but they exist (a friend has one) W210 E300TD with no rust (important to find a rustless one) is what you want.

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

Indeed though the 202 is a bit old fashioned it's not a bad buy.

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

The GT4 was close, but still not quite there.

Reply to
Elder

If he didn't, who would we be able to take the mickey out of every evening for doing just that?

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

Apparently the ARB bushes make the roll worse. The lower or upper ball joints can exagerate the braking dive. They feel fine under inspection, like the old Saab 900 and can be very close to actaually failing, but still pass an MOT. Been a few cases in the GS300 of properly maintained cars with valid MOTs breaking the lower joint and having the wheels facing different directions.

Reply to
Elder

Efficiency is for in the office. The car is my personal relaxing space. The house is for me, Alison and any visitors.

I like my car to a little like me, and I can at times be a little schizo.

Reply to
Elder

You say that the only places vaguely near work that you could afford would be places you'd really not want to live - what about working out how much extra you could spend on a house nearer to work by putting all the money you're spending on fuel/running costs for the insane commute you do into mortgage payments on a place nearer to work? Gotta be worth considering, surely?

Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

Didn't click the link because like 95% of the population I don't use a proper newsreader - whatever that is - and I'm not cutting and pasting it. Anyway - main thing to check for in 405s is the back axle bearings, the trailing arms specifically. It's easy to see. If the car's knock kneed, you just walk away.

Reply to
Bob Sherunckle

Me me me !!!

Reply to
Bob Sherunckle

It is possible, but the really bad areas, are unsellable. They get put up for sale when prices are high, but nobody buys them unless they are really stupid. Once you are in, you need to find a special kind of idiot to get out.

Reply to
Elder

BTW, that isn't an insane commute. It is a regular one, people commuting from Warrington into Manchester and Liverpool is what makes things bad for me. I'm part of the problem as much as the solution.

I set out between 7.30 and 7.45 if I want to get to work for 9am, leave any later on a normal day and I will be late.

Reply to
Elder

Carl

Have you considered leaving earlier in the morning ? I notionally start at 8.45 in the morning. Without fail, I leave every day at 7.10 and get in for 7.50.

That's me at my desk 55 minutes before I have to be, but it's well worth it for the quiet roads. I used to go later, but it wasn't good for my blood pressure. In our office, the common denominator as regards start time is that all the old hands always arrive early in the morning for precisely that reason.

P.S. Having travelled through your general area a few times in the thick of the commuting zone, I do feel for you. We have it relatively easy up here.

Reply to
Bob Sherunckle

I did used to. But this firm never has anyone to unlock the gates that keep the rampaging hordes of pikies of the roof until about 8.55am (it varies according to bus delays and staff holidays but never before

8.45). We have also had several messages by email that we must be at hour desks by 9am so we have 5 minutes to make a brew before we start.

And this is the most reasonable and generous place I've worked in for years.

Reply to
Elder

The one car I had the longest was the first Saab at 18 months. The shortest was the Range Rover at 3 months.

I regret selling the first one. It had a mystery oil leak that 3 mechanics and the Nationwide garage couldn't find. It only lost oil when being driven but not when stood or when idled and it covered most of the underside of the car.

I actually found it myself after agreeing with a buyer to come and view it.

He was coming down from Durham, so I set about giving it a good clean.

And discoved that the oil cooler in the front bumper (or the hose connecting to it) had a split in it (nowhere near where anyone looked) and

1) It only leaked when the thermostatic plate near the filter opened to use the cooler. 2) It took motion breeze to blow the oil under the car and coat everything, including the passenger side top wishbone/gearbox mount, gradually softening it and (I've found out from buyer since) causing the occasional gear popout. Fix the leak with a scrappy part, swap the mount/bushes, handling sorted and gearbox fixed.
Reply to
Elder

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