Thank you for hating Proton ;)

Thank you for alerting me! I never saw one of these before. And I quite like the shape of it. If you start an owners' club I might buy one.

I only came across them by accident - you wouldn't want to spend £7,000 on one, but after a couple of years they seem to be as cheap as chips, and must represent one the biggest second-hand bargains around.

I read the various test reports before driving it and was prepared for it to be as awful as some of the claim it to be - but, in fact, it far exceeds the review opinions in just about every area. The only thing they seemed to get right was that the engine has be worked harder than one might think.

It's quite comfortable, the handing is simply superb (but, then, I've always owned 4x4's and people carriers - so it's bound to be an improvement) fit and finish is well above the price ticket, paint is good, gearbox is excellent (odd, because quite a few reviews slated the box - and I've absolutely no idea why)

As remarked, the engine needs to be worked harder than one might expect for a modern 16 valve - and it gets a bit noisy as you wind it up, but it's still only 1149cc, so I suppose that's par for the course. Gearing is a bit too high for my taste, but the maxium torque is up at the high end of the rev range, so it needs to be kept spinning.

Aircon is excellent (like all Malaysian/Korean/Indonesian cars), interior is perfectly acceptable, gadgets are useful - and that warranty certainly beats axle stands and a Haynes manual ;)

There is a Proton owners club if you're into that sort of thing.

Price is everything these days - and I simply couldn't find anything that came close to it for 3.5K.

Ad hominem attacks, emotionally charged diatribe..... Let me guess, you're a short arsed weed with a huge chip on your shoulder and under the cosh at home? Earlier on today you were not doing too badly, but you've lost all credibility now.

Mr Angry behind the wheel of a Neutron - that's a rare phenomenon!

Julian

I love gay humour ;)

"Aggreived" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Until it expires, at which point the car's worth about the same as the Haynes manual. Second-hand in a charity shop.

Be still, my beating heart.

"Aggreived" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

He's been here a lot longer than you have, matey.

'course, that's going to be a great help when the thing keeps throwing it's toys and causing you to require that warranty. If the dealer can get his head round trouble-shooting the thing. Once the AA get you there.

Better sell it whilst it's still got a bit of warranty on, too - since that's the only thing in it's favour.

I heard similar before I bought a Hyundai in 1998 - it's never let me down, although in this instance, the interior and handling really are as bad as you'd expect :-}

PS: if you need to pull the skin off a rice pudding, a lawnmower has more chance !

"Colin Wilson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org...

You're on the wrong newsgroup.

Except the Proton hasn't got a comprehensive warranty & 65K isn't a high mileage. & you're im uk.rec.cars.maintenance, 2disks & an exhaust will leave you change out of £100.

alt.uk.idiots.who.pretend.to.enjoy.getting.covered.in.oily.filth.just.so.they.can.say.they.don't.own.a.proton.misc

No, this is more the Ican change a set of discs myself & so I much prefer the A6 that cost less than the Proton. If you want to play bangernomics in a Proton you can have a 2002 for £900.

alt.uk.idiots.who.pretend.to.enjoy.getting.covered.in.oily.filth.just.so.they.can.say.they.don't.own.a.proton.misc

Er, I think that's the whole point - I *don't* want to play bangernomics (or, indeed, have anything to do with bangers in general)

I used to run old cars (out of necessity) and have pored over engines, crawled under diffs, grubbily thumbed my way through the Haynes manual (I used to love the way they'd airily state, 'Remove the three 10mm bolts A, B, & C - while forgetting to mention that to remove the aforesaid bolts you [a] had to take off a dozen ancillary bits, and [b] they'd done it in a heated workshop with the engine removed from the car, and to do it in-situ, outside, on a freezing cold day, required arms as long as an Orang-Utan, which also needed to be triple jointed)

I did these things because I absolutely had to - and I hated every minute I spent doing them. Life is short and precious - too precious to waste fixing old cars unless you *have* to do so.

Then I started running new cars (expensive, but gloriously clean) and when in the market for a small car that would also be used by my daughter I wanted something that was as good as new, at a fraction of a new car price - something that meant that I would never have to get out my sockets and torque wrench from the cupboard into which they were exiled years ago.

You were right in one respect - this *is* the wrong group for me - I loathe, detest, hate, and generally despise working on cars, which makes an DIY car group a somewhat unlikely haunt for me.

I actually started reading the group (and other car forums) when I was looking for a second-hand car - and I have to say that reading the various posts made me visibly shudder at the problems and (hideously expensive) repairs that still seem to a never-ending part of second-hand car ownership in the 21st century. I don't care what the general consensus is - cars are now disposable items that have about 50,000 'good' miles in them. After that it's all downhill and it gets prohibitively expensive to keep the buggers running properly.

Add to that the fact that we are increasingly living in a police state, where every minor infraction of the law carries a whopping fine that is gleefully imposed. Years ago I (and all other motorists) got away with near murder when running our cars - stuff that would collect enough points in one single VOSA check to get you banned for a year. There is, increasingly, no room for old cars with faults (even if they're not major or overly important) Your car *has* to be in excellent nick (unless you're an ethic-minority 'traveller' , who requires neither tax nor test, nor tyres with any tread on them, for his old tarmac wagon)

That's why I deem a 10,000 mile Savvy to of more worth (to me) than a 70,000 mile car with a 'desirable' badge.

Others may well see things differently - and that's there choice (and the best of British luck to them as well) I also feel that there must be many others like me who read this group because they *have* to, and not because they *want* to - so perhaps that particular segment of the readership would also be interested in a cheap car with a good warranty?

Roll on the electric car, that's what I say - to still be pissing about with what is, basically, late 19th century technology is frankly ludicrous in

Depends on your definition of 'comprehensive'

One year left of 'bumper to bumper' cover (pretty well 'everything')

Three years after that of 'power train' cover - engine, gearbox, clutch (not burned), drive shafts, wheel bearings (plus some bits I can't remember off-hand)

That's comprehensive enough for me.

I looked at a 2000 KA (basic model) at a Ford main dealer (Halshaw). 67,000 miles (allegedly), rust on the tailgate, rust breaking through the 'A' pillar, rust scabbing on the doors, and rust on the sills.

"This car comes with a 30 day warranty, Sir"

"A whole month?" ( attempt at sarcasm)

"Yes, Sir" (sarcasm apparently undetected)

"Will you come down from the £1,700 screen price?"

(goes to consult sales manager)

"Sorry, Sir, no can do - the car has undergone a £300 sales preparation.

"But it's rusty"

"It was a sales prep, Sir, we don't do the bodywork"

"So you're sticking at £1700 then"

"Yes, Sir, we are - it's a popular little car"

"Bye"

And you wonder why I snapped up a mint 10k Savvy????

considering that electric cars were 'de rigeur' at the turn of the 1900s then yes I fully agree.

So not covered by your warranty either

Well I'd be just as confused by buying that Ka.

"Aggreived" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

No, not really. It's an ideal place for you to troll.