I'm getting frustrated ;-)

Ah, the joys of posting when you're half asleep... ;)

-- JackH

Ah the joys of creative editing of a post, and it not getting noticed. :))

Heh! And definitely not with an engine that had only had literally a few miles of running in!

Peter

I remember looking for a BMW 530D manual, under 50k miles, under 20k pounds, approved used car warranty. Found 3 in the country!!

Heh! Don't hold back there! :-)

Peter

Well my first 5 cars were all Mk3 Escorts! I fell into the category of someone wanting a cheap runabout, but something bigger than a supermini, so a 1.1 Escort was the obvious choice! A couple of them were 1.3s as well (ooh the power, lol).

That's what I like about Carltons - once I actually made the effort to find a relatively rust-free one (especially in the important places, like rear arches and rear chassis rails) I haven't looked back. Only expenditure I've had on that, other than an imploding front bumper (headlights, grille and bonnet suffered side-effects too!), has been a couple of tyres, rear discs and pads and a few other bits got from other Carltons I've bought for spares. Those spares thankfully cost me next to nothing, thanks to someone putting an advert on Findit for a couple of Carlton Estate doors. Even the replacement bits for the minor knock were got for nout, as someone in the area wanted an auto gearbox.

The best bit is that when I recently re-MOT'd it, all it failed on, apart from the very obvious large windscreen crack (and lack of front number plate), was one sidelight bulb, the cat refitting (damned emissions tests!) and the headlamp aim adjusting.

I've got to say I really don't like MPVs. I'm sure there very good and very useful and all the rest of it, but despite the pricing issue (they do seem to hold values very well), I'd much rather an estate car.

Peter

I'm easy really - like I said in the other post, my first 5 cars were Mk3 Escorts. No, they didn't all get smashed up by me - one was written off (the first one - 1.1 Escort Estate) by me, the next one I sold in full (sort of) working order. Real heap though! Next one was really solid, but in the end I never got around to getting it re-MOTd (despite it not needing that much doing) as I'd got the Astra by then, and just wanted it gone really. Another one got written off by a rear shunt (not his fault, the bloke behind him forced him into me - ironically enough the car that actually hit me was a Carlton Estate - a precursor to future motoring perhaps? As an aside, there was next to no damage to his Carlton). Another one had an engine blow up (no coolant, and silly me never checked this small detail - ah well, car ownership's a learning curve!).

I think that covers the Escorts!

Since then I've had Vauxhalls - one Astra van (1.3 petrol) and since then, 7 Carlton Estates (though 2 of them were for spares).

Oh, and a Fiesta van (2000 model).

I'm soon to become an keen Audi owner. Well, maybe.

I'm torn between getting a nice E34 BMW 520/525 Estate and an A6 2.5 TDI-140 Estate. For looks, I prefer the E34, which IMHO is a really stunning looking car (even the estate), but the Audi is no minger by any means, and a

Peter

Why? Zafira Diesel will not save you much over a 1.6 petrol, which is just as good, quieter, smoother to drive and cheaper to buy. 1.8 is better still, 2.2 will do >35mpg on motorway.

We reckon out 1.6 averaged near 40mpg on motorway, and the 1.8 averages about 35-36 (we drive it harder though). Yeah the diesel will do 42-45 maybe but over a 100k mile period it's gonna save you about a grand in fuel. No way does that compensate for the purchase difference.

Yes. That's 10-20% of the purchase price, ffs!

Steve - you have mail. If you didn't get it, reply to this direct to email. I know someone that has something that may interest you.

Peter

Ahh, yes. Triggered my junk filter ;-)

Could be interested - I'll take you out of the bin - let me have the location and any other details you can get.

PS: Going to check out a cheap (should get it for £1100-£1200) 146Ti tomorrow - 119k miles, all the stamps in the book, good condition, but slightly faded bonnet. Could be worth a punt. Failing that, there's always the 33 P4 to check out on Sunday ;-)

Heh! Charming! :-)

Mail me, and we'll chat about it. Where abouts are you anyway?

Peter

And here we have the data in question for the top bollox 146: Alfa Romeo 2.0 TS 4/1970 150 130 8.5 34.2

Now, lets see...

Ah, how about a Golf GT TDi... yes, that lardy old, chuggy bus: 1.9 TDi PD 150 4/1896 150 134 8.6 51.4

And the Seat Ibiza Cupra Sport: Seat 2.0 16v 4/1984 136 134 7.9 33.6

Renault Clio (1998 - 2001):

RENAULT Clio 2.0 16v Sport 172

Nissan Almera? 4/1998 172 130 6.9 35.8

Nissan 2.0 GTi 4/1998 143 131 8.2 34.9

I could go on - there are countless cars out there, be it of the current era, the mid 90s, or even earlier than that, that will offer similar, if not better, performance to the 146.

All have their advantages and disadvantages, but honestly, the 146 isn't a fantastically superior car to any of the above, so to suggest that anything else other than one of them is a 'compromise', is laughable in extremis.

-- JackH

It does when you're planning to do a lot of stop start town work...

-- JackH

Heh, and the rattly tappets (CVH ones, at least)

I need height as well as length (oo-er), and could do with seven seats, so a Zafira makes perfect sense to me.

A Berlingo Multispace is a van with toys, and plenty of room too... a shame they're not a seven seater tbh.

-- JackH

JackH waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

How about a Mk2 Golf GTi? Early ones 112, 118 8.4 35ish

I know where's a nice high mileage one you'd love

Pete M

Petrol 1.6 still manages 28-30 in town. Diesel will be 32-35. Still not worth it.

Diesel is a fallacy unless you are keeping it for significantly beyond break-even (which for most diesels is about 60k miles), or someone else is buying it and you're running it, or you're paying CO2 on it. Only reason I considered a 530d over a 520 or 525 was that I'd have kept it for 200k miles. Even then, when I settled on the S60 I didn't bother with the diesel, savings overall are not big enough.

What Almera is that then? with 172bhp?

-- Dan

Because the savings in fleet multiple terms can be significant, especially as company cars are the second fastest in the world. Individually I don't see the point on small-medium cars, big cars maybe but Zafira doesn't count.