Bought a new car

felix said:
PS on satnav - it seems to have the unique ability to turn thinking people into idiots. There's no reason to have it.
</luddite>
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As predominantly sole driver I use mine a lot.......less now as I am just drivng less.

Any thing that needs collecting /delivering to a unknown destiation it just makes life so much easier.

Yes, you can do it with a map book but the sat nav is more convenient (IMO of course).
 
amazingtrade said:
I
I will be careful what I keep in the car, there will be some computer parts in the boot but they will mainly be worthless test items such as RAM, PSUs, old motherboards etc..
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I have this issue with gardening tools.

If I do stuff at my parents I always take stuff out the van.

I have to consider if I want to loose something over night......however tired I am it gets brought in.

Especially comingup to xmas AT, I would be really cautious with that stuff.

Remember also your are goign to ahve difficulty covering stuff up well.



amazingtrade said:
Not decided about a sat nav yet, the speed limit thing would be very useful but then it could also make me complicent, e.g sat nev is not beeping so must be within the speed limit..
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Yes.

Just get into the habit of wathing for the signs.

re advanced stuff......with my tutor.....go through a 30 at 32/33.....you didn't do twice...

i.e. You got told!



amazingtrade said:
I also like to manually work out routes so I can avoid thinks like big round abouts etc.
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no round abouts?

They are ok aren't they?



:)
 
I-S said:
Satnavs are terrible things. People use and rely on them, and are totally incapable of reading a map or ever figuring out where they are when it inevitably goes wrong.
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I basically agree with you.

Its the electronic age I'm afraid!
 
I-S said:
Satnavs are terrible things. People use and rely on them, and are totally incapable of reading a map or ever figuring out where they are when it inevitably goes wrong.
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I was (and still am) totally incapable of reading a map or ever figuring our where I was when I inevitably got lost long before SatNavs came on the scene. SatNavs are a bloody Godsend, especially when you factor in the live traffic updates.

Mine lets me focus my finite attention span on driving the car safely rather than trying to figure out which way is North...
 
Just spoken to my mechanic he has spent a few hours doing little jobs on it, so its going to cost me £50 inc the oil change. Basically he said the chasis is a little bit rusty but nothing that will fail the MOT, the front springs will need doing in the next year but still within MOT limits.

He said the engine was brilliant and that he didn't want to touch the tappets as it will make things worse long time.

So I am now wondering if its worth bothering to MOT next time or just sell it for spares if the engine is good.

He said he had checked the steering and there is nothing wrong with it, its just that I was not used to none PAS cars.
 
amazingtrade said:
So I am now wondering if its worth bothering to MOT next time or just sell it for spares if the engine is good.
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Eh? I must have misunderstood your last post, as why would you sell a car as spares when your mechanic can't find anything wrong with it?
 
I meant MOT time, if it needs welding, new springs etc the bill could be quite high. Spent £50 on it today for an oil change (urgently over due), tow bar removal (with a angle grinder), and a few other bits.

He said the chasis was very good for the age but not completly rust free, but nothing that woudl fail the MOT.

I still need to fix the drivers door lock (dad broke it), change the air filter and replace the reverse light.
 
GOod news. Now go buy yourself the Haynes manual and a few good quality tools, and you'll be able to fix most maechanical things yourself - and cheaply. Since it's Ford you'll find replacement parts are widely second-sourced and pretty cheap - there'll be no need to junk the car for parts if all the next MOT takes is fitting a pair of dampers or new pads, say.

Now get out there and enjoy driving the thing.
 
felix said:
GOod news. Now go buy yourself the Haynes manual and a few good quality tools, and you'll be able to fix most maechanical things yourself - and cheaply. Since it's Ford you'll find replacement parts are widely second-sourced and pretty cheap - there'll be no need to junk the car for parts if all the next MOT takes is fitting a pair of dampers or new pads, say.

Now get out there and enjoy driving the thing.
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Yes...ones that fit!

I ve seen enough rounded off nuts to last a life time.

Snap on (IIRC) are good thoiugh pricey.

Invest in a good jack (trolley if poss) .....also one of those trolley ideas that lets you slide easily underneath the thing. I never did...... I don't know why not now.

All this is being the foretelller of doom though......as the previous poster said....go and drive it!
 
Actually Halfords Professional range are generally excellent tools. There's no need to get really spendy ;)
 
I agree with felix - a good quality socket set is not an expensive thing - I got a nice one from halford's for less than £10, including 1/4 and 3/8 drivers, bits, spark plug tool and sockets up to 20mm. A torque wrench can be handy, but you can probably get away without one tbh. Ramps.... A lot of ramps are too steep for a lot of cars, although I should think front overhangs on a fiesta should be pretty short and you'd be ok with a regular set. I need some low-angle ramps...
 
ok...snap-on wasn't the best idea but i ve used enough lousy spanners in my time to not want to use another. I haven't used Halfors tools at all.

Sounds like a good recomendation.
 
I've got one of Halfords' socket sets also and it is indeed very good. However, their spanners are, IMHO, pretty poor and I would go with Britool or something equivalent. Very easy to knacker a bolt with a poor spanner...
 
Thanks just had a good drive out in it with my mate today he also drove it, the only problem he found with it is the throttle pedal feels a little bit loose, I also mentioned this to mechanic yesterday but he didn't say anything. When I get my Haynes I might try and tighten them.

Car seems to run very well, checked smoke on start up - nothing at all, after 6 miles if you looked very carefully you could see a little bit so I am happy the engine is good. I just hope I never have to change the plugs. They are supposed to last 30,000 miles so it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Changing plugs is one of the easiest things to do on a car... Just pull the HT leads, undo the plugs, carefully insert new plugs (pre-gapped), put HT leads back. Easy.
 
FWIW I have mixed experiences with plugs........mostly in the from of garden equipment.

My mower has given me afew problems at times, once or twice purley s/p related. it can give very deceptive sypmtoms that send you in the wrong direction totally.

My other stuff like trimmers and such like I admit pretty much I haven't put a spanner to since i ve had them :o.....they all still go 2/3 pull.

The last petrol car I had (AUdi Coupe 5S) I did plugs regularly.....again they can play tricks.....even new ones.

At about 100K, the Audi suddenly decided it was going to drop a cylinder (:( :(). A quick investigation revealed a dislocated plug lead. i.e. when it came away in my hand I reckoned I had grasped the issue.

It can be worth taking a look!






edit; it is a fact AT, that stuff is really crammed into "motors" now. e.g. I wouldn't do an oil change on my transit.....you just can't get at stuff and you'd skin yourself trying. Have a look at the plugs though......about the one thing now you can get at!
 

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