Best of the Bargain Basement Vol. 2

[Hoofy]

Jimmy Recard said:

I forgot to eject the CD from my head unit when I changed it to an aftermarket one

Isn't there a tiny hole you can stick a pin into to manually eject a stuck CD?

[Jimmy Recard]

Hoofy said:

Isn't there a tiny hole you can stick a pin into to manually eject a stuck CD?

If there is, then I've spent two long years without The Best of Blur for basically no reason!

[fuzzyyo]

Jimmy Recard said:

Hoofy said:

Isn't there a tiny hole you can stick a pin into to manually eject a stuck CD?

If there is, then I've spent two long years without The Best of Blur for basically no reason!

Thats probably for the best.

[princeperch]

No tiny hole for me I'm afraid. Must have gone in at the wrong angle.

I remind myself at the bargain basement level should be grateful the bloody thing starts steers and stops.

In car entertainment is a bonus..

[Jimmy Recard]

fuzzyyo said:

Thats probably for the best.

I'm not that fussed

[wiliferus]

TonyRPH said:

funkyrobot said:

Anyone have experience of the 2.5 petrol Mondeo like the one below? Are they ok?

I think they are chain driven too?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

It looks ok, but I'm not 100% convinced on that mileage though.

It's accurate according to the MOT history (although that could mean nothing) however it's had 4 springs in it's time?

Mk3 Mondys are know for spring failure, mine did two. That doesn't of course mean that the mileage on this one is honest. But I wouldn't read too much into the springs being replaced.

That V6 is pretty damn good. It's a solid unit that is very under stressed. The main down side is the mpg is very poor when compared to the power. But if your mileage is low, it'd be a lovely shed to punt about in.

My old Mk3 remains one of my favourite cars I had. Shame I tried to turn it into a boat during the 2014 floods

[Jimmy Recard]

I really like that Mondeo.

It's reassuring that there's such a selection of decent stuff still for this money.

[BlueHave]

wiliferus said:

TonyRPH said:

funkyrobot said:

Anyone have experience of the 2.5 petrol Mondeo like the one below? Are they ok?

I think they are chain driven too?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

It looks ok, but I'm not 100% convinced on that mileage though.

It's accurate according to the MOT history (although that could mean nothing) however it's had 4 springs in it's time?

Mk3 Mondys are know for spring failure, mine did two. That doesn't of course mean that the mileage on this one is honest. But I wouldn't read too much into the springs being replaced.

That V6 is pretty damn good. It's a solid unit that is very under stressed. The main down side is the mpg is very poor when compared to the power. But if your mileage is low, it'd be a lovely shed to punt about in.

My old Mk3 remains one of my favourite cars I had. Shame I tried to turn it into a boat during the 2014 floods

Isn't it the same engine Jaguar fitted in the X-Type

[Speshul91]

Im driving around in a 53 plate pre facelift fiesta 1.4 16v.

It cost me 400 quid, needing a clutch, which was in the boot he just couldn't be bothered to do it.

76.5k when i got it, service history from when the previous owner had it including the receipt for him buying it and almost every mot.

[gazapc]

princeperch said:

I'm currently tooling about in a 1.4 2004 Citroen xsara.

Mine for 300 quid and 85k on the clock.

Problems thus far:

The central looking is dodgy and sometimes one of th back doors doesn't unlock. It was ok for the mot and let's hope it works for the next one

There is a metallic clanging sound from the underneath at times, it's a tiny bit of metal, a heat shield I think, which keeps bending inwards and clattering against the gear linkage, not a major problem and my mechanic will bend it back for nowt every now and again.

The back axel was a bit ropey and had to be padded out with spacers on one side to ensure it didn't foul the bodywork. All is fine here atm.

I didn't get a locking wheel nut with the car and naturally it needed new front boots for the mot. The nuts were bksed and had to be welded off. That cost a bit.

When my mechanic was sorting the clattering on his ramp the handbrake, which was in a state of disrepair, snapped. Had to get both cables fixed.

And today I got my new ELO CD in the post (on the third day - what an album). Fed it into the single shot CD player, and nothing happened. Fed another cd in it and it started playing the second cd. It has therefore swallowed my brand new album. fking brilliant.

So all in all, the car cost 300 quid, it's very cheap to run,m cost me just under 300 quid for a new handbrake, new front tyres and the cost of getting the locking wheel nuts off . I,k pretty pleased with it all in tbh and as long as no electrical disasters happen, can see it lasting another year or two.

I've got a 2002 1.6 Xsara with a similar door locking problem (Google says it is a common problem). We rarely use that door so to be sure for the MOT I disconnected the plug. Can still unlock/lock manually from the inside.

Overall though, cracking car. Purchased at 110k 2 years ago and now at 140k. Other than oil it's needed a pair of tyres, an anti roll bar drop link (40 quid) and a new ignition coil/MAF sensor (approx 70 quid). It gets treated badly and driven hard but the engine runs super smooth and is quite gutsy for a petrol. It's got a few dents now curtesy of the other half. We had a weird fault where the heater blower was stuck on full blast (could still control temp) but that fixed itself.

MOT until next feb but it's time over the next few months to decide if the cam belt is to be done, if not will need to move on.

[princeperch]

Yeh cheap enough bit of old French cheese isn't it. Now, disconnecting the rear back door - how do I do this?

[Jimmy Recard]

I didn't think rear door release was on the mot? Just front door release

That could just be the interior handle rather than the locking though

Edited by Jimmy Recard on Tuesday 16th May 09:15

[anonymous-user]

My back passenger door won't unlock from central locking but can open from inside. I forgot to open it. Not tester tested I explained it worked he said not an issue. How true for other Dont know but just leave car unlocked

[exelero]

Guys, I just saw on facebook, there is a Merc Coupe for sale I think is the W124, for 180 quid in London. Bit of rust, brake pipe split.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/450156275119559/pe...

[anonymous-user]

exelero said:

Guys, I just saw on facebook, there is a Merc Coupe for sale I think is the W124, for 180 quid in London. Bit of rust, brake pipe split.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/450156275119559/pe...

cars for 200 quid or less, basically scrap cars.

[SimonTheSailor]

My mothers Xsara had that fan blower problem - fixed itself after a few days as well !! Think its a known issue if you google it. Front spring snapped recently. Other than that she's had it a few years and its been a good drive for her.

[princeperch]

From 2012 onwards all doors of the car have to open as far as I know

Before that was just advise

[M1C]

I bought a 75k mile 2002 Megane 1.4 Expression for £200 in November....

Passed it's MOT a couple of weeks ago! Happy days. Now on 81k.

It has a wheel bearing rumble just starting...and a couple of other quirks (ventilation cycle clicks/bangs on start up - a known problem). Oh and the Air con doesn't work, despite a FOC regas at work.

Can't really complain though...cheap motoring!

[320touring]

320touring said:

I think I have done a good thing..

153k miles
Mot Apr 2018 and well within thread budget

Even has 4 matching Avon on it.

And I love the electrically adjustable seatbelt height.

Should anyone want some more indepth info on what this tub has turned out to be like, I've started a Readers cars thread here

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

so far so good!

[Jimmy Recard]

The Spruce goose said:

My back passenger door won't unlock from central locking but can open from inside. I forgot to open it. Not tester tested I explained it worked he said not an issue. How true for other Dont know but just leave car unlocked

My rear passenger door has the end of the handle broken off but I said to my tester you can still open it with the stump of the handle and he said the rear doors aren't tested. He didn't say anything about locking though