Cars

Two cars, or N+1 is the way to go. Something old and silly and something a bit more modern for family/motorway/towing stuff!


We bought this little badboy a while back and it was such a good purchase, it’s never going to win any races but pretty decent on fuel because of its tiny engine and petrol so can take it into congestion zones, really straightforward to fix and just long enough for a bed in the back. Plus it’s so bloody cute.

In length and width it’s smaller than our Nissan Micra but can fit a sofa in the back

I haven’t tried but I’m pretty sure in a situation of needing to change a tire with no jack I could pick it up.

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My old Peugeot 106 was good at being a bare bones, older car that you could still have as a reliable daily driver. It did suffer with it’s ICV issue in the end that I couldn’t properly diagnose nor really want to throw money at, but from 2013-2019 it out lasted a lot of my friend’s newer cars, ironically the ones who gave me the usual ‘why don’t you just get a newer car’.

The Mk2 Fiesta has treated me well, it also reminded me that motorway driving in an 80s Fiesta is hilariously loud and not so comfy. But I just keep that as the ‘fun’ car now because older cars + British weather is not a good combo. Not unless you like rot and lots of random leaks.

Even now I think I’m driving something ‘modern’ but it’s a 2007 Fiesta Zetec S and that’s old by most standards haha. It’s got 'leccy windows, a CD player by standard and aircon so it’s mostly modern to me.

Putting a new head unit in the Gti was the best thing I ever spent money on.

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I remember upgrading my Nissan Micra radio (only had AM, no FM, no cassette, just ancient 1950s radio) to cd head unit with speakers back in 1995 and it was like the car had been touched by god

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Had to swap out the battery on our Micra last month and then realised I don’t have the radio code so locked out, anyone know an easy way to get it DIY working again?

Have you tried google?
Or this

Nah doesn’t work for mine, think I’ve got a dodgy one. It was a bit weird before anyway and sent you round in menu circles when you tried to set the time.

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I had luck buying a code on ebay for an old feista I had.
Sure it was £1.75 or something silly, but it worked

Do you have to take the radio out to get the serial number for that kinda thing?

Yeah, i think so unfortunately.

Fired up 'ye old car last night to the sound of a chuffy, chuggy and rather unhealthy tapping sound from the engine. I reckon injector seals as there is a slight smell in the car and it sounds around that area.

Fun times.

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Mine had all 5 injectors refurbished a few months back. A nice £2k bill

Ouch, bloody hope this isn’t the case!

This was a miss fire. Front end off new injector wiring loom then all 5 injectors tested and refurbished, and the car was in the garage for about 5 weeks.

What happens when you put car shampoo in the screen wash tank?

If anyone is travelling south on the M5 tomorrow and see great big streams of bubbles everywhere. That was me.

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I’m not sure but it sounds funny…

I’d get it out fella, it will freeze when it gets cold and be a nightmare

Get it out , wrote my first ever car off (mk1 Astra gte) because my mate thought it would be funny to put truck cleaning shampoo in mine . Sun hit the windscreen and the dirt made me put the wiper jets on and an instant foam wash covered the windscreen blocking my view and when the wipers cleared it I hit the back of a stationary car at the lights .
Absolutely gutted

Wow. I guess on top of that if it freezes it could possibly split the washer tank too.