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Been there bud, just about had a breakdown changing an old Clio bulb.
Genuinely this was quicker than last time I swapped the sidelight at the battery side.
Sadists. Absolute sadists
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Car designers are absolute sadists the way they lay out engine bays.

That said I had a new astra the other day at work. The head lamp has a cap on the top that you take off and the bulb is right there. Obviously slipped through the net.

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5 hours ago, pub car king said:

Car designers are absolute sadists the way they lay out engine bays.

That said I had a new astra the other day at work. The head lamp has a cap on the top that you take off and the bulb is right there. Obviously slipped through the net.

Certain manufacturers make it hard so that your every day Joe would rather use an approved service centre rather than do it himself. Money going round in circles is what it's all about.

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9 hours ago, pub car king said:

Car designers are absolute sadists .

Aye.

Imagine a brand new car coming into your work.

Imagine discovering you need to remove some plastic trims to fix it.

Imagine having to remove 10 of these...

HLB1n8VESwTqK1RjSZPhq6xfOFXag.jpg_350x350.jpg.9a869fe81ffa5736785045f73a302dc7.jpg

... without marking/breaking a single one. 

Almost impossible.

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Spilled a large cup of tea over the centre console of the car yesterday. Got in today and it said “electronic handbrake fault”. Thought I’d try and swap a fuse tomorrow. Driving along the motorway earlier the handbrake suddenly came back from the dead like something from a horror film and momentarily switched itself on, lighting up the dash and giving me and the person driving behind a bit of a surprise. 

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On 10/10/2020 at 03:46, welshbairn said:

Scraped through on the emissions this time so it's a worry, as is the rust. 206k with a 20 year old diesel van not so much. Will try to get it on a ramp this weekend to have a proper look. Is it possible that a faulty exhaust could be responsible for the emissions problem? The engine sounds sweet and hasn't come up much on the MOT history, mostly cosmetic stuff. I really like the van and the only alternatives in my price range are more like 40 years old and double the price. Campervans are a mad price these days. Head says no, heart says take a gamble if there's a chance of making it solid for a grand or so. 

P.S. Wondering if part of the emissions problem could be it's been parked up for the last few years with only short runs?

The lads at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg will sort out your high emission readings for you. 

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Aye.
Imagine a brand new car coming into your work.
Imagine discovering you need to remove some plastic trims to fix it.
Imagine having to remove 10 of these...
HLB1n8VESwTqK1RjSZPhq6xfOFXag.jpg_350x350.jpg.9a869fe81ffa5736785045f73a302dc7.jpg
... without marking/breaking a single one. 
Almost impossible.
They're a lot better then these fuckers that my works old Chevrolet Captiva had, every now and again some arsehole would try and remove them with an electric screwdriver which almost always meant they were rounded. Nissan Qashqais are also a complete ball ache to try and change without removing the bumper. IMG_20201011_230112.jpeg
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Slightly off topic but somewhat related. Does anyone have recommendations for good driving instructors in Edinburgh (Leith)?

I idiotically never bothered when I was younger and now want to get it sorted. 

Most folk I know learned 10+ years ago so I’m hoping P&B might have some recommendations based on more recent experience. Ta.

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4 hours ago, Alan Stubbs said:

Slightly off topic but somewhat related. Does anyone have recommendations for good driving instructors in Edinburgh (Leith)?

I idiotically never bothered when I was younger and now want to get it sorted. 

Most folk I know learned 10+ years ago so I’m hoping P&B might have some recommendations based on more recent experience. Ta.

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/the-costs-of-learning-to-drive/
According to this mob this is what it could roughly cost to pass a test!

Try a couple of lessons first to see how comfortable you feel in a car then maybe try this place for an intensive course. If you feel ok at driving then you might not need a lot of lessons before your test. Good luck either way.

https://allpassdriving.co.uk/intensive-driving-courses/intensive-driving-courses-edinburgh/

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Got a Scirocco a couple of months ago after wanting one for years, absolutely love it.
Had a Scirocco for 3 years and changed it a couple of months ago. It was a brilliant car.

Only reason I changed it was because its a diesel and I simply wasn't doing the miles to justify having a diesel any longer. The DPF light came on a couple of times and it was becoming a pain in the arse having to take it a run every week or 2.
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https://www.arnoldclark.com/used-cars/vauxhall/astra/sports-tourer-1-6t-16v-200-sri-5dr/2017/ref/arnbe-u-445841

sorely tempted to trade in my 15 plate astra for this (waiting for the price to confirm + pics to go up). Similar 1.6 litre petrol except this one is newer, lower mileage and crucially has a turbo so hopefully won't be so boring to drive. Can scramble the cash together and either loan out a portion from a bank, buy on finance or (my preferred option) borrow from my partner and pay her back sans any interest. I could maaaybe do the bank loan purely so I can bump up my credit rating but tbh I'd rather owe the cash out to her than a bank. Judge Judy has been on often enough in the background to know that we'd write out some kind of written agreement before going ahead.

Home delivery would be an option too.

I might be going absolutely mad, but I'm pretty much certain that when I looked on Arnold Clark at trading the Astra in last year they valued it at £4000, I had a look recently out of curiosity and it's up to £4500 now, would guess they're bumping up the trade in values to encourage sales.

*************** TL:DR ***********

is it a good time to be getting a motor right now? The trade in value seems a lot better than it was (could be coincidence but it's the only thing I can think of) and how much could I realistically haggle them down? edit: a big thing putting me off is that tbh I've barely used the car in the last few months anyway and if I buy it then it'll mainly just sit on the drive, but the thing is that if I leave it to next year then my current Astra will just depreciate more and more (pretty sure they're shite for holding their value) so I might be better off doing it while dealerships are more likely to give me a better trade in on it and/or lower their asking price a bit more than they might normally. basically that I can keep saving to build up to buy something next year, but if the trade in value drops then it cancels it out somewhat.

***********************************

Alternative suggestions appreciated, preferably a big hatchback i.e. something with a decent sized boot and folding rear seats or an estate due to having a massive dog. Not keen on getting a diesel. Don't need to have sonic the hedgehog pace on it but something with a turbo or at least a 2.0L petrol would be grand. I'm used to the Astra and quite like it (I just want my first ever turbo, even if it's on a boring family estate Astra) so for continuity my first choice is a 1.6L turbo as per the above link.

I'm sort of toying with just getting a look at photo's/video of it, committing to buying it then booking to take it to my local garage so they can give it a quick look over and I think I'd be able to get anything sorted under the manufacturer warranty (think it's 3 years with Vauxhall, sure that's what mine had but could be wrong) or failing that take it back to the dealership - current Astra had a tire pressure light on which came back shortly after I bought it, took it in to the Vauxhall that's 5 minutes away and it got sorted promptly with no charge/hassle under the warranty, think it was a nail in a tyre or something.

I could go to the physical dealership in Motherwell to look at it myself (I think so anyway, Covid being what it is) but tbh I'd just pop the bonnet open and go "oh yeah that's right I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing"

 

FURTHER EDIT:
 

interesting, checked Autotrader out of curiousity:

image.png.be529dab67983c919c03950c21d4e1fa.png

£3890 vs. £4572 from Arnold Clark. Assuming they don't try to f**k me over and go "oh that's based on perfect condition, we'll give you £4000 on a trade in since yours has scratches on it" then I'm better off going through AC for a trade in at least.

Edited by Thistle_do_nicely
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