Dacia Duster.

[pwdrive]

I hadn't heard of dealers pre reg on new cars before, as it happens there was something about it on BBC news 24 today, the salesman showed the reporter a pre reg car with 6 miles on the clock but the dealer didn't say who it was registered to,
I've never bought a new car, not likely to so far as I can see.

Lawrence.

[camallison]

>> Is snow likely next Saturday?

Well, we've had two monsoons here today, one before lunch and one after. I'm just waiting for our paddy field to drain a little and then I may plant rice.

Colin

[Retired]

Hi,

Tricks of the trade Lawrence; dealers will find anyway they can to make money and the pre-registered cars are registered to the dealer so the dealers will be the first name in the log book hence the car can then only be regarded and sold as a second-hand car. This practice is not illegal but I feel morally wrong although anyone can buy these pre-registered cars so I shouldn't complain.

Oh dear Colin; fall out from my cloud is also causing you problems? It brightened here a few minutes ago enticing me out like the fool that I am; as soon as I set foot on the patio down came the rain again but I beat it this time because I let it soak me whilst I did six trips from the rear garden to the front of the bungalow carrying garden rubbish getting it ready for a trip to the tip; I just love slimy slugs etc clinging to the rubbish; as soon as I came indoors it brightened up again but I no longer care.

Good luck with your rice planting you should reap a bumper crop without needing to water it?

I must be getting better because in spite of the terrible weather I tidied the workshop this morning and have now got the rubbish ready for the tip.

Kind regards, Col.

[Radio Fixer]

Bought a lot of Honda's that were called demonstraters and they were, often having say 2K miles on the clock. But no problem huge saving and for us a new car.

Edit: they got the miles as they were used by the sales staff as well. But we got a run in car.

Then we moved on to buying two or three years old and that's been fine as well. Always dealt with a main agent and that paid off with this Civic as when we had it, it had a wander with the steering. In the end it was found to be a faulty electric motor on one side of the steering rack (that's how power steering is on these). Anyway they fixed it, no charge to us, and its been fine and accurate ever since. Was told that bill if not under warranty could have been a 'grand' to us which wouldn't have been grand at all !

Wonderful weather: Boy! so much wind and joy for windsurfers. Went today but gear too big for the conditions and 'ancients' and got hammered. But that's OK, not hurt, nothing broken and to have been is something.

Gary

[Retired]

Hi,

As you rightly say Gary buying a "demonstrator" can save a wad of cash as can buying a pre-registered car which is actually new but because it has the dealers name on the log book has to be sold at a reduced price because it would be classed as second hand. Both a demonstrator and pre-registered are a good deal but you can only buy the car you see whereas with brand new a full choice is available but at a much higher cost.

a "grand" to sort a steering problem out Gary; how times have changed from when I first started riding/driving. £2.50 for a roadworthy Matchless 500cc complete with sidecar; £5 for a Norton 500cc ES2. £12 for a Triumph Herald; £15 for a van load (16) of assorted motorcycles from a rag and bone man; £16 for an MG YB taxed and tested. Later I bought an Austin Healey BN1 paying a whopping £150; this had the lot with chrome wires and brand new tyres; it was truly immaculate in bright red with Registration EEB 88; such cars are now seen on the web advertised for around £55,000.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C488041

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C490216

A friend last year parted with £700 to get her car through the MOT just because of an airbag circuit board fault. Once a car starts to cost money in repairs then when does it stop? Only a few years ago it was common to see a broken down car by the roadside but these days on the whole cars are much more reliable but are also much more expensive to repair if they do break down; our new cars have never had time off the road other than for yearly services and these included 2CV; nine Nissan Micra's and two Toyota Aygo's.

One aspect of brand news cars these days I dislike is the car being supplied without spare wheel and jack etc. I wouldn't feel happy relying on a puncture repair in a can; Bron and I have paid extra for a spare wheel with our new Fabia. Discussing this with David I'm sure David is right when he says most drivers these days wouldn't even know how to change a car wheel?

I've rambled on enough and as its a lovely day so far time to get off my backside.

Kind regards, Col.

[Refugee]

My car has the Bridgstone/Perelli type of run flat tires and no spare.
They are more expensive if replacements are required and not all tire fitters will repair them due to some systems having a pressure sensor on the inside of the valve that is prone to getting damaged.
Mine relies on the ABS counters to detect punctures and not the sensor valve that gets broken.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-flat_tire

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Refugee; I feel safer with a proper spare wheel and tyre; I don't like the space saver wheel but at least it will get me home without too much inconvenience.

Bron and I expected to collect our new Fabia yesterday morning. We waited on Friday expecting the dealer to phone us with a collection time but mid afternoon I phoned the dealer. The dealer apologized saying that our Fabia was definitely in the country and when he quoted ten days the Fabia had just arrived on a ship at Grimsby docks so he had asked for it to be marked as urgent. If the Fabia arrived late Friday he could still have it ready for collection as arranged. The deal had already been done with the Aygo etc so we were geared up to collect the Fabia.

The dealer phoned us Friday evening saying our Fabia had not yet arrived but not to worry because he would look after us and we could still trade in the Aygo as arranged. We were promised a new demonstrator and the dealer would also sort out insurance when we arrived.

We took the gleaming Aygo in yesterday morning; I had cleaned and polished the Aygo using "Showroom shine" and the Aygo at almost three years old looked brand new. The dealer explained that once they were notified the cars were docked then they didn't hear anything else until the transporter arrived with 11 cars loaded so our Fabia is in transit.

The ten days was never fixed but the dealer thought ten days would be sufficient giving time for delivery to him and to get the car ready for collection so we were not disappointed after all when we first placed our order collection was estimated at early July.

The dealer has been brilliant with us and the demonstrator proved to be a new Roomster with only 700 miles on the clock this being a diesel. If I had signed to accept £1,000 excess for insurance purposes we could have driven away free of charge but for a fee of £10 this excess was waived so we happily paid the £10.

I've never driven a Roomster previously so welcomed the chance to use one for a few days. First impressions after parting with the small Aygo was one of immense space which after all is why the car is named Roomster. So far I've only driven a few miles from the dealer but what a difference to the Aygo. Initial acceleration appeared quite slow but then suddenly it surged ahead and accelerated much quicker than the Aygo. The ride was good and the car is well screwed together without any rattles; the diesel engine was not noticed other than when I eased off on the accelerator pedal to find it carried on at 30mph; cruise control? I soon got used to it and the larger size was no problem.

The Roomster to us though appears more of a utility vehicle; it is certainly comfortable but the seat isn't as supportive as the seat in the Fabia although possibly could be adjusted better to suit me? Back home I had a look around the Roomster and opening the boot I thought the Aygo would fit in nicely? The dash also seems rather high but visibility from the higher driving position is excellent. The Roomster is lovely vehicle but for Bron and me I think we made the right choice in buying the Fabia which suits us better. Well done the dealer though we are being looked after.

Kind regards, Col.

[Radio Fixer]

I cant remember ever having a problem with a demonstrator. We had an Accord estate for 10 years that did 120K miles with us. The only part changed was the drivers door lock at about £60 (at the time so would represent more now). The exhaust lasted for 90K miles.

Advertised it on Ebay at a price recommended by the dealer we bought the next one from and it went BIN overnight.

This Civic had 30K miles at 3 years old when we bought it with one woman owner. Maybe she did a lot of turning the wheels when parking etc that over strained the servo motor. Now at 11 years old it has 60K miles on it and we will change it soon just because of electronic parts failing, which as you say Colin, can be very expensive. I have a line of people wanting to buy it !

Gary

[Retired]

Hi,

I've never owned or even driven a Honda car Gary but I know you like them and they have a good reputation. Once the electronics start to fail on modern cars that's the time you need deep pockets; years ago Crypton tuning was all the rage and considered very advanced which of course it was then..

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=7777

I've been driving the Roomster again today; it's a "Scout" and I've got the drivers seat adjusted better to suit me and I'm warming to this car. The diesel gauge or mileage remaining instrument is a bit strange; it was running low on fuel and registered "45 miles" so I popped into Morrison's to put a gallon of diesel in so that it will have more fuel in than when I drove it from the dealers. As I left Morrison's the mileage remaining had only gone up to 50 miles? I've never liked using loan cars so I've only driven it about 15 miles so far and won't drive it again until the new Fabia is ready to collect then the Roomster will be driven about 4 miles returning it to the dealer.

The last diesel I drove was a Land Rover fitted with a BMC 2.2 engine which always sounded as though the big ends had gone. What a difference modern diesels are; very little noise and great performance. This Roomster rides nicely over our tank range and road and wind noise are well contained; all in all a very competent car and quite nippy given its size.

One job I need to sort out is new SatNav. Our previous Aygo had TomTom SatNav factory installed and it was the first SatNav we've owned and used. Three years ago this TomTom was considered excellent but now three years on and with more experience I could see its weaknesses like letting me get into many wrong lanes especially at busy roundabouts it was a huge improvement though over printed out Google maps.

I've been browsing the web and of course eBay for SatNav's and liked the style of Garmin with the split screen display expecting to pay around £100 but this is flexible. I mentioned this to David and David tells me his Garmin is now four years old but it was bought with lifetime upgrades costing extra making it good value and David also kindly sent me this link;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-2597LMT-L...b_title_ce

We don't have the Fabia yet but I think I'll go with David's suggestion because this looks a top class SatNav and comes with free lifetime upgrades and unlike the Aygo this SatNav can be retained when we change the car.

Kind regards, Col.

[Radio Fixer]

Our Garmin sat nav is donkeys years old and it keeps telling me the software is out of date but I don't care !

I still prefer to use road maps and forward planning and just use the sat nav for end of journey. So we get to within 5 or 10 miles of the house or hotel we are going to and put it on. It does the next bit OK as minor roads don't change much but we are careful about recent one way systems.

Sorting a map first gives me a sense of direction and I go the way I want to go. Modern sat navs may be better but ours once took us the most convoluted route you could imagine, so much so that we were almost late for the event. So no more dummy driving for me.

Gary