Thinking of changing my car

[Erfolg]

Lamborghini or Maserati is the way to go, preferably the SUV types they produce. That way every one will now who to blame for Global warming, be it a real man made phenomena or just weather noise.

Better a petrol guzzler than a chemical nightmare created by electric vehicles.

[Former Member]

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[Stuart Z]

Erfolg

I only recently sold my Camaro with a 5.7 litre V8 . Looking for something a bit more practical for model transport. Had to have a second car as two small holdall’s filled the Camaro’s trunk!

S

[Callsign Tarnish]

Audi RS4 Avant, all the car you'll ever need.

[leccyflyer]

I'm on my fourth Mondeo estate and they are a brilliant model transporter. The later models aren't quite as big inside as the earlier ones were - on the width of the load compartment and the additional rake on the windows some wings that fitter abeam in the old Moondogs don't fit in the latest ones.

I was also sceptical about the tech, but having used it for a year I now love it -even the voice activated stuff, which is great for making a rare phone call on the move. The ability to put a bunch of sounds on a memory stick is a boon, so I don;t need the CD to play the soundtrack to The Battle of Britain on every trip to the field. The USB port is also useful for charging the wee lipos that come with the E-Flite UMX models, without taking up a proper charger.

Completely agree with the earlier comments on parking the car in multi storeys etc - it really does need those parking sensors, because you can't see the edges of the vehicle at all, especially with the blacked our rear windows.

[Geoff Peacock]

Posted by Percy Verance on 02/08/2018 20:07:46:One of our club members has just got a new Octavia Estate with the new 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine. He chose the DSG auto transmission, and says he's very happy he did.

My latest Fabia also has the DSG twin clutch automatic gearbox. Brilliant! It's got a 1600cc 16-valve petrol engine which goes like the proverbial from a shovel (when I need it to).

The only problem is trying to get a 6-foot one piece wing in there - just manageable with a little bad language (always seems to help).

[Former Member]

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[Nigel R]

Percy the average audi is similar to most common brands when it comes to parts and insurance. I'm running an a4 estate at present. Build quality slightly superior to vw in my experience.

In the other hand the Rs4 is a fairly ridiculous turbocharged performance car and has the expected expense!

[Former Member]

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[Devcon1]

I seem to recall when the Czech government chose to tender interest in the nationally owned Skoda Works, VW together with BMW and Renault fought to become owners. VW was the company that absolutely promised to maintain the Skoda name and heritage as opposed to gaining access to cheap manufacturing facilities.

I think Skoda is the second or third oldest production car brand in the world. If things had been different we may have Skoda models running as second platform 1,2 3 series BMWs instead.

Brand new Octavia out in 2020 I think, but that's a bit too long to wait.

[Former Member]

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[onetenor]

I made a big mistake recently and sent my Daewwoo Nexia to scrap. I should have just pushed it back a few feet. Long story why I must have been mad. Very reliable ,fast and really safe. I had not long rebuilt the top end after a cam belt pulley seized and collapsed. I've been a mechanic all my life and that was the first time I misdiagnosed which belt was screaming. I'll never do that again. I would have another like a shot especially an estate. 1.4 twincam very economical. I could do Liverpool and back on 10 litres from Prestatyn That's a hundred miles or so.Plenty of room with back seats down too. I got the contents of a deceased modeller's garage full of models, kits, tools,Tx',Rx's and all the usual stuff modellers accumulate. His widow and daughter were moving and wanted his gear to go to a good home. I was embarrassed there was so much gear but it all fitted in with son and myself up front.Yes an Astra by another name so I might go for one of those. I did have Corsa as well but it was stolen from outside the house and abandoned 150 yards down the hill 'cause they damaged the ignition key reading circuitry. I took the insurance money as cost of parts was too great and scrappies didn't have the bits either. I have had a number of GM cars and found them very good overall. I might however look at a Kia SUV next time. Possibly damage repairable. Sorry to go on a bit.

[Rich too]

This is all very practical but does anybody here buy a car for the love of cars?

I’ve been a petrol head my whole life so I appreciate cars, and that automatically rules out Skoda! 😉 nothing against them personally ( my grandad had one), but it’s like electric vehicles, they just don’t do it for me...

[Former Member]

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[Devcon1]

Love of cars, no, but if my ticket came in I might rekindle a relationship with some performance exotica. Straying a little from the original thread but maybe room for a "dream car" thread.

I've had in the past a succession of Audis including a Quattro, Golf VR6s and the R32 plus all the old Scirocco variants but for me it's just about creature comforts and practicalitys.

[Former Member]

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[Stuart Z]

Posted by Percy Verance on 05/08/2018 09:15:28:

Your post shows how different we all are Devcon! With respect, I personally wouldn't go near any of those cars. But it's a question of priorities I guess. I'm thinking tyres, insurance, servicing costs etc.. Plus those cars are attention grabbers. Some are fine with that, but I'm not sure I could be comfortable with it....

Like I said we're all different.

Percy,

Totally agree, room for a separate thread , but this one is producing very interesting feedback on the type of vehicles suited to our hobby. From what I’m reading the Skoda is now top of my list to test out.

Devcon, you’ll see from my previous post I let my heart choose a car a while back but had to buy a second car to manage this hobby’s needs. Not all of us want or can do that. I certainly can’t afford to do that anymore.

S

[Peter Christy]

Posted by Rich too on 05/08/2018 07:21:50:

This is all very practical but does anybody here buy a car for the love of cars?

Yes, actually, but also tempered by practicality! A SAAB V4 was my first proper car, back in the late 60s, and compared to the tinny and unreliable British cars of that era, it was a revelation! It started a love affair with SAABs that has lasted to today!

I bought my current V4 (see above, somewhere) because of that first one, and don't be fooled by the small looking exterior! The back seat folds down like a hatchback, and you can easily get 6ft models in there. Indeed, they used to make a bed conversion to go in the back, so that you could sleep in there! Its quick by 1970 standards - about the same as a Cortina GT, but with much better handling - but although able to keep up with modern traffic, even a small 21st century saloon will blow it off in a sprint today! It also has wonderfully comfortable seats - like all Swedish cars - and the ergonomics are excellent.

Pretty much the same can be said of my 9000 Aero - the last "proper" SAAB before GM got involved. The main difference is that the Aero can hold its own against most BMWs and Audis performance wise, is better on economy and is a blast to drive. It puts more grins on my face per mile than any other car I've had! The seats don't feel that great at first, but when you've been driving for five or six hours, and you realise that your bum hasn't gone numb, or legs cramped up, and your shoulders aren't aching, THEN you start to appreciate them!

The only other car I've experienced with similarly comfortable seats is a Volvo, but as they seem to be exclusively diesel these days, I have to cross them off my shopping list.

As a modelling wagon, I did have a Vauxhall Omega Estate for some years. With the V6, it was quick and quiet, and the seats weren't as bad as some other makes I could mention, but it was thirsty and it got through rear tyres at an alarming rate. On the other hand, it was HUGE inside - even bigger than my daughter's Volvo 740 estate!

After a few years it became a money pit, though, with silly little things costing a fortune to repair. Fr example, a leaking heater valve - £3 worth of plastic plus £200 worth of labour, as all the fuel injection plenum changer had to be removed to get at it!

I'm not at all impressed by ANY of the current crop of 21st century cars. As well as the electric handbrakes (WHY?!?!), check out how much it costs to change a headlamp bulb on many of them! It appears half the car has to come apart to get at it!

So to answer your question, yes! When I buy a car price may well be a factor, but much more important is the fact that since I spend quite a bit of time in one, it has to be something that is comfortable and that I enjoy driving - as much as you can on our over-crowded roads, anyway!

--

Pete

[Former Member]

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[Rich too]

Exactly, I couldn’t agree more Pete. I love the 90’s Saab turbo convertibles - I’ve always generally gone for something a bit different.

[Callsign Tarnish]

The RS4 is costing me about ?5.5k a year to run. This includes fuel which it drinks at a frankly astonishing rate, most long journeys start at the local Shell or BP, average on a long run of 20 ish, single figures when making progress. Big enough for models when flying, fun when you're not.

[Trevor Crook]

Percy, I don't think it's fair now to compare Skoda with Dacia. When VW first aquired Skoda, they were still fairly basic, cheap cars. They are now well specced, nicely finished cars but are only a little cheaper than VWs. By contrast, Dacias are basic, with hard plastic interiors and slightly outdated road manners. However, the mechanicals are proven and they are still cheap. Best choice for carting models around would be the Duster, which starts at under £10k. Top of the range 2wd petrol model is still only around £13k. By contrast, Skoda's equivalent, the Karoq, starts at around £21k.

Loads of choice out there. If I was looking for something inexpensive and reliable I'd go for a 3 year old Kia with full service history, which means it still has a 4 year Kia warranty.

[Former Member]

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[Former Member]

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[Martin Dance 1]

Going back a long, early 60's I recal that there was a Skoda Octavia that was based on the Renault Dauphine of the time. the Skoda was the better car, if only because it had less of a tendency to roll if cornered at all enthusiastically!