Locking wheel nuts

Tut Tut Moggy, so for all you knew, you could have brought a car with no engine. Bet you kicked the tyres though.:)
Jim.
L .7

I just replaced the Jagdeo.

It struck me afterwards that never once in the purchase process, viewing a lot of candidate vehicles, did I look under a car bonnet. Years back it would have been the first area you examined after the initial external walk-round.

Moggy

I bet that is fun in winter 🙂

I look after my cars and I keep an eye on their condition continually but in reality nowadays there is very little maintenance that can be done anyway.

That’s right. If any fluid levels get low, a light comes up and tells you. The only thing I ever top up is the washer bottle,
then I only use plain water.
I bought some washer additive a couple of years ago, and every time I washed the windscreen, it smelt like cats pee 🙁

I have to say that I tend to get my cars serviced at main dealers – most have been 2-4 years old so it’s probably been worth it. I’ve always had breakdown insurance despite never having needed it for years. The last time I needed a breakdown assistance was when I had an XR2 Fiesta over 20 years ago. Since then I have had mostly Japanese and German cars so therefore largely trouble-free motoring – niggles maybe but nothing important.
I look after my cars and I keep an eye on their condition continually but in reality nowadays there is very little maintenance that can be done anyway.

I would guess a lot of it is just tow it to the nearest garage.

Most people surely have ‘Recovery’?

Certainly both the Ute and the Jagdeo have been recovered from Newark and Cambridge (respectively) to my home over the last two years.

Moggy

The problem with a lot of cars nowadays, you are more dependant on the main dealer if anything goes wrong.
To maintain a warranty the car has to be serviced to manufacturers recommendations. (Although this no longer
has to be done by a main dealer)
Although you pay through the nose at a main dealer, they do have people who know what to look out for, as well
as being kept up to date on recalls etc

The IMA battery on our three year old Civic Hybrid started to go on the blink last year. Thankfully the IMA technology
has an eight year warranty. It cost Honda £1,000 to replace.

The car tells me the rest of what I need to know. If it breaks down I doubt that anything I could have done would have been able to prevent it and I doubt I could even attempt to fix it either – that’s what breakdown insurance is for.

Warning lights also come on when the computer gives a false indication then people start ignoring them because they are faulty.Regarding breakdown insurances i would guess somewhere along the line in the small print neglect may make the insurance null and void.
I do wonder what percentage of faults on modern cars can be fixed on the roadside by the rescue services nowadays,i would guess alot of it is just tow it to the nearest garage.

The car tells me the rest of what I need to know…

I think a lot of people have relied on those sensor systems to their cost!

I remember when I was ‘running in’ my Audi when it was new and was taken by surprise by the high oil consumption; it has a oil-level sensor but the oil level went below the minimum on the dip-stick and the damn warning light never came on…

…mind you if you let the washer-fluid go below half-full the car goes mental!!! :rolleyes:

🙂 I think it’s because the older cars are cheaper and more custom ,work on able.The older drivers have been there done that and now just want newer more reliable technology that really can’t be worked on unless by a garage= ££ .

With out meaning to cause offence, I think it is fair to say that this part of the forum is mainly populated by the more `mature members` of the forum.
On that note, it seems strange to me to see talk of people NOW not knowing how to conduct basic maintenance and repairs on their vehicles. On the whole it is the `younger` drivers who are driving the older vehicles that need regular maintenance and repairs from their owners and the more `mature` drivers who are driving the newer cars that have the servicing and maintenance packages.

And on my old Anglia!! Every time!

Usually as soon as the clocks went back !

And on my old Anglia!! Every time!

Hah! The starting handle! Happy days…..:)

I spent many happy hours using the starting handle on my A40 🙂

Regarding servicing, many just rely on the AA, RAC etc to get them out of trouble when things go wrong.
The garage I go to is pretty reliable, and I rely on them to put things right on my car and van.

I think regular servicing is a key factor to engine longevity. I had a Ford Sierra,2.0 ltr Petrol, and the service was every year, however, I used to change the oil and filter every 6 months, it had done over 250.000 miles when I gave it to my son, who did well over 100.000 miles, but he let the service intervals go to the yearly check up.
The car I have now, you could drop a Penny into the engine bay, and it wouldn’t hit the ground.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

All I check is the washer fluid each week and tyre pressures when I wash it every couple of weeks. These are the only things that might change (the tyre pressures generally don’t though – 2.5 bar all round. ) The car tells me the rest of what I need to know. If it breaks down I doubt that anything I could have done would have been able to prevent it and I doubt I could even attempt to fix it either – that’s what breakdown insurance is for.

Filling the windscreen washer bottle is the only reason the bonnet of mine is opened these days.

But that is one of the main points,check the windscreen washer, radiator water,oil,brake fluid.Once the warning lights come on a bit late then you are on the back foot ,prevention better than a cure.
Cars are now reliable and almost impossible to work on but a bit of pride and knowledge will help,i bet more than 50% of people are driving with wrong pressures in the tyres or rarely check or know the pressures.

Fair points about mechanical knowledge now. I took my test in the late 50s when complex computer controlled engine systems weren’t even a gleam in the eye of the motor manufacturer. Getting the car moving again by using a paper clip to repair the throttle linkage is probably no longer an option!:)

How many new cars actually have spare wheels these days?

I once checked the tyre-pressure in the spare of a Fiat hire-car…..or at least, I tried to…

…no spare or sealant, just an electric compressor in a huge block of polystyrene foam in the wheel-well!

What bloody good would that have been in rural Hungary on a Sunday night???

My 3 year old car has a spare – full sized alloy spare as well, not a weedy space saver. Not bad for 235 section tyres.

I don’t see how having mechanical knowledge would help – learning to drive properly would be time better spent. Learning about CR diesels or DSG gearboxes would be interesting but hardly essential.
Filling the windscreen washer bottle is the only reason the bonnet of mine is opened these days.