You won’t get much for your budget, you may get a td4 freelander II but probably one of the last freelander I’s. Don’t get hung up with diesel for your budget. Any savings in fuel will be wiped out by any diesel related problem you’re likely to get within your budget. A nice spec Honda Crv 2.0 petrol would be my choice. Lovely to drive on the road and good enough offroad 99% of the time. Rav4’s aren’t bad but a bit small and not as reliable as you think. If I wanted off road capability and reliabilty it would have to be a Nissan Terrano with the 2.7D. Bullet proof but a bit agricultural and mpg not so good. In this category you have to compromise, can’t have everything.

Face lifted mk1 52 plate 1.8 lx estate. Heated windscreen and aircon what more do you want! Best car we’ve ever had. The only failure was a rear wheel bearing and water pump in 100k.

We always ping a bell when on a shared use trail or path. Never had any trouble. Problem tends to be the younger gentlemen who thinks its his own personal race track and that ringing or having a bell on there super dooper full sus 29er carbon lovelyness is uncool. Dogs are unpredictable just slow down a bit and expect the unexpected and you wont have any problems.

It’s funny we are all young and daft once then we end up with kids and become all sensible then we think hang on a minute when did I turn into my Grandad!!! This is a good compromise.

I in know way endorse the way this Spec B is being driven.
It could be a child’s face.
Do you still need to ask? We have been discussing these on another thread “Living with a WRX estate” and this car came up and it’s a belter. Defo worth a look. Northwind do it you know you want to!

Those spec B Legacy’s seem to get better economy with the auto box. Nice cars. The 3.0L’s are not turbo charged are they?

Spec B legacy, is that an import or a proper uk spec car?

The Vrs is a warm hatch, nothing wrong with that though. The worst aspect is the handling for me. I’ve owned some properly quick cars in my time and speed isn’t the most important aspect. One of the most fun cars I’ve driven was a 998 mini cooper with hydrolastic suspension. Loved that car.
So is the 2.5 any better or reliable than the 2.0. Is the blobeye sti the one to go for?

Did the 2.5’s come in 2005/6. There are some lovely well maintained earlier ones. Age doesn’t bother me as long as they have been looked after. It’s kind of an itch I’ve gotta scratch. Compared to buying new you can’t really go wrong. I’ll maybe lose 1.5k on it over a couple of years. That and the extra fuel of course, maybe £ 20 a week if I’m lucky. I know the very latest Vrs has a better ride and handling than the mk2. Modified rear suspension apparently but they are not particularly good value any more.

The Vrs is nippy enough but I would hate to put any more power through that chassis. It really is an under steering bugger. I’ve totalled up what I would have to spend to change the suspension and it just doesn’t compute. The insurance for me isn’t to bad. I’m old , no points and reasonably careful. I’ve seen a nice silver 2006 2.5 estate that apart from the red calipers and air scoop looks quite nondescript. I could do with 4wd in the winter but not essential. Is the 2.5 a better bet than the 2.0 for reliability.
I thought about the 160bhp 2.0 R but the economy is not much more than the turbo.

Moly are there sensors to actually monitor oil quality or does the engine management just work out how many short runs, stop start, motorway miles the car has done and adjust service intervals to suit. Think its the latter. Would need some pretty good tech for the engine to check its own oil quality. I’m on fixed every 10k on the Skoda but have never had any luck on the variable, it’s always come on at about 10050. I’m a bit OCD about oil changes. Change it every 5 to 6k and the filter every 10 to 12k.

Only advice I can give is get a good waterproof coat or grow some gills. Every time we visit friends in Stockport from Durham as soon as we go over Saddleworth Moor on the M62 it pee’s it down till we go home. It’s wetter than an Otters pocket!

Most of the tilers I know do big commercial stuff and their knees and backs and hands are shot by the time they are in their early 30s. It’s hard graft , I wouldn’t do it as a career. Get your hands dirty and do it yourself, its not hard.

Nissan terrano nothing comes close for all round ability with reliability. That 2.7 engine is the same as the ones used in london taxi cabs.

Suspension seat posts followed closely by dropper posts. Sorry but I just didn’t buy into the whole dropper post thing maybe because the quality of the posts were pants. It seemed to take ages for them to iron out the slack and wear and tear probs, with the customers doing the bloody testing!

If you want to know why fords are so good to drive read Jackie Stewart’s autobiography. He was contracted to develop the handling of cars from the mondeo mk1 onwards I think. He would test them on the track and around the roads in his native Scotland. If he wasn’t happy with the handling and road holding and the brakes he wouldn’t sign the car off meaning they couldn’t launch it. If it’s good enough for Sir Jackie it’s good enough for me.

I think the poster meant pulling a way in a spirited fashion. Nothing wrong in wanting to pull away quickly from a junction and not wanting to scrabble and wheel spin. Nothing wrong with VW cars in the main I just wish they would spend a bit of money on the chassis development and dial out some of the awful understeer they have. There idea of handling in my opinion is to try and compensate for the awful dynamics by making the ride harder and putting low profile rubber on, making them damned uncomfortable. The Golf GTI R lapped the topgear test track faster in comfort mode than it did in full on race mode whatever that is. There in lies a lesson to a few manufacturers.

It’s just as well audi’s and vw’s have nice interiors and are nice places to be because from a driving sense they are dead. I have a Vrs and it’s the worst handling car I’ve ever had. If you are interested at all about driving, a good RWD car is a must. Molgrips you have your VW fwd rose coloured glasses on again! FWIW the best fwd cars are Fords by a country mile.

Mrs Inbred had the 1.3 diesel. Superb in every way. Economic, comfortable great ride. I’m 6ft 4″ and could fit no problem. Never missed a beat. Would highly recommend.

Deuchars IPA does it for me. Great session beer.

I would put my money on an ex racing greyhound. We had one super dog. Easy to exercise, will sleep all day if needed. Great backup from Retired Greyhound Trust. Very helpful they really know there stuff. Crap trail dog though. Oh yes did I say they are thick as mince in a nice way. High garden fences are a bonus!

Samsung led hd. I don’t think Sony even make there own screens anymore. We have two Samsung’s both led, both been very good.

If you’re going from a decent diesel to a 1.8 petrol you’ll never forgive yourself after a month or so and you’ll probably sell it within a year. They are as flat as a f@rt the petrols especially if it’s the old ford petrol. If its the GDI Mitsubishi version only slightly better but costly to fix. Buy a higher mileage diesel or a big petrol and use some of the cash saved to pay for injectors later on or toward fuel bills. You will hate it !!!!!

T5 sounds good!

Park at Blaydon Rugby club. Cycle along the Derwent walk part of the coast to coast to Chopwell then hit the trail centre, about 5 miles.

There is a cycleway from Doxford park opposite the Oak Tree Farm pub. I think it runs to Ryhope, then from there you can access the old railway line that runs to Thorpe Thewells, or you can take a fork that runs to Hart station and Crimdon Dene. A good 35 mile round trip easily. Quite a pleasant little ride.

Damn it. Bit dusty in here. Parents must be shattered, but so incredibly proud.

Sounds like the bearing on the top of the strut, they can creak with age.

Make sure its got the quick clear heated front windscreen. This is the best and most useful automotive innovation for the last 20 yrs! Great cars, handles superbly wipes the floor with a Passat in my opinion.

With that focus you wouldn’t have any of the age related problems with the diesel, 55 to 60 mpg. It’s a no brainer really. If you need an economical car that is reliable and cheap to run why would you buy second hand.I might pop in tomorrow and get to the bare bones of that deal and see what the score is.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-leasing/deals/ford/focus/diesel-hatchback-1.6-tdci-115-zetec-5dr/business/274327/

Now I know its a business lease but it can’t be that much more for personal use.

You can get a ford focus zetec 1.6 diesel brand new on a 2yr lease with 10k limit from Evans Halshaw for 150 quid a month approx. I doubt I’ll buy a second hand car again with deals like that. Old cars especially diesel are money pits these days once they reach a certain age.

Remove all the high calorie treats from the house.
Set time aside to eat together.
Offer him some new foods together with the stuff you’re giving him now.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Don’t force the issue kids use food to gain control over parents.

Ignore the post’s saying starve him he’ll eat when he’s hungry enough. That’s bollocks you’ll only be storing up psychological crap for when they are older. What ever you do don’t make a big issue out of this keep it low key.

Easier said than done I know.
Good luck.

Booktownman does yours have the little indent to clear the chain ring, mine did. I know the clearance is tight and chainsuck can catch the tube but I don’t think they are any more prone to chainsuck than any other frame or set up. It was a great bike downhill, very stable but just a bit harsh for me at the back. I obviously wasn’t as gnarr as I thought I was!!! Changed it for a Kili flyer 853 hand fillet brazed lovelyness. I could never get away with the short head tube as well. 20 inch 456 mint dark blue frame surplus to requirements.

I fail to see how the design of a frame or the material it’s made from can cause chain suck. I never suffered from chain suck on mine, but I only ever used cheap deore steel gears. I did suffer from a battered @rse though.

Any Antex one with a small bit. Use good quality solder and if its new to you, get some wire and practice by soldering a grid or mesh and making a 10 x10 grid. Ie 100 solder joints. You’re aiming for no sharp peaks. Practice makes perfect.

Have heard of problems with diffs and gearboxes. Uneven tyre wear causing the diff problems and having to renew all 4 tyres at once. I like them but the fuel consumption is dire by all accounts but then it probably is on most cars like this.

Can’t beat a bit of quality Ritchie Blackmore. Never as sloppy as Page or Clapton, very underated.
From 3.30 onwards superb.

Delicate Sound of Thunder live album. On the turning away, then Comfortably Numb when the glitter ball rises up and opens, stunning stuff. Think Dave Gilmour was at the height of his playing prowess back then.

Different people get different kicks out of motoring. Some like flash in your face cars, some like economic cars that do 60 + mpg. With some people it’s a status symbol, look at me look how successful I am etc. Some of my most favourite times in a car have been in a bog standard mini 1000 van. The best fun was in an Audi 80 sport that had an Audi Quattro 10 valve turbo engine transplanted in it. What a Q car that was. Let’s all live and let live.

Now if somebody would transplant that S3 running gear into a old Octavia 4×4 estate now your talking!

Why an Astra? So many better cars out there. Cam belt tensioners made of plasticine. The 1.7 diesel is an izusu engine, it’s more reliable than the 1.9 cdti but is a bit rough and dated. Run away as fast as you can. I’d rather buy something French!