BB FANS

Yeah Larry, I had a wee look online too but couldn't spot it. Thanks though

I will have to go in one day this week.

"AVOID NEW CARS," SAYS INSURER

For most British drivers, buying a new car is a waste of money, according to a
warning issued today by insurance provider, yesinsurance.co.uk.

The company says that the immediate depreciation which a car suffers when it is
driven away from the showroom, which can be up to 15% of its initial value,
means that the purchaser will always make a large financial loss when they
eventually come to sell it.

"For the majority of UK drivers, buying a used vehicle is a much better option,
with both the rate of depreciation and insurance costs being substantially lower
than those applying to new cars," said Paul Purdy of yesinsurance.co.uk.

One in four (25%) private motorists bought a used car in 2005, whilst almost one
in ten (8%) bought a new one (source: Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency). In
total, UK motorists spent £36.4 billion on 2.4 million new and 7.5 million used
cars last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and
Traders (SMMT).

yesinsurance.co.uk specialises in providing insurance for cars that are over 5
years old, which it estimates account for around 60% of all cars currently on
the road. SMMT figures show that the average age of cars in Great Britain is 6.8
years.

"Around a quarter of the 30.6 million cars currently on the road are bought and
sold as used vehicles each year," said Paul Purdy.

"For the majority of drivers, the rapid depreciation in value experienced by new
cars means that a well-maintained used vehicle is often a much better financial
option, but it is important that care is exercised in choosing the right
vehicle," he said.

We’ve put together a top 10 of 1970s cars: any excuse for us to get out the old motoring mags and marvel at how, apparently, we’d always promised ourselves a Capri, not to mention how Austin could pose the question, Allegro: What’s In It For Us? (You can guess our answer). The top 10 here is not the flashiest or fastest of machinery, but 10 cars that all of us have experienced in some way. How many of them will be shown glinting on our TV screens in the weeks to come?

Ford Capri
Picture a Capri. It sums up why the brain is amazing – there it is, tail broadside, sliding through your head. But that’s TV cop shows for you. The reality of the Capri was Cortina-based 1.3-litre models, asthmatically shrieking at the owner trying to summon meaningful go from The Car He Always Promised Himself. And then getting nailed by a Hillman Imp. The Capri was a glorious example of style over substance, but how we loved it anyway. It was launched in ’69; by 1973, they’d sold a million and would go on to nearly double that. You could say it was a success.

Jaguar XJ-S
How do you follow an act like the E-Type? Well by the end the E-Type was no longer a svelte sportscar but had grown, literally, into a soft Grand Tourer, needing a hefty V12 to keep the performance up to expectations. It’s replacement, the XJ-S used the same powerplant, not the best move in the fuel starved 70s but the really controversial thing was the styling, particularly those ‘flying buttresses’ at the rear. One wag at the time said it had been styled by three different people who never met. It stood the test of time however, gaining a smaller and less thirsty engine and a convertible variant, staying in production for 20 years and comfortably ooutselling the E-Type.

Ford Granada
Police forces unimpressed by Rover’s reliability record found solace in the German-engineered Granny. Or was it that they secretly wanted to be Regan in The Sweeney? The show’s 3.0 V6 GT certainly gave them all the tail-out, opposite-lock, fighting-hard-with-the-wheel (nylon suit unencumbered by seatbelt, of course) inspiration they needed, and scenes from Bullitt were often re-enacted on the streets of Wolverhampton and Surbiton. Ford replaced the super-cool 1972 original with a boxy, steroidal Cortina clone in 1977, and all the coolness was gone; was it coincidental that The Sweeney ceased just a year later?

Triumph Dolomite Sprint
It wasn’t all bad in ‘70s BL. Over in Coventry, Triumph were busy developing a world-first: the 16v four-cylinder engine that powered the Dolomite Sprint so eagerly. 127bhp from a 2.0-litre (and 60mph in 8.7secs) still sounds healthy today, never mind how it looked in the ‘70s. You can imagine how this could have become a proper British BMW 3-Series rival. Goodness, it was even the first British saloon to come with alloy wheels as standard. But though my dad owned one and loved it, his summed up what did for it: unreliability. And we were lucky. The engine only majorly went pop once…

Vauxhall Cavalier
It’s hard to believe today, but when the Cavalier was launched in 1975, it wasn’t actually that popular. People – get this – overlooked it, saw it as a bit of an irrelevance. Those heady days of 1980s success were some way off… ironic, seeing as the original is probably the enthusiast’s fave. Pretty, it not only shared a front end with the revered Manta coupe, but an entire platform: rear-drive fun, and 1.3-litre/1.6-litre engines may have been small, but were eminently tuneable. Better than the Cortina? You bet. Shame Vauxhall’s rusty reputation at the time precluded the success it deserved.

Fiat 127
In 1971, Fiat adopted an idea from the Renault 4 and did something to the compact 127 that would change Europe’s motoring psyche. Gave it a hatchback. It won European Car of the Year, but don’t let that put you off – this car was clever, mechanically advanced, cute, practical, basically nothing short of ingenious. Passengers and luggage enjoyed 80% of the floor space, the drive was delicious and Fiat sold them in droves. Sure, many later rusted into thin air, but the company was nevertheless flattered: rivals fell over themselves to produce competitors. A landmark car.

Hillman Avenger
Nothing to do with Diana Rigg sadly, the Avenger was a conventional three-box saloon. And if you think it looks plain, you should see what it replaced. Styling had American influences, because Hillman was by then owned by Chrysler. And get this – it was the first British car to use a plastic radiator grille. Oooh. The press liked it more than the Marina, mind, particularly the ultra-rare Avenger Tiger. Its 92bhp saw 60mph in 8.9secs, and it was a blast to drive. It brought a smile to the driver’s face – reflecting, you observe, those distinctive rear lights…

VW Golf
Had this car not been a hit, VW wouldn’t be the powerhouse it is now. There would be no Audi R8, no modern-day Lamborghini, no Bentley Continental GT… arise, then, Sir MkI Golf, and your six million clones that sold between 1974 and 1983. You were revolutionary, replacing the aged Beetle with hatchback packaging and suspension soon copied by every rival. Giugiaro gave you iconic looks and a few bored VW engineers turned you into a GTI that changed the performance car world. You’re still a hoot today, 30 years on – and you were up against the Allegro? Your sniggering is excused…

Morris Marina
Only British Leyland could think it a good idea to launch a Ford Cortina rival based on Morris Minor mechanicals. Yes, the car that put post-war Britain on the road in 1948 would be the company’s key driving force for the ‘70s. Genius. Now, the story of how average-to-bad it was, how it gloriously failed to meet sales targets, how it was depressingly renamed ‘Ital’ and rumbled on until 1983, is well known. It’s here because they sold millions, including one that touched me. My dad sat me down. “It’s your uncle Ray. He’s brought a Marina.” Kids aren’t meant to understand such things. But I knew.

Rover SD1
Cops loved the SD1 as it was big, fast, had a classic V8 and looked like a Ferrari. The big Rover was king of the motorways, yet a force on twisty roads and bedecked with comfy seats for when the early ones broke down. Yep, unreliability again, and if it wasn’t so darn stylish, we’d be repeating the Marina’s tale here. But Rover really hit on something with the SD1, not least with the V8. Yes, a 3.5-litre V8! It’s still tantalising. Like Triumph, with a modern interpretation of this, Rover could have had the sporting exec sector sewn up. How sad.

Only fools would pay £15,000 for this banger...

It's a nice little runner, very clean, with genuine low mileage and the tax is in the post. Honest.

One of the yellow, three-wheeler Reliants used for BBC TV's Only Fools And Horses is going under the hammer.



But - unlike the bargain snapped up by Del Boy and Rodney - anyone hoping to buy this scruffy 1972 Reliant Regal will need a little more than you'll earn in a good weekend on the market.

Auctioneer Coys of London has put a reserve of £15,000 on the sign-written van bearing the message: "Trotters Independent Trading Co. - New York, Paris, Peckham."

The vehicle, in used condition and complete with rusty roofrack and plastic-covered seats, was the second car created for the hit BBC TV series.

It was originally built to be blown up as part of a storyline but bosses decided it was too valuable to wreck and it went on to star as an occasional substitute to the original Regal.

The van played a key role in episode Danger UXD (unexploded dolls) and featured in a run of Christmas specials.
For years it has been on display at the Cars Of The Stars museum in Cumbria. A spokesman for Coys said: "It's unlikely to have an MoT - although Boycie might be able to sort you out on that score."

• The auction is next Tuesday at the Royal Horticultural Hall in Westminster.

DailyMail

Cosy Parkers Stay Indoors



Motorists Pay to Park from Inside Car using Mobile Phone



As wintry weather takes hold, more and more drivers are choosing to pay to park their cars while staying in the warm environment of their vehicles. They’re using the RingGo mobile phone parking service. By calling a local landline number on their phones, the cost of parking is simply put on to a credit or debit card. Thus the motorist has no need to queue in the rain at a parking machine, scrabble for change and then return to the car with an annoying sticky ticket. Parking attendants use handheld devices to check valid vehicles.



RingGo is available at most First Great Western stations, in towns on the South Coast, and in parts of London. Harry Clarke, director of RingGo, gives details, “Phone parking is designed to make life easier for motorists, and it’s spreading across the UK. We’ve seen the number of RingGo customers in railway car parks almost double in January, compared with sunnier September. It seems that most of us would rather pay to park from the climate-controlled comfort of our vehicles, rather than brave damp and cold conditions outside.”



Not only are winter car parks chilly, they also can be dark and ill-lit. Some people find that getting out a purse or wallet while looking for coins is an unnerving experience. Charlotte Helliker, current Miss Bournemouth and RingGo fan, explains, “I’m sure car parks are no more dangerous than anywhere else, but I do sometimes feel vulnerable if I have to queue for a while or walk round the car park twice to leave the ticket. The RingGo number’s saved in my mobile and I can be properly paid up and off to where I’m going in no time.”



The ‘Park Mark® Safer Parking Scheme - launched in October 2004 - is an initiative of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) aimed at reducing crime and, more importantly, the fear of Crime in UK car parks. It is managed on their behalf by the British Parking Association, and its Director of Technical Services and Head of Safer Parking Schemes, Kelvin Reynolds, comments, “Any programme or service which can improve the safety of motorists and other car park users is welcome; where it also provides a convenient means for motorists to pay for their parking this is a double benefit. I see the RingGo system as meeting both these objectives.”

£96,000 Merc expertly guided by sat-nav - straight into a river

Anyone who has had the slightest experience with a malfunctioning PC usually possesses a healthy wariness - some might call it cynicism - when it comes to the "infallibility" of modern technology.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. The owner of the below Mercedes, clearly, is one of them.



ThisisLondon

Top 10 sexy cars for men to drive - as chosen by women

The Aston Martin has been chosen as the "most sexy" car for a man to drive, as chosen by women. When asked which car they most associated with sexy men, James Bond's favourite runabout came in at pole position.

The survey questioned 4,500 women, and revealed that Porsche came in at second place, with a surprisingly good performance from Lotus, coming in third, far outpacing Italian rival Ferrari, which sneaks in at no. 10. The rest of the table offered more predictable brands like Mercedes, BMW, and Jaguar.

The survey also revealed the "least sexy" cars - with the venerable Citroen 2CV grabbing the star prize, and the Reliant Robin (as driven by Del Trotter) coming in second. Third was Skoda, which must come as a disappointment to the company as it has spent many years updating its image with a range of good-quality, competitively priced models largely based on those from its present parent company, Volkswagen.

There are predictable appearances from Lada, Trabant and Rover in this list too. Perhaps surprisingly the Lexus comes in at no.7 in this hall of shame which may come as a shock to owner Toyota, which has spent the past 14 years building up the brand from scratch to be a Mercedes and BMW rival.

Perhaps the "Partridge" factor came into play. When Steve Coogan's loathsome salesman character Gareth Cheeseman drove a Ford Probe sports-car it brought the unloved car's sales to a halt. Later, his Alan Partridge character drove a Rover 820 Vitesse, not doing much for that car either, but in more recent series he has been driving a Lexus IS200 - "The Japanese Mercedes" as he continually points out to everyone and anyone. Perhaps this has rubbed off.

The "least sexy" list is finished off by Daewoo and Hyundai, makers of dependable but dull small cars.

The survey also revealed that 80% of women think there is a close correlation between the size of a man's car and his ego, and that a similar number do not feel safe being driven by men. However, women do concede that men are better at reversing, and that they are less likely to get lost.

Top 10 Most Sexy Cars
1. Aston Martin
2. Porsche
3. Lotus
4. Mercedes-Benz
5. BMW
6. Jaguar
7. Audi
8. Range Rover
9. Jeep
10. Ferrari

Top 10 Least Sexy Cars
1. Citroen 2CV
2. Reliant Robin
3. Skoda
4. Lada
5. Trabant
6. Rover
7. Lexus
8. Ford Mondeo
9. Daewoo
10. Hyundai

LOL at Range Rover

But David Tennant drives a Skoda.....!

Got the Range Rover going again today - it's been out of commission for several weeks. Great feeling though, like renewing an old acquaintance.

My ex husband drives a Lotus (3rd) and will be pleased to know this....lets face it he needs all the help he can get

I feel his pain, cc, I really do... lol

duplicate

BANGERNOMICS

Buying and owning an older used car makes so much sense. For a start it will save you money. Before a new car has turned a wheel you can write off VAT, plus the dealer's charge to put it on the road, but the bad news does not end there, depreciation takes an unhealthy bite out of the car's value too. In the first year where the drop is worst you can figure on depreciation being as much as 50% of the original purchase price on some models. Also if you are simply using a car to commute to the station or local shopping and the school run, what’s the point of buying new?

So Bangernomics is simply about buying used rather than new?
No, Bangernomics is actually a different mental approach to motoring. You will own a car which is unlikely to drop in value much and will be cheap to run. You won’t bother paying through the nose for comprehensive insurance and you won’t worry if it gets left overnight in a dodgy car park, or it gets a scrape, or dent. You won’t care what the Joneses are driving because image is less important than practicality. Then if you get bored with the banger, or it breaks down and costs too much to fix, you simply get rid of it and your losses are marginal.

In that case I’ll be driving a shed?
Certainly not, used cars have never been cheaper. In the last few years the fall in new car prices, cheap finance and a culture of increasingly rapid automotive obsolescence has meant that cars past their fifth birthday have never been cheaper. I bought a full service history 1997 Saab 9000 with leather, climate control and automatic gearbox (for £1800) as a luxurious family car eighteen months ago and it’s still going strong.

So what is a banger?
Defining what is a banger is getting harder, but it should be any used car that you can afford to buy and run on your budget. No loans, you own it outright and live within your automotive means. Look through the bargain section of your local Autotrader or local paper and you may be surprised what you will find. If you want reliability then buy Japanese. Something without any character at all like a Mazda 626, is Ford Mondeo sized, but has running gear that seems to last forever. Ditto Honda Civics, Nissan Primeras and Toyota Corollas, consumer durable dull, but oh so reliable.

Bangernomics means I’ll I have to drive dull then?
Quite the contrary, there are some incredibly cheap larger BMWs, Mercedes and Audis out there which are great value. Personally I’ve got an old Land Rover and an even older Mini. These are seriously cool cars that are easy to fix and don’t depreciate at all. Also driving and running a cheaper car means you can save up for the interesting car you always promised yourself.

Do you look after a banger differently from a new car?
Well, you don’t have to take it to a plate glass and potted plant main dealer for a pricey service. You should never compromise on safety and cultivate a good relationship with decent local garage that knows you don’t have limitless resources to keep a car on the road. Replacing things like bulbs, or anything simple that fails (buying these bits second hand of course) is easy and satisfying. All of us can do periodic oil changes too, absolutely vital to keeping any car, including a banger in good health. Bangernomics makes you feel good about owning a car. In fact, you will have a warm greenish glow from recycling a used car and prolonging its life and hopefully a slightly larger bulge in your bank balance.

Bangernomics Bottom Line New vs Banger
Ford Focus 1.6 LX - Purchase Price £13,545
Depreciation after one year £5,500
Servicing 12K at a main dealer £120 plus parts
Comprehensive Insurance £400
New headlamp from dealer £98
COST IN 1 YEAR: £6,118

1996 Ford Escort 1.6CL
Purchase Price £499
Depreciation after one year £150
Annual service at local garage £75
Third Party Insurance £250
Used headlamp from scrapyard £20
COST IN 1 YEAR: £495
TOTAL SAVING IN 1 YEAR: £5,623

Bad manners is the biggest cause of roads rage in Britain according to a recent survey, by the UK’s leading online car retailer, New-Car-Discount.com.

78% of driver surveyed said that they had been involved in a road rage incident, with 27% saying that the initial road rage had lead to a physical attack; yet only 5% had then reported the incident to the police.

The research also highlighted the top ten things that really rile people when out on the roads:


1. Bad manners
2. Traffic Jams
3. People sitting in the outside lane on motorways
4. White van men
5. Road works
6. Poor indication
7. Drivers driving too close
8. Women drivers
9. People on their mobile phones
10. Sunday drivers



Top Ten Ways to reduce Road Rage

1. Ignore other aggressive drivers
2. Remember your manners
3. Never get out of your car to confront another driver
4. Play relaxing music
5. Carefully plan your journey
6. Satellite navigation
7. Deep breaths
8. Travel with a passenger
9. Avoid peak congestion times
10. Always drive in the appropriate lane

11. Get a chauffeur and watch a dvd in the back