Question about cars

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by nisseki, Jan 4, 2018.

  1. nisseki

    nisseki Byte Poster

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    Hi guys,

    I'm quite new to driving so I'm hoping anyone here can help me regarding car maintenance.

    I've been away from home for over 6 weeks and my car has been sitting on my drive. The battery will definitely be dead but just wondering does anyone know if it can be damaging to not have driven a car for nearly 2 months?

    Many thanks.
     
  2. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    The only real damage will be to your engine as all the oil will sink down, what you could do is try and run it every week to keep the oil circulating, say about 10-15 mins. When I say damage, i dont mean your engine will blow, just extra wear on the parts that are dry. When you start it up for the first time, dont rev the engine like mad, just let it tick over for a good 20 mins
     
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  3. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    I'm not much of a mechanic, but when I left my car standing for 12 months I came back to the following issues :-

    1. Needed new brake discs and pads due to corrosion.
    2. Needed new springs due to corrosion.

    The cost of the parts and labor were more than the value of the car.

    I'd be interested to know how best to avoid these sorts of issues if sorning and storing a vehicle under a tarp for some time.

    I'd also be interested in a mechanics view of what are good used cars in terms of performance saloons / coupes, in terms of engineering, cost of purchase, cost of ownership, etc.
     
  4. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Have you tried starting it yet? Previously I had been working away for a couple of months and the car would start (just!) when I got home.

    The hand brake may be seized on – if so try and rock the car back and forward and hopefully it will release.
     
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  5. nisseki

    nisseki Byte Poster

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    Thanks for replying guys.

    I wonder how car dealerships keep unsold cars in good condition? I walk past a local car garage on a daily basis and the cars look like they have been standing in the same spot for more than a month.
     
  6. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    Who said all of this to you Dave. Sure you will get some corrosion, gut it will mainly be surface corrosion, so after a few presses of the brakes this will dissapear, they may need a clean after that. What determined the springs were corrosive enough to warrant a fail on the MOT or be that dangerous that the car would not have been road worthy?

    Cost of labour and parts are expensive. I have had my MOT which it was advised that there were a few issues, however I only did 1.5k mile last year and the engine has only done 85k, its an 04 plate but goes everytime.

    In the day I would have said go for a nissan as they ran forever, however these days its quite hard to tell them apart. Fords and vauxhalls possibly I suppose its worth looking up some reviews on the actual car you were thinking of getting and if you can, part ex the one you have atm
     
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  7. dmarsh
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    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    @zxspectrum, Well they said they could try grinding the discs but they were too far gone. I don't know what was wrong with the pads but maybe they were stuck to discs?

    I left the car on chocked in gear with handbrake off.
    The spring snapped when I went over a speed bump, it definitely needed doing, I had to drive to the garage with no suspension on that wheel.

    I've got a 2008 Ford Mondeo Titanium with 160,000 miles on it, prob best car I've ever had for the money.

    Was just curious if I fancied an upgrade what was decent, thought about a cheap used Porsche Cayman, Porsche 997, BMW M5, Audi A8, Ford Mustang, but yeah not convinced its worth spending the money, and sounds like they can be expensive to run.
     
  8. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    Well I have been out of the car game for ages now but the cars you mention will be ultra expensive if they need parts as well as the runnnig costs. Do they still do the mondeo titanium?
     
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  9. dmarsh
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    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Yeah I will probably stick with the Mondeo and replace it with something similar, just wondered if it was worth doing the middle aged crisis car thing.

    Some people say they spend thousands on an M5 each year, no way I'd want to do that.
     
  10. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    You will have a heart attack when you see the running costs of those cars.

    If you do purchase keep it as a weekend toy and keep the Mondeo as the workhorse Mon-Fri :)
     
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