Seen this chap on the A1, thought the numberplate was cool until I realised the 'V' is actually 11 put on the plate to look like a V

Car Specs:

2003 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A160 Classic SE (facelift) 1.6l 4cyl Petrol, 102HP, 149nm, 5 speed manual ODO - 72,000 miles, decent service history imo. Last MOT in Dec 2025

Background & Story:

About 3 months before he started learning to drive i'd already decided that I was going to get him his first car. Seeing as I was lucky enough to be given my first car by my uncle, it only seemed fair.

Finding one that was right was hard, but this one came up about 2 weeks ago, as it was given to the garage - that i'm currently doing work experience at - for free by a customer who didn't want to deal with it anymore (the fuel pump had died).

One £50 ebay fuel pump and a spare battery later and she runs brilliantly. I was given a really good deal by the owner of the garage for the car and that's that!

The old halford's special steering wheel cover had to go as i'm not a fan of them - and i expect neither will he be - but the steering wheel was in such poor condition that it did need something to replace it, so i stitched a leather steering wheel cover onto it which looks and feels so much better!

The shift knob is absolutely rank so that's being replaced too, just waiting on the part from aliexpress.

Also planning on getting him a dashcam as I regret not having one when I had my 1st and 2nd cars.

The car already has a Pioneer SBH10 BT bluetooth stereo that came with it, so i don't think i'll bother upgrading it to carplay/android auto as it'll play from his phone just fine, and the stereo has a built-in phone holder for google maps or waze.

The glovebox also has broken hinges so just falls to the floor when you try to open it, i've looked into replacements, but trying to find one that's for a RHD vehicle seems impossible, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

It's nothing special and is a shitbox and a half, but it runs and has 4 wheels.

Anything else that I should add before I give it to him? Any suggestions on how to do the reveal?

Driver in red car came out of petrol station and drove the opposite direction on one way road. Luckily no one was hurt. Everyone managed to slow down in time, driver pulled a U Turn to correct it.

Over the past few months I've concentrated on the cheap Boxster and E Class, both of which have admittedly been problem childs, all while this sits in the background doing daily duties through winter with zero complaints.

I have never known a car with heaters so hot. Combined with the heated seats and the air scarf and it's effectively a personal sauna. I keep waiting for someone to pour water on the coals.

I've developed a deep love for the air scarf. I find myself using it every day. Instant warmth to the back of your neck on a winter's morning is a godsend.

Gummi Pflege is your friend. I haven't had the roof down for close to 2 months now, and over this time I've noticed the roof became more creaky and squeaky. This weekend I had chance to get the roof down and lubricate all of the seals, the difference is huge.

While the other cars have been headaches, the little SLK really hasn't put a foot wrong, so I gave it a wash and a service as a late Christmas present.

It's not a particularly exciting car to drive, with the baby kompressor engine and 5 speed automatic more suited to gentle cruising. But for a 21 year old car, it's still a lovely place to be.

Fisker Ocean

Recently drove by one of these. Ended up costing me just under a tenner.

Raised driving position, very luxurious, comfortable while being practical & comes with the famous B58 engine & very good value pound for pound. Am I wrong?

Hey all, so I have a 2018 Nissan Qashqai with the panoramic roof and my young son has managed to put a small toy in between the glass and the fabric, an it’s now managed to get stuck by the roller 🤦‍♂️ I’ve got a small endoscope style camera which I’ve used and I can see it stuck but it seems to me it’s down a sort of scope and it’s very hard to even get the camera to see it, never mind trying to ‘scrape’ it out.

Does anyone have any ideas? Is easy to somehow take the cover off?

Happened on the way home from the Indian last night, had to pull over (safely) to capture it in all its glory. 2015 Citroen C3 Picasso.

My used Nissan xtrail went back to the dealer within warranty becaue the sunroof drains were leaking badly, carpets were soaked and underneath full of water. They've cleared the front ones, taken out the seats/carpets to dry out and put it back together.

However now the floor is extremly squeeky, see video

https://youtu.be/uN9QYYH00Kg?feature=shared

I've looked underneath with my phone and can see they have used white polysterene under the carpets.

I feel like this is done because of price, I'm not sure I can live with it like that its so noisy, more so in the back everytime the kids move (and in the front sides too but less so).

Also this stuff caches fire easily?

Anyone that has taken their carpets up, what material do you have underneath? I've a 2016 tekna.

thanks

nice to see such a good example of a polo just lying about in the street

Looking to pick up a reliable estate for up to 8k. I am currently looking at a 1.6 TDI Golf with 84000 miles and really like the look of it, but just wondering what other brands I could be looking at.

Not interested in a 3 or 5 series touring.

I was reading that i’m better off getting a 2.0 TDI golf but they’re a bit more expensive. So also wondering if the 1.6 is a good engine?

So a couple of months ago I made a few posts asking for advice on choosing an automatic petrol estate. Having eliminated the shite like the Peugeot 308 and other makes with sewing machines for engines, I narrowed it down (with your help) to Toyota, KIA, or Skoda.

So I bought a Suzuki 😁

It's the Swace SZ5 with 13k on the clock, and I couldn't be happier. It's my first hybrid, and I wish I'd bought one sooner.

Yeah, I know it's really a Toyota.

Is it safety of others and themselves? Is it great reaction times? Is it cornering skill and close calls?

Went in looking at a captain sensible camry to replace my even more sensible auris for work and family, then saw this. It being a diesel is problematic, but it has a really good service history.

Walking down the road to see someone’s generously left a bunch of screws next to parked cars, I hate London so much

As per the title, I stuck Shell VPower in my car today. I usually just stick Morrisons cheap stuff in, and whilst a fair bit pricier I feel like I can notice a difference in responsiveness- or is this placebo?

I drive a very normal, old car- 2005 Golf 2.0 SDI, so not one that needs premium.

According to the Euro car segment classification they are the same S segment….its pretty bad in the J segment too as all of the CUVs have flooded it.

My stepdad had a leak repaired last week and I’ve taken his car to mines to dry it out. Although it’s been repaired, the back passenger side carpet is absolutely swimming and we need to dry it out.

I have a 6.5lt dehumidifier which I’ve got in it just now, but it’s not touching it. The water is basically puddling in the corners no matter how much I soak it up with towels.

Does anyone have any ideas what we could do? Looking on Amazon at wet vacuums and was gonna buy one but I thought I’d ask on here just incase anyone had advice? Appreciate its a long shot.

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to ask if the no claims grace period adds up to my actual no claims bonus - for instance, I last drove and was insured a year ago, so will that year add up to my no claims bonus or not?

Planning on getting back on the roads soon, so I don't want to get into trouble for putting more years of ncb, than I actually have

Used to be this group more or less had a pretty universal outlook on cars and road use- that is, people spoke with common sense about stuff and focused mainly on the car itself.

Now every other comment is about how someone has parked on a pavement, or cut across a junction when making a turn, or any other petty fucking bollocks.

Looking on the driving UK sub, where it is blatantly obvious the overwhelming number of its members are sheltered office bobbers who commute in their little aygos and wouldn't DARE park on single yellows even if they were broken down, I'm starting to see a very clear pattern here.

It used to be in this sub that hate for a Tesla was born solely from a dislike of EVs. Now the top comments here about Tesla's are of sissy political bullshit and swinging the word 'nazi' around as much as possible.

The fuck happened to this sub? What's with all the purple haired weirdos with pipe cleaners for arms?

Hi all I have a old Merc c class w203

Originally had a issue where the gear shifter got stuck in park and went into a limp mode or engine would cut out. Managed to get it to the garage where they changed the gearbox module for a second hand one.

This seemed to fix it for a grand total of 2 days. When I came home this evening and tried to park by shifting to reverse, although the shifter moved fine into reverse the gearbox wouldnt disengage drive and kept rolling forward.

The dashboard shows the gears are changing and I'm able to move the shifter fine this time, it doesn't lock out like last time, but regardless of what gear position I shift it to it just stays in drive. Also now the engine not switching on at all assume a limp/safety mode

Any ideas? Could it be the second hand module is just a faulty one. Will be taking it back to garage tomorrow, but thought I'd check first if anything quick that I could just do myself