My new car.

Well a few weeks back, I decided to part with my lovely Suzuki Vitara.
There was 2 reasons for this.
1. It was starting to rust badly.
2. Strange noise from transfer box.
I had been fairly lucky with this car. It had done me proud, lasted well and has been relatively cheap to repair. (compared to previous cars).
my new choice of chariot is a Vauxhall Frontera.
Even though it is not the best model of the group, it is still a very good car and I got it for a very good price.
However, it isn't without flaw.
The first flaw is that you only have 10 seconds from unlocking the car to turning ignition on. Which means, you cant unlock the car, put your shopping in, strap the kids in then get in and start it. Oh no, you have to unlock and turn it on within 10 seconds. This is a pain in the arse.
The second fault was that before I had it, it had to have a repair to the fuel line. Somehow, the repair had come adrift resulting in me using £60 of petrol in 70 miles. Trip back to garage fixed this in 2 minutes.
Other than that, it has been an awesome car so far. Nice to drive, comfortable to sit in, easy to control.  I have enjoyed every minute behind the wheel.
The only issue with it is me. I have spent the best part of the last 4 years driving a low geared car. Which meant I could go up hills in top gear, where most cars would have to change down a gear. Now I drive one of these cars, and I keep forgetting. So end up bogging down on hills.
Tis a minor inconvenience.

It's not f*cking PETROL!!

There is nothing worse, when outside trying to have a little 'quiet' time. I say quiet time, but what I really mean is taking 10 minutes out to play with my radio controlled model cars. Not toys, models.
They are mainly Tamiya, but recently I acquired a Haboa Hyper 7 .21. Where as all the Tamiya cars are electric, the Hyper 7 is nitro fuelled. But while trying to have quiet time, you get the local oiks coming up and giving it the 'wot you doin' mister?' or 'nice petrol car'.
What really pisses me of is when people call them 'petrol cars'. They aren't. They use a fuel called nitro so no petrol there. And the engine is basically a 2 stroke diesel engine. It has a glow plug not a spark plug, and the lubrication is supplied by the fuel.
It's a nice car, I got it second hand as 'faulty'. I was told the reverse doesn't work, and it cuts out on full revs. For a start, not many nitro cars have a reverse. And cutting out on full revs is a sign of poor tuning.
Once I got it home, I cleaned it and tried to start it. It was trying to fire, but it just didn't have the balls.
A quick visit by my brother in law, who has vast knowledge of nitro cars, and we managed to get it running. A few tweeks and I now have a working car.
It does need a stronger steering servo, but it is drivable. So all in all I am quite happy with it.
Not a bad car really.

My Vitara

I would like to tell you about my Suzuki Vitara.
It is quite possibly the best car I have ever owned. I have no idea what the Suzuki Vitara insurance group is, but it only costs £280 a year to insure for me. It's fuel consumption is in around 25mpg which is quite high for a 1600, but reasonable for a petrol 4x4.
It is a reliable vehicle, and apart from consumables (tyres, fluids, filters, etc) the car has cost less than £500 in repairs in the 4.5 years I have owned it. And as it only cost me £500 I think that is quite a bargain.
It is my first 4x4 vehicle, and I quite enjoy using it off road. As a four wheel drive vehicle, it is more than capable on most terrain. It's only downside is its low belly. But hopefully, in a few months, I will have sorted this problem.
As after the next MOT, I will start beefing it up in earnest to create a nice looking, capable 4x4 car.