What other cars do we have?

[Mirez]

As per the topic really, with it being likely Ford will discontinue the Galaxy and S-Max in the not so distant future I'm interested in ways of keeping the forum alive and active but also relevant to us all!

So what others cars or vans do you have in the stable?


PS, a a side note the Gallery is back (Link at the top) so feel free to add your cars back in!!

[johnnyroper]

No gal anymore currently got a beemer e90 for the mrs and I am hooning her old giulietta multi air around. Both will be heading for the exit at some point this year.

Not too sure what will replace them yet possibly a later 3 series estate but petrol version for her and either a 535d or giulia veloce for me. See how the car market is once I have offloaded my Weston house.

[brianh]

Currently a Land Rover Discovery 2 and a Renault Espace IV . The later of those actually managing to be more troublesome than the former one and both more troublesome than the Galaxy.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Hello everyone!

My other car is a Ford Focus 1.6 Ti-VCT, 2005 model. It gets terrible fuel economy (33mpg!) but was cheap to buy and is fast enough to be safe on dangerous roads like dual carriageways providing you drive flat out when you accelerate.

Currently I am looking at dumping the Focus and getting something bigger than my beloved Alhamb. I will keep the Alhamb but it would be nice to have some more space for family outings. I have been looking at Mercedes Vianos (extra long) but they all tend to be rust buckets and I imagine Mercedes customer support is terrible. I also have been looking at the Ford Touneo Custom but they seem expensive and not quite as big. The Renaults look good but as the old saying goes, "Never purchase a French car unless you like breakdowns". So the Viano is looking most likely at the moment. It would perhaps be nice to have somewhere to discuss options for big cars like these.

[brianh]

Well not another car of mine as such, but was most surprised to see one of the taxis at Jersey Airport this evening was a mk2 Galaxy. And parked next to a mk2 2.8 earlier today in London As well So! So they are still going strong

[SirDavidAlhambra]

They are one of the best cars you can get, very practical and reliable 

[Mirez]

Thanks guys. There are a lot of big cars there and I've been thinking for some to push into those a bit more. Over the next few weeks I'll retire the Cmax and Bmax forums and then you'll start to see some other forums creep in for things like the land rovers.

I've also registered www.bigcarclub.com which will land here for the moment but will ultimately become our new home with fordmpv being emalogmated into it. Let me know if anyone has any ideas or wants to get involved building the new site up...

[Grant2012]

Sold my Galaxy about a year back although I often wish I hadn't! Got a Disco 4 now which is more capable then the gal was but bloody thirsty and not as comfortable.

Bought it for towing a caravan when hotels where difficult but now I'm selling the van and contemplating an older X5, ML or Cayenne so nice to see the clubs expanded and I'm welcome

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Have you considered getting a Mk2 Alhamb, they're one of the best cars you can buy tbh and why spend more in this day and age.

[Grant2012]

I kinda want to stick with the 4x4 setup tbh, towing with the galaxy used to be great in the dry but getting underway on an incline in the wet is tricky with any front wheel drive car but effortless with a 4x4 hence my selection. The X5 is probably what I'm going to go for unless by some miracle a 4mo sharan turns up.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

It must be lovely having a caravan, I've always wanted one! Are they tricky to reverse etc? Thank you

[Grant2012]

Like everything people have different skill levels. I find it easy but then I drove trucks for 40 years!!! Perversely the longer the caravan the easier is it to move although its harder to find the space of course. We've had a blast with ours, having your own stuff and your own bed is great but you can't beat a luxury hotel!

[SirDavidAlhambra]

That caravan looks so lovely, thank you for sharing the pic. I bet you have had many exciting adventures with that lovely caravan, there must be such a sense of freedom in being able to go more or less wherever you want and having both the comfort of your own little dwelling with mod cons while also being so close to nature and fresh air.

As an experienced trucker, what would you say are your best tips for life on the road? Practical tips and wisdom you have picked up over the years? Thank you again

[Grant2012]

Expect the unexpected! There isn't a standard of driving on the roads any more, some brilliant drivers out there and some truly awful ones and its pot luck who you'll encounter on your trip!

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Very wise advice, thank you

[johnnyroper]

Like everything people have different skill levels. I find it easy but then I drove trucks for 40 years!!! Perversely the longer the caravan the easier is it to move although its harder to find the space of course. We've had a blast with ours, having your own stuff and your own bed is great but you can't beat a luxury hotel!

Done my fair share of work on those disco 3/4's recently, front lower arms,rear upper arms wheel bearings and timing belts on the 2.7tdv6. Challenging trucks to say the least arms had to be cut off and that fuel pump belt was a right ball ache😂

[SirDavidAlhambra]

I always thought they were meant to be really easy to work on, hence why Her Majesty was able to fix them during the War. But maybe since the war they have become more complicated to maintain. A friend of mine says cars are like washing machines to him these days, he just buys one second hand and when it gets a bit complicated to repair he just throws it away and gets another one. He said they're even made by the washing machine manufacturers in many cases, Hyundai and so on. I wonder if people will still be able to repair their cars when they al end up being battery powered. I'm not too keen on battery power because a tank of diesel stores so much more energy. That said, just look at London, one can hardly breathe in that place. So something has to be done I guess.

[brianh]

I always thought they were meant to be really easy to work on, hence why Her Majesty was able to fix them during the War. But maybe since the war they have become more complicated to maintain. A friend of mine says cars are like washing machines to him these days, he just buys one second hand and when it gets a bit complicated to repair he just throws it away and gets another one. He said they're even made by the washing machine manufacturers in many cases, Hyundai and so on. I wonder if people will still be able to repair their cars when they al end up being battery powered. I'm not too keen on battery power because a tank of diesel stores so much more energy. That said, just look at London, one can hardly breathe in that place. So something has to be done I guess.

There is a world of difference between a series Land Rover and that Discovery 4. Series might be easy to work on, but they are very basic by comparison.

[Tezerez]

I always thought they were meant to be really easy to work on, hence why Her Majesty was able to fix them during the War. But maybe since the war they have become more complicated to maintain. A friend of mine says cars are like washing machines to him these days, he just buys one second hand and when it gets a bit complicated to repair he just throws it away and gets another one. He said they're even made by the washing machine manufacturers in many cases, Hyundai and so on. I wonder if people will still be able to repair their cars when they al end up being battery powered. I'm not too keen on battery power because a tank of diesel stores so much more energy. That said, just look at London, one can hardly breathe in that place. So something has to be done I guess.

Her majesty may have fixed one more recently, but the Land Rover wasn't developed until after WW2. I agree cars are no longer as easy to repair as they were.

[johnnyroper]

There is a world of difference between a series Land Rover and that Discovery 4. Series might be easy to work on, but they are very basic by comparison.

Indeed..... a series landy could be repaired with a screwdriver,adjustable shifters and a hammer. A disco is a touch more involved,I can see why specialists prefer to whip the body off for a lot of the jobs.

[brianh]

Indeed..... a series landy could be repaired with a screwdriver,adjustable shifters and a hammer. A disco is a touch more involved,I can see why specialists prefer to whip the body off for a lot of the jobs.

I gather one of them that is the easiest way to change the timing belt is exactly that.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

It sounds like it was a backwards step maybe. I always think the older cars have more character and are more comfy too

[brianh]

I think the belt interval is around 100k on the model in question so its not as bad as it might be.

[johnnyroper]

I gather one of them that is the easiest way to change the timing belt is exactly that.

Main belt is is fairly straightforward but the pump belt down the back is the one they remove body for, I had battery out and some wiring unplugged and did it in situ,took about an hour of fighting but I got it done.

[johnnyroper]

It sounds like it was a backwards step maybe. I always think the older cars have more character and are more comfy too

Not really a backwards step as such it's more to do with engines being bigger and extra equipment on modern cars. As the end user it's us that have driven the evolution of engines and equipment levels as we want more power and more luxuries. Also emissions regulations come in to it as that adds more gear which needs a place to live.

[brianh]

Also a way of making things more efficient (cost wise rather than any other kind of efficient) is to reuse the same parts across different models. Hence why some engines are more of a PITA to deal with in some vehicles, as they were originally designed to fit the other way round (Across the vehicle rather than front to back). Its cheaper to produce one engine to cover two models than to completely redesign the engine or start again for another model.

Main belt is is fairly straightforward but the pump belt down the back is the one they remove body for, I had battery out and some wiring unplugged and did it in situ,took about an hour of fighting but I got it done.

That would make some sort of sense, Was trying to remember what someone else had said about it originally. Not something I've done.

[TobyTransit]

PM me if you are selling as I'm looking for a Disco at the moment!