Where do you read about Car news etc.

L-M

Just out of curiousity, and I'm trying to stick to Irish magazines as there are plenty of English ones to choose from.

I'm talking the likes of the Motoring section in the Limerick Post, or other newspapers.

Would anyone on here be interesting in doing a review on their car? Pics etc. included?

Big Nasty

Love the review idea dude!

I don't much bother with mags anymore as you can find out pretty much all ya wanna know on the net. That said as I'm into my yank tanks I buy the UK mag American Classic now and again and a friend of mine sends a bundle of mags over from the states once every few months when he's finished with them. The only 'Irish' mag I know of is the CBG 'New Car' mag.

L-M

Off you go then

stealthyspeeder

The motors section off Boards.ie!

Big Nasty

Limerick man wrote: »

Off you go then

No worries dude - but I may need to post in the classic section coz there's nothing too special bout my 523 daily. Anyhow, it would be OT to your original question so why dontcha start off with the Golf while I write a little and compile some pics myself dude!

Mr Benevolent

Great idea

The motors section off Boards.ie!

+1

LM, are you going to start the ball rolling? Lead by example!

rabbitinlights

I don't know if there are any good Irish car mags?

Yearly subscription to EVO - The ONLY car mag I ever buy.

stealthyspeeder

rabbitinlights wrote: »

Yearly subscription to EVO - The ONLY car mag I ever buy.

+1 Its such a mag!

I buy the Top Gear mag every now and again, and I love the Top Gear test drive directory, its basically car porn!

L-M

Confab wrote: »

Great idea
+1
LM, are you going to start the ball rolling? Lead by example!

I will sure, give it a go now.

Cicero

OP
Haven't really come across any Irish mags specifically except for a good Irish Classic car mag which is very good, but not sure its widely available


If its reviews about 2nd hand buys, these tend to be better when theres a good response rate and the English mags like Which magazine and Top Gear report tend to do this better than most

From reading Irish reviews of cars in newspapers through the years, I have always found them 'tame' and a bit too complimentary of the car maker/model- English mags tend to have a better all-round critical view good/bad points, so if you marry the English reviews with a copy of up to date Irish car price list, it might be the best bet

Found these Irish sites interesting for Irish Classic cars:

http://www.classiccar.ie/

http://www.ivvcc.ie/

L-M

99 Vw Golf Mk4 Comfortline 1.4 petrol 72k miles.

Standard spec: Comfortline seats, Central locking, Electric windows all round, power steering and all the rest of the bits you would find with your everyday car.

Aftermarket extra's that I added: When I bought the car, it didn't have a Cd player, so that was the first thing to go in. Bought some Sony head unit (€190) which has an Ipod wire that comes out the rear of it. The handy thing here is that I routed the wire through the dash and into the glove box, so the Ipod is always out of view. The car was very basic (exterior wise) when I bought it, so I added replica old shape RS4 alloys (17"), OEM Gti rear lenses and a GTI oem Spoiler.

Problems: I better get these out of the way. When I bought it, it has 66k miles on it. Full service history, with no record of the timing belt ever being done. I put this off for two weeks and low and behold it decided to snap on it. Well it didn't snap. A bit of the timing belt had frayed off, and as the belt spun around, the bit that was hanging off hit the tensioner, which eventually gave way. This happened on a Friday, engine was disassembled in my driveway on the Sunday, and the car was back on the road for the Wednesday. Over all cost for this were roughly €700 excluding labour. (This problem was due to humour error)

At first, the central locking didn't like me. I would lock the door from the inside, all would stay locked for a second, and then the passenger door would pop up. This decided to fix itself after a few weeks. Now, the central locking allows me to open the doors from the driver’s side, but I have to go to the passenger side to lock them.

Also, which is a common problem for the Golf, it drinks oil. I have to top it up every two weeks nearly. This is caused from the valve oils seals which are worn. Also when I serviced it two weeks ago there were two spark plugs covered in oil, which leaves me to believe the piston rings are fried. I will sort all this out someday, but it involves the engine coming apart again.

Also, my back door won't open. No way of getting at it to try and fix it, so the car is a 3door lol.

Comfort: It's actually a very very comfortable car. The comfortline seats are much more comfortable than the standard seats. Coupled with the armrest, it makes for a very comfortable ride. All around elec windows are a plus. Sound from the speakers is more than acceptable, nice base. I've actually not gone loud enough for them to begin to crackle.
The 17"s make for a some what bumpy ride, but it's not hugely noticeable.

Driving: Again, I find it a nice car to drive. Problems are if you want to drive any bit fast, you really have to give it a good bit of welly. 60mph in third gear, and then fourth gear up the rest of the way. Fifth gear is generally for cruising. It's not as underpowered as everyone would make it out to be, but for a 1.4, and how heavily built it is, all is well.

Consumption: I generally do a lot of town driving, so to give it a fair mpg wouldn't be hard. On this note. I'd say it would take upwards of 50-55 litres to fill to the brim.

Handling: Is ok. It's not overly bad. It doesn't have traction control which can be a bit of a pain sometimes when you need the help, but all around, for what it is, it's not disgrace full. The 17" definitely add to this as having driving it with the standard 15" alloys, (or 14" hubs) you feel a lot more bouncy, and not as confident through the corners.

Servicing and Parts. Since the Mk4 Golf is a popular car, parts are very easy to come across. Although I’m in the trade, again I can't give prices of how much all the service costs car, but the car itself is very easy to work on.

On another note, I recently bought a 00 MK4 Golf 1.4 petrol as a project car to fix up and sell on.
When I bought it, it had no nct and wasn't revving past 4-5 thousand rpm. This was due to the fact that the timing belt had slipped two teeth. A new timing belt sorted this.
I put on new back brake pads, which was a very easy process. The driver’s side window regulator was gone, and the passenger side was going very slowly. So typically i just replaced the driver’s side. This was riveted on, and when drilled out, I just bolted on the new mechanism. The starter motor again was squealing, so I got this fixed. The cat needed to be replaced so that was done. (Since selling the back box has gone, replaced by the new owner.) Other than that there were not many other problems. And it passed the nct no bother. I would be willing to share any costs of parts etc. over pm.

I don't know if I have missed anything, and I look forward to reading everyone else's reviews. I was never any good at English, so I haven't added in any of the very descriptive words :P.

Any who, pics.
When i bought it

Coming home from the timing belt incident, (with the Gti tails.)

Engine dismantled

And now.



Comments welcome.

pistonheads does me grand for bits of news..

TheBazman

In fairness a review thread was started before but died a quick death - It even had a lengthy contribution from one Limerick Man. I always thought it was a great idea

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055426604&highlight=535d

L-M

TheBazman wrote: »

In fairness a review thread was started before but died a quick death - It even had a lengthy contribution from one Limerick Man. I always thought it was a great idea

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055426604&highlight=535d

Aye I only remembered it half way through. I think it would be a great idea if we got it going. Nice to see peoples experience's with there cars, and the fact there is such a variety of cars on here!

Owen

I read Pistonheads, and more often, I read Jalopnik.

L-M

Anyone else like to contribute their review? SO many different cars on here, want to see other peoples attitudes towards them.

stealthyspeeder

Limerick man wrote: »

Anyone else like to contribute their review? SO many different cars on here, want to see other peoples attitudes towards them.

Good things come to those who wait! I'll write mine up on monday!