Monday, 31 October 2011
Capricious Cars goes on a Roadtrip!
Today's special is a roadtrip review of the Holden Cruze! Enjoy :)
Monday, 10 October 2011
Buying a used car, part 2
Hello all! It's Captain Sunny again.
So last time we covered visual aesthetics of the car as well as where to actually start hunting for used cars. You got that great? Great. As I said last time though, the chances of a car that looks good being perfectly fine is generally next to nothing. There will always be some sort of problem with it, unless it's being sold at near-retail price. Things to look out for:
Oil leaks
This is the quickest wear-and-tear part of the car. Also a very simple one to notice: pull the bonnet open and look as deep down under the middle part of the engine as you can, and give it a wipe with your finger - if it's all oily (like, really oily) it's gone through leakage. Ask the owner about this. Whilst it's not a okay-I'm-not-buying-this extent of a problem, it's still a problem you need to get checked out as soon as possible for the safety of you and your car's engine integrity. While you're there, creak your head over to the
Timing Belt
The timing belt is the all-important static loop cable that makes your car actually move. Check the timing belt for wear and tear - it is very important that it's in as best a condition as possible. This means that the belt looks solid, no flappy bits or dents or general tear. The timing belt should be replaced every 100,000km, so if the car is close to a milestone number, ask the owner if he/she has changed the belt recently. If they haven't, use this as a line of argument to bring the price down later.
Containers
There are several containers you should check out. First and foremost, the oil container, where you pour oil in. This container is often susceptible to wear under the extreme heat, so give it a good tap (not with a hammer) and make sure it's not on the point of crumbling. Do the same for the power steering and brake fluid containers.
Next, actually check them. The oil reservoir should be as close to as possible, the 'maximum' line inside the container (clearly marked). Likewise for the brake fluid. The power steering fluid on the other hand is a little tricky. It'll probably look full, but that's not the problem; rather, you'll need some sort of clean (!!) long stick or rod or the like and poke around inside. Scrape the bottom of the container. If it feels crackly and dotty (like there are particles). Cleaning this is difficult, though not something you could use to bargain for much. It's just something to note - you'll have to turn the steering wheel a little tougher than usual until you can get a mechanic to flush it out.
Tyres
Tyres are expensive! A good tyre will set you back about $150 per tyre, so that's a good $600 for a full set, and we haven't even mentioned the $50 wheel alignment costs as well. There are significantly cheaper tyres for $70-$80 a pop, but as much as those companies will try to sell you those tyres, it's definitely not a good idea to, since we cannot verify its safety and roadworthiness on the poor quality of Australian roads.
Look and observe all four tyres very carefully. Is the tread okay? Look at the depth of the tread lines. If they look nice and thick, that's good. If they look like they're about to go smooth..bad, and another argument for bringing down the price later. Look for other scratches and marks, feel the entire tyre (sorry about the dirty fingers). If it feels rough and not crackly or worn out (it doesn't feel like it's solid) then good. But wait!
Spare tyre
You almost forgot the spare tyre! Understandably the importance of the spare tyre is often neglected because people would say that safe driving means you'll never need the spare. Wrong. Very wrong. Have you ever looked at the quality of Australian roads? Those potholes will ruin your car. They will pop your tyres. And this is why a spare tyre is essential. Two things are important:
- The spare is preferably a full-sized one; that is, it is the same size as the four tyres around the car. If it's a size or two smaller (ie, not too much smaller), that's fine. It's a spare.
- Tread: again with the tread test. It's not a turn-off for a crappy spare tyre, but as long as it looks like it'll last the 30km home it's good enough.
And before we move on - make sure the car has a jack and wrench and all necessary tools! The last thing you want is a perfectly good spare, a popped tyre, and no way of replacing the tyre. In the middle of the desert.
--------
This concludes the second part of the tutorial. By now you should have grasped the elements of checking out a car on the outside (and interior), the engine and build, and overall have a good idea of what to look for on your first inspection (of many!). In the next and final part we will cover researching the car for its crash history, bargaining and the transfering of registration process and well, the bit with lots of money being spent.
Stay tuned!
So last time we covered visual aesthetics of the car as well as where to actually start hunting for used cars. You got that great? Great. As I said last time though, the chances of a car that looks good being perfectly fine is generally next to nothing. There will always be some sort of problem with it, unless it's being sold at near-retail price. Things to look out for:
Oil leaks
This is the quickest wear-and-tear part of the car. Also a very simple one to notice: pull the bonnet open and look as deep down under the middle part of the engine as you can, and give it a wipe with your finger - if it's all oily (like, really oily) it's gone through leakage. Ask the owner about this. Whilst it's not a okay-I'm-not-buying-this extent of a problem, it's still a problem you need to get checked out as soon as possible for the safety of you and your car's engine integrity. While you're there, creak your head over to the
Timing Belt
The timing belt is the all-important static loop cable that makes your car actually move. Check the timing belt for wear and tear - it is very important that it's in as best a condition as possible. This means that the belt looks solid, no flappy bits or dents or general tear. The timing belt should be replaced every 100,000km, so if the car is close to a milestone number, ask the owner if he/she has changed the belt recently. If they haven't, use this as a line of argument to bring the price down later.
Containers
There are several containers you should check out. First and foremost, the oil container, where you pour oil in. This container is often susceptible to wear under the extreme heat, so give it a good tap (not with a hammer) and make sure it's not on the point of crumbling. Do the same for the power steering and brake fluid containers.
Next, actually check them. The oil reservoir should be as close to as possible, the 'maximum' line inside the container (clearly marked). Likewise for the brake fluid. The power steering fluid on the other hand is a little tricky. It'll probably look full, but that's not the problem; rather, you'll need some sort of clean (!!) long stick or rod or the like and poke around inside. Scrape the bottom of the container. If it feels crackly and dotty (like there are particles). Cleaning this is difficult, though not something you could use to bargain for much. It's just something to note - you'll have to turn the steering wheel a little tougher than usual until you can get a mechanic to flush it out.
Tyres
Tyres are expensive! A good tyre will set you back about $150 per tyre, so that's a good $600 for a full set, and we haven't even mentioned the $50 wheel alignment costs as well. There are significantly cheaper tyres for $70-$80 a pop, but as much as those companies will try to sell you those tyres, it's definitely not a good idea to, since we cannot verify its safety and roadworthiness on the poor quality of Australian roads.
Look and observe all four tyres very carefully. Is the tread okay? Look at the depth of the tread lines. If they look nice and thick, that's good. If they look like they're about to go smooth..bad, and another argument for bringing down the price later. Look for other scratches and marks, feel the entire tyre (sorry about the dirty fingers). If it feels rough and not crackly or worn out (it doesn't feel like it's solid) then good. But wait!
Spare tyre
You almost forgot the spare tyre! Understandably the importance of the spare tyre is often neglected because people would say that safe driving means you'll never need the spare. Wrong. Very wrong. Have you ever looked at the quality of Australian roads? Those potholes will ruin your car. They will pop your tyres. And this is why a spare tyre is essential. Two things are important:
- The spare is preferably a full-sized one; that is, it is the same size as the four tyres around the car. If it's a size or two smaller (ie, not too much smaller), that's fine. It's a spare.
- Tread: again with the tread test. It's not a turn-off for a crappy spare tyre, but as long as it looks like it'll last the 30km home it's good enough.
And before we move on - make sure the car has a jack and wrench and all necessary tools! The last thing you want is a perfectly good spare, a popped tyre, and no way of replacing the tyre. In the middle of the desert.
--------
This concludes the second part of the tutorial. By now you should have grasped the elements of checking out a car on the outside (and interior), the engine and build, and overall have a good idea of what to look for on your first inspection (of many!). In the next and final part we will cover researching the car for its crash history, bargaining and the transfering of registration process and well, the bit with lots of money being spent.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Peel P50 - The World's Smallest Car!
The Peel P50 is the world’s smallest car! Originally manufactured in 1962 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man. It was sold for £199 new, and still holds the record for the smallest automobile to go into production. The Peel P50 was advertised as being capable of seating “one adult and a shopping bag”.
Features of the three-wheeled microcar include a single door on the left hand side, a single windscreen wiper and only one headlight. It did not however include a reverse gear, which meant it was hard to manoeuvre in tight situations.
More recently, in 2011, a newly formed company, called Peel Engineering Company based in England, started production of a replica version of the Peel P50. Externally the new car was much the same as the original, but major mechanical differences in the suspension, steering and driven by an electric motor with a top speed of 16km/h. This version was made for display only and not road legal, but in 2011 production on a petrol version which would be road legal.
The original Peel P50 had a top speed of 60km/h, a 3-speed manual transmission (no reverse), and weighed 59kg. The dimensions of the Peel P50 were 134cm (length), 99cm (width), and 120cm (height).
The Peel P50 was featured on a segment of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear during which presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who is 6ft 5in tall, drove through central London to work at the BBC. As Clarkson noted it would be the “ultimate in personal mobility”, if the car had a reverse gear.
I reckon the Peel P50 would be great to own. Not for driving on roads around Sydney, but for University students, cruising around campus from lecture to lecture!
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Ferrari 458 Italia
Introducing of the best in Ferrari supercars.... the Ferrari 458 Italia. This car is a supercar with a capital S. Ferrari has developed a luxurious, refined and easy-to-drive supercar that is a challenger to the best of European super cars!
The cost of the Ferrari 458 Italia is a minimum – yes, minimum – of $526,950 and competes for attention with large purchase items such as boats and holidays house. Features include carbon-ceramic brakes and SUV-style rear-view camera, with most 458 consumers typically spending $180,000 on additional extras, if you can afford to then I guess you do, right?
The Ferrari 458 Italia certainly packs a punch boosting plenty of F1 technology such as F1-style seven-speed paddle-shift gearbox and a competition-focussed differential and magnetically adjusted race-style suspension, not to mention a powerful V8 engine to mix it with the best!
The design of the 458 is simply beautiful, looking both elegant and effective. The drive cabin is driver-focussed and luxurious. In terms of safety the 458 boasts superb brakes, excellent steering and massive cornering grip. Performance in a road test was immaculate, reaching the claimed 100km/h in 3.4 seconds and 325km/h top speed!
In conclusion, it can be stated the Ferrari 458 Itlia is an utterly brilliant car, putting it among the top performing supercars in the world!
Transparent Nissan
If you thought wood was an unlikely primary material for the construction of sports cars, then you will not believe what the team from Shell used to create this beauty. This transparent Nissan 370z made primarily from perspex was designed and constructed to demonstrate how Shell's Helix Ultra Oil works to provide cars with both clean and well-protected engines.
The Shell team at Asylum Models and Effects went to great lengths to ensure the success of this project. Thousands of the original Nissan 370z parts had to be carefully replicated, including the engine; which was enlarged so that the effects of the oil can be shown more clearly. The entire project was constructed by hand and took roughly 70 days to complete with a team of 25 workers.
Like the wooden 'Splinter' car, this type of car would be highly unlikely to go into mass production due to the numerous complications of using such materials for the construction of almost the entire car. Yes some of you may be saddened by this but do you honestly think its a good idea to use a weak material for the purpose of enclosing and protecting the driver?
All in all, if transparent cars were to go into mass production, would the society want to drive these vehicles? In reality, only complete a car fanatic/collector would want this baby in their garage (like me =P).
The Shell team at Asylum Models and Effects went to great lengths to ensure the success of this project. Thousands of the original Nissan 370z parts had to be carefully replicated, including the engine; which was enlarged so that the effects of the oil can be shown more clearly. The entire project was constructed by hand and took roughly 70 days to complete with a team of 25 workers.
Like the wooden 'Splinter' car, this type of car would be highly unlikely to go into mass production due to the numerous complications of using such materials for the construction of almost the entire car. Yes some of you may be saddened by this but do you honestly think its a good idea to use a weak material for the purpose of enclosing and protecting the driver?
All in all, if transparent cars were to go into mass production, would the society want to drive these vehicles? In reality, only complete a car fanatic/collector would want this baby in their garage (like me =P).
Monday, 3 October 2011
Buying a used car, part 1
Hello all, this is Captain Sunny reporting.
For most budding university students, buying a brand new car straight out of their pockets is nary an option, for most of them are usually quite poor. This is why the used car market is so attractive to them most of the time.
A good place to start fishing for a used car is (if you're Australian) [city].gumtree.com.au where [city] is your state's capital city. There you can click on cars and whether you want a car under 5 grand or over 5 grand. There'll be pages upon pages of potential cars of your interest, click away and just browse through them and have some fun at first. Take note of some nice ones and bookmark them for later. You can do the same through other sites such as carsales.com.au and carsguide.com.au. Spend a good hour or several just imagining yourself driving away with that car.
However, buying a used car isn't as simple as looking at a car, Googling it and then shaking hands with the seller once they're satisfied. A used car is that, used, and has had a life with a/many previous owner(s). As such, there's a good chance there will be problems with the car (unless it's a $420,000 Aston Martin, in which case it probably never left the garage). Such problems range anything from the following
Take a look at my beloved Ford Mondeo here in the photograph (my friends have lovingly named it "Smelly".) From a mere photograph such as the one above, it doesn't look like there's a problem with it, right? Wrong. A good eye would notice that the bumper is a bit lopsided; it is slightly lower and loose on the left side of the car than it is on the right. This is usually a sign that the car has nudged a wall or a tree in the past, although not so strong that the bumper fell off. In other words, this was probably caused by the equivalent of you walking into a door. Nothing big.
Visual integrity is always the first thing you look for in a car since this is the most obvious portrayal of any problems as such. Are there scratch marks that don't look like general wear from rough surface driving? Does the car look like it has been keyed, pole scraped or dented at all? All these are signs of non-general wear that should fire up alarms in your head of damage. Whilst a car being keyed is probably the least of your worries right now, a pole scraping or a dent is more worrying. Ask the owner about these, making sure that you point directly to the spot rather than just mentioning it, so that he/she can't escape the question.
That's all for now. I'll talk about checking the specifics and stuff in my next post, coming up shortly!
For most budding university students, buying a brand new car straight out of their pockets is nary an option, for most of them are usually quite poor. This is why the used car market is so attractive to them most of the time.
A good place to start fishing for a used car is (if you're Australian) [city].gumtree.com.au where [city] is your state's capital city. There you can click on cars and whether you want a car under 5 grand or over 5 grand. There'll be pages upon pages of potential cars of your interest, click away and just browse through them and have some fun at first. Take note of some nice ones and bookmark them for later. You can do the same through other sites such as carsales.com.au and carsguide.com.au. Spend a good hour or several just imagining yourself driving away with that car.
However, buying a used car isn't as simple as looking at a car, Googling it and then shaking hands with the seller once they're satisfied. A used car is that, used, and has had a life with a/many previous owner(s). As such, there's a good chance there will be problems with the car (unless it's a $420,000 Aston Martin, in which case it probably never left the garage). Such problems range anything from the following
- High mileage
- Worn-out tyres and steering columns
- Engine problems including loose parts and corroded pipelines
- Dead or breaking suspension system
- Very bad smell
- General cosmetic dints
- A crash history.
- (and many, many more).
 |
| My used car, looks great, has problems you can't see from a photo |
Visual integrity is always the first thing you look for in a car since this is the most obvious portrayal of any problems as such. Are there scratch marks that don't look like general wear from rough surface driving? Does the car look like it has been keyed, pole scraped or dented at all? All these are signs of non-general wear that should fire up alarms in your head of damage. Whilst a car being keyed is probably the least of your worries right now, a pole scraping or a dent is more worrying. Ask the owner about these, making sure that you point directly to the spot rather than just mentioning it, so that he/she can't escape the question.
That's all for now. I'll talk about checking the specifics and stuff in my next post, coming up shortly!
Friday, 30 September 2011
TOYOTA FT-86
Toyota definitely has a spectrum of cars that cater to the wide crowd, however, as of the modern days they have not exactly focused on the sports market, as seen with their focus on hybrid, fuel-efficient and family-orientated cars.
But as of late, Toyota has decided to revive the AE86, an evolution to the popular yet affordable sports performance car - the Toyota FT-86 - let's go through the quick specifications (that aren't carved in stone yet). The first thing to note is the use of Suburau's boxer engine that is 2.0L of four cylinder power fitted with Toyota's F-4S technology which combines direct injection and port injection. The specifications are rather mediocre but coupled with its light weight and new technology it will hopefully run like a sports car, there is nothing more disappointing than a great looking sports car that doesn't run like a sports car!
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