Archive for September, 2006

There are some things that you would always want to buy new. Underpants is one. Things might get tough but I hope I don’t ever have to resort to second hand pants. There are other things that it makes absolutely no difference what-so-ever whether they are new or used, and that goes for most car parts.

Does a car know if some of its parts have been on another car? Obviously if it’s a unit that shows wear and tear, a tyre that’s been driven on for a few thousand miles for instance then it can make a difference to how long it’s going to last. But there are so many bits in a car that on a bench next to a brand new one no one could tell the difference, and the car certainly won’t.

The one main difference ‘on the bench’ is going to be the price. New, from the dealer parts are expensive. Second hand parts – even if they’ve only been used for a week before the car was written off and broken up – are great value. However, no matter how cheap second hand pants are – I’m not buying any.

Green issues are everywhere and they are no longer a fringe, trendy topic. With all the news coverage that environmental concerns get they really are on the top of a lot of political agendas. Most neighbourhoods have recycling schemes for rubbish and people are asked to separate out glass and cans.

I think the car industry should get some credit for showing the way on a lot of these ideas. Car breaking yards have been at the forefront of the re-cycling movement for years. Long before anyone started worrying about global warming breaker’s yards were taking cars apart to use the bits again.

What was once a marginal pastime for enthusiasts is now main-stream fashionable concept.

Customers of new cars want more and more environmental features, greener cars and as well as improvement in emissions and efficiency what could be greener than a car that reuses parts from old cars?

The grubby image of the scrap yard is dying out and the real social benefits are helping to improve the image.

I sometimes wonder if they make exhausts from the most rust-able metal in the world. It seems to take no time at all for a brand new exhaust to rust while I have some knives and forks in my drawer at home that have been washed up everyday for twenty years and they are still gleaming.

Of course cutlery is not the same as an exhaust pipe but you see my point. That’s why modders love to get those shiny pipes fitted because it’s something that makes the back end of a car really stand out. And if you’ve got 2 or more – even better, but NOT if they’re rusty.

The other thing that annoys me about exhausts is the way that you can completely forget about them and then you suddenly hear that tell-tale blowing when you start up one morning and you know you’ve got a problem.

Long, long ago I had a Hillman Imp and it developed a hole in the exhaust that made it make back-fire noises like crazy as I was slowing down at junctions.

I guess my question is, why can’t they make exhausts out of knives and forks?

This car gets into the car part store for its unusual design (the roof comes off sideways to reveal seats!). The video shows the car looking normal, but follow the link for the pictures (an article by John Neff on autoblog) to see the full glory pictures of this fabulous car which make it deserve a mention in our car parts store.

The car is a Renault Nepta gull-wing cabriolet so enjoy

I can’t believe it. According to the AA Motoring Trust the price of petrol had a record DROP this month. It’s dropped by 8p per litre since August.

We are so used to the price rising and rising that I’m frankly amazed. It’s due to falling crude oil prices apparently. The only thing you can be sure of is that the government’s high fuel tax level hasn’t fallen. Even so for anyone who drives a lot everything helps so I’m not moaning. But then I don’t drive a diesel car. Diesel hasn’t fallen as sharply.

There are some people who don’t notice the price of petrol at the pump and there are those who live and die by it. Some guys can tell you the cheapest places to buy fuel in a 10 mile radius while others just want the convenience of the station at the end of their road.

Most people no matter how unsure they are about petrol prices can tell you how much it costs to fill up their car. I think that’s the price rise that really gets you thinking. When you stop at a garage with forty quid in your wallet – and it’s not enough to fill your tank it can’t help but make you wince.

Still the dropping prices are set to continue they say – so I say long may it continue right up until the point that I can get change from a fiver to fill my tank.

According to several news sources including the bbc, Richard Hammond is improving well and actually had a conversation with a co-worker. Granted it was not a long conversation, but the guy crashed at 300mph.

For anyone to survive at that speed is a feat in itself and he is out of intensive care, has gone to the toilet on his own and doctors say he is now stable so all is looking up.

All of us from CarSpareFinder wish him well and a speedy recovery. If there is any other news I will let you know

It’s surprising how dark it’s getting in the evenings already. What happened to the summer? As autumn comes on it’s a classic time to think about replacing any car parts that you might need before the winter sets in. Any niggling little things such as old wind-screen wipers that you can ignore during the summer suddenly become more important when you’re fighting your way through blizzards.

It’s not winter yet of course and I’m not trying to scare you but it’s a goof idea to think about the car parts that you might need before it gets here.

Tyres are a good example and safety has to be first on your list especially if you’re going to be driving your family round on dark, wet evenings when they don’t want to walk anymore.

Most people have year-round coolant in their cars these days but if you don’t you have to think about anti-freeze. It’s not cold enough for that yet, and in fact I’ve been noticing how hot it’s been at night, but once September’s out of the way we’ll all be reaching for the jumpers. Some of us will be reaching for the jump start leads.

One of the things that always seems to take the whole country by surprise is the first cold snap. The nation usually grinds to a halt as if it’s never happened before. I’m hoping that we’re at least a couple of months away from that but it’ll be here before we know it.

Cars just react differently in the winter don’t they? Especially if you’ve got something a bit older. So while there’s still time I think it’s a good idea to think about the things you’re going to need, and start sourcing them.

One of the things that has always amazed me when I’ve been in breakers yards is how nice some of the junked cars look. A few years ago I took a very old VW golf to a scrap yard when it had finally reached the end of its life. That car really looked like it had done its time. I had replaced just about every working car part but the body work was rusted, it had a different colour door, in short it was an absolute banger. Once the engine gave up it needed the breakers yard very badly.

I looked around the yard and there were the usual cars that looked fine from the back, but once you got round the front the bonnets were up to the windscreens. Cars that had been in accidents and Insurance write-offs I guess with more damage than could be repaired economically.

But the thing that shocked me was a black Audi A4 that didn’t seem to have a scratch on it. It was actually shiny.

I don’t know what was wrong with it, but it certainly wasn’t the paint work.

Of course there could have been almost anything going on under the pristine shell, but it was very hard to put that car in the same category as mine. If you had seen it parked outside a house you’d have said it was perfect.

I think people assume that if parts are coming from a breakers yard then it’s going to be hard to find good panels or doors, but I don’t think that’s true at all. There are some great looking cars that end up in the breakers’ yards so it’s always worth a search even if you need a bonnet.

According to a article on CarPoint by Rashmi, GM will soon provide a 100,000 mile or 5 year warranty and roadside assistance on vehicles in 2007 in the US and Canada. GM have increased the quality and durability of its vehicles by a great extent which shows by this announcement.

This is a big step, granted in England it will take years to come into affect, just like our electronics, but it means the bar standard is being raised.

You may be thinking what’s this go to do with a car gearbox? well

It would have saved me money since I’ve just had to buy a car gearbox for my 4 year old car and I would have saved money.

We can only hope it does not take long before the 5 year / 100, 000 warranty comes over here and other people simply don’t have to buy a new car gearbox for a not so old car!

This vehicle has several unusual spare car parts which make it do some funky things. The only problem about one off, original vehicles is if it breaks, how can you get spare car parts? You can just goto a spare car parts shop and ask for the original parts.

Anyway it is worthy of the car parts store for its originality so ill shut up and play the movie (although i dont know what the car is, if its off a movie etc)