Archive for February, 2007

One thing which is becoming more common these days, especially in the younger generation, is to buy older cars for run around’s. Although they offer less fuel efficiency and power due to dated technology, there often so much cheaper its not worth worrying about the fuel efficiency.

For example a brand new vauxhall corsa will cost you around 9,000 to 10,000 new, however if you look at a vauxhall corsa on auto trader, a 2003 car with around 40,000 will cost you around 3,000, thus a 6,000 saving and only because its 4 years old.

The vauxhall corsa has always been a award winning car, especially the newer models, but the old ones had just a good a reputation.

The vauxhall corsa is classed as a super mini, which offers plenty of space, with engines from 1 litre upwards (1 to 1.3 being most popular) since it has enough umph to get you places and keeps the insurance down for the under 25 years of age group (me included).

The vauxhall corsa (even the new ones) don’t cost much and thus are not equipped with all the latest gadgets of the time, however they maintain style, get you to places and includes nice essentials such as electric windows, central locking, abs etc.

So for a reliable car to get you around which you wont be laughed at by your mates the vauxhall corsa is a excellent choice. It also has the bonus of having cheap vauxhall car parts, should one brake.

There are many places on the web to get car reviews from, and I personally review everything before i buy since that way there are no little surprises in store and problems can be ironed out.

autoexpress is a excellent place for reviews, and i recently read a review on the vauxhall astra 1.6t 180 SRI, in which i will summarized here.

Firstly there are some changes to the look of the vauxhall astra from previous models is minor and not the change which makes us wow, however there worth a mention and include new lights, a different bumper and a choice of trims.

Right now for the good stuff. The best vauxhall car part is the new 1.6 litre turbocharged car engine which has won recognition in the new vauxhall corsa vxr and vauxhall vectra. So why is the car engine such a masterpiece (and my favorite vauxhall car part), well it can do 0-60MPH in under 8 seconds (almost beating the last models 2 litre car engine), with a maximum speed of 137mph (my vauxhall corsa - 1995 hatchback - does 78mph before shaking violently. This car engine also pushes out 177bhp and 230Nm of torque which is impressive compared to the vauxhall astras old car engine.

The engine is driven via a 6 speed manual car gearbox and subsequently the car can keep up with the newest hatchbacks on the market and the car performs like a dream by providing a smooth yet powerful drive through the gears making overtaking a simple pleasure and it ain’t bad with noise on the motorway either. Of course all this comes at a price of fuel efficiency but not as much as you think with a nice 36.7mpg, a 6mpg improvement from the previous model and cutting C02 output by a extra 14 percent (another reason its my favorite vauxhall car part for this car)

One interesting fact autoexpress point out is that you would be better off with the lower bhp 1.9 litre CDTI turbo diesel vauxhall astra instead for the tax benefits.

So to conclude the improvements make it a worthwhile upgrade and for only a extra £15 recommended retail price increase, however there are better cars out there for the money.

Facts from autoexpress review - also visit for some nice pictures.

according to autoexpress premium car buyers are too trusting and are lured into a false sense of security. In reality the car is just as much likely to be tampered with or brake in some way than any other car and that buyers should not buy a car because of its reputation, name and badge.

You should always get your vehicle checked before you buy and ask for a free service one year in if you have bought it from a dealer. They wont offer it to you as standard but if you ask they will give you one since they want a sale. You can even push extras such as a free wax, new tyres etc and the more your spending on a vehicle the more you can get away with.

Remember in a salesman’s eyes commission is money in the bank and with that we can gain the other hand. I can actually prove this point since i recently bought a new vauxhall vectra, 2003 from my local dealer. It was 7k and in my eyes worth the money, however i managed to squeeze some extra vauxhall parts from them, including a vauxhall ipod doc, free service, free tax for a year, and new vauxhall alloy wheels.

Try it, next time you buying cars or car parts of any value from a dealer, try and squeeze him for more. the worst thing that could happen is he says no.

Here is a video of the fastest road worthy street racing car which currently does 0 to 60 in around about 1 second due extra and modified car parts, which means its quicker than a formula 1 car (formula one cars are faster but have slower acceleration).

So enjoy this video of the modified beauty, look carefully add the added and modified car parts and enjoy.

Previously a post was left for the smart for two ‘car parts store’ addition car, which is a stylish convertible about half the size of a normal car and enough power to take off. Well there is a review for the new cabriolet model on autoexpress which is summarized here.
First of all it seems looks wise the new smart for two is like the old smart for two, same design and parts. so whats changed?

Well firstly several car parts have been upgraded, for example new electric power steering, the body of the car is larger adding stability and extra storage for baggage and the passenger.

You can get a high liter diesel car engine version but the review is in the basic 1 liter petrol car engine. this may sound small however so is the car and it is enough umph to get places and has great fuel efficiency.

The cabriolet supports the obvious car parts from full length sunroof and collapsible rear section, all electronically operated of course, the improvement lies in the ability to do these functions at any speed, not just stationary. Another benefit is once the roof dropped you actually get improved cabin space.

Another major advancement in car parts is the plastics, which are now much superior quality giving extra charm and boost.

The car engines are all 999cc (1 liter) however they deliver impressive stats from 71bhp and 84bhp in turbocharged guise which means overtaking and getting up the nasty hill on the way to work is a breeze and with this you get about 60 MPG, which is incredible fuel efficiency.

The major flaw pointed out by autoexpress is the car gearbox since it is five speed and semi-automatic, this may sound good but the automatic is less responsive to the throttle and going through gears is difficult at the best of times.

The overall opinion on the cars is good, the new improvements out way the bad and the cosmetic upgrades to car parts and a increase in size means great things for the smart for two, whichever model you choose

CarSpareFinder is doing better each month, last months achievements were getting to number 2 on Google for the search term car parts, so we reckon we will be number one in no time.

The amount of requests has almost doubled since December and all is going well. we get calls from happy customers and suggestions on improvements which we work on to provide a better search term.

Now has never been so good to want a car part, or be a breaker (especially a vauxhall breaker, those vauxhall parts requests keep coming through strong).

Other news is our salvage site SalvageSpareFinder is picking up traffic and soon it will be fully functional will bidding auctions and vehicle salvage you would not believe.

So whether you a vauxhall breaker or not our site is on the up, were all really excited and cant believe how we are doing, its simply amazing.

Since 2006 has just gone i though i would open up a poll. Since vauxhall parts are our biggest requested car parts and that vauxhall have won several awards recently (another entry for vauxhall post and car of the year post) i thought we could start with vauxhall parts.

So if you have any car parts you think should win the ‘uk vauxhall part of the year’ then leave replies here. in a month or so i will collect the car parts and narrow it down to 5, in which you can vote and then i will announce the winner.

My nomination for uk vauxhall part of the year is the ipod doc and key holder, which can be inbuilt to the car. amazing. I also would nominate the 3 litre v6 car engine which is not exclusive to vauxhall but i think is worth a mention.

so they you go. simply leave your comments as nominations and we will take it from there.

I recently had my car gearbox changed on my vauxhall corsa for 300 GBP (its a 1995 vauxhall corsa) so i was upset about that and now several other vauxhall parts have gone including my indicator switch, the window mechanism (wont wind down fully), and yesterday i was in a minor bump at tescos.

The bump is too little to go through insurance but enough to it go down in value (probably now worth around 300 GBP for the car).

After carefully consideration i have 3 options. I can fix and put it thorugh its MOT in may, possibly costing me more than the cars is worth. Secondly i could brake it down for vauxhall spare parts and sell them to make money, or thirdly i simply sell the car and get a new one.

I am unsure what to do. i might be able to make more money breaking the car down and selling the vauxhall spare parts, however i may not. The safety of selling it as a whole i like, but would anyone buy it. The third option of putting it through its MOT only seems ok if i pass, if i have to pay out it seems like a waste.

Well reader whats should i do?

This video shows a amazing car tyre which stacks itself onto the pile of car tyres from a accident. confused, well watch the video and enjoy.

ps i reckon the chances of that happengin in the first place was one in a million, dont you?

For the most part the interim service comprises extra items on top of the engine bay service in that work involved is on the underside of the vehicle, normally brakes, steering and suspension.

The main reason for not including the above areas in the engine bay service is that these other car parts and components have, by and large, a longer effective working life and are far less susceptible to accelerated wear due to the shorter and slower school and shopping runs that the engine has to contend with.

As with any maintenance procedure the keyword is prevention, far better to strip the brakes and find a leaking brake cylinder requiring replacement than ignoring service intervals allowing the cylinder to leak brake fluid all over the brake shoes necessitating their replacement as well.

The checks on suspension would normally start with a bounce test on each corner of the vehicle ensuring that after weight is removed the vehicle rises through its normal ride height, drops back through the normal ride height and finally rises for the last time to the normal position. Should the vehicle rise and fall more than 2 or 3 times then the shock absorbers (dampers) will require further investigation. Excessive “bounce� is normally caused by a defective valve within the shock absorber allowing little or no restriction to the passing of fluid between the upper and lower chambers or failure of the top seal, allowing leakage of damper fluid to the outside. In the first scenario no external leakage can be seen but in the second fluid will be easy to see around the outside of the damper body and in extreme cases even dripping from other suspension/steering components. Replacement of the defective unit must always be done in pairs i.e. right hand front failed replace both front, the same applies to the rear, this replacement in pairs ensures that the damping effort is even on both sides preserving the handling and safety of the vehicle.

Moving on to the other main suspension components we come to the road springs or their torsion bar and fluid equivalents. In the vast majority of cases any faults here will be clearly evident as a broken part or as a fluid leak, a good powerful torch or lead light is vital as some coil springs have a tendency to snap high up in the inner wing and if only a six inch section has snapped off little difference will be made to the vehicle ride height. Fractures to a torsion bar will normally cause the vehicle to drop at one corner, not exactly difficult to spot! Much the same applies to fluid suspension in that the vehicle will lose its normal ride height at one corner, or more commonly, all of one side or all front/ all rear.

Other important suspension and steering parts are the various balljoints and linkages and a good look around will usually identify these components. The assessment of wear normally takes the form of raising each wheel and shaking it firmly with the hands placed at the top and bottom of the tyre and then at either side. Any free play may need to be identified by an assistant looking behind the wheel area. Excessive play needs to be addressed as the adverse effect on steering alignment will almost certainly affect the life of the tyres.

Whilst under the vehicle have a good look along the full length of brake and fuel pipes and hoses, any damp areas must be investigated and rectified, particularly in Vauxhall parts, check also the security of these lines ensuring that they are clipped firmly to the floor pan. On the subject of brake and fuel lines a proper inspection can only be carried out with the engine running and the brakes applied.

One final word, although this should really be the first, is that of safety. Work on the underside or indeed any procedure involving raising the vehicle should be done on a hard concrete surface using a trolley type jack operating well within its lift capacity and once raised the vehicle must be supported by correctly positioned axle stands.