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Any decent car forums?

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Ingah
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PostPosted: 17:01 - 02 Dec 2012    Post subject: Any decent car forums? Reply with quote
Having bought a first car (Nissan Almera), i think i should also join a car forum so that i can direct all my cage-related mechanical queries that way and save you lot from bearing the brunt of my newbieness, like when i was new to bikes Laughing

Wondered if someone could point me to a car forum they'd say isn't too 'elite' or over the top, or specialist for that matter (i can't see my need for a specific car owner's forum when alot of the newbie questions i'll be asking probably aren't specific to the make or model of car). I know there's quite a few out there who are riddled with people who are quite.... obcessive... about cars. I'm not. So i don't think we'd get on.
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Chalky.
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PostPosted: 17:04 - 02 Dec 2012    Post subject: Re: Any decent car forums? Reply with quote
Ingah wrote:
Having bought a first car (Nissan Almera), i think i should also join a car forum so that i can direct all my cage-related mechanical queries that way and save you lot from bearing the brunt of my newbieness, like when i was new to bikes Laughing

Wondered if someone could point me to a car forum they'd say isn't too 'elite' or over the top, or specialist for that matter (i can't see my need for a specific car owner's forum when alot of the newbie questions i'll be asking probably aren't specific to the make or model of car). I know there's quite a few out there who are riddled with people who are quite.... obcessive... about cars. I'm not. So i don't think we'd get on.


Pistonheads.
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Flip
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PostPosted: 17:27 - 02 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Google Nissan owners, there's a couple. Thumbs Up
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owl10
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PostPosted: 05:10 - 03 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
is it just a run around or something you want to keep?

TBH alongside any other forums its probably best also to join a specific almera forum (assuming there is one), generic mechanical advice is fine, but there is a massive value in being able to ask someone who has done the job you are trying to do before, on the same model of car, and who knows exactly which screw / nut / bolt / wire you are trying to find...
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pits
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PostPosted: 12:20 - 03 Dec 2012    Post subject: Re: Any decent car forums? Reply with quote
Chalky. wrote:
Ingah wrote:
Having bought a first car (Nissan Almera), i think i should also join a car forum so that i can direct all my cage-related mechanical queries that way and save you lot from bearing the brunt of my newbieness, like when i was new to bikes Laughing

Wondered if someone could point me to a car forum they'd say isn't too 'elite' or over the top, or specialist for that matter (i can't see my need for a specific car owner's forum when alot of the newbie questions i'll be asking probably aren't specific to the make or model of car). I know there's quite a few out there who are riddled with people who are quite.... obcessive... about cars. I'm not. So i don't think we'd get on.


Pistonheads.

Pistonheads is far too elite for itself these days, remember if
you're going to post on PH remember to

Agree with majority, they are always right even when wrong.

Never ever break a single law.....ever.

Always ask for fashion advice, and make sure it is about clothes that are generally just too damn expensive.

Name drop all the time, Berghaus, North Face, SuperDry

Always use a meme which you don't understand/weren't there for the creation of, VBRJ, Oxo tower, Smash back doors in, 335D(mapped) etc.

Generally just jump on what ever bandwagon they are on at the time, and make sure you jump ship to the new bandwagon that they jump on.


One of those forums I don't even know why I bother with, as these day it is mostly a pretentious clique of people who expect you to do as they say, where what they say etc.
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Ingah
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PostPosted: 22:17 - 03 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
owl10 wrote:
is it just a run around or something you want to keep?

A bit of both really, it's a first car and i'm mechanically sympathetic, so i want to look after it (i'm also highly incentivised to make it last at least one year due to the generally obsence insurance charges for a mid-term change of car), but i'm not someone who enjoys cleaning and polishing...

And yes, i'm aware of the critisms of pistonheads, which is why i asked the original question.

Thanks for the thoughts so far folks - i probably will join the owner's forum too, but i do particularly like to use forums that i can stay with as i change cars etc over the years.
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bub2006
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PostPosted: 10:57 - 04 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
How old is the car? I'm a member of retro rides and autoshite. Retro rides more for older cars ( I own a reliant robin) and autoshite is for any car or day to day hack with no holds barred and anything goes. No cliques or groups formed and both sites people know there stuff
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angryjonny
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PostPosted: 11:04 - 04 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
If all you're interested in is stuff like "is this car any good" and "how do I change the fan belt on my Almera" and you've no plans to post 1001 pics of your barried Corsa with exhaust pipes made out of industrial AC ducting then Honest John's "Back room" has always served me well.

However, IIRC, if the ads on this site seem too much that place will send you mental.
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 11:51 - 04 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is that the "gearbox goes bang" model of almera?
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Ingah
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PostPosted: 21:13 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
DonnyBrago wrote:
Is that the "gearbox goes bang" model of almera?

Hopefully not. To be fair, it didn't come up as a 'downside' to this model of Almera...

Thinking Hmm, maybe i should change the manual transmission oil

Car is 10 years old. I'm going to be asking questions like "can anyone recommend me a decent jack that can get the car a little more off the ground so that i can place it high enough on my axle stands that my face isn't nearly touching the underbody of the car" (Edit: Answer appears to be the Clarke CTJ3000QL) and other things like "where do you buy the piece of 16mm rubber hose that the Haynes manual assumes you have lying around to slip over the end of the spark plugs so that they don't slip".
Oh, and not forgetting "is there a coolant drain plug on the Almera".

More and more questions by the minute really Laughing
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Shaft
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PostPosted: 23:18 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ingah wrote:
"where do you buy the piece of 16mm rubber hose that the Haynes manual assumes you have lying around to slip over the end of the spark plugs so that they don't slip".



You don't, you buy a decent plug socket (with a built in rubber sleeve that grips the ceramic) and a suitable length extension for your ratchet wrench

Ingah wrote:

Oh, and not forgetting "is there a coolant drain plug on the Almera"


Shouldn't think so, I can't remember the last time I saw one on a modern car.

You disconnect the bottom hose and drain into a handy receptacle, or, more likely, over your feet/floor.
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Ingah
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PostPosted: 23:29 - 08 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Shaft wrote:
Ingah wrote:
"where do you buy the piece of 16mm rubber hose that the Haynes manual assumes you have lying around to slip over the end of the spark plugs so that they don't slip".



You don't, you buy a decent plug socket (with a built in rubber sleeve that grips the ceramic) and a suitable length extension for your ratchet wrench

Damn, today i bought a deep socket and used it with my extension bar. I was careful, but perhaps i'd better cross my fingers when the next plug change comes around...

Shaft wrote:

Ingah wrote:

Oh, and not forgetting "is there a coolant drain plug on the Almera"


Shouldn't think so, I can't remember the last time I saw one on a modern car.

You disconnect the bottom hose and drain into a handy receptacle, or, more likely, over your feet/floor.

You must've seen me when i was changing my bike coolant last year Laughing
Cheers Very Happy

P.S. You probably don't remember giving the advice to one of my threads on here a year or two ago, but thanks for it, i made sure to spend less than a grand on this first car Smile
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Rigga
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PostPosted: 00:02 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
+1000000 re pistonheads, some right keyboard warriors on there lately. Every thread seems to turn into a huge slanging match!

If you go on there and tell them you've bought an almera I can guarantee you'd just get abuse!
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Rigga
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PostPosted: 00:02 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
+1000000 re pistonheads, some right keyboard warriors on there lately. Every thread seems to turn into a huge slanging match!

If you go on there and tell them you've bought an almera I can guarantee you'd just get abuse!
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Shaft
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PostPosted: 00:26 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ingah wrote:

Damn, today i bought a deep socket and used it with my extension bar. I was careful, but perhaps i'd better cross my fingers when the next plug change comes around...



Standard deep sockets are OK (other than they won't grip the plug as you're dropping it in) just make sure you're always square on the plug, it's not too difficult to end up at an angle and snap the ceramic.

Ingah wrote:

P.S. You probably don't remember giving the advice to one of my threads on here a year or two ago, but thanks for it, i made sure to spend less than a grand on this first car


You're right, I had to look it up, I'd only been on here a week!

You can be fairly confident you've made a good buy; the Almera isn't the first car people recommend, which tells you two things:

Firstly it's going to be fairly dull and unmemorable, which, secondly, means it's not remembered as a car that regularly breaks down, or goes wrong in spectacular fashion.

If all you want is a car that starts every day and gets you from A to B, you can't ask for much more.
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Ingah
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PostPosted: 13:43 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rigga wrote:

If you go on there and tell them you've bought an almera I can guarantee you'd just get abuse!


This is interesting - i do wonder what they would have expected me to buy as a first car with a primary use of getting to work and back cheaply, without being a particularly small or weak engine'd car. In fact, i'm quite tempted to join PH purely to ask that question Very Happy

And thanks Shaft, good to know i got the right one straight off the bat.
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DrDonnyBrago
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PostPosted: 14:06 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
Car is 10 years old. I'm going to be asking questions like "can anyone recommend me a decent jack that can get the car a little more off the ground so that i can place it high enough on my axle stands that my face isn't nearly touching the underbody of the car" (Edit: Answer appears to be the Clarke CTJ3000QL)


I don't like small, narrow trolley jacks. I had a cheap one for a few years and it served its purpose but it always felt rather dodgy when it moves during jacking.

I now have one of these, (didn't pay that much though Surprised ). Can't recommend it enough, really low profile, wide and stable, very high and quick lift, massive lifting cup so you can always get a secure purchase on something. If you intend on using it a lot, a decent jack is worth its considerable weight (about 45kg Laughing ) in gold.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARCAN-3-TONNE-LOW-PROFILE-MECHANICS-TROLLEY-JACK-/310341887105?pt=UK_Lifting_Moving_Equipment&hash=item4841d16481
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0ddball
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PostPosted: 14:10 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ingah wrote:
Rigga wrote:

If you go on there and tell them you've bought an almera I can guarantee you'd just get abuse!


This is interesting - i do wonder what they would have expected me to buy as a first car with a primary use of getting to work and back cheaply, without being a particularly small or weak engine'd car. In fact, i'm quite tempted to join PH purely to ask that question Very Happy


A few will recommend a nice budget sports car like a GT3 or a TVR but some of the more down to earth ones would probably recommend a visit to your local Audi dealer for something sensible like a brand new A6. Fully specced of course, even when slumming it you still need some toys.
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Ingah
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PostPosted: 16:47 - 09 Dec 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote
0ddball wrote:
Ingah wrote:


This is interesting - i do wonder what they would have expected me to buy as a first car with a primary use of getting to work and back cheaply, without being a particularly small or weak engine'd car. In fact, i'm quite tempted to join PH purely to ask that question Very Happy


A few will recommend a nice budget sports car like a GT3 or a TVR but some of the more down to earth ones would probably recommend a visit to your local Audi dealer for something sensible like a brand new A6. Fully specced of course, even when slumming it you still need some toys.

Pretty much as expected then - the iPlod generation, all fully paid up by the bank of mummy and daddy (and clearly the more 'down to earth' ones have no idea how much insurance costs for a first car...). Cheers everyone for saving me the time in finding out for myself.

And agreed Donny, i don't much like cheap jacks either (having tried one a few days ago and finding it next to useless for getting the car high enough), hence i'm going to be going for a decent one when i can afford it.
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