HFS's car thread | Back in a Ford

[homeforsummer]

15k NC, goodbye Peugeot

Bit of a fleet update as I've not posted anything since December. As the title suggests, the NC's now passed the 15k mark in my hands. In the past 5k it's had a service, a new exhaust centre section as the old bit, which had been knocking for a while, finally disconnected just ahead of the rear axle, a just-in-time AC service, and while not depicted in the pic above, it's also now got a stubby aerial as the rubber on the OEM one was starting to rot and split. I don't listen to the radio much but I've not really noticed any change in signal.

Still hugely enjoying the car. It's doing 40mpg (imperial) everywhere, it's decently comfortable over longer trips, and now the AC's working it's just as good when it's really hot and I've got the roof up as when it's merely sunny and warm and the roof's down. Took it to a sprint day last week and it was great fun there too, nice to get a chance to explore the car's behaviour pushing it a lot harder than on the road.

Plan is still to get a more sensible/practical daily driver though. Some more luggage space would be nice, a more comfortable ride on our increasingly terrible roads, and something I won't mind taking out when the weather gets worse again in the autumn and winter.

Small update on the RX-7, which is still in storage as I type but is coming out in a few weeks to have some work done - it's going onto coilovers as I never did find OEM replacement suspension, and it's getting new tyres and brakes too, plus an MOT. I'll enjoy it for a few months over summer and then it's going up for sale.

Talking of sales, the Peugeot went in February ish. Good time of year as the weather was terrible so I wasn't driving it anyway, and never got a chance to miss it - and now the weather's good, I'm perfectly happy with the MX-5. More than 8.5 years with the Peugeot in the end, easily the longest I've owned a car. Felt like I'd done everything with it though, and it's nice to get some money back and not have to pay for another round of tax/insurance etc. New owner seems very happy with it, and is already making it nicer than it ever was with me.

 

[Doog]

Can't believe you had that Peugeot for over 8 years, I would've guessed half that. It was my favorite car you've featured in this thread, so I'm sorry to see it go. 8.5 years is a pretty long ownership for a car person! Interested to see what happens after the RX-7 is sold.

 

[homeforsummer]

Back in a Ford​

Mentioned last time around that I was looking for something more sensible/practical to supplement the NC over winter, and about a week ago I bought this.

It's a Ford Fusion, and if you're in the US and giving it a quizzical look, Europe's Ford fusion was basically a taller, boxier Fiesta sold in the 2000s. It was kind of a proto-Nissan Juke in a way, just a regular B-segment supermini in a taller shell.

They're pretty unfashionable but that can work in one's favour as it makes even nice ones pretty cheap, so this thing cost less than most bills I get on the RX-7. Low-ish miles, pretty decent service and MOT histories, bodywork is in generally pretty good condition (little bits of rust and dents here and there but nothing significant), and recent cambelt change are all good points. Needs a few things doing too, but nothing too serious.

Being a 2000s-era European Ford it drives pretty well - ride/handling balance is good, steering is nice, engine/gearbox are smooth, brakes feel good. Just a solid all-rounder. In theory it'll also become my only car over the next few months - mentioned last time I planned to sell the RX-7 but I think the MX-5 will go too, for a few (positive) reasons I won't go into just yet that mean it doesn't make much sense to keep it into next year, especially as it'll not get much use over winter.

I'll definitely miss the NC when it goes as it's pretty much perfect for me, but I have to admit I'm also looking forward to the prospect of being back down to just one car for the first time in years (since 2020 in fact), and that car not being a weekend toy but something I can just hop into and use whatever the weather or journey. I have a spreadsheet detailing how much my cars cost to run and not having to pay that for a while will be very welcome...