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Old 28th September 2021, 09:55   #11
polinsteve
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I've driven countless years and miles with crashbox vehicles and even now, drop into double declutching when necessary. As an ex bus driver on rural routes with old vehicles, I spent many hours "playing" when the bus was empty. On our 5 speed crashbox Bristols I would just go up and down on the box throwing in various block changes. On our Leyland Leopards fun could be had with the 2 speed Eton axle. I would start off 1st low to 1st high ratio to 2nd low and so on. Driving was fun and a challenge. I finished on Mercedes Bendis which were literally just stick into "D" and point. No fun or feeling of achievement.
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Old 28th September 2021, 10:10   #12
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I've driven countless years and miles with crashbox vehicles and even now, drop into double declutching when necessary. As an ex bus driver on rural routes with old vehicles, I spent many hours "playing" when the bus was empty. On our 5 speed crashbox Bristols I would just go up and down on the box throwing in various block changes. On our Leyland Leopards fun could be had with the 2 speed Eton axle. I would start off 1st low to 1st high ratio to 2nd low and so on. Driving was fun and a challenge. I finished on Mercedes Bendis which were literally just stick into "D" and point. No fun or feeling of achievement.
While I can't quite relate to that extent (though I wish I could, sounds like my idea of a good time) I do agree that the manual engagement is far more enjoyable.

When I was younger I used to make a day of taking my Alfa 147 and then Alfa MiTo up to the B roads in the Brecon Beacons and hooning around. Really good fun.

I'm older now though and when it came to buying my current car (2019 Mazda 6) I had a choice to make - manual or automatic.

My constant worry of the hydraulics on my 75 clutch going 'pop' was one reason to sway me towards an auto box,

The other reason was that I spend most of my driving time stuck in traffic in and around Cardiff and my clutch knee used to take a hammering.
It's made life much easier and my commute far more endearing.

Again, times change and circumstances change.
What was once the order of the day may not be so tomorrow.
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Old 28th September 2021, 10:19   #13
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Actually, on that note, the electric handbrake in my Mazda 6 is a joy to use in city driving.

It has a switchable 'auto hold' mode so when I come to a stop, foot down on the brake pedal, it will engage the handbrake automatically and shut the engine off with the Stop & Start (can be disabled if you are so inclined).

Some lights come on in the instrument cluster to tell you the brake is holding and the engine is stopped.

Then when the lights go green, a gentle blip on the throttle wakes the engine up, takes the handbrake off and away you are.

It makes driving more relaxing which is welcome after a hard days work.

I changed the front brake discs and pads which was easy as you'd expect as the pads were getting low and there was a slight lip on the discs.
I was happy with the price thanks to a sale on at EuroCarParts - I got a set of Brembo discs and pads for £140.
The Mazda dealer wanted about £250 to replace the pads only and grind the lip off the discs.

I haven't had to do anything to the rear brakes yet but it doesn't bother me, I have a few pals who probably have a gadget for retracting the electronic brake. If not they appear to be cheap enough on Amazon and the Bay of E.

Last edited by Gigagator; 28th September 2021 at 10:23..
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Old 28th September 2021, 12:11   #14
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Actually, on that note, the electric handbrake in my Mazda 6.......
And right there is the important bit. If you are as fortunate with your Mazda as we are with ours then you can look forward to 8 years and 90K miles with virtually nothing actually going "wrong" - just normal wear & tear items.

Fingers crossed for you.
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Old 28th September 2021, 15:41   #15
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I've just paid out £126 for a re-conditioned calliper because of the electric brake. To cut a long story short , it was an accident , but wouldn't have happened with a manual handbrake. There is a fiddly procedure to de-activate during servicing and it involves holding the accelerator down. I became confused and pressed the brake pedal which resulted in a piston ejection!
Fuming. The procedure involves doing 3 things together which I'm never good at. A bit like rubbing your tummy and your head simultaneously!
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Old 28th September 2021, 16:21   #16
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And right there is the important bit. If you are as fortunate with your Mazda as we are with ours then you can look forward to 8 years and 90K miles with virtually nothing actually going "wrong" - just normal wear & tear items.

Fingers crossed for you.

My last Mazda 6 was stuttering so my local main dealer charged me £200 "for reading the error codes"; £600+ for what I later learned was a MAF sensor. Having got the car back I found I could have had a Denso sensor for less than £40. We then got involved in lengthy correspondence where they claimed "we go to great lengths to fit only the best parts." So that was the last Mazda I bought.
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Old 28th September 2021, 17:04   #17
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Who ever thought this was a good idea? He needs shooting and hanging.

I helped a friend with his car today with such a device. When you switch the car off the handbrake is automatically applied and this is the problem. You switch it off and you either are lucky enough to have an electronic device to put the handbrake in service mode and wind the pistons back or while it is running unplug the motors so the car cant put the brake on.

The more I see new cars the less I like them.
The wife's 2010 Astra has one but you can switch on the ignition, release the handbrake, switch off again and it stays off so no problem.
My son's 2011 Astra estate had one but on his 2017 replacement they had gone back to a manual handbrake. Not sure if that's true on all models.

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Old 28th September 2021, 18:02   #18
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Originally Posted by MissMoppet View Post
My last Mazda 6 was stuttering so my local main dealer charged me £200 "for reading the error codes"; £600+ for what I later learned was a MAF sensor. Having got the car back I found I could have had a Denso sensor for less than £40. We then got involved in lengthy correspondence where they claimed "we go to great lengths to fit only the best parts." So that was the last Mazda I bought.
Sorry to hear about your experience.

Isn't it fascinating that many of us have "history" with certain manufacturers and/or dealerships and pretty much without exception the result is that whoever it is never deals with them again.

I wonder how much business/profit has been lost over the years by the "service" given out .

And if anyone in those businesses is in the least bit bothered/worried.
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Old 28th September 2021, 20:01   #19
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And if anyone in those businesses is in the least bit bothered/worried.
The problem is a lot of businesses dont think to the future, my father in the 70's until the early 90's used to buy about 30 to 40 cars a year for his business, he had been buying a variety of makes over the years but as soon as a manufacturer started to let him down on warranty work or service he would look to other manufacturers, he had been buying Renaults for 4 or 5 years and then he had a batch of Friday pm specials. The dealer did his best but Renault UK were not interested and he started buying BL, several trouble free years and then the local main dealer changed ownership and it was a catalogue of disasters so Ford were the favourite and stayed that way until he retired in the mid 90s.

In my book if a customer is spending that kind of money annually he needs looking after even if you have to take a hit for a year.
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Old 30th September 2021, 11:27   #20
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We hired a brand new VW transporter a few weeks back. It had the stop/start function actuated by the clutch pedal.
I was surprised to find that l got used to it almost immediately.
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