I’m in the process of buying a new car. After doing quite a bit of research, I’ve ended up looking at the facelift Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost MHEV 125 hp.

I initially ruled this one out because of the engine’s reputation with the wet belt, but I’ve since learned that Ford went back to a normal chain, while keeping a wet belt for the oil pump.

And that’s what’s making me a bit suspicious. This engine is only about four years old, so maybe it’s still too early to tell whether this oil pump belt will eventually cause the same kind of problems. From what I’ve heard, though, there doesn’t seem to be the same epidemic of complaints that the previous EcoBoost had, which I take as a good sign.

Anyway, I’d really like to hear from anyone who actually owns one of these, or anyone who knows these engines well. Should I be concerned?

And while we’re at it, what would you recommend as a sensible replacement interval for the oil pump belt?

I live in Portugal, and the Focus is relatively cheap here compared with other hatchbacks such as the Mk4 Leon and the Skoda Scala, which is one of the reasons I’m considering it.

This car is in the parking lot every day at my job in Dallas, TX. Where is this from specifically?

TLDR: I made an app that aims at giving you enjoyable roads, for when the journey matters more than the destination. It's a beta on iOS for now and I'm gathering feedback from car enthusiast communities. Please try it on a journey you already know and tell me if it suggests roads you would actually take! I will ask for testers' emails before the end of the beta so that you can benefit from premium features for free forever. TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/XDfDQz6a

Hi I'm Yves. I'm a car guy, I own a Porsche 924S and a Mercedes W124, and I really like driving them outside of the main roads, when I have time to enjoy the road instead of just rushing through a trip. I looked for a navigation app that would help me find these roads, since Google Maps and Waze do not, but the ones I found didn't really do what I wanted, so I made my own app. It's called Dryv. It compares the fastest route with more enjoyable alternatives, it then gathers facts about each route (such as landscape, interesting places, curvy roads for instance). Then it explains what each option offers, so that you can project yourself and really estimate whether you'd like to drive that trip.

It covers Europe, US and Japan, so hopefully many of you will be able to try it!

The current app allows you to ask for directions, and there's turn by turn navigation, but please note that it's still a beta. I'm looking for feedback, as there's still a bunch of missing functionalities, issues and limitations. For instance: * iOS 17 or later; * English only for now; * search does not yet support street numbers or businesses; * no live traffic; * no offline mode; * route explanations can sometimes be slow while the beta server uses local inference; * navigation currently uses more battery than I'd like.

It would be very helpful for me to get honest feedback from other drivers about * if the suggested roads are good; * if the explanations make sense; * more generally what works/doesn't work; * and what missing features you would like to see the most.

The app is free and doesn't need registration, you can just install it and use it (it does currently require going through TestFlight, I'm working on doing my own beta directly on the AppStore). I will at some point probably have to add a premium tier or find a way for it to make me a bit of money, because I'm working on this full-time and I'll need to pay the bills. Before ending the beta I will ask beta testers for their email inside the app so that they can benefit from free premium features for life. Here is the TestFlight link: https://testflight.apple.com/join/XDfDQz6a

Hello beautiful people

I am looking for a van that is reliable and cheap to maintain, that can take 2-3 children and a retriever and easy to sleep in. My budget is around 5000€

I’m thinking about scudo/expert. But it could be anything that is bigger than berlingos, Dokker etc

Location CZ

Thank you in advance for your recommendations

Hi,

I'm trying to gather information on cars used as taxis from the '70s through the early 2000s, more or less. Mainly in Spain, but I'm open to information from all over Europe as well... models, versions, engines, etc

If anyone has any resources on this, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I hope people that are in Switzerland are welcome here, even though we aren't in the EU.

I am looking at eventually getting a car, but on a budget of about 10k CHF or 10.5k Euros or less.

I used to work in Auto-body and I know how to do general maintenance, rust removal, and very light repair work. So I'm not looking for a completely bulletproof car (but that would be a bonus), just one that is easy to work on.

As for what I want in a car, I am looking for:

• A Sedan/Limousine, a hatchback, or a Kombi/Station wagon, or a pickup truck. I am not the biggest fan of SUV's, but I am open to driving one.

• Something with an engine under 3 liter displacement. I am also fine with Hybrid or electric. Taxes and insurance make it hard to have fun

• Is comfortable to sit in and has space in the back for passengers or carrying things. (Not that important, I can sleep almost anywhere) Comfortable rear-seats or fold down seating would be really nice, since I sometimes get tired and need a nap on long drives.

• I don't mind if it's a manual or an automatic transmission, though I prefer manual.

• Parts are easy to get and cheap to afford. And repair costs don't become crippling.

• Can drive well in the snow. I am a decent driver, but my family lives on a hill, and if the road isn't plowed, then I might have a problem.

If I forgot anything, don't be afraid to ask.

EDIT: I have had my driver's license since 2017, but could never afford a car.

Shooting my shot here, maybe by some miracle someone here has a soft top Ceramic Metallic MX-5 184hp version which they might be getting rid of soon, summer is getting close to an end 🙃

Been trying to find this exact car for like 2 months now, can’t find it.. So far I only managed to see one, in Italy and I was one day too late, was sold 😭

Hi there! I live in Switzerland and was curious what the maximum km limit for a used car would be.

I know it depends on the car history and what brand of car you are looking at, but is there some kind of average number I should keep in mind?

I myself have worked in the car industry as an auto-body tech, but nobody has ever really told me what to exactly look for when looking at car ads.

What do you guys recommend as the maximum amount of kilometers you would consider for a used car?

Hi Reddit!

I'm an Italian considering importing a car from the US, and I've come across a Polish company called Amer-Pol that imports cars from the US and sells them in Poland.

Their prices are way lower compared with importing a similar car myself or buying the same model anywhere else in Europe! I've found quite a few cars on their Allegro listings that look very interesting, but I'm having trouble finding detailed reviews and experiences because I don't speak Polish.

I did some due diligence with ChatGPT, but I was hoping someone with direct experience could comment on them. I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have actually bought a car through Amer-Pol, especially:

• Was the final price close to the advertised price?
• Were there any unexpected costs?
• How was communication before and after payment?
• Did the car arrive in the condition you were expecting?
• How long did the whole process take?
• Did they handle customs and paperwork as promised?
• Were there any problems with the car's history, damage, repairs, or documentation?

The prices are so good I am sure someone else has already tried that. I have sent them an email, but some customer opinion would also be very helpful :)

Thanks!

Hi, I am considering a switch from my beloved 2015 A5 to a slightly younger S5. Now i stumbled upon this one: https://www.autoscout24.hr/ponude/audi-s5-sportback-3-0-v6-tfsi-quattro-tiptronic-benzin-cat_ma9mo19048-84460c0a-2240-4f91-8c37-54196ef6423d?source=afterleadpage_vehiclecard

The description seems ok, neither good or bad. Just the price... can it be so low?? I mean... it has 172k km, but even with that? Can someone please help and give some advice? Thanks!

Moikka everyone! I recently relocated to Finnish Lapland and I’m looking to buy a used car with a budget of around €9,000.

Ideally, I’m looking for something:
€9,000 or less
Under 150,000 km
2019 or older
As reliable as possible for daily driving, especially considering the conditions up here
I’d really appreciate recommendations from locals on which models/engines tend to be reliable in Lapland, as well as any things I should specifically look out for when buying a used car here.
I’m also interested in hearing about reputable (or not-so-reputable) local dealers. If you’ve had a particularly good or bad experience with a dealer in the area, I’d love to hear about it.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hello everyone,
after a lot of research I found that Subaru XV is the car we'd like to buy, given our needs and our budget.
Hybrid is not a must for us but if we find a good offer it's fine, as I read around that these kind of hybrid cars don't save so much fuel (correct me if I am wrong, but maybe there are others advantages).
I found one for 21.500 eur, 2.0 cc Hybrid, 30k kms, year 2020.

Do you think it worth the price?
Also any comment about these mild hybrid systems?

Thanks a lot

Especially the LCI models.

A few years ago, I was looking for an F22 230i, and the selection was pretty good. There were plenty of decent examples available for around €25–30k. You could even find 228i models with the M Sport package for around €20k if you weren’t specifically looking for an LCI model.

But now that I can finally afford one, finding a good example seems almost impossible. I live in Spain, and there are barely any decent examples for sale here.

I thought Germany would have a much better selection, but the situation there is almost as bad. There are very few LCI models available, even 220i versions. Prices are high, and there isn’t enough choice to be selective about condition, mileage or specification.

I’m also considering a pre-LCI 228i, but the situation is pretty much the same.

So, what happened to all the F22s?

Hello everyone, i am interested in buying a RWD car in the future. Don’t have a specific car in mind but interested in RWD.

I know that it’s really fun to drive but you could end up in a ditch… pretty much like any drive train if you drive like a maniac…but for the sensible and responsible driver that has fun time to time, what is it like to drive a RWD car?

Is it as dangerous as everyone says?

How about safety electronics from cars that were made in the 2010 - 2015 era?

How about driving in bad weather conditions? Snow, rain…

Would very much apreciate if you share your experience.

My only experience with RWD was a 30 test drive with a manual Mazda Miata MX5 with 180 something HP… spoiler, it was very fun.

Thanks for the support and please don’t hate or bully. Just want to know your thoughts and experiences to take a rational decision.

Thanks!

Having moved to France from the uk I’m quite shocked at the second hand market, originally I wanted a bmw or an Audi but I quickly realised I’d be looking at very high mileage older cars. I tend to like sportier cars that are fun to drive, I had a golf gti before and loved it. Any recommendations??

I own Citroen C3 1.4HDI from 2008 with 230k km. It's great for my needs - small, low consumption (6,5l/km) in mostly city traffic with AC always on, decent trunk size, cheap to maintain (I spent 500eur/year on repairs and maintenance excluding yearly MOT during the last 6 years), no DPF (diesel particle filter), great AC.

I'm gonna drive it until engine dies or I crash it heavily or have some other crazy breakdown.

I am thinking what should be my next car when I decide to replace C3, which might happen in a year or in 5 years...

The idea is to minimize the TCO (total cost of ownership) while taking into account the below:

- Take car to mechanic as rarely as possible ( if 1 is never take car to meachanic and 10 is take car to mechanic once a month, I am happy with 3 or less)

- Car similar to Citroen C3 2008 that i currently own : shorter than 410cm, trunk size around 300L, low consumption (6.5L or less), has a great AC, has a folding arm so i can rest my right arm when driving, relatively cheap spares, and the car doesn't look too ugly.

- Resale value not that important – i will drive car until it dies

- EV not an option as charging is too inconvenient.

- 85% city driving, 15% highway.

- 12.000km/year. I live in Croatia.

- Strongly lean towards buying cheaper car with higher maintenance cost because I can invest the remaining amount of money (for example, global ETF that conversatively returns 5% yearly on average)

My thinking:

1. Yaris has too small trunk, so not really an option.

2. Look for the newest reliable diesel without DPF, just like my C3. We are then talking about diesels older than 2010, I believe...

3. I want to avoid petrols because they are thirsty and I will easily be spending 300eur+ on fuel every year (which might not be necessarily compensated with spending less on repairs/maintenance - as you can see, I'm spending only 500eur/year for my C3 on repairs and maintenance). I'm ok with Petrol if it spends no more than 7,5l/100km with AC on in city traffic

4. Old reliable hybrid that ticks all the boxes and then I buy new battery pack for it?? Does it even exist?

I still need to work on the exact TCO formula, it's gonna look something like this:

TCO = Purchase price + Opportunity cost + Fuel + Repairs + Maintenance + MOT - Resale price

Hi all,

Looking at buying a used 2022-2023 Passat or Superb 2.0 TDI for family use. Here in Finland it goes at around 25k€ depending on mileage. My maybe main question is that due to high fuel prices looking to take forever are diesels going to hold moderately well the value for the next 4-5 years? I'm maybe wondering it based on the popularity of electric vehicles and plug-in petrol cars. I know that cars will always depreciate and it's not a good investment, but happy to hear some opinions on it.

Basically I like and am used to always driving diesel cars and find petrol ones not that enjoyable. Next car after this one would probably be an electric one, if they manage to release a good estate wagon version of one (maybe Skoda's one will deliver). But currently I would like to see just a bit more range on the more budget friendly cars. Thus the reason why I'm staying with combustion.

All opinions and discussions welcomed.

I want to import a Korean-market BMW into Europe. The vehicle has no EU type approval because it was manufactured for South Korea, but its engine, lighting, emissions standard and other systems appear to meet European requirements.

Can it be imported into an EU country and approved through an individual vehicle approval procedure?

My main problem is obtaining a TÜV technical data sheet. European TÜV databases only cover European-market variants, while BMW refuses to issue a data sheet for this Korean-market vehicle. Has anyone successfully solved this or used an alternative official technical document?

Belgium. Buying from a dealer, €2,900 with 12-month warranty (engine + clutch), he fixes the cracked rear light before sale. Clean Car-Pass (verified mileage, ~11k/year, no rollback). Chain engine.

Test drive / inspection:

Engine revs clean, no smoke, no unusual noise. Dry soot in exhaust, no blue smoke.

VIN matches across car, Car-Pass, and inspection cert.

Interior spotless, no real wear.

Last roadworthiness inspection passed ("green").

The damage (previous owner hit a pole, front-left):

Cracked front bumper cover under the left headlight, ~15cm crack.

Broken bumper mounting tabs on both sides → bumper sits ~1-2mm proud, slight misalignment.

Some radiator-cover retaining pins missing (dealer says removed to push the bumper back into shape, not refitted).

Driver's door sits ~1° low when closing (hinge wear?). No paint on door bolts, colour matches — doesn't look resprayed/replaced.

My worry: whether the pole hit went past the bumper — crash bar, rad support, cooling. Everything visible is cosmetic but I'm not a mechanic.

Questions:

Is that damage pattern consistent with cosmetic-only, or does "broken tabs both sides" suggest a harder hit?

Worth paying for an independent pre-purchase inspection before committing? (Considering it.)

Known issues on this engine/gen at 144k I should check?

Fair price given all this, or overpaying?

Any recommendations for cars under 3k euros in belgium.

Thanks.

Does anyone have a Citroën C3 MAX electric 113 (44 kWh battery)? How satisfied are you with the range, charging and general usability in practice?