proddy68

I found that private car deals seemed to be better at the start to mid 2008. This was when petrol prices were reaching around $1.90 for premium. Then towards the end of the year private sellers started to ask a little more. I purchased my current car mid 2008 and in the last few weeks have been getting quoted trade in prices for more than what I paid for it. Also when I sold my ba xr6t they were mostly being advertised privately for 17-22k, now most seem to be around the 19-25 mark. These days it quite common to find car dealers who will do deals almost as cheap as private sales. This is just my observations/opinion based on general car prices advertised on car sales over the last 18 months in SA.

Did anyone else here go to lock in sessions. 12pm - 8am for $20 and all the machines were on unlimited credits. Ahh the good old days Nice setup btw

Well it seems encouraging so far. I went to have a look at a few the other day and the salesman approached me informing me that the focus was european engineered and built. I responded "South Africa is in europe?" After an awkward silence he responded "no" If anyone else owns one of the new gen focus I'd love to hear how its fairing.

Funny about the creaking/groaning. Annoying but I could live with it. Thanks for the tip about the build years. I had heard the interior finish on the early ones wasn't great but didn't know when it had actualy improved.

Hi all, I've been toying with the idea of buying a Ford Focus as my everday car. I've driven the auto as a loan car for a day and didn't mind it. That was the LX Model. I would be looking at the manual possibly low kms second hand if I could find one. Does anyone else here have one? How is it holding up and what problems (if any) have you had under your ownership. The loan car had done 40,000kms and was fine apart from some creaks and groans in the rear suspension. Other option is the previous model corolla in a manual. I've seen some good buys there as the market is flooded with them. Thoughts??

While the honda is a newer model by year. The actual mechanicals have remained unchanged since the release of the bike in the mid 90's. The busa has a higher level of equipment as well as being more popular so you pay a bit more for that. Plenty of options for 7k. If you can stretch the budget to around 10k you could buy something brand new or like Senna. T said there's always the hyosung ( the kia of the bike world)

Would have probably been a honda VTR1000 SP1/2 sold for a Ducati 1098 They are both quite popular bikes in their market segment. MV Augusta is a bit like the ferrari of motorcycles. Expensive, Good to look at and the current ones don't go bad either.

It's quite a step up. From about 40 hp and 160kg to 160hp and 190kg (by memory) However given the bike only goes as fast as you twist the throttle its managable. Just makes the learning curve a little steeper for the rider.

Absolutely they are a good thing, I don't deny that. The original poster said he'd prefer under 7k and that wouldn't get him much in the way of a busa. The bikes I suggested can be bought for less than 7k with some haggling and keep the spare change.

If cheaper transport is what you want then the busa isn't the way to go. Great for touring and ridiculous speeds but those speeds come at a cost. eg chains/tyres/insurance If I was you I would be looking at twin cylinder bikes which are half faired. This makes maitenance easier as you don't have to remove panels. They are cheaper to buy as they are not as popular but most importantly being a twin you get a nice fat torque curve. No screaming the motor (ala 600cc) and quick gear changes required. Stick it in a high gear and surf the torque. If it gets tipped over then there is less damage to fix. Keep in mind that bike shops charge $200-$300 for a service even if they don't have to remove panels so maintenance can be expensive if you don't do it yourself. However it really is easy to do the basics. So the bikes I would suggest are Yamaha TRX 850 Honda VTR Firestorm 1000 There are heaps around. A Yamaha YZR 1000 Thunderace (aka Thunderarse) would be a pretty good buy as well. 5 speed trans and early R1 engineering.

Its a sealed unit so unfortunately besides from pumping it in as described there is no easy way.

www.netrider.net.au should be a good start for you then. If you have any specific questions feel free to pm me or just ask here and I'm sure others will help if they can.

What are you currently riding or looking at buying? Maybe I can point you in the right direction

About the only one that springs to mind is netrider. Seems more based towards to newer riders and meeting up for coffee. There are a few but most have very little activity in the way of posting. What are you looking for? A particular bike model or just general chat? There are heaps around most of them are u.s based though.

Not many mk1's around anymore. I always wanted a mk2 2door rs2000 but couldn't afford one at the time. Now I wished I had just borrowed the money. They've doubled in price! that's a big brake upgrade you've got there! dunno about not getting anything for it. Its worth whatever someone wants to pay. With the time that has obviously been spent that's quite a few $$$ if you ask me.