Any big car drivers? (Saloons)

wapow

Yes, it has heated seats all round! Love it!
Its a used old classic car but a nice big car


You might be right cos the oder model of this had rear sensors but not front and this one has no sensors all over so im sure theyre there but might be dead?


I'll check it out.
I'll have to have them fitted though if theyre not there...right?

Strider590

All you need is a moderate level of spacial awareness.
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forgotmyname

wapow wrote: »

Haha! What was the point? Pls explain!


Fitting them cant be that big a job surely? Don't call me surely.

Driving for a living you never know what you will be driving tomorrow, It maybe a small hatchback car or it could be a lorry with a trailer.

When i passed my rigid HGV test it was in a vehicle that was just over the minimum requirement and had a straight forward 6 speed+R gearbox. I passed them went to work the next day to be handed the keys to something much larger with a splitter gearbox. I said !!!!!! is a splitter gearbox. They handed me the keys and pointed to the lorry and said off you go then. Some have extra levers, some have buttons, some wont let you choose the wrong gear if the revs dont suit the one your trying to get.

It was almost twice the laden weight and taller and longer than the one i took my test in.

Just part of the job and something you had to do. You never know which vehicle you will get tomorrow.

xHannahx

We went from a saxo to a Seat Toledo, first saloon I'd driven. It took a week or two to get used to the fact the car didn't finish under the back window.
When we bought it we noticed saloons were much better value and higher spec than anything else on the market in the same price range.
When it comes to sell a saloon they are unpopular with the British so can be harder to shift, hence a lot of dealers when new put loads of free optional extras to get rid of them in the UK.

reeac

When parking in a shopping area reflections in shop windows give valuable lateral views. Otherwise it's just a matter of practice but beware of low level obstructions such as bollards which may be below your view out of the windows.

Joe_Horner

The front shouldn't be a problem. You'll find you learn to judge it very quickly - if you don't then how are you going to cope with junctions?

The rear can be helped by parking sensors, especially if the boot-line is low, which can make seeing the end of it a problem. If they're not fitted as standard then you can get kits on ebay for about £10 - £15 which work perfectly well.

Fitting isn't hard - 4 holes in the bumper, one in the boot floor for the sensor wires to go through, and two wiring connections to the car - one earth and one tapped into the reversing lights. Don't bother with the posh kits that offer a distance display - they offer no practical advantage over the "audio only" beeping ones.

Here's some I fitted earlier:


One hint is spend a little extra on a "proper" drill bit (usually 22mm) because the hole saw they provide with the kits is pretty useless - you're usually making the holes in plastic and it tends to melt inside the saw and clog it! A tenner or so for a stepped shank twist drill is well worth it to save aggro! You'll also want tie-wraps to keep the wiring neat and a grommet for the hole in the boot bottom to prevent chafing (oh-er missus!)


You can also get kits with front sensors but then you need to wire in a switch for the fronts (and remember to use it) or you'll be getting false warnings all the time as you drive around normally. Built-in systems tend to activate according to vehicle speed but the add-on kits need to be switched on and off manually.

LandyAndy

Joe_Horner wrote: »

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I see you also have the ultimate reversing sensor fitted under the bumper.:cool:

Herzlos

It's just a matter of practice and patience - if you pull out slowly you shouldn't cause any damage, and the more you do it the better you can judge (I had a saloon for about 6 years and you couldn't see the front or back), and if in doubt just jump out and look.

Gloomendoom

xHannahx wrote: »

When it comes to sell a saloon they are unpopular with the British so can be harder to shift, hence a lot of dealers when new put loads of free optional extras to get rid of them in the UK.

Big saloons aren't unpopular. It's unusual for a big car not to be a saloon, unless you stray into SUV territory.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Big saloons aren't unpopular. It's unusual for a big car not to be a saloon, unless you stray into SUV territory.

The other week we were walking around somewhere, and we played spot the saloon, there are not many left. Everyone now wants flexibility, even those who buy large cars, and those who used to buy luxury saloons often are buying SUVs, so you can't really discount them. So while the absolute top of the range may not have a non-saloon variant, most marques' large cars (e.g. E CLass, 5 Series, A6) are extremely popular in estate form.

The days of a car good for sitting people in and not much else are long gone. Estates and hatchbacks are not rattle boxes that they used to be. I've had saloons and I wouldn't go back to one.