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I'm going to be keep this thread going with updates and ramblings about my car.
First off, a bit about me....
I've done the whole car thing when I was younger, having had hot hatches, moved on to silly quick even hotter hatches, sports cars and then finally graduated onto 2 wheels for the speed buzz. When the bikes came along the cars became very dull, and were all about function and serving my hobby (obsession) of motorcycle trackdays. During my time with all my vehicles, I have been there for their support with my trusty toolkit and try to do as much work as I can, mainly to keep overall costs down, but also because (mainly on the bikes now) I enjoy spannering.
My last car was a VW Passat TDi SE, a nice comfortable car with excellent fuel economy, but after 7 years with me (and being 16 years old) it really started to decline in it's overall quality. I finally made the decision to replace it, but couldn't really decide on what with, I got my budget together and then looked around for whatever caught my eye. There were conditions though, it had to be diesel for economy, well built and well specced, but also had to be a good tow car (see my hobby of trackdays). After tireless searching, and at the start of July, I chose to view an Accord diesel, looked good in the pictures on Autotrader, seemed to have the 'right' bits and the seller (husband on behalf of his wife) was very open and descriptive on the phone. Only problem was the distance, about 100 miles away just outside Bristol (I'm in Portsmouth). No one wanted to give me a lift to view it, so it was a trip made on the train. Friendly seller collected me from thier local train station and the car was viewed, test driven, and then purchased.
Finally onto the car then.....
Meet Rhonda
Rhonda is a 2.2 i-CDTi Executive with SatNav, 17" alloys and Leather interior.
A bit of history....
Rhonda was 'born' in Cardiff in late November 2005. It stayed there for 5.5 years and averaged 16k miles a year with it's first owner, a lady who used it for business. Serviced on the nose at the main dealer it was then sold onto it's second owner, antother lady who used it professionally. Just like the first owner, it was serviced on schedule, but this time at a trusted local garage, still averaging 15k miles a year.
In short, if the car has needed anything, it's had it, and has been cherished and generally well looked after.
One of the real plus points for me was the the previous owner had a towbar and electrics fitted (only used once), which saved me a good chunk of cash as I need to tow my trailer. The interior is spotless
and the exterior is very respectable for a car with 136k miles on the clock
So there we go then, that's Rhonda. The more time I spend in it, the more I like to be there. A real nice car.
The name Rhonda came from the second owner, who (like a lot of women) needed to give the car a name, and seeing the car originally came from Wales, and Rhonda rhymes with Honda, the name was a no brainer. I don't normally name vehicles, and I certainly don't *** them (note no her/she or him etc in my story), but this name seems to have stuck.
It's not all sweetness and light though, and this is the main reason for starting this thread.....there are some problems with it, nothing that I consider to be major, but things that I will eventually try to rectify.
Off side (drivers) headlight can get a bit 'damp' inside, and has already blown one bulb
Handbrake is a bit pants and has a fair bit of travel
When I first got it I noticed that it had fuel starvation on hard acceleration, but after a couple of months of driving, this seems to have subsided and now only seems to do it on hard throttle combined with a real tight turn (ie throwing it into a tight 2nd gear corner and fooring it)
The centre armrest hinge has been repaired and doesn't allow proper movement for the tray section.
The clutch pedal 'clicks' near the end of it's travel
There has been a couple of occasions where 3rd gear feels like it catches and doesn't engage, a firmer push sees it in though. This has only happend a few times and could be me, could be linkage or a syncro, could even be the transmission fluid.
The wheels could do with a refurb as they have some minor flakes etc.
The satnav maps are well out of date.
I will report when there are any updates..........
First off, a bit about me....
I've done the whole car thing when I was younger, having had hot hatches, moved on to silly quick even hotter hatches, sports cars and then finally graduated onto 2 wheels for the speed buzz. When the bikes came along the cars became very dull, and were all about function and serving my hobby (obsession) of motorcycle trackdays. During my time with all my vehicles, I have been there for their support with my trusty toolkit and try to do as much work as I can, mainly to keep overall costs down, but also because (mainly on the bikes now) I enjoy spannering.
My last car was a VW Passat TDi SE, a nice comfortable car with excellent fuel economy, but after 7 years with me (and being 16 years old) it really started to decline in it's overall quality. I finally made the decision to replace it, but couldn't really decide on what with, I got my budget together and then looked around for whatever caught my eye. There were conditions though, it had to be diesel for economy, well built and well specced, but also had to be a good tow car (see my hobby of trackdays). After tireless searching, and at the start of July, I chose to view an Accord diesel, looked good in the pictures on Autotrader, seemed to have the 'right' bits and the seller (husband on behalf of his wife) was very open and descriptive on the phone. Only problem was the distance, about 100 miles away just outside Bristol (I'm in Portsmouth). No one wanted to give me a lift to view it, so it was a trip made on the train. Friendly seller collected me from thier local train station and the car was viewed, test driven, and then purchased.
Finally onto the car then.....
Meet Rhonda
Rhonda is a 2.2 i-CDTi Executive with SatNav, 17" alloys and Leather interior.
A bit of history....
Rhonda was 'born' in Cardiff in late November 2005. It stayed there for 5.5 years and averaged 16k miles a year with it's first owner, a lady who used it for business. Serviced on the nose at the main dealer it was then sold onto it's second owner, antother lady who used it professionally. Just like the first owner, it was serviced on schedule, but this time at a trusted local garage, still averaging 15k miles a year.
In short, if the car has needed anything, it's had it, and has been cherished and generally well looked after.
One of the real plus points for me was the the previous owner had a towbar and electrics fitted (only used once), which saved me a good chunk of cash as I need to tow my trailer. The interior is spotless
and the exterior is very respectable for a car with 136k miles on the clock
So there we go then, that's Rhonda. The more time I spend in it, the more I like to be there. A real nice car.
The name Rhonda came from the second owner, who (like a lot of women) needed to give the car a name, and seeing the car originally came from Wales, and Rhonda rhymes with Honda, the name was a no brainer. I don't normally name vehicles, and I certainly don't *** them (note no her/she or him etc in my story), but this name seems to have stuck.
It's not all sweetness and light though, and this is the main reason for starting this thread.....there are some problems with it, nothing that I consider to be major, but things that I will eventually try to rectify.
Off side (drivers) headlight can get a bit 'damp' inside, and has already blown one bulb
Handbrake is a bit pants and has a fair bit of travel
When I first got it I noticed that it had fuel starvation on hard acceleration, but after a couple of months of driving, this seems to have subsided and now only seems to do it on hard throttle combined with a real tight turn (ie throwing it into a tight 2nd gear corner and fooring it)
The centre armrest hinge has been repaired and doesn't allow proper movement for the tray section.
The clutch pedal 'clicks' near the end of it's travel
There has been a couple of occasions where 3rd gear feels like it catches and doesn't engage, a firmer push sees it in though. This has only happend a few times and could be me, could be linkage or a syncro, could even be the transmission fluid.
The wheels could do with a refurb as they have some minor flakes etc.
The satnav maps are well out of date.
I will report when there are any updates..........
. 
