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Deposit paid now shoot me !

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by BarnsleyRob, Feb 4, 2017.

  1. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    Firstly, thanks to everyone for their incredible help over the last hectic few days and David for granting me early access to the Resources section of this great forum.

    After 5 hours of driving and 250 miles today, I have paid the deposit on a 2009/59 1300cc with 53k miles on the clock. We agreed a price of £5k to include service, MOT, 12 months warranty and 12 months AA membership. The seller was very helpful and had the car ready on the ramp when I arrived so I could look underneath.

    I'm no expert but there were no visible leaks under the engine and apart from a few small spots, the underseal was all intact. I can take care of that in the spring.

    I couldn't remove the wheelarch liners so couldn't check that part of the structure but I did notice the front jacking point had been mangled which had split the plastic end cap. No significant rust where it was damaged and they will reshape it before handover. I'll get some protection in there ASAP. What I could see behind the rear bumper was very clean and not a spec of rust in the boot which is unique amongst the 3 I've seen this week. The metalwork behind the from bumper had a couple of spots similar to those highlighted by Tasman I think.

    So on to the bits I don't understand:

    The roof was down when I drove it on a so-so road (no potholes and tarmac was not patched but quite uneven) towards Leeds Bradford Airport at about 40 mph. I thought the wheels had come loose ! The car steered, accelerated nd stopped okay but it was a very strange feeling so I put the roof up and it was a differet beast entirely. Is this usual ?

    Whilst underneath, I noticed the Lamda sensor which fits into the exhaust, is vulnerable. There's a small protective plate in from of it but some of the small wires are creeping out of the shielding. I might tidy that up with some self amalgamting tape.

    The clutch biting point was quite low and the gear change felt quite tight and a very close gate. I usually drive an automatic and occasionally my wife's modern Mazda 6 so have no idea what its meant to be like. Having said that, it took around 30secs to get used to and enjoy myself.

    And the potentially stupid mistake ! There are only 2 grey keys present with 2 x Cobra remotes (which also open the boot). There is no black master key as described by the manual - is this a big no-no ?

    Finally, on the sill (cill - I never know) there's what looks like a plastic divider midway. On the drivers side its neat and square to the sill but on the passenger side it looks a bit skewiff. Is that anythig that needs fixing ? I have it in mind that it's a lug to jack up on side but no real basis to assume that.

    I'd be grateful for your advice, however harsh, and look forward to joining the fold at the end of the week.

    Rob.
     
  2. Your Majesty

    Your Majesty Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2013
    Location:
    West Midlands
    Car(s):
    Copen, no other car.
    I've driven 3 Copens and the clutch is the same on all of them - unforgiving! It's either in or out with a biting point rather than the long biting region of a Ford clutch for example, so it takes a while to get used to and hill starts without a handbrake take concentration. The gears are pretty close, but if you can drive a Copen, you can go back to any other car with ease - it's a world of proper driving :)
     
  3. Tasman

    Tasman Copenworld Member

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2010
    Firstly congratulations! Much fun ahead Nothing you mention would bother me, you do get an element of skuttle and shake roof down. The spacers as you call them are not an immaculate fit so I think you've got a good 'un
     
  4. JulesAtCumbria

    JulesAtCumbria Copenworld Regular

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2013
    Location:
    Cumbria, UK
    Car(s):
    2009 (59) Copen
    Well done Rob - you've had a good day! Glad you've got a good car for your money and that you managed to land some good extras.

    You've got two keys and fobs, so it's clearly been looked after. I wouldn't worry too much about the black key - you're covered. Your Majesty and Tasman have covered most of the questions and you'll enjoy spending time on here finding about everything Copenwise, like making sure that all of the car exposed to weathering is properly rust-proofed (we waxoyled Neville a couple of years back and I was amazed at how much rust had developed in so little time!).

    Anyway, time to start getting excited and making plans for the end of the week! :rofl::rofl::rofl:
     
  5. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    The plastic divider is just for optics, however, there is a hole underneath it so you should get it fixed if there is any possibility of water getting into there.
    If the gears are hard to shift, a gearbox oil change (75W90 GL-4) and lubing up the gear linkage might help.
    But generally, the clutch takes some time to get used to. After 5 years I'm at a point that I have a hard time driving any other car with a regular soft clutch :D
     
  6. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    Squeaky bum time now waiting for Friday. I thought I'd given it a real good look over but must admit I just assumed there was very little fuel in the tank as the gauge was right on empty but now wondering if it's a faulty sender/gauge. Quite surprised there isn't a low fuel warning Light. Also started asking the good lady if I actually picked up the mats or just felt under them !

    Long wait ahead.
     
  7. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    @Salieri
    Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll have to remove it to check. Any idea what the purpose is of the hole its covering ? I noticed looking up at the sill from the bottom that there's a small square hole right behind each front arch. I assume it's a drain hole as all the others are used for pop clips etc.
     
  8. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    There should be a few round plastic grommets on the sills to keep water from going in. If there are some missing you should definitely look for replacements
    There is no low fuel warning light
    I do not know the purpose, maybe it was necessary for production. There are two holes under the cover, which are used to clip the plastic piece into place.
    Most body shops have some kind of play doh mass you can use to stick the plastic cover into place should the clips go missing (they fall into the sills if you are not careful :D)
     
  9. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    Thanks. I'll take another look when I get it home. I know the round grommets were there but at the very front, the holes were square so I just assumed they were drain holes.
     
  10. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    I also have the square holes, but there are round plastic grommets on all of them (i think).
    I removed them to spray cavity wax/oil into the sills, so its probably not for drainage purposes
     
  11. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    If you get chance, would you mind having a look at the underside of the sill for me some time so I can try and get the right stuff. Is it a trim stud or a flexible grommet that I need ?
     
  12. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    I took some pictures from you (Sorry, my car is dirty, we had lots of rain lately)
    I still do not know if its supposed to be like this, but at the front of the car, there are no grommets. On the other square holes rigid plastic grommets are in place.
    Your Daihatsu dealer should be able to source them for you, unfortunately I do not have the parts number.

    I also took a picture of the middle plastic piece, its fixed with a clip from the outside, but there is another clip you cannot see underneath
    grommet.JPG middlepiece.JPG nogrommet.JPG
     
  13. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    @Salieri
    Thanks a million. I didn't intend you to be on your hands and knees in the bad weather so apologies for that. The images are very helpful in that your sills look the same as I remember mine to be - round plastic plugs/studs and an open square hole at the front. Actually that opening may be useful as I have an old boroscope camera so I can get to see the inside of the sill before I inject it with dinitrol or waxoyl.

    A local scrapyard has a Copeninstovk and they're checking to see if the middle bit of plastic is intact. If it is,I may as well get both sides just in case.

    Thanks again.

    Rob.
     
  14. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023


    This might be useful to you (even though its German - the automatic subtitles are funny). Not only can you see the insides of the sills(I have treated mine with FluidFilm AS-R), but they also took off the plastic middle piece. You can see there is a hole where the clip goes (1:14 in the Video)

    It was no problem squatting in the rain, I was curious myself :D
     
  15. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    Very informative thanks. My iPad didn't generate the subtitles but I really hope they were going to turn it into a stretch Copen - that would be a whole different way to mess with the people who call it a hairdresser car ! Also, was the presenter pleased or disappointed with the amount of rust inside the sill ? I'd be happy if that was the extent of any corrosion.
     
  16. BarnsleyRob

    BarnsleyRob Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2017
    Location:
    South Yorks
    Car(s):
    2009/59 silver Copen 1298 cc (now gone to a new home)
    One last question. Does the bonnet (hood) still have movement when it's fully closed. Mine felt a bit springy with about 1cm of deflection but I couldn't see any way to adjust the rubber stops and all the panel gaps looked perfectly fine.
     
  17. Salieri

    Salieri Copenworld Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Location:
    Germany
    Car(s):
    Used to have a White Copen, but I sold it in 2023
    The presenter said every car will rust from the inside out, be it old or new. He said the sill looked good but because of condensation there is rust on the bottom, as the water collects there.
    Its basically an ad for cavity wax, to prevent rust from happening.
    I do not know what they did to the car, I hope they have a plan for it, otherwise it would be pure madness :D

    My bonnet does move a little bit, I'd say its normal, as long as the gaps line up ;)
     

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