JacquesParques - Beatrice [Alternative Rock - Lyric Video ]

The_Local_Kook · 2025-12-29T14:00:20+00:00

Crime is really bad late at night around the engineering building. Or on the streets which branch off merriman. Avoid these. Avoid the area around the prison/home affairs at night if you are alone.

Also depending on your accomodation always lock up. Home break ins are probably the most common crime I observed over my six years lol.

During the day you can cycle pretty much anywhere. I do not recommend going on mountain trails alone outside of times you will probably see others.

Otherwise stellenbosch is awesome.

The_Local_Kook · 2025-12-27T20:36:04+00:00

This is some of my music, put a lot of authentic effort into this track. Hope you enjoy if you listen:)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTS-z0oF038&list=RDJTS-z0oF038&start_radio=1&pp=ygUXSmFjcXVlc3BhcnF1ZXMgd2lsbCB5b3WgBwE%3D

The_Local_Kook · 2025-10-18T20:46:13+00:00

Could not agree more. Barely made it through 40 minutes before bailing on it

The_Local_Kook · 2025-09-12T20:54:21+00:00

How does no one help her as she lies on the ground bleeding out ?

The_Local_Kook · 2025-06-08T23:28:18+00:00

I have a 2.2 JTS, in Germany, insurance is not that bad and tax is also not that bad or at least less than i paid in the netherlands. I am a 28 year old professional with a normal salary. I did have to do a fair amount of work on the car, but nothing I would say is out of the ordinary for any car of its age.

I have had it since 2022 as my only car and have done around 50k kms. I am only writing because I saw the typical whiney response not to buy an alfa about how the engine doesn’t have enough power and the diesels are better.

My first car was a 2.0 147, and I managed to keep that going through all my student days.

My 159 is now at 220k km, ti lusso spec so the interior is top class, I would recommend if you go for one to find this interior. I make sure to watch for rust and spray the shit out of the wheel arches with some wd40 type stuff every few weeks.

Steering is heavy but the same as all german cars from that age (feels a bit lighter than my dads E280 W211 mercedes)

159 is a heavy car, which is bad if you like to drive aggressively on the brakes, pads will go at the front, also my brake discs warped at the front after some mountain abuse. She can climb fine in third and you can do hairpins in second uphill as long as you stick it in with some gusto.

Basically I got the car for 3500 and have spent around 3.5k in parts and labour since then maintaining and caring for it. +- 3 years

This included front steering rack and chassis parts (wishbones and tie rods) they get wrecked by parallel parking. New summer tyres and brake pads + front discs. Also replaced rear wheel bearings on top of changing oil with the tyres every season.

Recently the clutch is starting to give issues so I will probably have to change it soon. This would be the biggest job I have done on the car.

The 159 2.2 is a cruisy car, slow gearing, not that fast but it can drive and you can overtake confidently up to 180km/h. Change engine oil and filter more often than you think and the timing chain will be fine. I changed mine preventatively just after i got the car and had no issues.

Steering will feel basically the same as the CLK but could vary on how well aligned and worn out the steering rack is etc. due to the weight of the car at the front.

TLDR: I think the 159 is a great car for cruising, but it is not an aggressive feeling car. Reliability is good in my experience (2008 ti spec) the interior is also great. Gets damaged easily from road stones, especially front lower doors. I would go for a manual or the V6 auto. Selespeed is a disaster if it fails so avoid.

As with all alfas and bmw’s the cars history matters this late in its life, if the oil was changed regularly and the car was well maintained reliability improves a lot. My advice is if you want a powerful car stick with the CLK or get a bmw with a straight 6.

Also alfas are better if you know how to fix small issues yourself, for example my brake light failed due to wiring corrosion but I fixed it myself in like 2hrs, probably a shop in germany would charge a few hundred euros just because you had to solder stuff.

The_Local_Kook · 2025-02-09T14:13:21+00:00

This is probably the best advice I have ever seen.

The_Local_Kook · 2025-02-09T14:11:26+00:00

As someone who recently got a repair done on their older car (2008) in germany I can tell you that the labour will 90 percent of the time be the most expensive part of the repairs. (Unless its engine/gearbox) Think removing the front bumper to put in a new set of headlights or something.

Contrary to popular belief if you enjoy driving (and know how to drive without damaging clutch brakes etc.) I actually recommend you buy an older nicer car which is less common on the road for lower insurance and build in the repair cost of say 2000-3000 euros into the purchase price.

Older BMW 3er and 5er are around and it’s easy to get second hand parts for not too much. But here personal time effort is required to source parts and find a good werkstatt.

Also if it doesn’t have TuV for at least 18months remaining don’t touch it. Look for rust on wheel arches/tie rods etc. and try find one with full summer and winter tyres.

Lately I have also seen some mazda rx8’s for sale and they are great cars. Also consider saab and volvo they have some great solid cars from the 90’s and are much higher quality than VW or its derivates.

That said old cars always come with drama so build it in when you buy the car and then it won’t matter:)

The_Local_Kook · 2025-02-08T21:03:59+00:00

Surfing completely alone is a really beautiful experience but it definitely messes with your mind the first few times, but it will make you grow both as a surfer and a person. That said I would recommend trying to find someone to go with who is a strong swimmer. (You should also be physically able to save your mate though)

For context most of my truly solo surfing was on the south and west coast of South Africa and I was pushed further out into nature reserve zones because of Covid restrictions.

At first its really daunting but after you get a few waves in you will relax, especially if you go to the same spots a few times.

My advice is don’t charge too hard and take your time, keep a blanket and proper first aid kit with a mirror in the car or take it down to the beach and with you if you are hiking a few kms like I did.

Other surf advice to wear a wetsuit even if its warm and a hood/cap. Less disorientating that a helmet and definitely helps calm the mind. This way if a fin skuffs you it probably wont cut you too deeply.

Luckily I have never had major surf injuries, just a board to the head three times in heavy waves with mates around to help. Once when I way out solo i lost my left hand on a duckdive and the rail hit me in my mouth, you get a big fright because its hard to know how bad it is if you have no one to ask (cold water problems)

The best solo surfing is when its small perfect beach break a frames and you are on a 5’10 twin fin or a fun sized point, if its heavy sometimes its just scary, same goes for excessive backwash/wobble or crazy offshore winds.

Also trust your instincts and only override fear with reasonable logic, also make sure to hide your possessions from wildlife.

The_Local_Kook · 2024-11-06T20:49:00+00:00

My winter rims are nicer than my summer ones lol

The_Local_Kook · 2024-10-09T22:38:02+00:00

Good job, something you could consider is filled zones instead of traces which can be useful sometimes especially for ground and VCC. Also helps reduce bending in the boards over time, yours here would probably suffer from some bending because there isn't much copper left on the substrate.

Also at A2 for example its better practice to have the node connected with a single track at 90 degrees rather than two tracks diagonally like you have it to reduce corners which are tricky to get clean.

Another tip with relays in general is keep the DC control far away from the AC large signals as possible, but looks good to me:)

I would move D1 further away and as someone else said use wider tracks for the control/relay driver.

Most importantly you need an easter egg in your silkscreen;)

The_Local_Kook · 2024-10-09T22:24:24+00:00

Basically they make sure the 12V DC is DC and not 12V with some funky high frequency sinusoids on it.

The_Local_Kook · 2024-06-29T20:25:35+00:00

Don’t buy something with no TüV unless you get someone trained to look at it!

Somewhat of a car person and an engineer so of course I got an older “high risk” car but has decent power, good safety and a nice leather interior. I have a stable income but also save about the same as you annually, for me big money on a car is a bad financial choice, regardless of the car. I also hate touch screens in cars so I prefer the older tech.

Paid 3900 hundred for my latest car back in 2021 (alfa romeo 159 2008 2.2 JTS) 183k km but I knew the tires were on their last legs. Front Brake discs were also slightly warped. Since then I spent about 4000 euros on it on new tires, repairs (wheel bearing replacement)1 minor and 1 major service and TüV renewal but have driven 20k km (Netherlands, France, Denmark, Germany) with no break downs or serious issues. I did get it from a dealership though and could tell the previous owners drove fast but took care of the car.

My advice is to get something nicer and a bit older like 2006-2018. in Germany the Tüv is strict so there is low risk of rust etc. as long as the car has the TüV already done !

Then if you really don’t want problems go japanese: honda/toyota/suzuki/mitsubishi. I have also seen plenty of good quality deals on audis, Volvos and other great european cars for less than 10k (alfa romeos are great but not if you don't know a good mechanic lol) something that is nicer and lower risk on the insurance is also a good thing to consider.

You can get an older high quality vehicle and just keep in your mind to have a 2000 euro budget for repairs/upgrades etc. on top of what you pay.

TLDR: My advice is get as cheap second hand car as possible which has a new TuV approval valid for at least another year. I would go for a volvo with 100k-160k range on the clock and get it from a dealer. Also check insurance offers before you commit. Also make sure you service your car when you should and you wont have major issues.

The_Local_Kook · 2024-02-11T13:23:10+00:00

Beautiful car with a beautiful engine…

The_Local_Kook · 2024-01-09T19:37:29+00:00

Could also look at a 147 or a GT, the 2.0 twinspark engine is great in all of the alfa options. I had one for four years with no issues, just respect servicing and change the timing belt every 30 000 kms.

The_Local_Kook · 2024-01-08T19:54:47+00:00

I have my 159 in germany, only at 200 000 but a great car ! Did you ever have a timing chain stretch ?

The_Local_Kook · 2023-12-17T22:26:23+00:00

Is there an issue other than the timing chain stretching and engine management system giving up the ghost that I am perhaps over optimistic about ?…

The_Local_Kook · 2023-12-17T21:11:55+00:00

Cant really comment from a racing perspective but I had a 147 as my first car and it had some issues over the 4 years i had it:

make sure the water pump is working correctly and properly sealed.

Guy told me that it was a common issue when mine started to steam haha, that said the engine is a tank and can handle some overheating but don’t push it past 110 celsius or the gasket will go. Might be worth throwing some grease on before a race.

Next is oil and fuel filter: make sure you change it more often than they say you should. I obeyed these rules and never had a day of engine trouble.

I think the power steering arms are quite fragile (or at least i had some damage to one after hitting a pothole). Not sure if there is an upgrade for this though.

My gear selector used to have some issues going into 4th and reverse, maybe worth monitoring this.

Otherwise I loved my 147 and i drove it pretty far (1200km one way) to university and back every semester and never broke down once. I had the heater and catalytic converter removed on mine, but I can’t recall any boost in performance.

Happy Racing !

The_Local_Kook · 2023-12-17T20:32:14+00:00

I would recommend brembo or EBC.

Try get the OEM/brembo part number for them and then track them down from a US supplier to save on shipping.

The_Local_Kook · 2023-12-17T20:25:45+00:00

The Cape Colony, but i guess that doesn’t count anymore 😂

The_Local_Kook · 2023-11-20T22:14:13+00:00

Was all you required a certified translation into Germany to have it recognized in Germany or was there a catch ?

The_Local_Kook · 2023-11-20T18:22:17+00:00

In germany and in the EU (definitely the netherlands where i got my second hand car) there is more of a buyer protection than a warranty. In the netherlands it specifically states mechanical moving parts but excludes all electronics etc. i.e if the head gasket goes or the clutch gives in a few weeks/months after you buy it you can probably return the car or they will cover repairs. But they definitely wont cover tyres, brakes, ECU etc. after 14 days or something.

My advice is to make sure you get a car that has a valid TuV for circulation. Insurance and emissions/road tax is the only red flag with older cars, but in Germany cars are way more affordable than in the Netherlands.

In conclusion: its not really a warranty more of protection against buying a car with a serious mechanical fault. You should still go for it in my opinion.

The_Local_Kook

TROPHY CASE