April 2001
have been battering my head against wall with Dealer and VW UK over multiple probs with 115 Golf. Thanks for you help along the way. VW UK have offered £250 compensation for hassle as a gesture. A pathetic figure for months of grief. The dealer has offered nothing and VWUK tell me that as an independent franchisee the dealer can do what they want. Also that as importer VWUK cannot discuss specific issues such as emergency recovery/ warranty probs. They have given me the name of customer services manager in Wolfsburg to follow up. But that's another layer of hassle.
Can someone explain the relationship between importer and manufacturer to me?
Colin Read more
I've seen a few messages on the site about problems caused by Supermarket Fuel etc and wondered if anyone has any experience of Fuel Additives ? I've recently picked up a leaflet from Halfords for products from STP/Redex/Wynns/Slick that claim to clean Fuel systems and injectors. Waste of money or useful for a car that does mostly town work and has lived on Supermarket Petrol for the past 2 years? I have over the last month switched to Shell after reading advice on these pages but I wondered if any of these products would help as well with the rough running from cold we are suffering on our 94 20i Astra?
Any advice gratefully received from somone who used to fill up at the cheapest garage or the one offering the most "points" until joining this site Read more
Spent the last week at home and ran the car on Shell fuel having been solely using Safeways because it is cheap and noticed a considerable difference in MPG which leads me to think that I shall be finding my nearest Shell garage down south.
Firstly, thanks HJ and others for replies on the cam belt change interval.
Can anyone advise where I can get a workshop manual for the A4 2.6? The Haynes A4 manual doesn't cover the 2.6. Any help appreciated! Read more
You may have trouble with this, as if Haynes don't do one, you need to go to the dealer. But be warned, last time I went to VW for a manual for a passat (in fact I only wanted a quick look) they don't even have the ability to sell one. They're not available for resale, so you're stuffed!
With water coming twixt windows and roof, I enquired about the cost of new seals. Reduced to laughter by the quote of 246+vat, I gave them a good clean with Wonder Wheels tyre and trim restorer. End of problem. (even if I have to repeat every couple of weeks!) Read more
I am looking to get rid of my '87 Golf and get something early 90's and cheap. Really looking for something big and fast with lots of toys.
At the moment I am considering a '92/'93 Vauxhall Senator 24V as they seem to go for around £1500 in loot. This seems incredibly cheap to me, anyone got any nightmare stories about them?
Also big French metal appeals too, maybe a 605 3.0 SVE (0-60 8secs!) or even an Alfa 164 Cloverleaf. The great thing about the senator is the easy mechanicals and cheaper repairs. Bet you can't find Pug 605 parts down the scrapyard! Read more
I also agree these cars are great my father is on his 5th and has driven well over half a million miles in them still got one with 215000 on the clock
If you want good Saab servicing try Griffen Autotecnics in Boroughbridge North Yorkshire just off the A1
Hi
I have a 97R Mondeo with a 1.8 Zetec engine.
Its currently got about 31K on the clock and I wonder does anyone have any idea how long the clutch is likely to last (so I can start saving...)
The car is used mostly for urban journeys but with good motorway stretches about once a month.
Thanks Read more
I have a 2.0 ghia x 97 mondeo with 90,000 miles and no sign of clutch wear. Depends how you drive it - my VW golf II GTI (8v) did 150,000+ miles on the original clutch - despite extensive engine and suspension mods that gave it around 135 to 140 bhp. Use of Mobil 1 oil meant no sign of cam wear at 125,000 mile either!
I have just ordered a new car & the salesman is recommending a paint & fabric
protection process called Jewelultra Diamondbrite.
It protects paintwork & vehicle's interior but it costs £199-00,
has anybody used this product, or is it a rip off,
Thanks Read more
There is a thread on this subject starting on the 4 April that offers conflicting views on the Diamondbright product including a favourable testimonial. From what I hear from this site and a friend with a Concours condition Capri Autoglym products are the best protection but obviously involve elbow grease. As for the fabric, has anyone tried a can of Scotchguard treatment on fabric seats, wouldn't that help keep the seats clean?
Hi everyone
My fiancee and I both have S reg Ford Ka's. I recently took them both for a service (non-Ford garages) and in both cases the mechanics had extreme difficulty in removing the spark plugs.
They both (two different garages) explained that there is a design fault on the Ka that means that water that gets under the hood corrodes the spark plugs. On water of the Ka's the mechanic had to take the head off to drill the offending plug free, on the other Ka, the mechanic felt the plug start to "go", and thus emplyed heat to get it free.
The first instance cost an extra £50 to get sorted.
Needless to say, the mechanics at both garages applied a copper ease substance to the new plugs before re-insertion. This should hopefully ensure that the same problem does not occur at the next service.
I'd like to ask:
- Have any other "viewers" had the same problem?
- Is there any compensation from Ford?
- Has the design fault been rectified?!
Cheers in advance.
Ray Read more
Ray Irving wrote:
> As an aside, you can probably tell I'm a fan of the Ford Ka!
> Great little car it is as well - IN MY OPINION!
Oh how I agree with you! I still haven't got over the loss of mine yet (we had to sell it when we moved last autumn to what turned out to be the bottom of a lake).
There *are* problems with the Ka (as noted by HJ in the Breakdown), but none of them, either singly or together, detract from what (IN MY OPINION :-) ) is a terrific car.
Martyn
I am considering swapping my M reg Mondeo 1.8 TD estate 116,000 miles for my father's identical car but N reg and 76,000 miles. Most of my miles were done on the motorway in the first 2-3 years of its life. All my father's miles were done locally except for holidays in France towing a caravan. Is it necessarily a good swap. Both cars are on the original clutch. Read more
A car used for short journeys will have suffered far more than one that has done longer journeys, provided the longer-journey one hasn't been thrashed.
On the short-trip one there will be more wear on the starter, brakes, clutch, gears, etc. And the exhaust will have corroded more from the inside.
The fact that one has been used for towing should not affect the equation much, provided it has been driven properly and not with the clutch slipped to avoid changing gear.
In addition I would look carefully at which car has the lesser amount of rust, a new clutch, for example, is cheaper than a new body!
Contacted my local Honda dealers this morning to price a second remote as only one was supplied with the car. After recovering from the shock of being told this would cost a whopping £74 I gathered my thoughts together and remembered that I had a small learning remote for tv etc and found that it learnt the code without any problem! Read more
I'd like to know also. I tried a couple of guys, and after much tooth sucking decided it wasn't a go-er. I just know that someday soon the alarm will get me stranded somewhere!
Browse
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thanks for that
I'm determined to get someone to accept some responsibility for the failings,
be it the dealer or importer. The importer denied any control or business relationship with VW emergency services who failed to attend on breakdown? claiming this was an entirely separate organisation. I'm still following this one up.
Colin