April 2001
Hello,
Can anyone help with any information on the availability of English (worded) manuals for imported Japanese vehicles. Would anyone know if an English version of the handbook for an imported Japanese Toyota Townace is available anywhere or, should I start a night school language course ? Read more
Why's it taken Ford so long to produce its hot Mondeo. This was due in January, and now it seems that it will be launched in May. Have they had problems?
Looking at the spec its perhaps not as hot as it seems. 170 bhp in a car with the size and weight of the Mondeo will not win any prizes. Anyone know if there will be an ST200 successor? Read more
Agree about the Vectra GSi.
I have driven one (Estate) for the past thirteen months and it's a cracker.
Terrifically quick, in both acceleration and ultimate top speed (152MPH indicated on a drive through Germany to the Czech Republic last year), but very relaxed and tractable too when you're not in the mood to play.
Well balanced handling for the real world, too, with plenty of feedback, and a stupendous level of grip.
Quiet high speed cruising, but a lovely touring-car like bellow that develops in to a V6 howl when you give it some serious beans.
Totally reliable.
Plenty of toys to play with.
I had a free rein on what I chose (this is a company car) and I'm delighted that I didn't follow the brand-name-is-all led herds, and choose the German metal that most people assumed I would.
I have a very friendly, and competent, dealer for servicing, too: Knotty Green Vauxhall, near Beaconsfield.
Can anyone give advice on the following. When using the electronic door locking system on the remote, sometimes the doors lock and automatically unlock. Repeating the process immediately doesn't help but waiting a couple of minutes usually rectifies the problem.
Is it something to do with the solenoids? Is it easy to repair? Any advice appreciated. Read more
Can you tell me how much a new unit would be> Is it a job for an amateur?!
I am currently leasing a Mazda MX3 Auto. The lease ends in July and the company have offered the vehicle to me for £8200. It is an S- Reg and has just over 31,000 miles on the clock - I have had it from new and it has been serviced on a regular basis.
Is this a fair price to pay or should I try to get them down in price? Read more
A few years back I worked for a large company with lease cars for staff. When they offered redundancy to several managers as part of a re-structure everyone was offered their own car at a fixed price. My colleagues thought I was mad to say no thanks and leave mine in the car park. In every case the price was way above trade/auction given that most were highish mileage. They were just relying on the people comparing with retail prices locally and also playing on the feeling that these were the peoples own cars anyway.
David
I bought a new (or so I thought) Megane 2.0IDE Coupe from Motorpoint of Derby on 20th October 2000, they registered it and gave it an X plate. I have done 10K miles and got it serviced 2 weeks ago at a Renualt dealer. Last week it failed to start. The AA diagnosed a serious problem with the injection system and said it need a main dealer to sort it. OK, I thought, it's under warranty. Not so said the dealer, the warranty book is stamped 29th March 2000 with a Renault dealer in Calais' stamp. Motorpoint must have bought it from them then and that's when the waranty runs from. They contacted Renault UK who agreed with them, even though the warranty booket states it runs from the date of delivery (29th March) or the date of first registration (20th October 2000) whichever is the later. The dealer faxed an estimate of the cost to fix it across to Motorpoint who looked at it for 2 days, then said that they were also unwilling to pay anything towards the cost of repair (est £400) either.
Any suggestions as to what I can do? The car has been off the road for a week now and I have had to hire another car. I have arranged for the dealer to fix the car and I'll have to pay for it but I'm not happy about this situation.
Mark. Read more
I've emailed Honest and the Webmaster to remove this thread as I've decided i'm better of just trying to sort out an amicable arrangement with Motorpoint and/or Renault.
I've just re-read that bit I typed in about the DVLA, it did not read like it was supposed to. I had misplaced the V5 doc, so I got my wife to ring them ( I was at work) to check all the dates on it. I believe the woman on the 'phone from the DVLA said she was expecting to see the word "Import" on the registration details (i.e. Imported by Supplier or something) and it wasn't like that. She did say there were things on it to make her suspect it was an import though. I always knew that it was. I have the Cert. of Conf. and Motorpoint told me it was. When my wife mentioned the date stamp in the warranty booklet she said that if the car had been registered in France would the date stamp in the V5 have to match and the DVLA woman said yes it would and if so then the car would be a 'W' but we'd have to investigate further and she gave me a fax number to contact. I am sure that the car has NOT been registered abroad and thus it should be an 'X' reg like it is and it is correctly registered. Perhaps main suppliers like Motorpoint have a special "fasttrack" registration so their's look at bit different to normal imports or something?
I'm just confused about the warranty. I appreciate that this is probably the case that the warranty for European cars runs from the date of the stamp in the book, but the book itself then goes on to metion the date of registration takes precedence. Anyway, perhaps I was expecting more that I was entitled to as Motorpoint have offered to look at the car in their garage and I just wanted the main dealer to fix it (as it was a very complicated problem).
It also shows that I should listen carefully as when I went to collect the car I was so exicited about getting it, all I was concentrating on when signing the paperwork and the salesman was explaining everything was getting in it and driving away!
The customer service I received from Motorpoint pre sale and whilst I was there was very good and I *will* probably buy a car from them again as their prices are very competative. I think I'll take out an extra warranty next time though to prevent this confusion happening again.
Does anyone know the purpose of the 'Baby on board' or the 'Keep back child on board' stickers you see so often on the rear of cars?
Does it mean that I can quite happily smash into the rear of any vehicle that is not so labelled? Read more
it all came about after a female lorry driver was involved in a rta and her baby in the cab sleeping compartment was only found by chance aas she was unconcious. or so I was told
Hi all,
I heard today that the government have outlawed the use of national emblems (Welsh Dragon, Union Jack etc ) on number plates. Then, someone else said that it only effects the plates that have 7 digits ( 4 letters, 3 numbers ) because they have to sqeeze the number plate up to fit the emblem, therefore the plate is incorrectly spaced. Also, they have allowed the use of the European flag but you can get fined a thousand pounds if caught displaying anything else. My plates have a small Welsh Dragon all over them rather than an emblem on the left hand side, am i breaking the law ?
Anyone know what's going on ?
Regards,
Ash. Read more
No I'm sure he won't (as long as it is a Welsh Dragon)
We have a 1992 Nissan 100NX which has done about 80,000 miles. The car has developed a hesitancy which has not been cured by servicing, varying the make of petrol, tuning or the replacement of the lambda sensor. Any suggestions?
In addition the engine has become very clanky. Having decided to get the belts changed, my garage informs me that it's a timing chain which shouldn't need replacing. The service manual specifies replacing the timing "belt" at 70,000 miles. Apparently the time taken to reach the belt/chain is estimated at about 5 hours, so I'm loathe to get it looked at on "the off-chance". However, I'm concerned that failure of the belt/chain or of worn nylon tensioners/pulleys could have serious effects on the engine. Is it also possible that this could contribute to the above problem?
I'd be very appreciative of anyones' help.
Mike Harris Read more
Mike,
If your car is indeed a "carb + cat" model Darren may be right. I have had at least three or four customers with a similar complaint which has proved impossible to erradicate completely. One owner got as far as their Nissan dealer admitting there was a problem with the carb(that was on a Sunny), and there was a "modification available", but at the £550 quoted it sounded to me like a new carb. She put up with it ! On one car we seemed to get an improvement by opening the plug gaps up to around 1.1mm (bigger spark copes better with over-lean mixture - used to work wonders on the EFi Montegos!!).
Regarding the "clanking", the timing chain SHOULD indeed be maintenance free, but should, never, can't, and guaranteed are words that should be avoided when discussing motor cars !! If the noise is definitely getting worse and coming from the chain area I would get it checked out.
Regards, Adam
Just a word of (I hope) wisdom.
When I had to change a wheel on my Peugeot 309 I found that the hook arrangement which holds the spare wheel carrier up had rusted onto the threaded shaft and was immobile to the extent that I had to cut the bolt to get it off.
I know that I should have checked it more regularly, but the hook is steel with a forward-facing slot down it which collects salt spray and muck, then directs it round the thread and rusts it on PDQ.
The car had been professionally serviced, but that is obviously not on the schedule.
So: It is worth dropping the spare wheel on this type of arrangement and giving the hook and shaft a good dose of grease so that it comes down freely when you need it in an emergency. Read more
If you had a Citroen D or CX, the spare would be secure and invisible under the bonnet, and clean, warm and dry when you needed it!
I'd be interested in hearing views on the merits (?) of 4 wheel drive as fitted to road cars (not off-roaders). Typically Quattro with Audis.
Presumably there is a loss of accelaration and fuel efficiency? ...more drag, two gearboxes.
Also given typical UK weather is rarely extreme, and roads are fairly good, are there really and benefits if you're using the car as your everyday transport?
A high percentage of newer Audis seem to be Quattros, is this another 'fashion badge' or, if the extra cost is not an issue, is it worth having?
Opinions eagerly sought.
Cheers. Read more
I've got an A4 1.9 tdi quattro - absolutely brilliant - it does just what I tell it to. I've never been of road in it, spend most of the time up & down the M1. But I do feel safe, & it's got me out of 1 or 2 sticky moments. I'm about to trade it in for a new one (2.5 v6 tdi q). I'd recommend it.
Browse
.jpg)
We had one of these imported Toyota Space Cruiser models traded in recently and it was a nightmare to sort out. My advice? STEER WELL CLEAR!!