May 2001
Just returned from a week long business trip to Spain, and cannot believe what awful road conditions we put up with, along with the ridiculous Speed Gestapo.
Drove across From Zaragoza to Madrid, sometimes travlling at 200 Kph, along beautifully maintained and arrow straight roads, when the roads passed through villages and towns, obviously we had to slow down, but instead of finding a Speed camera or a craftily hidden copper, they have a system which will turn a set of traffic lights to red if you approach the well marked sensor at over 50 Kph.
Spain obviously hasn't caught on to the use of the motorist as a revenue "Cash Cow" - the fuel is much cheaper too - Diesel approx 45p / litre.
I want to go and live there !!
Why do we continue to put up with the shoddy tratment by this Cynical and dishonest regime ? Read more
Any suggestions on what car i can get for £4500 to replace my 180,000 mile Mk 2 Golf GTI with failing brakes. Don't really want to go for a Vauxhall/ Ford. Considering a diesel such as a Peugeot 306 or mk3 Golf TDI. Going off to auction tonight so if you have any opinions...!! Thanks! Read more
Chris
I would go along with what you say. My F reg. 309 diesel, not turbo, did me from 30k to 125k over seven years with only routine maintenance apart from a radiator at 50-55 mpg.
I, too, only changed it because we got two dogs and a caravan and needed an estate with a little more power.
How can I accurately calculate MPG given that I buy petrol in litres ?
Would appreciate advice. Read more
I really am getting worried now. Counting distance markers on a dual carriageway? Deciding on which pump to fill up on because it is used more often?
Come on Gents - please get real. How many of you bean counters (not flickers) accelerate gently away from junctions/anticipate gear changes/always select the correct gear/drive at a constant 56mph?
At the end of the day, your car will do +/- 5mpg whatever you are getting regardless of what pump you use or how you calculate it.
Park the car up, go to the pub and have a few beers and then calculate how many steps it takes you to get home. If the answer is "More than it took me to get there" - you have had a good night.
Does anybody have personal experience of urban mpg with a Nissan Sunny 1.4i Automatic, 'L' reg ? I have a customer who is dissapointed with his 27-30 mpg, despite all engine set-up and functions appearing to be 100% correct. Needless to say measurement has been done correctly, full tank to full tank, mileometer checked, and consistent over 5 or 6 tankfulls. Before embarking on a measured tank test (to eliminate his driving style) I would be interested to hear any personal histories.
Regards, Adam Read more
Adam,
I bet you'll get loads of "not quite the answer" replies. So here is mine. The only figures/comparison I have is for the older model Sunny where the auto and manual both had an urban (govt) figure of 31mpg. It was at mid/higher speeds that the manual car was 8mpg better.
My gut feeling from many years of varied vehicles is that 30 mpg is fine for this auto vehicle.
I have always found it takes an exceptional driver (slow?) to achieve claimed maximum figures from an auto box.
David
Soon to "minimum cost" rebuild a Land Rover Series III diesel engine. This was running well until a long motorway journey with a low oil level (not me!). The No.1 big end failed, picking up the bearing shell and spinning it round in the con-rod. Otherwise the engine was dry and oil tight at a genuine 80,000 miles.
I am well experienced in such work but the Land Rover experts are full of conflicting advice about the possibility of re-grinding the crank. Several say never to re-grind a LR diesel crank but buy new, others say a sensible minimum re-grind is ok and some even boast of obtaining special shells to grind down to the size of a pencil if needed!
Anyone with real experience of this particular engine and crank to give a definitive answer.
Thanks,
David Read more
From what I remember of these things the diesel engine was engineered out of the petrol engine. It's possible that Land Rover regarded the whole shebang as being under engineered in the first place and were consequently reluctant to recommend any course of action that would weaken it further.
Would a replacement unit cost that much more?
Hi
Does anyone know what mpg I could expect from the above and will it run on unleaded petrol without modifications. I'm thinking of buying one. Read more
Thanks for the info'. My workmate agrees with you about thc corvette, he drives a T'Bird.
Regards
Andy
I fitted aftermarket central locking and the car worked fine but now the system only unlocks . the motors are 5 wire if that helps but any electical minded comments would help. Read more
Check that the lock wire has become detached or there is a dry solder joint. Does the central locking just work on the drivers door or other doors if so it could just be the one lock.
I fitted a remote which is brilliant to my after market central locking I got it from maplin.
If there is no luck with the above get a multimeter and test individual wires.
However the worst case is that the electronic control unit is malfunctioning.
Tom
Many thanks to HJ and all you others for the advice regarding the failed Lambda reading on our 1994 Micra (59k miles) posted 12/05/01 15:44.
Last night I added 15ml of injector cleaner to about 15 litres of ULSP in the tank and drove at speeds of up to 60mph in third and a good 70mph in fourth for about 5 miles on the motorway. I repeated the driving procedure to my local Nissan main dealer for an MOT this morning (a distance of 6 miles). It passed the MOT test with flying colours.
I am still very suspicious of the results from the other while-you-wait; free re-test concern. They (doom and gloomily) diagnosed the exhaust gas sensor as not working at all, and were proposing replacing the sensor at a cost including labour in exess of £100. They did the fast-idle test twice, but I would estimate at rpm far in excess of the test specifications (although their rpm printout appeared correct). I suppose the unsuspecting would be prepared to part with this sort of money in exchange for the coveted certificate.
So a warning to all. Some testing stations are out to generate work (and profits) for their workshops, some of which may be unnecessary. You may end up paying for things which are not even done.
Thanks again to you HJ and other knowledgable contributors for the feedback. Read more
My MOT tester always HELPS me by letting me PULLLLLLLL up the handbrake, STAMPPPPPPP on the brakes and rev the MERRYYYYYY HELLLLL out of the mota.
A helpful MOT tester is like an angel in the kitchen and a w**re in the bedroom - worth keeping.
My electric windows just stopped working in my 1995 model MGF. The fuses are OK. Anyone had a problem with their windows, any suggestions as to what to look at? Both windows stopped at the same time. There is no sign of life at all. Read more
Sounds strange that both should fail at the same time, could it be a relay? If you have not already found it there is a terific site for MGF owners, covers all sort of problems to which someone usually has the answer. Try
www.mgcars.org.uk - click on the Buletin Board and then MGF Technical and post your query. You can also become a member for free and have access to the archives.
Folks out there!
Imust have changed my car for nearly-new fleet models 3 times in the time my next door neighbour has kept his K reg Saab 9000 and I can?t help thinking he?s got it right and I haven?t. My motoring strategy is to run reasonably economical hatches or estates for about 3 years and then update from a ?super-site? or similar before the niggly reliability problems creep in.. I reckon that depreciation costs me about £1500 a year doing this ? too much I think.. My question is ?Is there a better way?? My neighbour?s Saab still looks as good as new, hasn?t let him down and he?ll probably walk away from a big shunt if the worst happens.
It hasn?t escaped my notice that used Saabs, even the newer 900 and 9-3 models a few years old seem ridiculously cheap, come with all the kit like air-con etc, have the space I need plus the engineered safety and build quality. So what?s the catch, apart from fewer miles per gallon (which is probably offset by reduced depreciation,if one buys cheap enough to start with?)
Anyone have any views or personal experience of Saabs or a similar approach?
Thanks
Barry Read more
I've had loads of Saabs and can definitely recommend the 9000. I won't bore you with the details (but will do on request!), but I bought a 1987 9000i (non-turbo, no electrical gizmos) in 1993, at 90,000 miles as an ex-lease car. It had had a new clutch and steering rack at 83,000 miles. I am still running it at 190,000 miles. It still has the same rack & clutch. Original shocks still fitted. Over the last eight years I have replaced the water pump, front brake disks, clutch master cylinder, exhaust bits. The last 4 years it has gone through the MOT with a quick pump of the tyres & check the washer fluid. This year it needed a ball joint & drive shaft. It has therefore cost virtually nothing if you add this lot up.
I did stop going to Saab main dealers three years ago, they were asking more for a service than the car was worth! The words "foot" and "shooting" come to mind! I have started taking it to Lex Autocentres, but they are very variable - find a good one! The local main dealer used to quote silly prices for things that quite frankly didn't matter on a car of this age - e.g. £80 to change a 40p bulb behind the econometer!!!
Buy a late 9000 & you won't go wrong. You can even buy privately and get a Saab warranty put on after an inspection at the dealer. Remember the more gizmos the more difficult to fix. I looked under the bonnet of a 2.3 Turbo (200hp) I had & thought, hmm, and shut it again......
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Chris,
The Periferique was your advanced driving test. Congratulations. You passed. We know that because you are here!
I wish people could drive properly on English motorways without hogging the fast lane.