August 2001
I often use vehicles over ten years old. They go from A to B at 40mpg and have simple engines without ECU or catalyst. Yet on Parkers website they appear to be worth say £200 whether it is a 1990 LDV200 van or a 1983 Metro Auto.
I can do my own servicing and do not get upset at the appearance of another scratch. No one is likely to steal them and they go on reliably year after year. Basically these are the ones that survived, so must be tough and spares are cheap. Read more
Hi all,
I've just read an article in todays Daily Express. The headline being 'Why politicians want us to own cars but not to drive them'. Makes sense i suppose.
It starts: With speed cameras, parking fines, congestion charge and taxes, there seems to be no limit to the Government's ingenuity when it comes to making the motorist pay. But still the roads get worse and public transport is a disgrace. Very true, i say.
It ends with: If motorists must pay ever more taxes, charges and fines, then give us more and better buses, trains and trams. Surely that's a fair exchange ? Maybe.
But for me to travel to work i have to use my car. I leave home at 6.30am and it's 25 miles each way. There are no buses ( there's a subsidised bus scheme but the agency that has taken over my place of work is about to scrap it, there is no train service and to get to work using public transport would take hours. So, my car is essential for me to get to work. I could go back on the dole but that wouldn't make the unemployment figures look good, would it ?
I car share with my brother as we work in the same place, so it costs me £15 a fortnight in diesel to get to and from work. He pays a bit less as he's got a Polo 1.4Tdi, so gets 60 odd to a gallon. Not bad 'eh ?
So should i use my car, or do what the government want and end up on the dole for being late every day ?
Rgds,
Ash. Read more
One of the problems we have with car use is that we've built an economy around it. People commute 25 miles without thinking, when thirty years ago most people could have gone to work by bicycle. We've built shopping centres that are really only accessible by car, and we build housing estates out in the countryside miles from railway stations and major centres where there are shops. These were all our choice as a nation, but they were a big mistake. Not only do we have congested roads, but non drivers (the old, the un(der)employed, the young) are forced to live in places that have been left to rot by those with money. Now we have to do something about it - largely because the cost of congestion is crippling - and it's going to be much more expensive and difficult to put public transport in place than it would have been if we'd thought it through in the first place.
Elsewhere in Europe they own more cars but drive less. But then in many cases they planned ahead. We, by comparison, had Thatcher and "deregulation". Doh!
Chris
For those of you who made helpful suggestions about my Tdi thirst, the outcome of a diagnostic check at my friendly Ford dealer was.....
The only fault found was a duff egr valve!! (The same valve I'd disconnected, on your advice, & with some apparent success, in an attempt to reduce smokey exhaust!!!)
Anyway, to replace same required a replacement manifold, at a cost of £300, paid for 60% by Ford & 40%(I hope) by MotorWarranty Direct.
Cost to ME? Zero.
Resulting benefit, in terms of apparent reduction in consumption & smoke?
Also Zero!!!
Haven't bothered to 're-disconnect' egr valve - I think I am resigned to 37-41 mpg. It is, in all other respects, quite the nicest of the 14 or so cars I have owned, so must not grumble TOO much.
Thanks again for trying to help.
Roger (and Out) Read more
It is well known (up until now) Ford have been lagging behind with their Diesel technology. A Ford Diesel for me? No thankyou.
The Germans have shown everybody how to do it. Look at their 1.9/2.5 TDI engines! Superb, especially the 180BHP 2.5 V6 TDi Quattro - that's what I really want!
Let's hope the Focus TDCi is better. Initial reports are very promising.
Many cars fail the annual 'rev-up test' - I find that pulling the vacuum connector off the EGR valve usually results in an MOT test pass.
The MOT emission test for diesels must cause more pollution than it prevents, surely?
The amount of smoke I can blow out of a gently driven turbo-diesel before the test can be quite alarming, if not embarrassing!
In the 7/8? years of diesel smoke testing, I have not had to remove/recondition one set of fuel injectors.
A dose of Wynn's Diesel system cleaner directly into the fuel filter usually restores any stubborn engines to a satisfactory smoke level.
Rgds
David
Guys,
Have a look at this. Haven't seen the car (belongs to a distant contact) but need to offer help. Have some ideas but don't want to lead you in a particular direction.
........In January 2001 I bought a new Xantia 2.0 HDI 110hp. The car when running OK is brilliant but there is a cloud on the horizon . We went to collect the car, and whilst we were being shown the ins and outs the car stopped and the engine management light came on , the car was taken back into the workshop . A little while later it re-appeared and we were told everything is OK now, but keep your eye on the dials ,
Over the next 8 months and 7500 miles the car has lost power on more than 20 occasions and has cut out completely on at least 8 occasions .
The car has been returned to the dealer twice on the back of a transporter and still no faults found .
The original dealer is no longer trading and the matter is now being dealt with by XXXXXX , who have not so far been able to cure the problem , despite fitting two new fuel pumps.
When connected to the diagnostic plug the machine reads no faults found.
There does not appear to be any pattern to the fault i.e.. it happens at different speeds and with or without the caravan on tow .
Citroen Customer Service are not very helpful , their attitude being if the machine shows no fault then there isn't one , also Citroen technical don't seem to have any answers .
This recurring problem is spoiling what I think is a very nice car ........
Some thoughts please.
Thanks,
David Read more
I recently bought a 2000 synergie HDI which has been disposed of by its first owner because of a similar tale of woe to yours. Every time it lost power it was going into limp mode until the engine was switched off. When restarted, however the engine management light was resetting and no faults had been found by several main agents I eventually found a hole in the intercooler which was allowing the pressure sensor to detect an intermittent low pressure reading and switch the brain into limp mode. As the pressure was hovering around the bottom of the acceptable range the brain considered it not worth remembering! I found the fault by measuring everything I could think of with a pressure gauge.
Come on ladies and gentlemen, do we have to keep starting new threads about the same things?
Especially about the government's efforts, and those of several amoral, immoral, and even psychologically sociopathic elements of society, to deprive other sections (the majority) of society of vast sums of money, as a prelude to depriving them of personalised motor transport.
Now you may be somewhat put out by this.
You may even feel that if things go on as they are: you will have nothing left to live for but surreptitious visits to the classic car and antiques roadshow websites.
But are the things of which you write ongoing?
Do you see, for example, the government, or their acolytes and apologists, daily broadcasting their views in the media: television, wireless radio, the newspapers, magazines, billboard and other advertising, official literature, educational establishments, and in a myriad of internet based sources.
Do they continuously come out with new twists on their spin for why you shouldn't do this, or it's wrong for you to do that, or you are harming something or someone if you do the other?
Surely not.
And if now and again a new twist raises your bile, do you really need to shower it on the poor unsuspecting public.
Stop and think of the effect it might have if someone were to innocently click on your link, and unsuspectingly read the contents of your post.
So, for safety's sake, if you really want the chance to make your comments heard on the latest news items, rather than car or motoring related issues: contribute your opinions by searching for and joining an existing discussion thread, and make your point there.
If you fear that no one will see it three or four pages back, or at least the one other person that might be interested, simply right click on the link and copy the address into a new thread. Make sure the new thread is clearly labelled to make it recognisable as opening up onto a whole nether world that decent people may be afraid to enter. And Bob's your uncle. Read more
What are you on about . . . . please?
I've bought some 75/100 watt halogen head lamps {bulbs} in a French supermarket.
They are excellent ? much brighter the standard 55 / 60 watt {main / full} sold over here ? they almost burn the paint of the car in front if you get too close.
They get so hot that they melted the glue on my Montego's indicator lenses. Now put them in my Volvo 940 - no problems.
Both cars passed the MoT with these lamps fitted ? but are they legal in this country? Read more
David
Yes, he was. Raced offshore biggies. Met him by chance down in Poole one day when I was on holiday and he landed in his (company) helicopter.
its a great read and has a top statistician rubbishing the speed camera nonsense from the government... Read more
Without wishing to start this one up again, Essex had seven deaths last week from just two accidents, so 2001 could well show a rise from 2000.
Does anyone know of any cars within a budget of £15K (new or up to 3 years old) come with cruise control?
I am aware of the Mondeo Ghia X (just within budget at car supermarkets) and used to have a Volvo S40 SE with it.
Must be a manual.
Thanks in advance
Dave Read more
Alfa 147 (with Lux pack option) has cruise control.
Cracking car "Best Alfa ever"
Dear All,
I had a Daewoo Espero Model. It started giving some jerks once a while(and is very intermittent, more in winter and not in summer). I took the car to the showrrom and the result is a Faulty Distributor. To my knowledge, distributors are robust, hence took to another Daewoo showroom 30 miles away from my place. To my surprise, the diagnosis result is a faulty distributor.
Unable to believe it, I went to a local garage- the result is the faulty diatributor to SparkPlug Cables,(and the distributor cap).
Daewoo Car Owner's !! be cautious and do not get cheated when you go to the Daewoo Showroom for repairs. Read more
I knew exactly what Raghu meant in his first post. I guess that most other readers did as well.
Our deep blue new car recently had an argument with a bush lurking on a roundabout in Milton Keynes, and there are some scratches on the bodywork. They are white(ish). I have tried polishing with ordinary polish, then with blue T-Cut, but they are still there. Then the owner of a local bodyshop told me that there was laquer on top of the paint, and when it is scratched it goes milky. Is there any touch-up goo for laquer? Read more
Oh OK then mate you got me there. I must admit I did ponder over the spelling for a while....
The yellow tube contained Farecla G3 rubbing compound - a bodyshop stablemate for paint renovation much more aggressive than T-Cut - but use it carefully!
Did a good job on my A4 to get rid of the micro-scratches all over!
David
Browse
.jpg)
They dont leave them because they break down.
They are left because either:
a: the owner flew home afterwards
b: he is still there somewhere
c: she was adopted by some travellers and is now living the life under the name of sunflower
d: they are waiting for all the mud to dry.
Jonathan