September 2001
I just bought a '94 Range Rover from a Land Rover Main Dealer described as having full service history and new MOT but accepted no LR warranty as over their time period. Documentation would follow!! It turns out from my investigations, the documents have not yet arrived - surprisingly, that it has a pathetic service history (not even the most recent major one) and the MOT has 2 months to go.
So beware, salesmen in shiny suits work for main dealers as well. Read more
A mate's taken a 1.8 VVC to his local Dealer to have two cam belts replaced.
They called him at work to tell him the thread on the engine mount is unusable due to 'previous damage'.
£21.76 +VAT for the part + £23 more labour.
He asked if it was removed as part of 12 or 24 000 mile service seeing as that's the only work it's had and they said no but it could've been removed for 'some other reason and put back too tight'.
Now this is simply a lie. They've stripped it.
What can he do? He had to agree to the 50 quid on the 'phone 'cos the cars in bit's in their workshop.
Has he got *any* way of getting the cash back?
We could have done this job between us in a morning. Now he out of pocket *and* had a component knackered.
Short of staying away from garages has anyone got any other advice?. Read more
That's it.
Yet another fresh member initiated into the DL fan club. ;-)
I'm looking for a smallish used car for my wife (& daughter when she passes her test). Emphasis on safety, reliability, cheap bodywork repair costs, low insurance group (for new drivers), but with some street cred. I'd appreciate suggestions on models I should consider. Would it be a good idea to include my daughter on my insurance policy? Read more
First overseas family holiday (if you don't count the Isle of Wight) involved taking Morris 1800 TPH 264M to France with family of six and Sprite Musketeer caravan in tow. This would have been about '82/'83. French bloke on pitch next to us at the caravan park was amazed that we'd managed to get there and that we thought we'd get back in one piece, which we did, via Belgium, thanks to the French fishing fleet blockading Calais.
We got a Volvo shortly afterwards 'cos it the 1800 was never the same again.
Some while ago you will remember I asked for BX experiences from forum contributors. These have now found their way into my September column for the Citroen Car Club magazine.
Members have e-mailed already to comment on your interesting stories....so many thanks.
As promised I have uploaded the whole Sept article to some of my spare webspace. This is a stand-alone file and has no links to a homepage, just the article as published.
www.woollard.com.btinternet.co.uk/SepBXchange.htm
David Read more
well if you have a (V) reg BMW, you must get very protective of the car.
I have just been offered a v.nice 73 Merc 350 convertible, totally original as far as I can tell, almost perfect original paint, v. clean under the hood, 81,000 miles, 1 lady owner (yes I know!!), little SH as this was allegedly lost during a house move. The car drives great, and the neat- and tidiness has the patina of a cared-for original and is clearly not just a dealer valeting job. The interior is well used but not worn or damaged. There are a couple of minor niggles I can find, loose rub-rail, cracked indicator light, and a small hole in the hood. I can find no rot. The car has a mix of tire brands although all appear legal. Asking is £8,995. Overall the car looks very honest and cared for and is being offered by a reputable S. London classic dealer. Car looks and feels as though it will go for ever and would make a good daily driver.
Anyone care to offer an opinion??? Read more
This is, I think, from the title of the thread; a SE L not a SL but I am with you on the sill Rot... and the door corners These Cabros were just about hand built and in general a better buy than the 1970s SLs (the 60s 230 250 and 280SLs were better than the 70s replacments)
~R
A friend has these symptoms form cold. Anyone care to comment? It's a direct quote from her mail:
"Sometimes it won't start at all without pumping the gas, other times it's
fine first time and stops later on!
This morning it started fine, then stalled at the junction at the end of the
road. To get it started again I have to start the ignition with the
accelerator to the floor, otherwise it won't fire up! Then, once it's going
OK, when I stop at a junction the revs. stay high for a few seconds, even
though I've taken my foot of the gas ..."
The 'not starting without the foot on the gas' bit. Could it be overfueling and stamping on the gas clears the extra fuel when the air rushes through? Read more
Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up Ltd.) wrote:
>
> Rover 414 problem could be a broken wire inside the stepper
> motor housing if its' the Single-Point system otherwise look
> into it being a dodgy coolant sensor.
Possibly. Problem is the water temp sensor in put on the ECU defaults to a very sensible value where an error occurs - disconecting it alltogether doesn't massively effect the running.
> Waiting with trembling
> mouse for more details on the other car!
None forthcoming. She's tottie. It's intermittent which mean she'll wory abou tit intermittently!!!
I know HJ has a link to a reg no sales site in his FAQs but this one is well worth a look as well.
www.newreg.co.uk/
It has the facility for an on-line search of any number to see when/where/if it was issued.
Interesting to test it with a simple number we considered buying in the mid nineties. Turns out it was withheld and came up for auction ar Ragley Hall 8/9th June 1999. That's enough to tell me we were never in the running for it! Good detail for a free on-line search.
Also their FAQs have some of the best explanations I have ever seen concerning the tenous rights we have to cherished numbers. In particular the section on stolen/scrapped/written off cars is worthy of very close scrutiny if an owner is to avoid the indignity of buying his own number back from the insurance company.
David Read more
You will find that a lot of the numbers that have fallen out of use have been reclaimed by the DVLA and sold on.
That happened to me when I tried to resurect a number, WAR 63.
Does anyone know any 'homemade' recipes for getting dead bugs and their dried blood off the front of a car?
I know you can get stuff in the shops, but we have an employee's kids in the car park at work today offering a car washing service and they'd like to know!
Can anyone help? Read more
P.S. It didn't for me (again)!
Just tap in your VIN number and all the details will appear.
www.autobaza.pl/autobaza/page.cgi?lang=1
Cheers
Andrew Read more
ah - that's where I found it!
Has anyone any idea or experienced a similar problem to mine re my 525 IX. with the throttle set in any gear it jerks or kangaroos. When warm it hesitates when setting off and has a flat spot when excelerating after changing gear. slight jerkiness slowing down using the engine as a brake. New spark plugs but do different. Suggustions please. Read more
It is possible the throttle potentiometer has become disconnected or inoperative.
Perhaps in this case, it would be prudent to seek out a competant BMW Specialist and arrange a diagnosis.
Rgds
David
I heard of a similar case in which the main dealer concerned refunded the money and took the car back to avoid any dispute. The buyer had previously bought from them so this may have helped their kindly attitude I suppose.