November 2001
After asking a question on this website I have saved about £300 in insurance this year by correctly asking the telephone sales operative to check what class I needed. I was ably assisted by Mark ( Brazil).
Advice to those giving up the company car.
1. Make sure you specify exactly what travelling you do and whether appointments are pre-arranged- as Mark suggested this seems to be key.
2. Try an independant broker rather than Yellow Pages. They undertsand you better and know what you're after. Again as Mark suggested the average telephone opeartiev knows little more about insurance than a Tesco cashier knows about pig breeding. If there ain't a box to tick it gets confusing.
In my experience incorrect, unjustified advice is the norm. Stick at it, insist they check with the underwriter and you may afford an extra weekend away somewhere. Why doesn't somebody investigate this for a national Saturday motoring section just to see what results and different opinions they get by phoning around. Hint, hint. Read more
Don't forget to watch Driven tonight, you people..... It's apparently got a piece about 4x4 Soft Roader's Rav4/XTrail......My current topic of research..(see previous correspondence). Hope to hear your views and opinions. Read more
I'm glad I'm not the only one to be irritated by said TV chef.
Just read the Optimax arguments; I didn't know it was 99ron. My Polo is old and prone to chugging at low revs; on Optimax (when I can get it) it will pull from 10mph in 3rd. I don't make a habit of that but it should prove a point!! Read more
Hate to say this but "I told you so", look at my comments on the first optimax thread 28/08/01:-
"I recall shell bringing out the performance petrol to end all performance petrols in the mid 1980s. Vauhxalls in particular where very badly effected with burnt valves I think. I ran my Harris Magnum motorcyle on it (M.Cycle F1 tune engine) I needed the vavles grinding after only a couple of thousand miles and that was with stainless racing valves with a lower 9.5:1 comp for road use rather than the 11:1 for track. Lets hope this isnt the same, I personally will wait to see how it goes."
I'm still waiting and the reports arn't getting any better.
Bill
Calling all such owners , particularly those who have owned the 92-later,(presumably from cat/injected start era. Supposedly cheap buys around, but are they grief machines or good buys.? Do they take mileage, given sensible servicing? Considering looking for one, as a second vehicle or is equiv Honda Concerto a better idea, or can I expect horrendous spares pricing? Power steering preferred .
Thanks Chris. W. Read more
The K Series engine is a very durable and reliable unit. All engines have their weak points. The revolutionary design and light weight of the engine made it leagues ahead of anybody else back in 1990. (As D-Dave points out - far better engines than Astra/Escort etc of the time) The engine is so light it can easily be lifted by one person.
Yes, cylinder head gaskets can and do fail but this can occur on any engine.
Any alloy engine these days doesn't like being overheated - the K series engine is no better or worse in this respect than others IMHO.
We have never had to replace a cylinder head due to cracking.
Any overheating damage can usually be welded and machined - usually the head gasket fire-ring marks on the cylinder head are a good indicator of how hot the engine has got.
Quite where you guys have got the impression that the 1400/1600/1800 K series engine is a piece of junk is beyond me.
If it were that bad, then why do many sports 2 seater car manufacturers use this engine??
The 1990/1995 214/414 makes a sound buy - I have bought and sold on many.
David
The odometer on my 87 Polo 1.3cl isn't working. Apparently its done 622000 miles and it counts 1 mile in every 5. But the speedo works fine, in fact it's very accurate.
Is the odometer or the cable broken?
Where to go for a replacement?
How to fit cheaply?
Cheers!!! Read more
It can't be the cable as the speedo is working properly. The odometer is simply a count of the revolutions of the disc that drives the speedometer.
My guess is a little plastic thingy has dropped of the edge of the "add one, carry one" mechanical calculator inside.
Just remember to change your cambelt every 10,000 miles now!
Colin
When to change it? 135000 on the clock; I got the car 6 months ago and have done about 8000 as a guess since. Currently I am doing 300-400 miles a week. Read more
My '87 Polo 1300 was on its original waterpump until 158k. I changed it because the teeth that the cambelt drives had worn almost entirely away. If you can DIY, the part is only around £15.
Incidentally, I'm on my third odometer/instrument binnacle. They wear out at 100k+. Scrapyards are full of ones with tachos on as well, which is nice, and a straight swap for that plug ugly clock.
Rob
Idly looking through autotrader magazine last week trying to imagine what it would be like to buy from the Sports section rather than the Estates/People carrier section. Noticed that all the Peugeot 306 GTI-6's were advertised as being "delocked". What exactly does this mean? This is for purely academic interest, as a 3-door hot hatch doesn't have the boot space for 2 travel cots. Read more
David Lacey wrote:
>
> Ummmmmmmmm, yes.
Ummmmmmmmmm, NO.
U haven't taken the lock from the boot so u simply insert the key into the lock - unlock and open.
With ear defenders on - remove centre console.
Find ECU of alarm.
Disconnect.
Simple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rule 1 when de-locking. Never, ever, ever let your flip-flob battery go flat.
Having been the unfortunate victim of damage caused by a stolen car two years ago, and this year by an abusive 'roll back' driver who shot off after damaging the front of my car and now can't be traced, I am sick of supporting the UK insurance industry by constant loss of no claims and spiralling premiums. Either we all start driving uninsured to level up the playing field or the law should start getting very tough on this matter.
At the present time its cheaper to pay the fine if anyone manages to trace you and get you into court, and you don't even get a ban! This didn't use to be the case. What do the rest of you think? Read more
Mark
Sounds good to me!
Just another example which I had to deal with. Elderley gentleman sets off from his house and about 500m down the road sadly suffers a fatal heart attack, veers to the nearside and hits parked cars which were subsequently written off.
I assisted one of the owners with their claim form and managed to obtain insurance details of the elderley gentleman. His insurance company would not honour the claim as they said that as the driver had suffered a heart attack, and that he had no history of illness, he therefore could not be held negligent and that they were therefore not liable for the claim. They also stated that as he was dead prior to impact he was no longer the driver!
Got to rank as one of the top excuses that one. I assisted in a series of letters to them stating that they were unable to catagorically say that he was dead prior to impact as the only person who is able to certify death is a doctor and that was done when the gentleman was removed to and arrived at hospital - well if they can get smart!
They continued in the same vane stating that as he had had a heart attack he was not negligent and therefore they were not liable. Eventually the claimant gave up and made a no fault claim on their own insurance.
I believe that had they taken the matter to court then they would have won but there again its the "hassle factor." I was also under the impression that it was the vehicle that was insured and not the driver.
Anyway just goes to show that insurance companies can be devious.
Andrew.
For about the last 2 months/3000 miles my 1.8i Cavalier has developed a strange ticking noise which is very noticeable outside the car at idle. It sounds relatively regular but isn't always (ie so not the cam/alternator belt with a dodgy patch plus these have both been replaced in the last 12 months). It increases with the engine revs up til about 2000rpm and then either disappears or is drowned out by the engine. I can describe it best by saying it sounds like a creaky radiator does when cooling/heating up.
From careful listening all over the car it appears to be coming from the top cam-wheel as I have removed the cam-belt cover and this is where it is loudest. There appears to be nothing wrong with the belt (which is 18,000 miles old and was only replaced Oct 2000) and so I am a bit worried as to what it might be and whether some serious failure is due? Could it be the bearing of the cam wheel?
The car has not lost any performance nor is anything else amiss (emulsion in the oil etc) but after reading in the Audi post that ticking noises could indicate a cracked cylinder head I am worried!
Any ideas anybody? Advice and comments will be thankfully received... Read more
Sticky hydraulic tappet is my guess. Try using flushing oil before next oil change and use fully synthetic 5W/40 oil with a new filter.
OK, I'm now aware of the poor crankcase breather system on the mk2 Polo, so I know what's wrong!! Somebody also suggested using 20w50 oil. I thought VWs recommended was 10w40, preferably semi or full synthetic. I do a lot of mileage and the car doesn't have an easy time, so does anyone have a suggestion about what oil to use on a leak-prone car? Thanks Read more
David
20/50 won't help, and will just increase cold start wear, and will simply increase cold oil pressure, which won't help either. Leakage is more related to hot viscosity, but frankly the difference between a 40 and 50 oil won't be significant if it's really leaky, so stick with the 10/40 - the real answer is fix the leaks or live with them, until the MOT tester fails it on excessive oil leakage.
Regards
JS
Browse
Pete,
Glad we could help and you're very welcome.
Now, if you tell all your friends how helpful and nice the backroom forum is, you'll be helping us very much too
Cheers,
Mark.
p.s. thanks for the "end" of the story, I wish more people detailed the outcome, its interesting and useful to know which piece of advice worked.