November 2001
In Honest Johns Car-by-Car breakdown the New Vauxhall Corsa is listed as having a twelve year anti-perforation warranty, but the current Vauxhall brochure dated September 2001 states six years, has the warranty period recently changed? Read more
I have a Toyota Celi 190 and its hard to keep it in the VVTl-i band between 1st and 2nd Gear ( you have to spot on by a fraction in the change-up)
I've heard of a tecnique called Powerhifting and was wondering if anyone had any experience of
-What is it
-How to do it
-Pontential Tranny/Gear Synchro damage (i.e is it a bad idea full stop !)
Anyone Know ? Read more
Thats cheating using the clutch........
Any news Dave? Read more
How easy are they to change, what sort of price are they? Read more
My experience with 'cheap' glow-plugs, for my 405, was very expensive!
Starting problems appeared after about 3k miles, but I assumed the plugs were ok, and looked elsewhere for the fault, having a (starter?)relay replaced, at about £70 :-(
Surprise, surprise, on the next cold night, I got stuck & had to call the AA, who diagnosed.....yes, faulty glow-plugs !
To their credit (!), H**fords gave me my money back, and I bought NGK's .... no further problems.
And the moral is......
I have just thought of a great idea to trade using a back room like HJ's what do you think.
Letmeknow.
B4C Read more
i hope you are not talking about me, just because i dont like fishing.
I am looking for a large used estate car for no more than £5k. A good friend has suggested I look at the Omega - does anyone have any other suggestions or comments?
many thanks Read more
Audi 100 will go on for ever
Right chaps - here's the deal. I've decided to get the civic Type R I posted about the other day. Not going to import as there's only about £1200 in it and I can't be bothered. I reckon I can get about £500 of that diifference back through shopping around.
I love a haggle and intend to make the dealers beg for mercy to get the best price, but whats the best way?
I've got 3 Honda garages lined up against each other, question is are they more likely to discount the options fitted to the car (which are all dealer fits) e.g. aircon at £1000 or are they more likely to up the trade in value on my car?
So which part of the deal have they got the most room to move on so I can hit them hardest on that? I reckon its the options myself.
Further question: The Honda website lists metallic paint as free - i.e. do build a car, choose silver and the price is the same, it also lists it as a no cost option. The dealers want £250 for this. Whats going on.....
Finally: Regarding model years and new REG system etc. , I have to wait till Jan for the car anyway and the new REG is out in March .
Do you think I should wait for the new reg in March...?
I'm tempted of going for January as I don't think the new REG system will have the same impact on the value of the car as it will be a 2002 reg date just a different plate and everyone is confused over the new system anyway...
Hope this is even remotely clear......
Thanks Read more
Pity, it's quite interesting!
I have a 1.9TD Xantia Estate (1996/N) which has done 126K miles without any major problems.
I recently had a major service done where the front brake pads where renewed and the rear brake discs and pads where renewed. Since then there seems to be a very loud squealing noise every time I press the brakes. This doesn't matter whether the pedal pressure is light or heavy the noise only increases. Sometimes it's not unlike some buses that you often hear "grinding" to a halt at stops and it is that loud. It doesn't seem to affect the brakes themselves as they are as sharp and sure as ever.
Any ideas or cures ? as it's really starting to get on my nerves now.
Chad.R
P.S. The garage that did the work are Independent Citroen specialists I have never had a problem with them, they have said they will investigate and remedy this free of charge, I just haven't had a free day to take the Xantia back. Read more
I hope you mean you put copper compound on the pads, not the discs!
Andrew Hamilton wrote:
>
> I had front brakes squealing. Putting that copper compound on
> the back of the discs and replacing the crumbling
> anti-vibration clips cured it.
Has anyone heard of New Car Import Services Ltd. base in Billingshurst, W Sussex or bought an import through them?
Have had a good quote for Import of BMW Compact and pay in sterling with 3 year warranty but they want balance 2 weeks before delivery and it is payable direct to them (as is deposit but I can use credit card cheque and receive protection for this).
Their website is listed on honestjohn (www.newcarimportservices.com).
What should I do? How can I find out more about them? Read more
We bought our BMW through them exactly a year ago, although we dealt vie Carbusters.Com (the Which backed Website - they used New Car Imports as their agent). The whole deal went well, there was no problem in paying over the money although they did not accept credit cards in excess of £2,500 at that time. I was concerned about paying money over to someone I had never met but felt some re-assurance in the fact that The Consumers Association must have vetted them or they would not have used them.
I was very impressed with their service and the savings we made. The purchase was handled by Alf Moore who really knew his stuff (espcially knowledgable about BMWs).
Hope this helps.
Pete
Dear Folks
For anyone interested in how the speed-limit plague is spreading, here is an example. I wrote to the Highways Department of Hertfordshire County Council, as follows:
I would be grateful if you would inform me why the new speed limit of 30 mph has been implemented along the B653 Lower Luton Road between Batford and Wheathampstead and how the initiative arose.
The result seems to be ignored by almost all drivers and it leaves a nonsensical 40 mph short gap between the end of the Batford limit and the start of the new limit. The section between Batford Mill and Marshalls Heath Lane has no buildings on the south side, and the residential buildings on the north side are set many metres back from the road, their two entrances to the B563 having very good unobstructed visibility in both directions. The section east of the Cherry Trees [pub/restaurant] does possibly justify a 30 mph limit in view of the drives from residential buildings, and the same could be said for the cluster around the filling station. From there to Wheathampstead there is no good reason for it again.
Furthermore, it appears to be yet another manifestation of questionable judgement resulting in the introduction of unreasonable speed limits that are unpoliced -- When did any of us last see a traffic patrol? -- unenforceable, ignored by most motorists, and which erode the credibility of not only the authorities responsible for them but also -- much more serious -- the speed limit system in general.
The Area Engineer replied thus:
The speed limit in Lower Luton Road was implemented as part of the County's 30mph Village Speed Limits initiative.
This site was included in the above project following repeated representations from the Parish Council and local groups and the receipt of a petition from local residents. The scheme has the full support of the police and hopefully they will be able to effectively enforce the new speed limit. Our Road Safety Unit are currently commissioning a route study to consider various accident remedial measures for the Lower Luton Road and funds are available to implement any recommended measures during this financial year.
________________________________________
Now, note that word "hopefully". I have no objection to the careful implementation of well considered limits in zones that truly need them, and I respect them. But when they are splashed around more in hope than reality, and you know that the chances of their being rescinded are flat zero, you start to think in terms of the insidious erosion of civil liberties -- this being one of many fronts on which good old common sense is being overwhelmed by stuff and nonsense. Read more
This attitude is just part of human nature. You can minimise it but you will never stop it. I would hate to live next to a motorway but I'm quite happy to drive down one.
Browse
The Astra has also had its anti-corrosion warranty reduced from 12 to 6 years. This may be because of the number of cheap Vauxhalls (Opels) imported by car supermarkets which do not have the same rustproofing as UK-specification models.
It's also a pain having to pay for an annual inspection just to keep the warranty valid.