January 2002
Had a tour around the new Toyota Corolla the other day. Very impressed! Beautiful fit & finish, especially in the cabin, whith nice plastics and a very 'German' ambience.
I've owned two Corollas before (a s/hand F reg 1.6 exec hatch - nice, and a K reg saloon - bland and boring, but both totally reliable) and I must say this one looks like a cracker.
The T-Sport with its 190bhp ex Celica engine might be good..........(counts money and wonders.....) Read more
Re: recent posts on screenwasher pipes. This morning my wifes maestro was pouring washer fluid from under the rear wheel.
The pipe had snapped possibly from the recent cold spell and is routed through the roof. Luckily when it broke it must have swung over into the channel down the side of the hatch instead of pouring it onto the roof lining.
Managed to fish it out (no slack in it) and went down the car shop and luckily they sell an angled connector. I had been visualising having to remove the roof lining to get a new pipe through from under the left side of the engine compartment to the rear right corner. It still needed fingers like a midwife to get the connector on in the roof but it worked. Have any of you garage men had to renew the pipe through a roof??
Alvin Read more
or use a small rodent
I saw on the home page Protons new offer,I will say buyer beware although the cars may or may be not anygood .But they have closed down their operation in mainland Europe, building I believe only rhd cars a friend of mine is lumbered with a car with no spare parts readily available and absolutely no resale value and no service agent.
Andy Bairsto
Germany Read more
when we went on a self catering holiday to france in 1995, we got a LHD proton persona, it was from HERTZ rental, it was the 1.5 engine, and was quite a nice car to drive.
My 27000 mile P reg Golf Tdi is now nearly repaired.....
But i am wondering about the airbag. It was deployed, and i managed to get a replacement from a VW breakers yard. The car is a runner but the airbag warning light is not showing (and hasnt been even with the blown airbag fitted).
What i need to know is - has someone reset the electronics and made the light go out and will my new airbag work in the event of a crash ? Even worse, will it go off when its not supposed to !!
Is this just another reason why i should get the car plugged into the VW diagnostic computer ??
Any help appreciated.
PRC Read more
Having just had some new tyres fitted I noticed that the direction of the tread is different on each side of the car. This is the same for the P6000s that were on the car when I bought it.
The cars handling does not suffer, but do these tyres need to have the tread in the same direction, i.e. the V profile of the tyre pointing to the front or back of the car when looking on top of the tyre?
All help greatly appreciated. Read more
I have an admission to make.
I have just realised that the P6000s are actually the wave pattern described and not directional.
Sorry all, and thanks.
I see on the HJ Homepage that a broker is selling Citroen Picassos cheaper than a Citroen dealer. The broker is quoting £11,645 for a 2.0 HDi 90hp LX, while the dealer price is £13,765 (on the road). The Broker appears to act as a middleman putting the buyer in touch with the dealer. Do you think I could go to my local dealer and get the price being quoted by the broker? Is the Broker price (one the road?)
Anyone bought from a broker? How was it for you?
Also what are the best times of year to sell and buy? Read more
After giving you a price for this, and advising you that we merely put you in touch with our contracted dealer who will deliver the car to your door, what is the point in waisting time by going to the local dealer for them to match the price.
As a relative new comer to the back Room, is the picture of Honest John on the home page and in the DT, Really Honest John? Read more
More likely airbags! Or would that be airhead?
Would like to hear your thoughts on the up and coming F1 season.
It could be a close championship this year due to a few new variables. The main one being tyres. With McClaren now on Michelin there will be a major performance advantage/disadvantage at various circuits which should help them challenge Ferrari.
The other variable is experienced Montoya/Raikonnen in top teams. If williams can produce a reliable car but with similar performance advantage as last years car Montoya would be my choice for the championship. Read more
Thanks Tomo!
Mr Schumacher (Snr) used to be an arrogant person when being interviewed and really put my back up. I think the back-biting with Damon Hill perhaps gave me the wrong impression.
Nowadays, the interviews Micheal gives are very interesting, the big-headedness has gone and he is quite a likeable person, on top of being part of a great team.
Long may he (& his brother!) be sucessfull
As 'regular readers' will know, I (usually) have a Tuning Box connected to my Focus tdi, with which I have been very satisfied.
Can anyone share any experience of 'plumbed-in' chips, such as Superchips, Starchips etc, on Fords or other TD's ?
I'd have thought that, if properly R&D'd, they SHOULD be capable of even more effective 'tuning', especially on motors in a relatively low state of standard tune. Read more
Thanks again!
Does anyone have any experience of using the split CV boot kits that require no dismantling?
Do they last? Read more
With four cars in the family I've tried split boots a couple of times and each time has been a waste of time because within months the seam begins to leak grease. Also, although they haven't failed an MOT, they have been noted on the sheet. My advice is not to bother with them.
Browse
Thanks for your thoughts, Davey. I'm not keen on the 5-door models - the short doors make the proportions look a bit odd. The 3-doors are much nicer, a bit Audi-ish. I think I'll hang on for an ex demo model.