January 2002
Does anybody else think this looks like an updated version of the Renault 25 - that was supposed to be "the latest" in car design when it was launched, ie a bit different from its mainstream competitiors, and it ultimately proved to be rather unpopular.
I think its the Wraparound glass at the back which recalls the R 25.
The reports I've read on the Vel Satis suggest there is not a lot of room for passangers in the back - if so then what on earth is the point of the upright style ?
BMW, AUDI and Mercedes don't need to lose any sleep I think ....... Read more
Does anyone know with one lane of the east bound exit slip had beeen coned off for so long ?
And why does the M65 keep changing from two lanes to three and back again?
Seen many an accident where three lanes reduce to two. What cost a fatal accident?
Alex Read more
Looking at buying new personal import Peugot from Spanish based EURAUTODIRECT.COM. Has anyone any experience, comments or advice about them?
Thanks in advance.
PG Read more
Had a snail-mail letter from someone today who bought a Spanish import Focus Zetec with metallic paint, reflex pack, climate pack and stereo upgrade to a CD6006 for £10,700 including first registration fee and 12 months VED. They're at www.europsave.com (if this doesn't work, try .co.uk, etc. The reader didn't include that part of the URL). Phone number is 01256 398822.
HJ
Hi all
A few months ago, I posted regarding buying a second to car to use for the daily commute (33 miles each way). I looked at getting a citroen xantia, but I couldn't get the numbers to add up as the insurance would have been more than I would have saved in fuel.
My place of work is shortly to be moved even further away. I will, however, qualify for excess milage which should give me around £1500 for a two year period. If I can get this as a lump sum, I will change the car.
I am therefore now looking at replacing my mazda mx6 for another car. I have decided that I need an oil burner, and even though I don't have any childern I am interested in getting an estate (I don't really like hatchbacks or saloons (well the ones I do like I can't afford).
I have narrowed the choice down to either:
A4 110tdi avant se;
325 touring tds
C250 estate.
I am leaning towards the audi as I have owned an audi coupe and liked the quality, and the fuel economy is the best.
I am not too enamoured with the bmw, they are expensive but the residual should be best. Which is the better engine the 318 and 325 engines?
I also like the merc, but the fuel economy is fairly low. and I can't find any. What is the diff between the 250 and 220? (Yes I have looked at the c by c)
Given that I know there are problems with the audi's cat can anyone say which car is the best for motorway driving and should give the least trouble.
My budget should be around £8500 which should get me nice 97 audi.
Or can anyone recommend a better alternative.
Many Thanks
Jonathan Read more
For fuel economy mixed with a decent urge you can't get better than the VAG 110 unit in the A4. Can be incredibly economical with a light right foot - my dad's A6 TDI 110 Avant regularly returns over 50mpg - amazing for such a big motor.
Camps are divided on the PD/non PD engine. The PD overs substantially more torque, but seems to be slightly less reliable and a bit more thirsty.
Nice to see a Mk3 Cortina involved in advertising. Quite what an Afro hairstyle has to do with coffee I'm still working out.
Any thoughts?? Read more
so our northern friend is correct.
Following a cooling system "incident" we're looking for a replacement SWMBO car.
Quite open minded what to get and have been looking at bargains in the freeads and supermarket for sale boards.
Also looking at cars in the street with for sale notices because they are often bargains.
Cruising through the local town today with eyes peeled spot the ultimate in a car park with a big for sale notice in the screen.
A Morris Minor saloon.................and it's already sprayed in pink.
I could always pop back for a second look but I guess I'd have to fend off the keen Northern buyers.
David Read more
All my experiences with Morris Minors have been bad from my mate's first split screen 4-door with a cracked chassis to comprehensively stuffing my mother's 1965 example into a dry-stone wall.
They are draughty, poorly constructed rot-boxes with precious little in the way of engineering innovation and seats more suited to children than adults.
BTW David, I'm open to offers on the BX 4x4 as the Hyundai Coupe looms ever closer.
I've just bought a Golf 1.8T in dia black!!!!! and already I have noticed swirl marks on paint work, I usually use Auto Glym!!!!! can anyone help or give me tips on how to get rid of swirl marks without damaging the paint work and are there anyways to prevent them!!
Thanks,
Andy Read more
The fading almost always affects the 'horizontal' panels because it is these which get the strength of the sun rays full on, and fairly continuously, during daylight hours and especially in mid-summer. I have noticed that it usually takes a few years for the paint to start to visibly fade -- I assume that it is deteriorating from new but doesn't actually break down for a while.
Another reason for the lacquer 'bodge' that I mentioned was to even out the slight difference in colour between original-colour side panels and faded/restored upper panels. I describe it as a 'bodge' because I'm sure it wasn't long before the lacquer peeled and flaked and thus exacerbated the problem.
My old Triumph used to have a similar problem in that its Saffron Yellow cellulose paint (which contains some of the same pigment as red paint) would darken, rather than fade, over time. I resprayed parts of the car but Saffron Yellow is a terrible colour to match up so it never looked right. It has been fine since I fully resprayed it about five years ago, but it is kept in a garage when not in use and I always try to find a shady spot to park when we are out.
One reason for the difference between your mum's Metro and your Corsa could be that the Metro may have been finished in a solvent-borne paint. The car manufacturers did not all change over to water-borne paints at the same time; for example, I don't think the Peugeot 206 was being finished in water-borne paint when I visited the factory at Ryton only two or three years ago.
I received a shock yesterday when my 98S 1.4 Puma with 52K was valued at £5500 against a Seat Leon 1.6S. Any ideas what the car is really worth so I know how hard to push the dealer?
thanks in advance
Tim Read more
Andy
In the context of the foregoing and having just seen:
Andy Bairsto wrote:
>
> Its an obselete model no more pumas are being made and
> consequently its value will drop alarmingly
I am reminded that, after Andy Bairsto wrote:
> Probably this why Ford have stopped making the Puma.They are being sold of for peanuts in Germany
I didn't see your response to Martin Wall's request for you to >define 'peanuts' ... just how cheap are they because they are still well overpriced in the UK.
Many thanks, and hope it helps to know that others, however remote, are thinking of you and wishing you well.
Ronnie
Wondering if anyone can advise.
More often than not, I'm getting a harsh 'whirring' noise for approx 1 - 2 seconds when starting my 1998 (and just-out-of-warranty, of course) Golf 1.6 (8v, 100 BHP) first thing. It sounds like the starter motor not disengaging quickly enough, but the noise can not be reproduced once the car has been driven.
Our drive is on a slight incline and the car was recently serviced by a national (i.e. non-VW) chain of garages. I mention this, just in case someone is aware that it could be something to do with the oil or oil pump. I read sometime ago that HJ gave advice on VW oil filters (non-return valve, whatever that is?).
Thanks Read more
My ex girlfriend's Mk3 Golf (1600, 40K, full VAG service history) rattles on startup for about five seconds while the hydraulic tappets pump up. Curiously, my old 1986 Mk2 Golf (basically the same engine, 90K, big chunks missing from the service history) didn't.
This is what we have to share the road with ....
"When traffic officer Paul Dimeo pulled a minibus taxi off the M1 highway because it was billowing excessive smoke, he had no idea he would find almost 30 other defects on the vehicle.
The taxi was on its third trip carrying passengers between central Johannesburg and Soweto during peak-hour traffic on Friday morning and had been driven in this condition for at least three weeks.
As Dimeo pulled the taxi over, he noticed that the left sliding door was hanging loose and the front passenger door was jammed and couldn't be opened from inside or outside.
He then discovered that three tyres were totally smooth and all four wheels had nuts missing. Before ordering the driver to drop the passengers off at the nearest taxi rank, in Westgate, and then go on to the Langlaagte testing ground, he discovered that the vehicle also had a massive oil leak.
The inspector at the testing grounds found 29 violations, including:
*the headlights were skew
*there were no dim lights
*the number-plate lights did not work
*one windscreen wiper was missing
*the other wiper was held together with wire
*the window winders were missing
*one wheel had a broken stud
*wiring was loose in the front panel
*the hooter wasn't working
*the number plate was illegible
*the brakes were faulty
*there were no panels on the inside of the taxi
*brake boosters were leaking
*the windscreen was cracked
*several windows were broken
*passenger seats were loose
*the driver struggled to sit because his seat was so damaged and loose
*the left front door was jammed
*the sliding door was hanging loose
*the exhaust was smoking excessively
*there was a massive oil leak
*tyres were smooth
*wheel nuts were missing on all the wheels. Read more
Sounds like everyday life on our local council estate.
Browse
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Looked at in profile I think it resembles a giant Ford Anglia, with that reverse sloping rear screen pillar. If Renault do it in turquoise, they might break into the lucrative Harry Potter market. The styling is certainly, er, "different", and it might catch on, but I think it is more likely to break the record for rapid depreciation on big French cars (currently held I believe by the Citroen XM).