April 2002
It's really annoying when your car starts dripping oil on your driveway. The mechanic says - well it's a Peugeot. Is this fair to Peugeots or do all cars leak oil after 120k? Read more
On a recent visit to local garage the owner showed me a troublesome Mondeo V6 (circa 1996 reg. I guess).- talk about tight fit under the bonnet!! The thing's stuffed with bits and pieces. (sorry to all V6 lovers)
That morning he'd received a plea for help over a 'simple job'. (supposed) ,a tight accelerator cable. The upshot of detailed investigation was a failure of the traction control unit (incorporated within the cable travel). Replacement cost he'd discovered - in the region of £400 - £500.
This particular customer had spent a small fortune on several repairs to the more sophisticated bits on said motor. She now finds herself in a dilemma - No one wants to buy the car and trade- in offers are only achieving around £800 !!!!. This is not very high mileage and has been looked after well.
I 've heard similar stories recently on certain motors of this range, the last being a top Honda Civic sports speed machine which lost about £12k in 2 yrs and the only people who entertained the trade in was a Jag dealership , the deal being - in return for a purchase of a new X type !!
Any more stratospheric depreciation stories ??. or parts stories ! Read more
Steve, that Vectra GSi should definately be in the contenders for depreciation prize. You have got everything right: unpopular car, hefty company car tax, hard image to live with, (perceived) fuel guzzler.
Hopefully it will continue to remain as phat and reliable when you own it!
I just dragged a 19 year old Polo out of a garden where it had been sitting for 18 months. It was free...
Checked the fluid levels, put a new battery on it and it fired up on the third attempt and ran sweetly. Tried the electrics - everything works!
It needs a couple of tyres and a rear light unit, and the brakes are even worse than normal for a Polo, but the body is rock solid and rust free apart from a small hole at the end of one sill, where it has clouted something and taken the paint off.
Underpowered, underbraked, but simple, solid, cheap to run and dependable - it has to be the new Morris Minor. Read more
I have to set aside the Citroen thing for a moment here. The pocket money Polo Ranger we bought for SWMBO just needed the post purchase service and a set of tyres, not a blip since. OK so it's only ten weeks ago but it has gone to work every day and a mile down the farm track each night to do the animals.
Not used any oil or water and quite a nippy thing to drive locally. Just one area of care needed in the Fens. After the BX it replaced the suspension travel and damping are minimal in bumpy corners.
Cheap tax of course and fuel consumption a reasonable 37mpg on unleaded(bearing mind runs are a shortish 12mls and 3mls).
David
For those interested (last week) with solutions to rpm dipping below tickover. it turned out -broken down insulation on a plug lead causing shorting. and two !!!orrect type plugs didn't help (from past ownership). O.k now. Thanks though for suggestions. Read more
After driving on the motorway last weekend, I have noticed a small blue bead of coolant on the centre of my radiator. I wipe it off but it returns though not immediately and there has been no noticeable drop in coolant levels. I am thinking of putting something like 'stop that leak' into the radiator, just in case the situation deteriorates, but will this inhibit the effectiveness of the coolant (as well as discolour the coolant) or is this all a waste of time as I will need a new radiator eventually. Read more
I was told that the main constituent of Radweld is ground up almond shells.
(If you want to wind up SHMBO enlighten her that shoe polish and lipstick are identical apart from the colour and flavour)
When SWMBO's 1.1 Fiesta (1995, 75,000 miles) needed topping up with oil, I noticed a few drips under the sump. As I have more respect for my tarmac drive than for the car, my first act was to buy a drip tray. At first, I thought the leak may have been coming from the oilseal at the end of the crankshaft by the pulley. But on closer examination, it looks as though it's weeping through a rusted sump-pan - in fact the pan seemed so corroded that I feared I could poke my finger through and flood the drive with oil!
Have any of you guys come across this? Can the pan be replaced with the engine in situ, and how much would a pan be likely to cost?
Cheers BigAl Read more
Why buy one? There must be one abandoned localy.
Beware of a car that has been burned out though, due to the chemicals around.
My local Barber has just demonstrated his in Car TV/Video system to me, it slots into the dashboard in place of the usual radio, it is a fantastic system no doubt but.
He says he has it on all the time while he is driving ...........
Surely it is illegal to watch a tv in a moving car ?
And if so why is such a device on sale ?
Marcus ( Luddite ) Read more
Thank you neil.
Comment to Bogush, now that is a prime example of
Hands up its a fair cop guv.
Not so difficult is it?
Todays budget
no rise in fuel duty or road tax.
fuel duty differential for cleaner fuels also
www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/m...l
Any views? (silly question really)
Jonathan Read more
What you on about - last one before the next election? The next election is most likely to be 2005 or 2006 (at the latest). Do you know something we don't?
I have a problem.
GTI International is in a month's time - I have possession of a German No. plate actually made for me in Germany (pressed reflective metal in white with black lettering in correct German style) with the D and Euro stars but with my UK reg. How much trouble could I be in for fitting this to the front of my car? The reg is correct, the colour, etc but what about the fact that it is metal and shows that I am from Deutschland? Can't fit a rear one - 'cos they're white too!
Is there a British Standard for plates and do they *have* to be plastic on a 1991 mota? Read more
IIRC, Any plate made up must be in the new, tightly drawn, format unless it is for a historic vehicle entitled to the black and white plates.
I have not heard of a prosecution for illegal spacing either. Maybe the police hav better things to do (like catching mobile phone users and tailgaters). It should be an MOT failure, I believe, but the miscreants probably have a legal set for wearing one day a year.
For an R-reg Peugeot 106, what is the best anti theft device - Krooklock, one of those bars that clamps on the steering wheel, or what? Read more
The man has a Peugeot 106 - have you no pity?
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Some do, some don't. Depends on your luck with crankshaft end seals and rocker-cover seals.