June 2002
I'm seriously considering getting a second hand 7 series on an S or T plate. I cover about 25k a year, including a couple of trips to Austria/Switzerland, and the idea of a car like this for under £15,000 appeals to me.
Am I being a complete fool? If so, you'd better talk me out of it. I really want a 740, but would I be better off with a 728 or 735? I don't want it to feel heavy when I put my foot down, though. I'm not bothered about petrol consumption. I guess that I'll be looking at a set of new cats soonish on a car of this age with 100k miles on the clock - any idea what a BMW dealer will charge for this (?£2000).
I fancy going to the Great Trade centre, but should I go to a BMW dealer?
Thanks. All advice appreciated.
Nick. Read more
There was a letter published yesterday re Saab sevicing costs in Surrey from a disappointed owner. My experience might be useful for others.
I have a Saab 9-5 which was due for a 78000 mile service. Like correspondent NB, my nearest dealer is in Surrey, and they wanted £256 +VAT for the privilege of carrying it out. As luck would have it, it was due about the time I was going to North Wales on holiday for a week. Saab dealer there quoted £118 +VAT. Guess where I had it done?? Even for this relatively minor service, it would have been possible to drive the 270 miles, have a nice meal & bottle of wine, stay the night, have the car serviced & come home with change!! On the assumption that the next (bigger) service will save even more, looks like a nice weekend away is in order!
Another nice surprise was finding a nearly full 1 litre bottle of screenwasher fluid in the car when I picked it up - I know the Surrey dealer would have charged me for the whole bottle, used a quarter, and kept the rest.
Moral is, shop round. Read more
just been down to Dorset
so perhaps I should have arranged a service there... I discovered to my horror that I'd been charged for
it too !
>>
I bet they spend their evenings putting lamps on shoreside rocks as well ... :)
I purchased this car in 2000 with 10k miles on the clock. Since this day my "Polly Peugeot" has been serviced by the book and treated with TLC
I went to Salsibury on Saturday in it (about 150 miles from home), checked oil, water etc before I left!).
Just got into Salisbury and BANG - conrod through the side of the block, smashing radiator and starter motor........ no warnings, no lights came on, no change in engine noise - thought I had run over something until I looked in my rear view mirror!!!!!!
This car has only done 46k miles to date (plus 150 miles on the back of a trailer coming back from Salisbury!)
On Monday I rang Peugeot UK, they wanted me to take it to a Peugeot dealer garage to strip it down and take a look at why this has happened! Mega bucks I thought if Peugeot are not going to pay for it! I spoke to the local Peugeot garage and the Service Manager said Peugeot will NOT admit liability. So at that present time it is at a friends FORD garage, but has not been touched.
I rang my Finance Company, whom are being very supportive and want me to pay for an independent guy to go out and take a look, but again they want the engine stripped out!
Should I just cut my losses and put a recon/new engine in - cause I think this is what is going to happen perhaps 2 months down the line anyway or shall I just fight it to the bitter end, bearing in mind I am now car-less and supermarket shopping on foot or on local buses!!!!!
I would appreciate any help or technical advice from anyone who has had similar experiences.
Many thanks
DODDY
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If you look at the date it's 6 years ago!
Can anyone tell me where the gearbox oil filler is on my 406 HDi. The Haynes manual doesn't do HDi's yet and as the car is new-to-me, I'm keen to give it a thorough once-over despite its full service history. Ta.
Just as a supplementary to this (and the reason why I want to check the Pug), some time ago my wife bought a 5 year-old Polo with a full (mainly dealer) service history. On checking the gearbox, it took nearly half a pint to bring the level up to the filler plug. There were no oil leaks from the gearbox and the plug looked as if it had not been disturbed from new. Rumour has it that some mechanics don't check unless they have cause to. Can't be true - can it?
Mike Read more
About 8 years ago, a friend of mine was driving his '87 Audi 80 back from the west country, when his gearbox suddenly seized up, dipping the clutch enabled him to stop OK, but on questioning the mechanic at the garage was told that this occurrence wasn't totally unheard of! The cause was insufficient gearbox oil- I was running a VW GTI at the time with similar (if not exactly the same) engine / transmission, so I checked my geabox level and found it took approx 1/2 litre to bring it up to the filler hole.(The correct level according to the Haynes manual)
There was no sign of a leak on either car so it is possible that they were underfilled at the factory for some reason. It might pay people with similar 'boxes to check their levels
It got you all looking didn't it?
I have a problem and wonder if any of you technical guys could help me out....
I recently had the 'misfortune' to have to replace the cambelt on my Audi A4 1.9 TDi
As some may know, it is an unenviable job which involves complete removal of the front panel/radiator etc.
Not something I really want to repeat.
This is where my problem lies. The poly-vee belt thread jogged my memory. I replaced the multi-rib poly-vee belt and the a/c drivebelt upon reassembly and all was well.
Oh, I also replaced both the cambelt and auxiliary belt tensioners.
But since doing this I have experienced an annoying noise; in short, it appears the auxiliary belt is slightly slack and (at idle) it makes a noise, which is very hard to explain.
It could be likened to a loose catalytic convertor mesh, which completely disappears when the revs are picked up off idle.
What I really need is a serpentine belt run diagram from an Autodata manual. I have the petrol one but nothing diesel. I know I should go out and buy one but I want to fix it ASAP.
Has anybody got a belt run diagram handy?
Failing that, has anybody got an A4 that I could have a pic of the belt, from the top?
The belt is the correct one (Genuine Audi) and I'm sure I refitted it correctly.
The car is a 1997 A4 TDi (1.9) with a/c
I'm loathed to go to a dealer and ask, too shy & feel stupid...
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org Read more
That's what I'm slightly worried about HJ - possible interference with the all-important cambelt and radiator, possibly.
I'll have to (a)Pluck up the courage and ask at an Audi dealer or (b)Buy a diesel info maunal, by Autodata.
Watch this space..
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
I am currently paying for my car on one of those '36 months at £xx + final payment' schemes, due to end this August.
I am undecided what to do. I quite fancy keeping the car and making the final payment - end of story, but, as in the past, I may be tempted to go for the newer model (but not brand new) and start on another 36 month plan.
My question is... Would I be better to make the final payment myself then go to a dealer with my fully-paid-for car as a deposit OR just go sooner and let the dealer clear the finance and hopefully have a bit left towards a deposit on the next car and let them work it all out?
Will I get a better price for my car if it is fully paid up or not?
Thanks for any advice.
Read more
I've been involved with just two final lump payment schemes in the past. They seemed to be designed so the final payment was almost the same as the car's value, hence little equity. Yours may be better than this though.
So it seemed the only way to have enough in the deal to start again with a much newer car and another 36mths credit was to lump the whole thing onto the dealer and let him twist the figures to make something out of it.
Having said that if you ever want to "own" a substantial proportion of the car then to carry on paying if off and buy later might be best.
David W
We've had lots of discussion on the life of toothed timing belts but nothing, so far as I know, on poly-vee belts. The engines I was usually involved with had the old fashioned vee belts, either single or in matched pairs, and I know little about poly-vees.
The poly-vee belt on my 1992 BMW 525i drives the water pump, alternator and steering/suspension pump (no air-con) through a tortuous run with the help of a couple of idler pulleys, one being a spring-loaded tensioner. I assume that the 'tortuous run' is necessary to get a good wrap-round of the belt on the pulleys on this fast-accelerating engine.
I would welcome opinions on the expected life of this type of belt and the signs of deterioration to watch out for. Also, do they break or just stretch and slip when they get old? Read more
I have noticed the double sided serpentine belts,e.g.Galxy/Sharan,tend to develop small cracks in the ridges quite quickly.The poly v on my Sierra only runs an alternator and lasts for years.
One of the resistors in my 96 Clio 1.4RT heater blower fan arrangement has gone o/c, does anyone know what size I should replace it with i.e. Ohmic value and Wattage Rating.
Many Thanks
PS There are three resistors, two of them of the wire wound type, it is the smaller silicon type that has gone o/c Read more
Sorry, not a clue!
Which speed has failed? That might help, otherwise it will be trial and error to find the right size resistor
Just be very careful please - bad wiring causes vehicle fires, which in a 3dr car with, say a child in a childseat in the rear, ain't funny.
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
Anybody have anything to say about a 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS qv ?
57,000 miles, all belts at 51,000. FSH (Ferrari).
I'm considering buying it. Read more
David,
I sent you an e-mail.
Thank you.
Mark.
I'm considering trying my hand at buying a car from an auction, tidying up etc then selling it on for a profit (hopefully)!. However in the meantime between buying it at an auction and selling it do i have to send any forms off to the dvla?
Hope you can help, and any other tips would be gratefully recieved.
Steve B
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You'll have to excuse Martyn, he tends to stand behind his
screen while typing and gets confused.
The "red navigation bar" is, of course, to the left.
Oh b*****ation!
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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Thanks to everyone for the information.
I think I'll compromise and look for a 735.