October 2002
My least reliable car was a 1989 F reg. Rover 800 which I bought from the original owner in 1992 with 27k on the clock. Amongst other things, it suffered from the following in the 3 years I owned it:
- Air/heater control unit replaced twice.
- Battery failed.
- Radiator failed.
- Handbrake cable broke.
- Rear bumper fell off.
- tailgate gas struts failed.
- Headgasket failed.
- Exhaust system leaked.
Finally, clouds of blue smoke was diagnosed as indicating expensive valve wear problems and I got rid of it for £600.
Most annoyingly, whenever the battery was disconnected the
ECU settings were lost and had to be reset (no battery back-up) by the dealer !
Most reliable car owned - a 1984 Nissan Cherry :-( which was horrible to drive but never let me down and needed only the annual service during the 3 years I owned it. Read more
Following the recent thread on the Fog Light Brigade - I've done my own little survey over the past couple of weeks. Not scientific but I have a daily 120 mile round trip mostly motorway.
Interestingly, Renaults & Peugeots made up over 60% of the cars I saw during that time with their fog lights on when it clearly wasn't necessary.
Made me wonder if the dashboard "fog lights on" indication on these cars is a problem. Read more
'Driving lights' mean different things to different manufacturers. To Volvo it means those lights that other people like to find irritating which look like sidelights on all the time. They are actually somewhat brighter than sidelights, less bright than a dim-dip headlight, but come on automatically with the ignition.
Calling fog lamps 'driving lights' certainly gives the impression that they are meant to be on all the time.
HJ is right about the need to have fog lights on without headlights IN REAL FOG. Likewise in falling snow or driving sleet. The choice depends on circumstances, like background light or angle of the snow, but it does make it impossible to have any kind of automatic safeguard wired through the headlights.
My neighbour has got a just-out-of-warranty imported Y-reg BMW 330i with an intermittent cold start problem. He has owned the car from new.
The car will start from hot OK, but cold starts are very difficult, but it will eventually start.
Car has 15,000 miles and has been at the BMW franchised dealer for a week..they have changed the fuel pump but still the problem is there. The whole thing is costing him £££££££££££££ despite BMWs supposedly high-tech diagnostic equipment. And BMW are rubbing their hands with glee since he is paying for it.
Any ideas on the problem cause? Read more
An update to this story...
The fault was due to the engine management system; the ECU computer and software were replaced and all is well again.
Total hours spent fixing this by BMW was 65 hours, plus VAT and parts.
And BMW paid for all it, even though it was a Y-reg import out of its warranty. They even supplied a 530d courtesy car to him Now THAT'S service.
I bought a new Golf recently & noticed that the miles clocked showed 0.3 miles, whereas on the on-board trip computer it showed 31 miles having been done to date.
DO they reset the "official" clocked miles, once its ready for delivery..31 miles seems alot.
Or maybe the on-baord computer was originally set wrong?? ANyway a reset would get rid of that aynway.
Just curious, if anyone has any ideas??
Aleur
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Shouldn't be a problem as this involves two different sides of the business ie sales for the zero'd mileometer and service for any warranty claims.
Besides, by law they have to undertake warranty work as part of their franchise.
As car owners go, my eldest is what you might call benevolently indifferent but not seriously neglectful. What advice do I give to make his recent purchase a lasting goer. For this purpose, assume he is of the 'if it makes a funny noise, turn the radio up' school of motor ownership.
He has bought a K reg 1.5 diesel corsa. One owner, FSH, 80k miles mainly motorway and (get this HJ) oil change every six months from new.
There is little chance it will be looked after quite like its previous owner. It will be properly serviced, but what are the basic essentials please, particularly to begin with, to ensure as far as possible a useful and lasting workhorse. He will probably do about 12K mainly A and B road driving to, from, and relating to work.
Cheers and thanks in advance Colin S
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"..chafed brake hose that's about to split"
As spotted by my MOT man last week. I'm reasonably vigilant about this sort of thing, but he spotted it and I didn't.
Being quite simple I haven't a clue what the difference between a wankel and "normal" engine is. Could someone explain in simpple terms the difference ?
Also, i was led to believe that they offer a much higher rate of bhp/litre, meaning smaller & lighter engines could be used. What is the problem with them as they are not mainstream? Are they too thirsty? Read more
jc, I beg to differ very slightly.
I regard an engine with the cylinders arranged in a circle
around the crankshaft as a Radial engine irrespective of whether the
crankshaft or the cylinders do the rotating.
In a rotary engine, the gas compressing element (e.g the Wankel
rotor) moves in a generally rotating direction -- as opposed to
a conventional piston which reciprocates in a linear direction.
In aviation usage the Rotary engine was the species of radial like the gnome Rhone where the cylinders whizzed round. The Wankel with rotating compressing element came much later.
The oil from the rotary aero engine has the special capacity of finding any exposed bits of the pilot, failing which it is programmed to go for the goggles!!
Was I dreaming or did JC mention on Top Gear a new MG/Rover supercar with a standard 400 bhp (or so) capable of being tweaked to produce 900 bhp !!!!
I saw the picture of the car and thought it looked great but am I missing
something (other than the fact it's a Rover) ? Read more
QUOTE:...""That’s far from the case, as hybrid supercars are likely to become popular fairly soon. ""
In future energy recovery systems, i.e. some level of hybrid-ness, will become the norm, just like anti-lock brakes and power assisted steering have done. ...
Hi
At normal 70 + VAT motorway driving speeds my 98R 1.8 GLS Vectra indicates that it is at a shade over 60oC, while I am sure that the dial is not calibrated is this the normal position? When siting it traffic the temp does rise and turn on the fan etc..
I never really noticed, but I lent the car to my Father and he was concerned as all his (non Vx) cars have run at an indicated 90oC ish
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My Omega, a '94 3.0, used to sit on 90C most of the time, unless on a long motorway haul when it would dip a little below that or stuck in a jam when it creep up a bit more.
However, since having the rocker covers and HT leads replaced, gearbox fluid changed not only has the engine developed a more noisy rattle but the engine temp seems to now become "steady" at 95C.
In the last week I've just had the Kwik-fit Mobil 1 change too , but it hasn't improved the noise (or the temp raise).
Just a bit puzzled, that's all!
Chad.R
Hello.
Any help with this would be appreciated.
I have a Vauxhall Omega 2.5 V6 1997 that has oil collecting as a yellow emulsified sludge in the water cooler expansion tank.
Any ideas as to what would cause this?
There doesn't appear to be water in the oil.
Could it be a split oil cooler? Or a headgasket? Or a blockage?
I cleaned out the tank but oil came in even after a few miles and with the car only just reaching normal temperature.
Would Radweld be of any help?
Regards,
Chuck
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Are you both sure you have the right type/strength of antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor in your vehicles?
Question for HJ
One of the letters this week asked what car is best for £10k? HJ only listed 3 NEW cars. Surely the punter would find better value buying used? Read more
I agree with JBJ!
With 10k I'd buy a Westie, a Bandit 1200 and a Westerly 25.
HJ can't give every possible way to spend 10k!
Suggesting 3 new cars what almost certainly what the 'asker' wanted...
--
These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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Least reliable: 2001 Ford Racing Puma
Lost £6k depreciation in 2 years and 32k miles.
Failures: Front wishbone, clutch (my fault though-took out the slave cylinder and speedo drive at the same time), driveshaft, subframe misalignment, front discs (warped, £150 each), rear wheel bearings (30k miles), ABS sensor, front brake calipers needed rebuilding, ECU needed reprogramming, New front tyres and brake pads every 7000 miles (£100 each and £120 a set respectively)
Most reliable: 1993 Nissan Sunny 1.4
Bought for £600, sold for £750 6 months and 8000 miles later. 143,000 miles using no oil, sailed through MOT needing nothing, cost nothing to run. The only car I have ever owned that paid me back!