November 2002
My girlfriend purchased (following some discussion on this board) a Mercedes A-Class A170 T reg with 43k on the clock, from the Lexus dealer in Newcastle, as one of their "Approved Used Cars". She picked it up last Thursday, and on Friday lunchtime the power steering promptly failed (no it wasn't the fuse or the belt driving the PS pump)
She had bought a 3 year warranty from the dealer (from "Warranty Holdings", who I now know much more about having done some googling!), and after phoning the dealer he suggested taking the car down to our local Mercedes dealer to get the power steering fixed. She had been told before being sold the warranty by the dealer that the warranty covered repairs at a main dealer.
However upon phoning the warranty people they said they would only cover labour up to 25 pounds/hour, therefore we would have to pay the labour excess if the car was repaired at a main dealer.
We have now returned the car to Lexus Newcastle to fix the power steering problem, and to express our dissatisfaction at being mis-sold a mickey mouse warranty, because:
- 25/hr is the kind of labour rate you find at a back-street garage who don't have the electronic gizmos to properly fix modern cars
- the warranty expects you to pay for main dealer servicing in order to maintain coverage, but won't pay for main dealer warranty repairs
- the selling dealer is a main dealer, therefore you might be expected to believe that a warranty you are sold by a main dealer would cover repairs at a main dealer
Do you think this is unreasonable expectations?
mike Read more
With all the current debate re uninsured drivers/cars, is it not time we adopted in the UK the Irish principle of displaying the insurance certificate for the vehicle alongside the tax disc? The police have already got, and are using, roadside tax disc scanners, could these not be developed to check the insurance certificate?
I know this will only advise that the vehicle is insured, not the driver, but it would be a step in the right direction and would ensure that the owner would be more careful about who is driving the car. It is a more serious crime to drive an uninsured car over an untaxed one.
Discuss! Read more
That's right. The variables are: class of vehicle (private, car/truck, SUV, public utility, bus, etc), engine size and unladen weight.
Driver -- doesn't matter as long as he/she holds valid license for the class of vehicle, also must have professional license if driving a public utility or taxi or motorised tricycle.
That's it. Mind you the TPL is pretty small, maybe only $10,000 equiv coverage.
Is it just me or is the BMW 635CSi the most under-rated car ever?! It's just drop dead gorgeous and it goes like stink!
Shark Ahoy! Read more
But the M tech on the other hand has and will always be a classic. 290bhp, 0-60 in 6.5 and M suspension. Performance and handling are fantastic, much improved looks (slightly lowered and the badge).
Reliability is far superior to the Jag, and as there were only 524 in the UK, they are quite rare.
Hi everyone,
just saw this on Yahoo News at:
uk.news.yahoo.com/021104/80/ddvix.html
QUOTE SELECTED TEXT
Ford pulls half-million cars in safety scare
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford says it is recalling 572,795 of its compact Focus vehicles from the 2000 and 2001 model years in North America because of potential safety problems including engine fires.
The world's No. 2 automaker said the latest recalls stemmed from two separate issues that could have safety consequences.
One involves a bolt in the front suspension assembly that can become loose and cause noise and vibration or, in a small number of cases, lead to separation of the ball joint, Ford said in a statement on Monday.
It said the other concern involved Focus vehicles with Zetec engines in which potential problems with the placement of a battery cable could result in smoke, wire melting or under-hood fires.
END QUOTE
The article refers only to US cars being recalled, but are any UK or EU ones affected?
Searching Car-by-Car Breakdown cannot find anything on battery cable replacement amongst the already long list of Focus recalls, and I couldn't find anything on www.ford.co.uk about any product recalls at all (surprise, surprise).
CMark Read more
Sorry if this has been covered previously. I recently took my car in to have some grumbling noises at low revs sorted. The garage confidently thought it was gearbox bearings. So one stripdown later, with new bearings and, oh yes, a new clutch because the late Xantia clutches can't be refitted, and a bill for £750, I drive it away and ..... no difference. Since then, the garage has taken advice from Citroen TS who suggested try a new driveshaft, which again has made no difference. So, in summary after 5 weeks, I've paid £750 for nothing .... actually, not strictly true because the gearchange into 2nd and 3rd gears is now notchy and actually "crashes" on a cold morning, whereas before it was smooth.
Before tackling the garage head-on, I'd appreciate any thoughts on where I stand. I'd quite like to walk away from this garage with my £750 refunded and hand the car over to Citroen UK for examination. The garage will, I'm sure, argue that the £750 is a valid payment for the time and materials they spent trying to fix the problem, even though they proved unsuccessful. Read more
maybe this sounds silly but it is possible your car has nothing wrong with it.
Noise transmission from the gearbox via the gearchange ot subframe into the cabin can be quite bad and appear as a whine or rumble due to the sound being modified by its transmission through the structure.
Look at the soundproofing inside the cabin near the gearchange or pedals..
madf
I was in Leeds the other day (sophisticated?) and I noticed these strange concrete bus lanes. The buses had little wheels on the side to guide them in the lane...
but why, man, why???? Read more
Nice one.............
Off to a Volvo main dealer in Cambridge on Wednesday to check one of these babies out.
82K with a full service history.
Any major achilles heels?
Read more
Thanks, guys. I`ll bear both in mind tomorrow.
My Dad has an E Reg Jetta 1.6 now up to 130,000. It's been an excellent car. However it has developed a problem and I'd be grateful for any help.
The heater is hot for the first few miles driven but once the car gets to normal operating temperature the heater blows only cold air. He has changed the thermostat and drained and flushed the cooling system (including flushing the heater matrix seperately). Still hot air for only the first few miles.
Any ideas as to what to do next, as ever all help greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Andy. Read more
Seeing ajsdoc's reply, has the 405 got a bypass valve, I wonder?
Over the last few weeks at auction it struck me just how cheap good cars are these days (e.g 18 months old, low mileage Vectra's £6000-6500). With the never ending reductions on new car prices (check out HJ's news section) and low interest rates it would seem the knock on effect will be even cheaper used cars.
The way things are going any car over 8 years old will be scrap value.
Question for HJ :
In your years of going to auctions do you think cars have ever been this cheap before ?
Read more
Thanks for the info HJ.
Just read your Ford ex-rental report and i have to agree with your comments on what a good car the Focus is and what excellent value at the moment.
The brake warning light on my 205XLD appears to be on all the time. As far as I know there are three warning switches that would trigger this light: mechanical switch beneath the handbrake lever; contact switch on the brake pads; and float switch in the brake fluid reservoir. Applying the handbrake makes the warning light glow brighter so I am assuming that this switch works OK. New brake pads have just been fitted so the contact switch shouldn't be activated (I've had a look and there is a good clearance between pad and contact). Also the brake fluid is up to maximum (actually a little over maximum) so the float switch shouldn't be activated. Are there any other switches that I am forgetting about? Any ideas what else could causing the problem?
Cheers
Rooster Read more
Having looked at the handbook for the 205XLD, it suggests that there are in fact two warning circuits. One has both the handbrake switch and the brake fluid reservoir float switch on it, while the other has just the contact switch on the brake pads. The dashboard warning lights for each circuit are in separate places: the handbrake/brake fluid level light is up next to the coolant temp/STOP/alternator warning lights while the brake pad wear light is below and left of the fuel gauge. I've never noticed this last warning light until now. There is a coolant level warning light down there as well.
The problem I have is with the handbrake/brake fluid level light that is on permanently, rather annoyingly when driving at night. Looks like I will be spending a few hours circuit testing at the weekend. Any top tips for this?
Rooster
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There's a fair bit of "they said..." in all this. Like many people these days I do much insurance (and other) business by phone etc. I know people who always put a dictaphone in their breast pocket when talking to car dealers, insurance companies etc etc. Whenever I take out any policy or phone for advice I put my phone on hands free and use my camcorder to record the conversation. I know test drivers who record conversations with the police if they are stopped too. Several people I know have found this action to be advantageous. Might be worth your while recording any further conversations - and try covering some old ground in those conversations too so you've got some 'retro' evidence if you should ever need it.