December 2002
Hi guys and gals,
Would like to hear your comments and advice on the below:
I bought a 2001 2.2LS Vectra in December 2001. The car went back to the dealer IIRC 10 times at least and spent a considerable amount of time there, me being furnished with a 1.0 Corsa, a car which if I'd have wanted to spend half my time in I would've purchased in the first place.
Many complaints to Vauxhall and Dealer later, car replaced with an identical model+mileage. Have given up trying to get them to rectify various squeaks and rattles through fear of never seeing the car again however have now had serious gearbox issues and on Saturday a massive engine failure (looks like entire ignition system) leading to a red faced me being towed to said Vauxhall dealer by the AA. Fortunately had this happened 24 hours later I would've missed a key work related flight at a significant loss of money, time and business.
Not only has the car been thoroughly dreadful, the dealer service is appalling. They never call back, never repair the car properly first time, they've run the damn thing out of petrol leaving me nearly stranded when I collected the car late one evening.
I have just over 12 months to go on the hire purchase before I hit the magical 50% mark when I can tell the finance company to stick it where the sun don't shine so I can't get rid of the car this instance without a financial hit.
Question is, should I ask the attractive girl out on the reception?
:) Just joking - real issue is I shall be speaking with the MD of the dealership later today and whilst I already have something drafted voicing my complaints and concerns, I would like to hear any comments you might have, perhaps from similar experience.
All the best,
Dan J Read more
Hi, can anyone help with this?
Just had head gasket on Citroen ZX 1.4 (petrol/carb) replaced and since then has begun to run roughly, with following symptoms:
- starts from cold OK but idling rough, needs a bit of coaxing to keep going
- the following has just started over last 2 days - once engine warm and choke in, suddenly starts misfiring and hesitating on acceleration, usually ending up with engine stalling. Once it has stalled it is a nightmare to re-start, it fires OK but soon as clutch is let in and I try to pull away it stalls again. It does this for several attempts until I can finally get it to move and then seems to be OK but will repeat the misfiring again a few miles later.
I had the head gasket done by independent Citroen specialists, who said it may run a bit rough for a few days and if so to bring it back for tuning. That's an understatement!!! Do you think this is all it needs or is something more expensive going on?!
Any ideas?
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The second problem is almost certainly carb icing - especially as it has only started in the last few days! They have forgotten to reconnect the hot air hose, or switched it to summer, or the automatic device has stopped working.
The first is a little more difficult. However, I would be straight round to the guys that changed the head gasket and demanding they fixed it. Could easily be the idle jet blocked, or the carb level wrong, or the fuel hose kinked starving the carb or..., or...., or...., or.....,
Richard
Hi Guys
I've got a Rover 218VVC Coupe which has a problem with the steering - the inside edges of the front tyres have been carved off and this appears to have been caused by the fact that there is a lot of play in the joint between the steering rack and the tracking control arm (offside). (This was found when I went to get the tracking checked).
Do you know whether this joint is adjustable or replaceable without removal/replacement of the complete rack?
I also have a couple of other questions related to this car:
1. It has a water leak in the boot. I am lead to believe that this is a common problem with this model but I don't know of anyone having cured it. Do you know whether it can be fixed and if so how?
2. I would like to fit a Rover roof rack to it but it appears I need to cut the door seal retainers in order to do so - is this correct and if so is it likely to cause more water leaks?
I'd be extremely grateful for any help/advice regarding any of these matters.
Thanks in advance
CF Read more
DF There are mumerous steering gear reconditioners power or manual all around the country who will be able to satisfy your needs,for 25 to 30% of the cost of a new rack.It is well worth while searching one out. HTH tonyh
Isn't it satisfying knowing that some of your TV licence fee goes towards Top Gear getting the boys at Lotus to modify a Lada to go faster!! A snip at £100,000 Read more
DD, Lets show what you can do in 2 weeks with bits in the bin
so to speak. A bit like a superia scrapheap challange.
Easy challenge that.
Take one Austin Allagro; add one cliff; Hey presto, 0 to 100mph in a couple of seconds. At the bottom of the cliff you have the scrapheap :o)
Hello, i am interested in buying a 1994 fiat panda 1.1 auto. I was wondering if its a good deal at £300 with 46000 miles, and history, and also what could be making a ear hurting squeak/grind when i turn the steering wheel to the right, and a rumbling from the engine when the car is in drive whilst stopped. i would buy it if its only going to be about £100 to fix. Read more
Steering Noise:- As far as the noise when the steering wheel is turned to the right is concerned, I would do this while the car is stationary and check to see if anything is near the front roadwheels. There may be an obstruction from the mud flap or such like.
The stopping in Drive:- the engine will be under a heavier load and most autos suffer from this (well most I've driven in anyway). When you take the brakes off the car will obviously creep forwards if you're on the flat. This is because there is a viscous coupling in place of your normal clutch and it is trying to push the car forwards. You shouldn't have a problem if the effect is similar to gradually letting the clutch out on a manual version.
Without seeing or hearing these issues it is difficult to be an absolute judge. If the seller is happy for you to do this, why not arrange to get an opinion of a local garage, with him/her accompanying you?
First things first though - we're talking about a Fiat Panda. Does it benefit from the same anti rust treatment as the other modern fiats, or is it plagued with the metal moth that made the Fiats so famous in the 80's? I would check this carefully, under trims, sills, where water can get in and be trapped.
Hello, I'm hoping someone may be able to shed some light on my problems. I have a 2001 Citroen Xsara 1.4, which I understand uses the PSA 1.4TU engine. From about 6 weeks old, the car would run a bit 'rough' when started whilst warm, and fine when started cold. Dealer couldn't find any problem even after a few visits, so I took it to another dealer who were more helpful. By this time, it had periods were it would run really rough, with a bitty yet 'boomy' engine tone, and was very much down on performance. On other days, it could run smoothly without any problem, and when like this, is a pleasure to drive. No fault codes were stored, so the dealer replaced the ignition module and plugs. No difference. Then the ECU, same again. To get to the point, the car has had 18 dealer visits in its 19 month life. Its had the above replaced, along with every engine-based sensor, but still no joy. My main problem is that nearly everytime the dealer has had the car, it performs without fault, never stores any codes, and so it comes back to me with a 'no fault' diagnosis. Citroen have had it at their headquarters for a few days, but said it was fine. I've asked for a new car, but they have been unwilling to be flexible as they see no problem. The car is at the point now where it can be so rough as to be undrivable, but still work perfectly on other days. I've recently been complaining that it is shuddering and misfiring while driving, and again the dealer said basically there is no problem because if there was, the engine management would log it. Luckily to prove them wrong and give me some sanity, last week the engine management light came on and reported a faulty ignition coil, so I'm now on a third. This has helped the running a bit, but the roughness and sluggishness is still there. The quality of the drive (or lack of) seems to be directly related to the amount of 'clatter' coming from I think the top of the engine/timing belt area. When the car behaves, this clatter is absent, and a quiet, refined journey can be had. When it is bad, it clatters like an old diesel. I've drawn their attention to this well in the past, concerned some nasty damage may be on its way, but I personally think it gets disregarded as 'here's him again with another problem'.
Sorry for the length of this post, I'm grateful for any ideas/diagnosis. I've posted elsewhere in the past, but the topic always seems to move on to 'don't put up with it' support and away from the actual problem, and while I'm grateful, believe me if there is any way I can get this sorted, I will! If I had cast-iron, 'always there' problems I'd be fine, but its s**'s law that the car always works when in the garage!
Many thanks for your time.
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Hi, I had a cit xsara 1.4x base model. Had headgasket cambelt coil pack changed when engine went after 60000 miles. For a few weeks car was ok then started sounding like an old taxi thought they had replaced my engine with a diesel. Car broke down and after a look see by a garage found out the camshaft pulley bolt was loose. Unfortunately the bolt had sheared got it replaced and flogged it. Wasn,t most reliable car i have had 6yrs old and needed £1400 worth of repairs glad to see back of it.
My wife has decreed that 2 children are more than enough to handle so my plans to populate all 7 seats of my 1996 P Reg Sharan 1.9 GL TDi are scuppered. Having decided that we no longer need an MPV we are looking for something else which gives us good comfort on long journeys for 2 adults and 2 children aged 4 and 2 with decent luggage space and which is affordable by a part exchange plus up to £3k. Any thoughts gratefully received. Read more
www.citroenpicasso.org.uk doesn't seem to report any major Picasso problems. Dad has just bought one and I like it, speaking as a 6'3 who sometimes travels in the back. I still prefer the drivers' seat. However, if you are substantially built, you may find an annoying hard edge on the base of the drivers' seat. I have to move slightly off-centre, but that has not made the journey uncomfortable yet.
Hi
I really would like anyone's opinion of the following:
I have seen three 'new' cars:
One from Motorpoint( Irish import.uk spec)
A new car from a main UK dealer
and a UK demo with 5 k on the clock All are similar spec
The demo is the cheapest then the import about 1,000 more and then the new one about 1,500 more than the import.
Is it worth the saving on the import or would I loose about the same when I trade it is later..Also how much of shoud the demo be reduced Also the demo only has a two year warranty
thanks
alan
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Mrs M was recently faced with the same dilemma.
We sold privately and got a serious discount from
a main dealer. It was even cheaper than a low mileage
used one too - and this was at the upper end of the market.
Meldrew
(I just do not believe it!)
Been looking at Ebay, that's the online auction site for those who, like me, have been a bit slow to catch on to the e-revolution; "automotive" section.
As I understand it, from a brief description by the seller and a photo - which, like in Autotrader, is not much more use than for confirming that a Bond 875 or whatever is actually the model you thought it was - you have to decide on what amount to bid. Only when you have the winning bid will you be able to meet the seller and travel to where the car is located.
According to ebay, by this time you have an obligation to buy it at the price bid. Indeed the car descriptions often include a line such as "you are bidding to buy not to have last refusal".
Maybe for a nearly new car still under makers guarantee this method *might* make some sense, but for an old banger or a classic (very old, cherished, banger) who would commit to buy unseen, having not even heard the engine running? Read more
I think David hits the nail on the head when referring to feedback - it is VERY important to the vast majority (like myself) and most of us are terrified of getting negative feedback.
The only exceptions to the rule can be people who have only recently signed up - they simply haven't had a chance to build a track record, so click on the rating number if it's low (or even if not, if you're curious) and you will be taken to a listing of all their feedback, plus the date of joining ebay. This also works on ebid.co.uk which is an up-and-coming site.
Also, most car sellers will let you see the motor before auction end if you email, or use a provided phone number.
The headlamp bulb on my A140 has just blown.
The origional bulb is an Osram H7/55w.
Whilst it is out (and one blown) is there any point in "upgrading" the bulbs to something like "Phillips Vision Plus H7", "Phillips Blue Vision", "Phillips All Weather" or just stick in a standard Halfords replacement bulb? (i.e www.powerbulbs.com / www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/ae_news_story.php?id=18...7)
Any thoughts or recommendations?? Read more
Ah well, I don't tend to frequent Halfords so I wouldn't know.
I try and buy them abroad as they are much cheaper.
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Fascinating thread. Just shows that one can hardly ever generalise about models of car or chains of dealerships. Wherever human nature comes in, there will be good and bad apples in the barrel.