January 2003
I've have just bought a 99V A4 avant,and find it's dipped beam the worst i've ever come across. So I put xeon 30% brighter bulbs in and also tested the voltage to the bulbs in case there was a drop through the loom, but it made no improvment. Audi UK and my local main dealer say they have never heard of any problems, so am I alone with this problem, or have any of you managed to improve these lights?
ps the main beam is very good.
Dave C Read more
Even when you have bought a fair number of cars you can still be taken in all too easily. My worst experience is described below - I wonder if there are lessons we can all share from our car buying disasters.
Clocking is alive and well as I found to my cost 3 months ago. I bought a 1998 BMW 520 which showed 29000 miles and the dealer quite happily gave me the name of the previous owner, showed me the service book, all duly stamped by the supplying dealer, and also an HPI certificate.
After eventually deciding to go ahead and buy (even though I had been unable to contact the previous lady owner by telephone - she was apparently ex-directory), I got a gut feeling that everything was not as it should be after driving the car for a couple of days. I therefore contacted the BMW dealership who had supplied the car and they confirmed that they had done the first service a few months after it had been bought new. They told me that they had not seen the car since that time, even though their stamps were in the service book (which turned out to be a duplicate). They said though that the car was still on their database and had been serviced by other BMW dealerships, the last one being about 15 months ago at 107k miles.
Upon learning this I went back to the supplying dealer to cancel the deal but he had already sold my previous car on and seemed as distraught as I was. Eventually, after considerable negotiation, he agreed to take the car back and gave me a cash payment but I probably lost about £1500 as a result and he may or may not have done the same as he subsequently readvertised it for much less than the original price.
Looking back I feel silly and almost ashamed to have been taken in like this and I will never buy a used car again without verifying the service history. Perhaps I should have gone to the police but it is the sort of thing you just want to forget and put down to experience.
Can anybody beat this?
Brambob
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Bram, I sympathise with you totally and feel you were extremely tolerant with the outcome.
I must admit I wouldn't have been satisfied with the outcome as the dealer seems to have come out of it better than yourself.
However we all make mistakes so don't feel too badly about it as we all get taken for a ride at some time.
Whatever we seem to buy, a month later we see it for sale elsewhere at considerably less.
How do I tell the difference between a Xantia HDi 110 and a 90?
I've been looking at various classifieds and dealer sites that offer Xantia that are supposed to be 110's and turn out to be 90's.
As an aside, I've found one dealer offering a vehicle at one price on AutoTrader (as a Xantia LX HDi110) and a grand more on their own site (Xantia HDi Forte 90), with photo of the vehicle at the inflated price! The registration mark is clear in both photos and it's the same beast. Could be re-using the photo but both ads reckon the vehicles are Fijian blue.
Thanks,
Gongoozler Read more
Thanks Ben,
Gongoozler.
Wended my way to a local SEAT dealer today with the intent of having a nose around an Ibiza TDi130, or at least having a look at the Ibiza in general. The only one they had in the showroom was the bog basic 1.2, in red with a really naff set of plastic trims. Hardly inspiring. I couldnt beleive it was so damn small too. I've been in bathtubs with more interior space.
Outisde however they had a plethora of Leons, including a TDi 110 SE, so I had a drive.
I've gotta say, I was very very impressed. Despite having me, my dad and the salesman in, it drove, rode and handled excellently, the 110bhp motor providing plenty of grunt. And the Leon is considerably bigger and prettier than the Ibiza. Unfortunately its also a couple of grand more.
So I've been looking at importing one. Seems like I can get one imported for about £11500, which is a lot cheaper than the £15000 the salesman quoted for a new one with metallic paint.
Anyone able to reccomend a good importer for SEATs? The copy of Car Buyer magazine (currently lying on my desk at work) listed Morgan Moss as the cheapest for most SEATs. Has anyone had any dealings with them?
TIA Read more
Rich,
Best place I've found is www.unitedmotors.net based in Holland. They've got a great car configurator on their website to play about with options (met paint etc). Or...
...If you're feeling very adventurous and want to cut out a dealers commision try www.seat.be the Belgian site and get a list of dealers and email them all for a quote. I mailed 10 and got 5 english replies, not bad going on price either.
A friend has been offered the car by a trader I know who punts on ex-company cars at a reasonable price (I bought a 318i Touring from him, and he seems a genuine bloke)
Reg March 2000 (W plate)
SE Estate, 2litre turbo
Metallic black
Black leather
good spec
117,000 miles, full Volvo sh
Price £6250
Mate wants a another BMW Touring to repalce his F reg 325i, and is a bit iffy about the Volvo. It seems to me like a lot of car for the money.
Does anyone have any opinions on the car/value? I've read the CBCB section and it's a bit mixed.
Cheers
Pat Read more
Thanks Chris
Reminds me of the Fawlty Towers episode where the health inspector reels off a long list of hygiene problems, and Basil Fawlty says 'apart from that all right?'.
Perhaps my mate is right to be wary of this model.
Pat
could anyone please tell me if a 1994 M reg nissan primera 1.6LX should have remote central locking, i have just purchased said car and on the keyfob there is a button for locking and also a button for unlocking, this operates the immobaliser but not the locks.
Your help would be appreciated, David Jackson Read more
ok, there is no other writing on the key fob, the central locking does work when the key is inserted into the door lock, there are no buttons on the key itself only the seperate fob. The fob deffinately opperates the immobalier as the car will not start without pressing the unlock button. Could this be a problem with the fob baterries dieing before i owned the car and the fob not being reprogrammed correctly? The reason i asked this question in the first place is because on the parkers car guide model history it says the r/c/l is standard on my make and year of vehicle.
Hi all,
My back window heater has stoped working and because I live in the north of Norway where temperatures drop to -30 this can be a problem.
Can someone please give me a step by step check list to try to resolve this?
My user manual is in Norwegian so it is difficult to know what fuse is what. I changed one of the fuses which someone told me to do, turned on the back window heater and after a while i got a little burning smell for a very short while.
Thank
Richi Read more
Can you confirm the fuse blew again after you replaced it, and which fuse was it?
Fuse 23 controls the operation of the HRW relay. If this is your problem, it could be tricky to solve since all the relevant wires are close together within the dashboard, cross connecting the HRW switch and the HRW relay.
Fuse 27 also connects to both the HRW switch and the HRW relay, but also provides the main power supply for the HRW. The long run to the rear of the car is a likely place for a short-circuit.
If you've got electric/heated mirrors, these run off the same circuit. A short-circuit in the cable to either mirror would give exactly the same symptoms as a failure to the rear window.
Electric/heated mirrors also make fault finding harder since you really should disconnect the supply to both mirrors as well as the HRW when carrying out continuity tests.
But before getting carried away with the multimeter, check the more easily accessible cables first (as per Lauriew). With luck you might be able to spot a burnt or exposed wire.
(All comments based on the wiring diagram for 1993-1995 306s).
Ian
Hi everybody,
For the last couple of months my central locking key has been playíng up, I have had to press the button 10-20 times before it would lock or unlock the car. Now it doesn't work at all. The central locking still works when I use it in the door
My other problem is that I have recently moved to another country and the user manual is in another language so i can't understand it.
Can someone give me a check list of things to go through so I don't have to pay the garage to do it.
Please remember that my manual is in another language so it is difficult to know what fuse it what etc. Their are 30 fuses. The light on the key still light a bit when I press it.
Many thanks.
Richi Read more
According to my instruction book:
Unlock car, take remote away from car.
Remove battery and wait 5 minutes. Fit new battery taking care not to touch surfaces. Take back to car and test.
A couple of days ago my 1998R 306 xsi decided it would hang onto it's revs as long as it could. When I drop the clutch the revs only drop to about 2000. If I keep the engine in neutral they will eventually drop to around 1200. If I force them lower they back up to around 1200.
Everything else seems fine, with no loss of power.
Any suggestions for a remedy appreciated... Read more
I recently had to change my timing belt and got a bit of advice form a local mechanic. If you get a stanley knife and split the timing belt up the middle, remove the outer part , fit the new belt then cut the other half of the original, you dont have to worry about getting the engine to tdc. just line up with the marks on the old belt. Works a treat. Hope this helps anyone
Cheers
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I may be over cautious but when fitting cambelts, it's always 'by the book' whether diesel or petrol. From my point of view what's a few hours compared to a knackered engine.
Steve.
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I know it sounds daft, but the headlight lens is clean, isn't it? I only ask this because a colleague finds his Calibra dipped headlights become very dim very quickly when the lenses get dirty, as they only have a very small surface area. (Similar size to your A4.)
You could try Philips Visionplus bulbs, these have up to 50% more light output and make a great difference to the headlights on my Octavia.
www.powerbulbs.com/products/product.php?prodid=pvp...1
It looks like Audi changed the bulb type on the A4 in 1999 from H1 to H7, the former are £19.50 a pair, the latter £27.95.
Hth.
Dave.