January 2003
Wondered if there were any recommendations for independent garages in Edinburgh. I've looked at the list that HJ provides but there are none in town - is there anyone out there with a good experience. BTW I am looking to service a SEAT Alhambra 1.9Tdi. Read more
I bought a new C3 1.4i sx after a test drive in a demo car which had a smooth ride over bumpy roads, but the car I bought was very
bumpy on all roads. the demo car had the same size tyres, the only difference it had alloy wheels. I have read the reviews
on C3, some say its a smooth ride some say its a firm ride. these cars seem to be different in ride from one car to the next of the same model.
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I bought this car 2 weeks ago, I've done 1000 miles in it and no trouble but the abs light has started to come on and go off. One day it's on, the next it's off, any suggestions? Read more
Yes i can get hold of a multimeter to check -I'll have a look this weekend-bit cold for outside work at the moment.Just as a matter of interest,whilst this car has been very reliable and is still relatively low mileage, can i expect any other "little" surprises in it's life?I've done all the belts incl cam belt and all the other bits -clutch,rad etc are original.Don't want to throw good money after bad....
Regards
Derek
This story in todays Guardian makes our statistics look quite good for the holiday period.
www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,77...l
Happy Motoring Phil I Read more
290 sounds steep - and the condor is a bit of a shed.
email me, I'll see if I can find something better...
I notice that the sunken car carrier , the Tricolor, has been hit again in the shipping lane of the channel.
Is it any coincidence that the sunken car carrier was hit first by a ship called the Nicola and then by the Vicky?
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I gather that attempts have already been made by third parties
to recover some of the vehicles. It will be interesting to
learn what state they are in - salt on the roads
is bad enough!
If they ram it hard enough with a big enough ship then maybe all the airbags will go off and the ship will refloat.
HELP! I am thinking about buying an SL, with about £10k in my budget. The thing is that I do about 10-12,000 miles a year, mostly motorway driving. Am I deluded in wanting to buy one of these? I imagine that the mpg is pretty poor especially on the 450's and I don't have a garage. I would have hoped that the running costs would be lessened by the fact that it is mostly motorway driving. Am I asking for trouble? Read more
I2 months ago last Sept I bought a 250td sport Est 105K from Merc action at Chelmsford. I think it is superb, now on 125K. You need a little luck but "he who dares wins"
Put you question on Merc owners club uk site - they will give you the answer on SL
Good luck
Hi all,
Simple question -when changing spark plugs should they be changed when the engine is hot or cold?
Thanks in anticipation.
Robert Read more
Preferably cold, as the reasons mentioned by Geezer's reply.
But if you have a stubborn plug, sometimes they can be easier to remove once the engine is hot.
Anyone else had this problem with their diesel LagunaII?
Intermittant 'Fault in Fuel injection' message, car refuses to go over 2,200 rpm. Fault clears if you stop and restart engine
(not too feasible in outside lane!).
'Air valve' and 'solenoid' have been changed under warranty, car going back shortly for 5th attempt at sorting. (Fault first occurred at 17,000 miles, now at 31,000 miles; fault usually occurs well into a journey, dealer has examined car with the engine running with the fault (- changed air valve))
I fear an intemittant electrical gremlin... Read more
In case anyone is interested, (though there were no replies, so it must be a rare problem), this was fixed with an upgrade to the engine computer management system (after I managed to get the car to the dealer again with the fault displayed)
What's a "reasonable time" to reject a vehicle under the Sale of Goods Act?
Girlfriend bought a T reg Mercedes A Class with 43k miles on it, from a main dealer (not MB) for 8 grand, and it has had two major failures in just under 2 months of ownership:
* power steering pump went within 24 hours of driving it off the forecourt, dealer had the car back for a week to fix.
* gearbox has just failed in a major way leaving the car undriveable - new gearbox is likely to be needed.
We've done approx 3k miles since buying the car.
Does anyone know if we have a good case to reject the car? We're asking a solicitor but any comments would be appreciated.
Also, GF bought an extended warranty (extending the warranty from 12 months to 3 years), and the dealer claimed on that for the power steering pump (400 quid), and will probably want to claim on that for the new gearbox (anything up to 2.5k-3k?). The warranty only has a total claim limit of 8000 pounds. Should the selling dealer be fixing these problems under his statutory obligations or can he "use up" the 3 year warranty my GF bought like this?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike Read more
Re: The dealers 'statutory obligations'.
The repaired items (new steering Pump & gearbox) will carry their own warranties anyway, so they will still be covered (but ask how long for). As far as I'm aware (I too am a car dealer, but not a franchise outfit), there is no 'law' to say that a dealer has to repair a car neccassarily out of his own cash. The obligations are that a warranty has to be provided, whether the repair costs are underwritten by the dealer or a separate warranty company is irrelevant; either way the dealer has fulfilled his obligations in your case. Regarding your cover for the next 3 years, you would still have around £5k worth of cover (probably more taking into account the separate cover on the replacement items), for repairs to exceed this amount, several really catastrophic events would have to occur and this is unlikely. 'Total' engine failures are extremely rare, in the worst case a cylinder head would need to be replaced (speaking from experience), and you would still be well covered by the warranty.
Hi guys,
Hopefully someone with more mechanical brains than me can help me out!
I recently bought a 95 'N reg 306 XLD that had 105,000 miles on the clock. I have had the car about 2 months and I have now done 108,600 miles. The car has quite a few faults and as I am quite new to diesel cars I am not sure whether I should expect them at 100,000 + miles.
1. The exhaust constantly rattles - I think it may be a baffle gone on the inside - I havnt checked to see if the exhaust is still original.
2. When the engine gets hot the accelerator pedal (or cable) makes a loud audible creaking (similar sound to the exhaust).
3. The clutch cable is extremly stiff and the biting point jumps around all over the place.
4. So far it uses about a quater to half a pint of oil a week (I do 40 miles a day), but there are no signs that it is burning it apart from an almost burnt plastic smell when the car is cold.
5. I cant get more than 450 miles out of a tank (I normally drive at 70-75 on the motorway, but I even tried driving at 60 and it made no difference)
I paid £2995 for the car (which I think was a bit much thinkint bout it) and I have already taken it back once due to cold starting problems. The garage replaced the glow plugs but the problem hasnt really gone away. Am I asking too much for a car thats done this milage or should I take it back again??
Cheers,
Rob Read more
Rob:
I'm no great legal or mechanical expert, but I may be able to help a little.
Warranty, returning to garage - You will probably know the answer to this question better then anyone else. What do you think the response of the garage will be? Are they a respectable main dealer with a good reputation to loose or a dodgy fly-by-night under the railway arches? Of course lots will also depend on the terms of the warranty, but I think you inferred earlier that there were few exclusions? Do you think from reading the warranty that the fault as described will be covered?
Another idea, which may help, or may tell you what you don't really want to know - I presume you have the details of the previous owner on the V5? I don't think there could be any harm in calling them and asking if they were aware of the fault and did they have any idea of the cause? When did it start etc.
Hope you get to the bottom of it soon
Andy
Browse
To make you feel a whole lot better go take a test drive in a Honda Jazz, you will then experience what a what a car with firm suspension realy feels like. I know, I bought one!!!!!!!!.