January 2003
First post here - so happy new year regulars!
Although I am some way off replacing my car, I was wondering if anyone has ever tried agreeing on a price by just using e-mail? Personally, I would travel more or less anywhere in the UK to get a decent price for a nearly new car, and would feel far more confident haggling by e-mail rather than in person. How willing do you think dealers would be to engage in this type of haggling, if they could be assured that I was 'serious'?
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After swimming my way into work today, office discussion on dealing with floods has just started. I would appreciate if anybody can add to my knowledge (or lack of it!) on the subject.
I drive a diesel. My tactic for driving through floods is to stick it in 2nd and drive straight through at a moderate speed and revs. My colleague assures me that I am doing it all wrong and what I should do is bung it in 1st, rev up to above 3000rpm and slip the clutch all the way through to keep the speed down. he further tells me that if I don't do this my engine will fill up with water and get kn*ckered.
Any opinions on this? I would be interested in hearing them due to the increasing number of times this crops up for me these days. ta! Read more
Oz,
I have been back in the UK for 18 months so have avoided the latest droughts, but my 5 years in western NSW from 1996-2001 were some of the wettest on record at the headwaters of the Castlereagh river...when we got flooded the Murray caught the flood several weeks later then about 3 months for the flood to make the sea.
But there again so much water in the Murray/Darling is being used for agriculture not much makes it to the sea anymore.
Back to motoring.....one thing I forgot....disconnect the fan unit completely if possible
regards
Ian L.
I've just been told my a garage that the problems I've been encountering with my 306 (97 D Turbo, only 54k miles) mean that I need a new engine.
Basically the problem was that the engine was losing coolant, and the head gasket went. I had anticipated that this would cost a few hundred pounds to mend but have just been told taht it can't be mended, and a replacement engine will cost 2.8k!!!
Any suggestions as to what I should do would be appreciated.
I figure that the car is probably worth 3.5 - 4k - is it worth getting the work done and keeping it for another couple of years? (I've for four, and it has started to cost me a fair bit over pasy couple of years). Or should I cut my losses and get rid of it (possibly being able to trade it in for a new one, if a garage is willing to accept a car in such a condition!
Hope someone out there can offer some useful advice.
ta
Jim Read more
Andrew,
Agreed, a good result to get a useable car back on the road for £500...and really that was the direction I was trying to point Jim in.
It's just that I'm *very* anti the guys who pass off the used or repaired gear as reconditioned. Sometimes they even put it in tiny small print on their ads that "checked used units may be substituted where appropriate". Then the reality is that 99% of the stuff they supply is to that low standard and the heading "Reconditioned Engines" was never really justified.
MM
I have recently acquired a V reg 2.5 V6 Omega and it appears to let rain water in to the front footwells (particularly the passenger side).
This only seems to occur when the car has been parked on a slope facing downwards - the water seems to collect somewhere in the engine compartment in front of the dashboard whilst the car is angled and then flows into the footwell (from behind the plastic fashia panel near to the door) when the car is driven level.
The water doesn't seem to leak in whilst the car is being driven and the leak also doesn't seem to occur when the car is parked on a level road.
Unfortunately my drive is sloped so this problem is happenning frequently at the moment.
Has anyone experienced the same or similar problems and does anyone have any solution?
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See my reply in the following thread.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=7306
If the drain is blocked solid the sump will fill to the point where the water enters the cabin. This sump drains away the rainwater which inevitably enters through the plastic air inlet grille below the n/s wiper.
Incidentally clearing out the decaying leaves completely eliminated the bad smell in my car.
I need a (relatively) cheap & reliable off roader (most urban but light occasional off road use), no towing required. To save on running cost I am thinking of getting a diesel (2.0 to 3.0 engine). I have been put off Ford Maverick (too thirsty) & Freelander (running costs).
Can anyone suggest any good ones? Cheers & happy New Year to all
Old Bill
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I have never driven a Legacy. I must admit that the Forester is sounding better and better with every article I read about it. I will try to test drive both cars to see which one best suit my needs.
Old Bill
A recent thread suggested sugar soap as a possible product for cleaning windscreens.
I have recently been doing a lot of decorating and the plastic bucket seems now to be mildly etched.
I do not know of its effect on glass, but I suggest that windscreens maybe a missuse of the product.
I use Gunk, followed by cold water and then a glass cleaner. Read more
It sounds as thought the blade(s) are not flip flopping. They should reverse their direction at the end of each sweep so that they are being dragged across the screen, trailing the wiper arm. Juddering is often caused by the blade being pushed across the screen by the arm rather than pulled. The trick is protect the arm with a cloth and use a mole wrench or big pliers to twist it so that the correct wiping action ensues.
My 96 Polo 1.6 petrol has started running cool as indicated by the gauge and a noticeable reduction of heater temperature. I suspect the coolant thermostat but have never had a definitive answer to the question "what regulates coolant temperature?". If the thermostat is acting purely as a coolant on/off valve for cold startup then surely another element must be providing regulation at normal running temperature? Read more
Thanks for all the advice. I'll change the thermostat and see what happens.
Hi
I have been using Microsoft Autoroute Express - Great Britain 98, for some time. (It is a route planning bit of software on a cd)It is now getting a little bit out of date.
Does anyone know where I can buy a replacement? I have tried the usual places - PC World etc, no luck.
Is it still in the same form, or is it combined with the Europe version? Any help or information would be appreciated.
Regards to all, drbe Don. Read more
I saw the 2003 version in PC World at £49.99 so decided to buy Route 66 (Britain only) for £29.99 and I am pretty impressed. To me, it seems a little more user friendly than Autoroute and, I have not found any inaccuracies (yet!).
Carl.
My parents have a H reg 900 in which the rear seat belt reels have jammed. The belts can be teased out be repeatedly pulling on them, but this takes ages. It appears the locking mechanism has failed as you can hear and feel it engaging even when you pull the belt very gently. I've tried spraying WD40 on them in a vain attempt to fix it but to no avail.
Is there any way these can be fixed, or will new belts be required? If they need replacing, how difficult a job is it, and how much are the belts likely to cost? If it's easy then I might have a go myself, but if specialist tools are needed then they'll have to take it to the local specialist. I assume faulty belts would be an MOT failure?
TIA for any advice! Read more
try www.saab-900.com
Saab 9000 cse lpt 1993 cutting out intermittently usually at low speed. Engine management light comes on. Engine will restart (management light still on) but when throttle opened dies away. Leave for approx 10 mins then will restart ok and management light goes out and vehicle then runs fine until next time. Any ideas gents? All help appreciated. Peter Leech Read more
No really clever ideas, but try checking the condition of the psarking plugs, check they are all screwed in. Could be a problem with the DI unit or idle control valve. A specialist could read the ECU & check for error conditions. Also, try posting this problem on the appropriate forum on the Saab owners club web site at www.saabclub.co.uk/main.html . Sorry I can't help more.
Browse
You might find someone selling on ebay or ebid would be prepared to do it to a limited extent - there are quite a few dealers openly selling on there.