Hi All.
My son has an N reg 96 Corsa 1.5 TD. GLS About 150K on the clock.

It is becoming quite difficult to select 5th gear.

You go through the normal process, up, right, push, and it goes smooth as silk into third.

Problem is worse when hot, and you have to push quite hard to the right all the way from fourth to do it.

When it does go in there's no sign of a crunch, and the car actually drives very well.

Any ideas if this is common with Corsas, and/or if it's likely to very costly to fix. (Up to about £100 would be regarded as accepable).

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Bit of a long one, sorry. Trying to get a quote on an A6 Avant 2.8 SE. 7 yrs old, worth £4995. I have had a clean licence for the last 6 odd years and have held it for 20 yrs. I'm 38, married, kids, mortgage, the whole picture. My house is half a mile off the nearest road in a country area. Yet because, over a year ago, someone nudged the company car I had at the time in a car park while I was in a meeting in a mile away, I am being quoted £1050 for fully comp.with £400 excess. Without this claim the prem would have been £750. One price is from a company which has been recommended here, the other a broker picked at random.
Can anyone explain how the actions of someone I've never met and over which I had no control, in connection with a car I didn't own, can possibly make me a higher risk of future claims arising, when I have an unblemished driving record? Basically the insurance company is saying there is a one in 5 chance that the car will be written off in the next 12 months.
Does anyone know of an insurer who will insure a group 18 car on 3rd party F&T because at these rates I might as well self-insure for accident damage? Are there any insurers who will look at the value of the car rather than just its ins. grp? Are there any insurers who can distinguish between a 10 foot drive outside your house and a half mile dead end track to a farm house? Read more

I have just purchased an approved used vw bora 1.6 S (registered in 2000). It seems to have a regular miss when idling (that is noticable inside the car) and also I it is impossible to get the car to decelerate smoothly.
When the car is in neutral if I increase the revs to 2200 and then try to ease off to 1800 the revs just drop to idle and the accelerator pedal is pulled away from my foot! When driving in 4th or 5th and you ease off the pedal still moves away. In 1st or 2nd if you just accelerate and then ease off the car nose dives and almost stalls (it does stall if you let it).
This is the best bit, I took the car back to the dealership and they have told me that these are "normal characteristics of the Volkswagen 1.6 SR engine".

Has anybody got/had a similar vehicle and are these normal characteristics? Read more

Hey!

Im seriously considering a Cordoba (or maybe Ibiza) with the outstanding TDI 130 PD engine and 6-speed 'box but wonder why the larger Leon and Toledo do not come with this engine. My local dealer had hoped that the attractive new Toldeo Sport would ship with the 130 engine but alas its got the troublesome 1.8 20V-T petrol only. I understand that in Europe the Leon can even be had with the TDI150 - why are we kept from such power!

I also notice that whilst Skoda have PD power in the Fabia and Superb, the Octavia is still packing the old 110 rotary-pump lump. I would seriously consider a Toledo if it had the 130 engine, as at the current prices it looks like far better value than a Cordoba. Any ideas when (if?) it may be available with the PD engine?

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While driving on Saturday an alarm tone and malfunction indicator came up on my year 2000 MB 230 CLK Kompressor.
Indication was BAS - Brake assist with severity 2 and visit workshop advice.
Returned home and message remained in malfunction display.
This morning, no malfunction and no record in the malfunction display.
I have an indicated 6000 miles to next service, which with my current driving profile will not be for some 3-6 months.
Advice please?


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