April 2003
Where I wonder, do Parkers price guide get their figures from. They appear to be wildly optimistic.
My Dec95 Nreg 80k silver Rover 214SLi with FSH, good nick etc is valued at £1660 according to them! I've had it around the adverts for £1450 ono for 2 weeks now and not had a peep. Only thing I can think of is that the figure is too high despite being over £200 less than Parkers.
My question is what broadbrush percentage of the Parkers price do us mere mortals not in the motor trade have to deduct to get a realistic value when selling or buying?
Regards,
Alf Read more
Just remembered.
My Father in Law had a day trip out to the Lake District last weekend with his walking club. Driving through the lakes they had been 'bombed' by a couple of birds, and thought nothing more of it.
However while stopped in a car park in Ambleside, he and the group in the car had attracted some odd glances and pointing.
The same thing happened on the M'way home.
It was only after getting back, 150 miles or so later that he discovered a bird (dead), beak embedded in the front passenger door seal, obviously the source of the interest from other concerned road users .....
It took some effort to prise it out !
Steve Read more
Hi all, I'm going with a mate tomorrow to Yes card credit 'cos he's looking to buy and struggling to get the finance anywhere else.
Has anyone dealt with them? I know their prices are supposed to be extortionate from what I've heard. But are the cars up to the job? Or do they get a load of thrashed ex-renta cars and sell them off to unsuspecting customers?
The whole point of getting the car is that it must be small, have high mpg and be very reliable, he's looking at a Micra.
Also, is it possible to haggle in these places or is it like when I was at Trade Sales, the price you see is what you pay, no offers kinda thing? Only I want to haggle a CD player in for him at the very least!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated... I hate going into these situations blind.
P.S. Quick advice would be even better, I've got to be at his by 9:30 am!
Thanx
Blue Read more
"a particularily annoying "Yes you Can""
Anyone notice how quickly that became "Yes you could"?
Tells it's own tale.
Hi,
I have a 1999 Renault Clio 1.6 Si and have noticed a few worrying symptoms. It\'s done about 53000. I suspect a dead cylinder gasket, and would be grateful for some advice.
- Slow loss of cooling water. Yes - topping it up with additive.
- Bubbling noise behind dash on accelleration.
- Dried residue below join between sections of engine, below the exhaust outlet, between 2nd and 3rd blocks.
The engine has not overheated.
Is this known as the \"cylinder head gasket\", or is it something else? What would be involved in changing the gasket and how much should it cost? Is it going to fail expensively at any time soon?
What\'s causing the bubbling noise?
Has anyone got any other advice?
Many thanks, Nick
Read more
If it is a head gasket then £660 is a bit over the top £400-£450 more like it based on a 1400 Clio that I did recently replacing headbolts cam belt etc.
Andrew
Happiness is a T70 at full chat!
Hi All
I have a VW Golf Mk 2 (81,000miles 1300cc)
My accelerator cable detached itself from the accelerator pedal bush whilst driving!
The cause of this was the metal hook attached to the end of the cable. The L shaped metal hook was bent outwards (i.e. the 90 degree L shape had bent to a 120 degree L shape). This resulted in the releasing of itself from the pedal rubber bush. The rubber bush was also in a poor shape due the poor contact with the hook.
I have replaced the bush and bent the hook back to it?s 90 degree L shape using pliers.
Should I really get a new accelerator cable and hook to be on the safe side?
Andrew
Read more
Well it is a 1300 Golf... you might not notice for a while that it had broken!
Keeping to my new found routine of careful driving, keeping to the speed limits etc I have tried to drive "sensibly" on my way to work each morning. This includes keeping to the left where possible, maintaining a reasonable distance between me and the car in front, and keeping a relaxed attitude to the behaviour of others etc etc.
This morning however I joined the motorway, and quickly got up to 65-70, moving out into the middle lane to get past the inevitable lorries and slower traffic. A lady in a Golf on the joining sliproad in front of me however had joined the inside lane, and once I overtook her pulled out behind me - then matching speed and keeping no more than 10m or so behind me.
This lasted for about a half a mile - it's one of my major bugbears, very dangerous and un-necessary - tailgating whether conciously or unconsciously - and as a result I touched on my brakes to "get her off my tail". It worked, and she got the message and overtook off into the distance.
Why people feel the need to follow so closely is beyond me, especially where there's another lane to use, and keep within the limit/reasonable speed.
Cheers,
Steve Read more
Mark(RLBS) wrote
it would eventually have an effect - and I *always* call the employer if I can, and the police if it was bad enough.
Mark,
Top marks for coming to the assistance of a damsel in distress (extra credit for her being in a Mini).
Perhaps that idiot will think twice in future about jumping out of his lorry, although somehow I doubt it. Let's just hope that whoever he causes to be hurt by the inevitable consequences of this driving is someone he's close to.
As for calling the employer, done it a few times now, always interesting to see the reaction to nutters operating in the company name.
Lee.
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
Can anyone recommend a good cleaner for alcantara seats. I want to keep my in tip-top condition, but am a little worried about using anything that may be a bit harsh.
Thanks
MLC Read more
I've also since tried 151s Traffic Film Remover (also 99p for 400ml) and Drive Cleaner (very expensive this - £1.99 for 400ml). Both very good products. The drive cleaner shifted weeks old oil stains from my tarmac better than anything else I've tried that claims suitability for tarmac. I've also bought some of their carb cleaner but am yet to try it (next service in a couple of months).
As well as the standard range, my local discount store also stocks 151s Dream Machine range - my guess is that these may be "better" as they are a little more expensive, but I'm happy with the standard stuff so far.
Hi all,
Recently, the speedo on my 1996 306dt has been playing up. The needle drops to zero for a mile or two (mileage also stops increasing), then returns to normal. Before I give some dealer the privilege of ripping me off to the tune of a few hundred quid, I was wondering if anyone has any experience of this ( The speedo, that is-not being ripped off by a dealer ;) ) and could advise me of the most likely cause.
My first thoughts are that the cable could need replacing but would appreciate any opinions.
Thanks in advance. Read more
Thanks all.
maru - thats what I'm hoping it is. The Pug mechanic told me today that's the most likely cause.
I was hoping it wasn't the speedo unit itself, as having got it up to 165000 I'd be pretty annoyed if I had to put a new one in that would be at zero !!
My local independent changed the alternator on my 96 VW Polo 1.9D a couple of months ago because it was overcharging. Last weekend an almighty racket started up and a different garage diagnosed problems with the belt driving the alternator and the water pump. The belt was jumping really badly, creating metal and carbon dust everywhere and was trashing the water pump pulley. This they thought had been caused by the wrong alternator being fitted. The alternator pulley is wider (5 teeth wide) than the water pump pulley (4 teeth wide) and they thought that this was causing the belt to jump.
So, I took the car back to the first garage. They are now claiming after long discussions this week with VW that the alternator is in fact the correct one and that the difference in pulley width will not cause the belt to jump. Instead, they think it is due to the belt tensioner seizing up.
My questions are 1. does this seem a likely cause? and 2. should they not have changed the tensioner as a matter of course when they changed the alternator? I am prepared to row about the money if they should have changed it before because the alternator and labour cost me 350 quid - the diesel takes 3.5 hours labour vs 1 hour for the petrol engine. Ouch. Read more
I know the Mazda 6 is good etc... but does anyone know who makes the oil burner for it? Is it the ford unit from the new mondeo? or maybe the new joint ford PSA diesel, or something else. If it is the Ford, does it have the same doddgy injection system and up and down fuel economy like the Mondeo? Read more
Thanks for that, Graeme. I'll give him some more positive news!
teabelly
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Three words about p/x valuations: cost to change.