April 2003
I'm told by everyone, including Honest John that the S-Class wears tyres very quickly, especially on the front. Typically 6,000, 9,000 or 12,000 miles depending on who you ask and how you drive of course. I drive like I'm on a Sunday jaunt. Apparently.
;)
Which ones do folk recommend? They are 245/60 somethings so not the cheapest in the first place.
In the past I've found myself changing tyres on my old 190E because of things other than general wear (rips, tears, bulges, cracking etc) and so I'm not always sure about spending X% more on a tyre that lasts x% miles longer. The logic being that the chances are that it's not going to make the full distance anyway.
But, as always, open to suggestion ...
The (19-year-old) 190E ran on £100-for-four remoulds for the last three years. One or two DID seem to perish abnormally quickly and it's not an experience I want to repeat on the S280.
rojer@lycos.co.uk
1.3 'A' Astra
'W' Renault 18
'H' Renault 25 TXi
'H' Astra Est
'K' Passat
' Read more
I\'m told by everyone, including Honest John that the S-Class wears tyres quickly, especially on the front. Typically 6,000, 9,000 or 12,000 depending on who you ask.
Which ones do folk recommend? They are 245/60 somethings.
In the past I\'ve found myself changing tyres on my old 190E because of things other than general wear (rips, tears, bulges, cracking etc) and so I\'m not always sure about spending X% more on a tyre where x > 70% of the difference in cost to a \'regular\' tyre and life of tyre in miles is a 100% increase.
The chances are that it\'s not going to make 18,000 or 20,000 miles anyway.
But, open to suggestion ...
rojer@lycos.co.uk
1.3 \'A\' Astra
\'W\' Renault 18
\'H\' Renault 25 TXi
\'H\' Astra Est
\'K\' Passat
\' Read more
Hi,
The last couple of days I've noticed what sounds like someone tapping on metal coming from the front driver side of my Astra. It could be from under the bonnet, or from the wheel, I'm not sure.
The noise seems to happen intermittently but I think only in low gears, travelling slowly, or stationary.
I know I'm not explaining this at all well, but does anyone think it could be anything to worry about?
Thanks for any come-back.
HF Read more
Thanks Baz!
Wise Owls,
I have a potential 'issue' with the engine cooling system on my '97 Vectra 2.0 Di (yeah, yeah), and I was wondering if it is indicative of anything serious, or whether I can risk leaving well alone until I manage to part-ex the car, (hopefully towards the end of this year), thus avoiding any unnecessary expenditure.
Whilst travelling at a steady speed in a straight line, the temperature gauge (basic analogue one, no fancy digital version fitted) registers no temperature at all, the needle sits on the lower stop. When cornering, accelerating, or braking, the needle rises about 25% of the way up the scale, then drops back down to the stop again when travelling in the aforementioned straight line. At a halt, with the engine idling, the needle oscillates slowly between nothing and about 25%.
I don't seem to be losing cooling fluid, and the ECU light is not illuminated.
Any wisdom gratefully received.
Robbo Read more
Hi Robbo
I used to have one of these and exactly the symptoms you describe occurred following the replacement of spill pipes by highly trained VX technicians.
Seems they had crushed the cable to the temp sensor when doing the other work. To their credit they did own up and replace the section in question.
as ever
Mark
Other half took her 206 to an independant for 2 yr service, he recommended it needed new discs and pads. Now for a 16000 mile car new discs is a bit extreme I thought.
Drove the car myself and they are so bad that it feels like the ABS is working all the time, and the car lurches to a stop!
Has anyone else had this problem? The goober at peugeot reckoned it was from excessive heat through commuter driving!!!
(plus its still got that stupid power failure problem - emissions is it? ECU cure?)
Any feedback greatly received
R6RYM Read more
My partner is a driving instructor (206 1.4 LX 2001 Y reg) and prior to a main dealer service I checked the brake discs/pads (not trusting the local Peugeout dealer you see) and at 38000 miles the pads were fine (original ones) but the discs were 0.5 mm below the minimum wear limit. I rang 3 local dealers (to get the parts and do it myself) and all three said the that was about right mileage for new discs, so 16000 miles is far too low for discs, unless as suggested they are warped, possibly due to binding brakes caused by sticking calipers?...
I've just bought a Mercedes S280 1997 4-speed with 95K and FMBSH to 88K. Short service due shortly.
Can an S280 be run on a budget? I'm aware of Euro Car Parts and German-Swedish for parts. I've been told that cheap tyres are a false economy on this heavy tyre-wearing car. But what is the detailed service schedule on an S280? I don't intend to use Mercedes Dealerships for .. ermm .. anything really as they didn't seem to want to sell me a car in the first place ... I tried three times over 18 months and failed!
I did managed to keep my 9 year-old 190E going for another 11 years by changing fluids once a year and a 'full' service every four or five years. It was rust and the 350,000 or so that finally got it. Can an S280 be treated in anything like the same way? Surely a service every 9,000 miles is pessimistic and covers those drivers who thrash their cars. I NEVER race my car, I always let it warm on first starting and avoid short journeys wherever possible.
I'd like to keep it for another 10 years, at least so I'm not really interested in keeping a resale value ... at all. Any help, tips, experience, advice or links very appreciated.
rojer@lycos.co.uk
1.3 'A' Astra
'W' Renault 18
'H' Renault 25 TXi
'H' Astra Est
'K' Passat
' Read more
I don't think you'll get a similar deal to mine as the 1 FMBSH owner from new left the country the next day and he priced it to sell. Let's just say it was worth my brother driving from London to Stirling THAT VERY AFTERNOON THAT WE SAW THE ADVERT.
It had 92K miles and in addition to the 1996 'P' reg spec. it has leather, hidden aerial, Panasonic pop-off CD player, metallic paint and side air bags.
On a private sale do not approach anywhere near 10,000. If you shop around you'll find things coming in at £8500.
Haggle and ask any question you want of the owner. You, at the end of the day, are doing THEM a favour, not the other way around. We saw a whole bunch of duff Mercs (okay, three) and drove hundreds of miles in the process ... but it was worth it in the end. Never be afraid of walking away. Spend as much time checking out the owner as you do the car and look out for suspicious stories.
Oh, and while I'm at it ask the following and save time and effort:
o IS it from Japan? (or some other country)
o Which side is the steering wheel on?
o Has it got ANY dents at all? (including dents that you did last week / yesterday / hadn't spotted)
o Are you a diplomat? (Because you can't get trading standards to do anything about their lies)
o Are you really going to be there when I visit or will you cancel when I am five minutes away?
o Does full Mercedes Benz History mean that all the services were done without missing any at a Mercedes Benz dealership?
o When you say 'immaculate', is that before or after the accident is repaired and the stone chips and missing parts of the body are replaced?
o Is that mileage in miles, kilometres or some other unit that you've just made up?
o Are the leather seats made from cloth?
Okay, it's a little tongue-in-cheek but believe it or not, we had ALL of the above
!!!!
Get a fax of their V5 sent and get it HPI checked. Ask them if the service history IS complete.
My brother has just chipped in with two more we found when we were looking for a (sorry) BMW (!):
o Has it REALLY got air conditioning or are you just confused by the maximum output of the normal heater on the coldest setting?
o Is it REALLY automatic or do you have to have a robotic arm / passenger with nothing else to do for the next 10 years?
;)
Apparently he got to the sellers addresses and the above would have saved time
rojer@lycos.co.uk
1.3 'A' Astra
'W' Renault 18
'H' Renault 25 TXi
'H' Astra Est
'K' Passat
'
My first posting so please be gentle! ;)
I\'ve (finally) bought a Mercedes S280 1997 4-speed with 95K and FMBSH to 88K. It\'s had a major \"mechanical\" service a few thousand miles early and it\'s due a \"short service\" in about another 2k.
I\'ve always pondered about this but I intend to run the S280 on a budget, which means not taking the car to a Mercedes dealership for a start ... having tried to buy an S-Class from MErcedes Dealerships THREE times and failed!
But how much CAN I get away with in terms of servicing costs? Surely there must be a large built-in margin in the service schedule to cater for those that thrash their cars. I don\'t.
I always let the car warm up in the mornings, I try to avoid long journeys and I\'ve only taken the car abive 3,000 revs twice in the month I\'ve had it so far and that\'s the way I intend to keep it. Honest.
The Mercedes schedule is a lubrication service followed by a \"mechanical\" service one after the other. What do these services cover? Is there a detailed schedule somewhere on the internet?
We did manage to keep a 9 year-old 190E going for another 11 years by changing fluids once a year and a \'full\' service every four or five years. Can an S280 be treated in the same way? I expect to keep it going for another 10 years, at least.
Any help, tips, experience, advice or links very appreciated.
PS It\'s pleasure to drive!
rojer@lycos.co.uk
1.3 \'A\' Astra
\'W\' Renault 18
\'H\' Renault 25 TXi
\'H\' Astra Est
\'K\' Passat
\' Read more
Rojer
I'm on my second MB E320 Coupé. For what it's worth:
* I NEVER "warm up" the car. The manuals for this car, my Golf VR6, my now-departed Audi 100 and every other car I've driven say that you should drive off immediately after starting. I recall a report from HJ who said that a Ford engineer had described cold idling as "incredibly damaging". Add to that the noise annoyance for neighbours and the pollution, and it's a no-no as far as I'm concerned.
* I make sure that I hardly ever do a journey of less than 10 miles. Short journeys ruin engines; long journeys are good for them.
* I get all fluids changed regularly and am on a six-monthly regime for the engine oil. I'm about to go to KwikFit to get an interim Mobil 1 refill at half price: they have a tariff that they stick to, notwithstanding the fact that I'd have to pay twice as much for a couple of 4-litre packs at Halfords (I've pointed this out to them and they shrug their shoulders and, of course, smile -- they no longer jump in the air).
* I stick rigidly to the service schedule. To date I've stuck to MB main dealers, having bought the cars from them with the benefit of the Signature warranty run by the RAC, which I have extended (I think it requires me to use a main dealer). My experience with them has been expensive and mixed, my faith being seriously shaken last time around when they failed to refill the autobox properly at the 36,000 mile service. I have a mobile independent guy service the Golf; he's a German-car specialist and I am strongly tempted to switch the MB to him, especially if the RAC warranty will allow me to. His charges come in at about half those of the VW dealers and he inspires a great deal more confidence -- and I can talk to him sensibly. I found him by asking about independent specialists at a local VW/Audi parts shop.
* You'll pick up a lot of useful information from the MB enthusiast sites on the Web. There's a big US one that's very active.
There are often discussions on here about the plus and minus points of the old Vectra and how certain motor journalists really slagged it off, saying that it was one of the worst cars on the road. But why was the 9-3 not categorised in the same boat (apart from the convertible which caught quite a lot of flack despite being the UK's best seller). After all they have exactly the same chassis which I believe was the basis of all the criticism. Is this just brand snobery or is there something more to it? Read more
I think you'll find that Volvo is now well integrated into Ford, like Jaguar and Land-Rover; but then Saab is now well integrated into GM.
A lot of initial perceptions about a car are down to the suspension settings used at launch. Ford used to have different suspension settings for each country in Europe but has rationalised down in number. GM used to use the same settings for Vauxhall as Opel which is why Vauxhalls have never been rated for ride or roadholding, on UK roads. Using their sports car subsidiary in Norfolk during development is now giving benefits for all GM brands.
Hello all,
I have been troubled with my Diesel 309 (no turbo), which starts fine, but runs lumpy and a bit smokey when cold (white smoke). It seems to smoke on deceleration (blueish smoke) but these problems disappear when warm. It doesnt seem to have used much oil in the last 500 miles (the time i have had the car). Does anyone have any ideas as to what this may be?
I have fitted new injectors and checked that there is no air in the fuel lines, changed the fuel and air filter. These seem to have helped but still very imbarrasing on short journeys to work on cold days! Please can anyone help?
Read more
It would probably pay you to change the glow plugs. If any of them don't work it would explain why you've got white smoke and runs lumpy from cold.
We have a 2 year old Skoda Fabia 1.9 tdi, with the PD engine. It has covered just under 45,000 km and we hope, as pensioners, to keep the car in good running order until WE are not!
I asked my Skoda dealers to carry out the 45,000 service last Monday and in addition requested they change the engine coolant, brake fluid and gearbox oil, plus the air and pollen filters.
The charming lady receptionist point blank refused "Is no necessary" in her best English. My Spanish is not yet good enough to argue the point so there the matter rested. I have insisted on intermediate oil & filter changes and they don't really want to do that either!
Now, I know that modern cars are supposed to run for ever on modern fluids, (I don't agree, by the way), but my question is -
"Am I being in too much of a "belt & braces" mode in my requests - how often should one have the fluids changed?" Read more
My local Ford dealer checks the "boiling point" of the brake fluid, and provided that it is above a proscribed level they don't press you to have the fluid changed. If they think the fluid is OK, I'd sooner not have the hydraulic system mucked about with.
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
Browse
It looks worse than the previous one, IMHO.