April 2003
Considering getting a Mondeo II for my next car. I am downsizing from a Volvo S80 - see my other post regarding theft and recovery of this car!
Anyway, come September I am handing it back to the HP company, having achieved 50% of the payments. I want to replace it with something a little smaller, hopefully cheaper to buy and run, but with the luxuries like leather etc. I have become used to. The Volvo is a manual, but I'd like to switch to an auto.
Anyway, should I go for a 2.0 or 2.5 Ghia X Auto? Clearly, the 2.0 will be cheaper to insure and run, but is it underpowered with an auto box? I am looking to by a 12-18 month old (Motorpoint new ones are tempting, but I want to maximise my depreciation savings), so purchase price is likely to be within shouting distance of each other.
Or am I barking up the wrong tree with the Mondeo? Badge snobbery apart, what I have read indicates it is nearly as good a vehicle as the premium marques in the Compact Exec sector. Anyone disagree? Read more
Read the "car by car" breakdown on the mondeo diesel and was worried to see 35 mpg quoted in some instances. How have people found the car generally and economy wise? Friend is thinking of getting one as a company car, the other alternative is a Passat 2.0 s petrol.
Any thoughts on the above gratefully received! Read more
I have searched the Net for rules and regs and can't find a clear answer. Please can anyone explain where the VED disc is meant to be displayed, on a car, and where I can find a reference to the law? I thought bottom left hand corner of near-side windscreen on a RHD drive can but I can't prove it! Read more
Armitage,
if you prefer an easy life you might want to put it in the bottom near-side.
About 18 months ago I got pulled over and given a 'warning' by traffic because I had the VED in the top near-side.
See( www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=27...0 )
Kevin...
Here\'s a subject that will have most of you racking your brains.
I race a Class 1 Mini in autograss,and have just recently detonated 1 of a new set of 4 pistons.A nice little hole has appeared in the top,and to say I\'m mighty fed up would be an understatement.
I am therefore looking for 1 new piston to replace this.Easy,you may say.Wrong.The piston is an oversize 60 piston for a 998cc car,with 3 rings on it.I have scoured far and wide to get a replacement,but they are like hens teeth.There is a part number on the top which is JP0524A,and no-one seems to be able to help.
The question is my dear friends,if anyone knows where I can obtain this or an equivalent piston,then I would be extremely grateful. Read more
"Bit late now" - especially as the thread is resurrected from 2003! :-)
Feel free to stick it in classified too...
smokie, BR Moderator
3 series sports models have a space saver spare. I'd prefer something more substantial but the front rims are 8inch wide and the rears 8 1/2.The answer would seem to be to carry an 8inch and drive carefully if used on the rear. I phoned BMW customer service who said that that would be illegal but that the skinny space saver was not.Can anyone shed light on this? What spares do X5 sports and 5 Series sports,(which have different size wheels) carry.
Read more
My 1990 Escort 1.3 (103k miles) sometimes exhibits shaking through the steering which is reminiscent of the wheels being out of balance. All is OK below 60mph but above that the shaking comes and goes. Wheels have only just been re-balanced. Extent of shaking seems to be linked to throttle position. If I keep the throttle nailed to the floor there's no shaking, but when I back off to maintain a steady cruising speed the shaking returns. Could it be anything to do with driveshafts?
Solution is to keep at or below 60mph which is good for MPG but makes the daily commute down the M5 a bit steady? Any thoughs?
Cheers Read more
Got the same car and had a similar problem. The shaking occurred at 60 and improved slightly in a linear fashion as speed was increased but it didn't come and go. It went away when I had the tyres replaced. Guess it was unevenly worn tyres or unbalanced wheels.
Can't you keep your foot to floor? Mine only goes up to about 90-95ish on the flat, takes ages to get there and doesn't like inclines much.
Parked in Guildford railway station car park recently and returned to find that a number of cars had lost their number plates (they were there when I left, I am an observant type).
Seemed to be off newish Fords mostly. Mine luckily was intact (custom plate).
I assume they were ripped off to order because it is now more difficult to get 'clone' plates made up. Have the Government invented a new crimimal career for basic street thug types?
Say £10 a set of plates from specificied vehicle or some such?
The car park is festooned with cameras, as is Guildford town centre but of course it also requires someone to watch them/give a damn whats happening. Read more
Has anyone noticed, as I didn't, that in the consultation exercise leading up to to the new number plate regs, the special font was proposed by Tony's cronies.
And it turns out that this font is not available openly but only if you use one of the machines supplied by Tony's cronies.
And you can't buy a machine you have to rent it. From? Yes you guessed it from.........
Does anyone else find that the large chevron-marked boards on many large roundabouts hamper the view of approaching traffic from the right, when joining?
I find that they often obscure the view just long enough to prevent joining 'at speed', forcing an unnecessary stop!
Maybe I just need a longer neck, (or a 4x4, or an artic, etc.)....... Read more
So they roughly mirror the same divisions in car drivers, all road users and indeed the general populace.
That, I'm afraid is just the way it is.
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
Hiya,
Have a 4 year old Merc A class A170 diesel, which has just recently started to blow hot and cold with the aircon on. Sometimes when set to its coldest setting it blows very cold (like it should) for a while, then it might blow hot (not just room temperature, hot) for a while (anything from 5 minutes upwards), then maybe back to cold again. Sometimes it will blow hot from starting.
Does anyone have any ideas as to areas to look at as to the cause of the problem? I think it may be a loose wire somewhere, if it were gas issues shurely it wouldn't work at all?
The Merc garage had a look but say they couldn't find anything wrong, I reckon they just started the car and because it worked for them at that point they ignored the issue...
Any advice appreciated...
TIA
mike Read more
Thanks, will empty my wallet in the general direction of Mercedes.
Unless anyone wants to buy a PoS A-Class with dodgy aircon... :-)
mike
I have often wondered how the dealers feel on this programme, when not only do they get secretely recorded without their prior knowledge, but do they 'loose' a sale if the person decides to go for the other car on offer? I would be right miffed if I were the dealer, gave the customer a good deal on the basis of doing the deal that day, only to find out that the punter goes for the other car!
Did anyone see it last night? It certainly did little to enhance the common perception of Essex girls!
Cheers.
TT. Read more
Yes, a crazy situation, not buying a car because it doesn't have electric windows when so many are available with 'em, but that's the programme format I guess.
Just a word of caution on the MX5 insurance really. When people say MX5, they mean exactly that. The Eunos Roadster (Japanese import) is a bit pricier insurance-wise.
Browse
Fair play! The Ford Direct route is probably very sensible, the car already having had it's worse year of depreciation.
I reckon best thing you can do is find a dealer with a 2 and a 2.5 on his forecourt and give both of them a go.
One thing I do remember from posts gone by, and you'd be well advised to chat to HJ about this, is that the old model (not sure about current) V6 had 3 cats fitted to it! Extraordinarily expensive at replacement time. Like I say, not sure about the new one but perhaps a deciding factor?
Good luck with the car hunting...
Dan