April 2003
Received the mailshot last week.
1.8 16V Duratec petrol engine (125 PS) 6-disc CD player, sporty 7-spoke alloys, unique metallic graphite paint, special edition badging plus the usual stuff.
£13,995 on-the-road for 36 months interest free = 30% deposit (35,031) plus 36 x £249.00.
Little brother can get it via his Ford Priviledge Access for £11,099 on-the-road!
Worth it or should I have 20% discount on a Volvo instead?
RickyBoy (still driving my tried and trusted '98 Octavia SLX...) Read more
Hope this might help me and others:
I have just been scanning HJ's excellent advice on buying and selling cars and noticed, in the checking out a car section, that he says PAS fluid should be changed every 2 or 3 years.
I have never heard this said before, or noticed it as part of any servicing recommendations in a manual.
Does anyone else (dis)agree, or care to tell me why it needs a regular change?
I'm confident HJ's comment is well founded, it's just that I don't understand.
Ta
Andy Read more
No
I need to replace the mount for my off-side door mirror - does anyone have any clues as to how I can remove the mirror without breaking it? Any help appreciated. Read more
I had the front drivers side indicator out of my 1.8 petrol 98 R Vectra (BTW it is the simplest way to replace the bulb, as the whole indicator is held in by a big grey clip) Behind the indicator is a black box that that connects into the air intake ducting on the dirty side of the air filter. What is this black box for??
I am interested as my ducting has come out and it is a struggle to get back in. The car seems to run ok with out it on, but for all I know it could have been disconnected since I bought the car!!
I doubt if Vauxhall would have the part if it was not required. If it does give some advantage it will be a pain to reconnect, I suspect I will have to remove the most of the front bumper to get enough movement to get it back on. So needless to say I am not keen to reconnect it just to see if I notice any difference. Read more
Thanks for that
...... the Miscellaneous thread on www.vectra-sport.com/ also has.......
this site open with "This site is dedicated to the owners who are passionate about their Vauxhall Vectra's. " Laugh? I nearly fell of my seat!!
I guess I will not bother with the hastle of reconnecing this ducting, and continue hoping that nobody notices my closet baseball cap wearing habits
Thanks again
Have only just joined the site & have been impressed with the sharing of views & knowledge.
I have run older cars with family etc history into the ground and with careful maintenance have had few problems - now I am looking for another \"goodun\" to keep going from say 100k to end of life.
Having spent this weekend looking at stuff (no ex-family cars available !) I was shocked at what I found - I understood 2nd hand cars had dropped in price etc and the mkt was good for cash so hoped £1500 to £2000 would be enough to find a sweet one - looking mainly at Mondeos.
What do I see but a load of rubbish and rip-offs:-
1. 1st one - Before travelling asked if any oil leaks, all worked, no dings etc and got there to find it suffered from all the above when I was told it was fine !
2. Another advertised as 60K FSH but forgot to mention the engine & b\'box from a scrapper & rusty sills etc.
So ... I go to the dealers & find they all want well over A1 book - £500 to £1000 up without any apparent willingness to haggle.
Looks like a lot of legwork is required to find something sweet -also have noticed anything any good appears to go V quickly.
I\'m in the south west - is this the same all over ? Read more
With you on that one Rob, but don't forget, if you've only got one of something to sell, you only need one to find one idiot to get shot of it at a vastly inflated price.
Did anyone see the new Honda advert in one of the Heartbeat advert breaks last night? Absolutely brilliant. For those that haven't yet seen it, it's based on numerous car bits and pieces that act like dominoes. eg, radiator falls over which knocks an exhaust pipe into a spring that hits a cylinder head, etc, etc. Very well thought out, IMHO. Read more
Was at a Honda main dealer last week helping my dad buy an (old-shape) Accord, and they had a big pile of the DVDs, with a "free - please take one" sign next to them...
Hi,
My first post here concerns my 1997 1.9tdi Passat that has suddenly developed a nasty "graunching / grinding" noise when I turn the steering wheel. It is particularly noticeable at low speeds, but seems to start immediately on the smallest movement of the steering wheel. My technical abilities are non existent, so I will be taking it to a garage, but can anyone make any suggestions as to what might be the cause. I basically don't want to be ripped off through ignorance.
Many thanks Read more
Yellerbelly,
There have been a number of recalls for Passats and in particular for steering related issues such as tie rod ends. The keywords Passat, Steering and Recall in google will yield some useful info. I don't know if this would have anything to do with your problems but I had the same thing (but it didn't happen suddenly) on mine and it got fixed quite promptly. In fact the one and only time the dealer made a positive impression on me. It might be worth you checking with your local VW dealer or VAG at Milton Keynes quoting your VIN.
I saw a photo of it in the Telegraph and somewhere on the web. The first impression: Are those ugly panel gaps I see? Or will BMW say that these are 'pre-production versions'and blag that they will fix this later (which they wont/can't)?
In any case, they will sell lots of them: the BMW brand is so strong that the marketing folks will see to that. Just look at the Z3: proof that you can sell anything to anyone. Read more
I drove one when they frist came out.....and I was convinced by it, a superb drive, secure, safe and very quick for such a size. I may have stated at the time that I wouldn't care what it looked like if I owned it, being in it was as near as automotive perfection. Personally I would opt for the 730.
Taking my 1.8 petrol Escort to have it's cambelt changed at the Ford main agent, they've told me i'll need to drop it off this evening instead of tomorrow morning as it has to stand for a few hours first.
Is this true? If so why?
I'm guessing that they'll push the car onto the ramps in the morning?!
PP Read more
OK the trade info I would follow for the 1.8 diesel is to allow the car to cool for 3-5hrs. These engines are fitted with auto-tensioners and the way my guidelines are written it appears to say they have an element of temperature compensation built into the device.
You can see from that fitting a new (cold) tensioner onto a hot engine would be the worse possible situation.
With the reputation these (diesel) engines have for munching timing belts every possible bit of advice should be followed.
MM
Advice please. Wifes clio, 1.2. Three years old last month, 24000 miles FDSH. Question is - belt changes.
Now this is obviously well short of being due for belt changes mileage wise, but what about time wise? Any advise welcome. Read more
Nope, only eight at that age. The 1.2 16v was introduced in late 2000 and there aren't many of that engine around in that shape Clio - certainly not as old as R reg.
Even getting the job done with about 8 hours' labour is quite impressive. (£160 for parts, ~£400 for labour, ~£30 for ancillaries + VAT).
Browse
I would agree, the Volvo is nice but it's not really a class vehicle and the fit and finish isn't that different from a Ford.