May 2003
Does anyone know if the clutch is adjustable or fixed?
Thank you Read more
On Saturday I was on ye olde booze cruise to Calais at the Citie d'Europe shopping mall.
Whilst wheeling my shopping trolley around the Carrefour supermarket I saw that they sold all sorts of branded motor oils at non-discount prices that were still cheaper than Halfords so-called '20% discount'.
Example: Castrol Semi synthetic Diesel, 4.5 L:
Halfords 20% discount=£17.65 (usual price £22.00).
Carrefour normal price=£14.20 (i.e. E19.95 euros@1.4 exchange rate).
Another example of rip-off Britain?
I bought 4 bottles (of oil, not Chablis!). Read more
I don't pretend to understand how all of these differences occur, but they are real. >>
Aprilia: We agree then. I am not disputing that some/all car parts may cost more in the Uk than in some/all other countires. But that is not the same as saying that the UK is a "rip-off". Taking account of all factors, in all free market countries, the prices charged will be broadly the maximum that the particular market can bear. If the oportunity to make huge profits existed in the UK car parts/accessories market, you would see the likes of PEP-Boys from USA trying to muscle in here. As it is, Halfords is left alone to sell in the High Street and its out-of-town large warehouses. The profit margin is to small to attract competitors, but jsut enough to allow Halfords to sell £550m worth of goods to milions of its regular customers each year.
So the B'ham relief road toll will be £3 at peak, £2 non-peak and £11 for trucks - inc VAT, which it seems the truckers can recover but the BBC report seems to imply that company cars can't, perhaps I've misunderstood, I'm sure someone will correct me.
£3 or sit for an hour looking at Hilton Park, worrying about being late for that big meeting - it's no brainer. I'd pay £10 if it meant I could get past B'ham without dropping out of 5th gear Read more
Oops I should have added a bit if text to my last post to go with the link below.
www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,951301,0...l
So the Australian company plan to charge what they like and take advantage of the lack of English law surrounding toll roads. (Starts weeping in coffee)
I have a 94 registered BMW525 and I am about to buy a second one. I have tried to find a car seat that will sit securely in the back seats (I will need to put two baby seats in the back, one for a two yr old and one for a nine month old) but cannot find one that will not sway sideways.
I have tried BMW, Halfords and even asked the Police! to no avail.
The problem appears to be due to the slight bucket style of the seat itself and the belts coming from the centre to lock into the receptor which is in the seat itself.
Any help gratefully received Read more
SD
Each Mothercare shop should have a trained car seat advisor, I would try your local mothercare superstore. At the very least they have a larger range than halfords and will let you try each seat they have.
Britax have a customer help line 01264386064
or try
The In Car Safety Centre - 01908 220909
Quickfit Safety Belt Service - 0208 2060101
Just out of interest, my local maternity hospital would not let you take the baby home in your car unless the Midwife had checked the seating arrangements for the baby, and this was 13 years ago!
Its inexcusable that BMW cant advise re this.
After a 2-hour of driving during the weekend (not too hard, around 4,500 rpm for most of the time), the engine of my 1991 Nissan 200sx is vibrating while it is idling at around 850 rpm (even the exhaust pile and gear stick are shaking). The sound of the exhaust is very rough, like the engine of a small boat. The engine is no longer shaking if I increase the engine to around 1,500 rpm or above. Everything seems normal before the trip, …
I checked the following items yesterday:
- Check & clean the air filter, & everything seem normal
- Check & clean the spark plugs, & everything seem normal (with the exception of the spark plug for the number 2 cylinder, it is a bit carbonised)
- Check all the hoses & ducts for leaking electrical connections, & everything seem OK
- Self-diagnosis for the ECU (modes III, IV & V) & there is no error message
- If I increase the engine to 3,000 rpm, there is some abnormal sound (a bit “mechanical”, if you understand what I mean) around the catalyzer. The sound of the engine appeared OK.
I drove the car this morning & the engine almost stalled at 500 rpm during the cold start, …, but it was OK since then, with the exception of the vibration!
Will the engine vibration due to the collapsed catalyzer of the exhaust, i.e. how can I be sure that the problem is due to the collapsed catalyzer? (Can I undo a bit of the exhaust pile & see what happened, if I am able to undo the bolt??) What other areas should I check before spending money for an exhaust?
Many thanks,
GKY
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Many thanks for all the help, ? I am a bit confused at the moment after I done some more checks on my own this morning!!
The engine is still vibrating at idle but it is no as severe as yesterday. I conducted another round of ECU diagnosis (Modes I & II) and everything seem OK. I then undo the two bolts which connect the catalyzer, ? the ?mechanical sound? around the catalyzer disappeared around 3,000 rpm (I can feel some of the exhaust gas coming out of the gap), the car is also driving a little bit better.
If the engine vibration is caused by one incorrect firing of one cylinder, as suggested by MM & RH, will it cause the spark plug tip carbonised? I am going to replace the spark plug tomorrow and see what may happen.
Many thanks,
GKY
My freind is selling his Golf 4-Motion 2.8 and wants to know what he should ask for it. The garages don't want to offer more than £10,000 for it but he paid £24,000 for it under 3yrs ago. Read more
Privately, I would say the car is worth about £12,500, so £10k trade sounds about right to me.
The R32 has taken the edge off the car's desirability and brand new imports are about £17k and, to be honest, I really have no idea who's buying them even at that money.
In any case, £10k is 42% retained value after three years, which actually isn't disastrous and if a £17k import could do that, would be very good going indeed.
Does anyone know if and when the new Seat Leon is due? Also if anyone has any piccies perhaps they could paste the url.
Cheers
CavV6 and cavWeb fan.
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So presumably, the next 12 months or so will see a new Golf, Bora, Octavia, Leon, TT...and, of course, the much talked about Bentley-for-titled-people-living-in-reduced-circumstances...
When should I get a new cambelt fitted - it was last done 2.5 years ago at about 65K now the cars at 87K? Read more
Cheers - looks llike I can leave it for a few more miles!
I am just about to renew my breakdown recovery insurance.
AA comes in about £85. I like this kind of cover because it can be used for my car or my motorbike, but does anyone know a cheaper provider of equivalent cover? Read more
They atttempted to lift my lowered and skirted Mercedes 190E onto a non-floating ramp recovery truck and ended up scraping it on the floor.
Next morning, having signed the 'no problem with my car' document the night before in the rain and the dark, I saw the extent of the damage. Severe.
We argued for five months. they sent out an 'independant' inspector. Who wasn't 'independant' by any stretch of the imagination.
The report said nothing conclusive. ..."... damage apparent but may not have been caused by the AA recovery vehicle ..." (!). AA claims division were extremely rude.
I lost. Well, okay, I didn't bother. I have better things to do with my time.
Don't go with the AA. Green flag were better. They always brought a vehicle with a ramp that lowered to the car.
Keep a camera in your car. For many reasons.
rojer@lycos.co.uk
Astra, Renault 18, Renault 25 TXi, Astra Est, Passat Est, Mercedes 190E, Mercedes
I know that there have been loads of posts concerning imports in the past, but I've done a couple of searches and not really found the answers I am looking for. Therefore I thought I'd post a new one. Sorry if this has already been covered.
I looked at a 2000 W reg Audi S3 yesterday and only discovered at the last minute that it was an import.
Now, because it is an import it would only have had a two year warranty, which has now expired, so I would not have any warranty issues - I simply buy a new one from Audi.
Other than that, what other reasons are there to stay away from this car? It is a UK spec car with a full service history. Read more
I sold over 100 imported S3's until they were discontinued in March. As long as it's full UK spec then no problem. Many of them are now coming out of 3 year leases so there is a surplus of them for sale and used values have taken a hit in the last 6 months. There is a specific S3 forum on www.tyresmoke.net where you can learn a lot about the car.
If you can afford it, go for the facelift and 225bhp model (facelift in 2001 and engine upgraded late 2001).
Look out for chipped (ECU) cars, a lot of owners have done this to squeeze an extra 30-40bhp out of the engine, they then remove or not declare the chip on selling. This will invalidate your insurance and negate any goodwill you may get from Audi if the engine packs up prematurely.
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Thank you