June 2003
Can't believe it. Just bought a mk 1 mondeo cheaply, only snag was previous owner only had 1 key. Fair enough I think, can't be more than fifteen quid to get a couple more cut. To my dismay, it turns out according to local Ford dealer that I don't have the red "master" key; meaning that reprogramming the immobiliser codes and cuting 2 extra keys is going to cost a whopping £98!!!!
Can anyone please tell me if there is an alternative, i.e. cheaper way of going about this without incurring extortionate costs, i think its a bit risky running a car with only 1 key.
Cheers
basit Read more
A strange thing happened on way home this afternoon.driving along hogs back towards Guildford(A31 duel carriageway).Two police cars formned arolling road block- forced everyone into first lane me at front so had clear view .A green unmarked car escorted by one at front and two behind motorway police cars blues and twos on roared past us all.We are still in convey behind police cars forming rooling road block at 5-10 MPH.Quarter mile ahead of us, escorted car and escorts screech to halt at all angles across the road people (appeared smartly dressed) seen to change between plain car and police cars. They all roared away leaving us in the rooling road block to carry on as if nothing happened.Whats it all about then?
chris Read more
Yeap T-PAC training done in the safest possible manner and causing minimum disruption. Got to be done! And no there is only so much you can do on an Airfield, you do have to mix it with the traffic to get it as authentic as possible.
Fullchat
Im thinking of getting a Sat nav system for the new shape primera (Nissans own btw) and i was wondering if anyone has a sat nav system and they could give me some info on charges. Do u have to pay monthly fees or anything like that, i know i would have to buy a map cd but does anyone have a rough idea on how much they are? and are there anyother fees i need to know about.
Thanx for any help Read more
unfortunately my navman went wrong after 1 month and it is damn near impossible to get hold of navcity by phone, email etc, eventually tracked down the managing director, for what it was worth!
Drink Lager Talk Piffle
Hi
can anyone give me any idea as to what a Saab 9000 auto is like to live with ??
I would maybe purchasing about an "N" reg vehicle, probably the 2.0eco with autobox.
I have noticed that most of the vehicles on the 2ndhand market have done enormous mileages. Is this a problem with these cars ??
The depreciation also seems quite steep on them. Does this mean they just become money-pits once they are 4 or 5 yrs old, or are they good value 2nd hand and generally reliable ?
I have had japanese cars for the last few years so am used to trouble-free motoring......
I have also heard that the auto-boxes can be problematic, some bush wears moving and starving the rest of the box of fluid. Is auto-box failure actually common and if so what are the symptoms and how can this be prevented ??
A saab specialist told me later vehicles are not prone to the auto-box failure... is this really true or just sales talk to get me to buy one ??
Can anyone give me an idea as to the fuel consumption of these vehicles ??? I do a lot of driving in London (hence I need an auto) and then occaisional trips tomid-wales (motorway and single A road).
If these cars are indeed trouble can anyone recommend an alternative ?? Must be auto, good legroom as I am very tall, hatchback or estate and decent spec. And reliable and not horrific fuel consumption (ie. not V6 or V8s)!!!!!
Many Thanks !!
Read more
Just giving an owner\'s perspective - what it\'s like to actually live with the car - which I believe is what the original poster was asking for.
A little parasitic on another thread, but what do people still find car manufacturers/sellers do which noone seems to want.
My suggestions would be:
(1) Nasty stickers in rear screen that can't be removed without killing the rear heated window.
(2) Badges - I know its a Ford so why do I need them? Do I really need to tell the driver behind whether its a 316 or 318 or 325?? Just make cleaning the car hassle, invite rust etc.
(3) Failure to put stickers that would be useful eg tyre pressures, spark plug types (why do I need to look in Haynes?) Read more
Great looking alloys damaged and having their looks spoilt by plonking wheel weights on them. When they could just as easily have them put on the inside.
A few years ago autocar/motor used to do tests on cars which ordinary joe public will be driving, its only when the trend is for testers to road test cars that cost a couple of million pounds, ie bentley,rollsroyce,ferrari,porsche way out of reach for the ordinary blokes.
Now at top gear all they are testing are the sport cars, the luxury mercedes, the flash in the pan types.
I am only intrested in current cars like the new micra v.s the clio and cars that cost under £5000
Do you think that mags have gone more elitist, is there no more coverage on the latest advances in cars etc...
why??
Read more
The logic was that your software deletes expletives, so I
included a few.
It would be preferable if you didn't post the expletives in the first place; software deletion, or no software deletion, Mark and I still edit out the words regardless, which causes us unnecessary work. Please remember it is far easier to delete than edit.
Do these break the law - I'm thinking especially of the positioning of the hidden lights without the use of a roof-top beacon - or has there been an amendment to the law?
note: reason for post is simply curiosity! Read more
He was late for an ealry shift having overslept - in fairness, honesty seems to have abounded on this, he was a desterted stretch of rural(ish) dual carrigeway.
As part of Holiday chores took the XT250 we have for an MoT to a local bike dealer. It passed and cost me £14.00 for the privlage.
A couple of issues about the new MoT system.
1. They gave me one of those blue labels as a reminder telling me I should stick it on the bike somewhere. Says on the label not to stick it on paintwork. So where dear Minister of Transport
does one put it on a bike ?
2. The Tester told me that this was the last paper ticket I'd get
as the whole system is being computerized - How will I know when I buy a banger that its got a 12 month MoT on it.
3. The XT's old ticket ran out on 29.5 and I phoned to pre-book a test yesterday in case I got pulled by the Rozzers. If they come up behind me in the future or I run through a ANPR system I will get pulled if they do a PNC check on the bike and find my MoTs run out - and being a cynical type of guy - am I more likely to get booked than I would have been today if I had been stopped on spec and explained the situation before the Officer got tot he "I kmust book him" state of mind ? Read more
This website www.silicon.com/news/500022/1/4352.html indicates that once ever car has had a computerised MOT during 2004 all MOT (and tax) dodgers will be picked up on roadside cameras and prosecuted.
Hi
I am unfortunate enough to own a hideous 850cc Seat Marbella (spanish panda) which was a temporary stop gap that somehow has managed to stay for 8000 miles!
The problem is an intermittant squeek at low speeds from the drivers side front wheel hub. It's definately not the brakes rubbing because I jacked it up and took off the brake caliper, turned the wheel by hand and it still squeeked. If it is the wheel bearing can I just leave it until it starts to go crunchy grindy or should I get it sorted right now? Read more
the bangernomics guide would be
if it's not broken, don't fix it
if it's broken, don't fix it..
I'm sure it'll let you know when there's a major problem.
The hub on this, if it's like the Panda, will cost more than the cars worth.
I went to my local dealer in London (SW11) yesterday to price a basic first inspection service on a 2003 petrol Passat. Quoted a hilarious GBP183 for what is essentially an oil change and check of the brakes. My dealer local to my parents (Bolton) wants GBP66 for the same service. Assuming that it takes no more than 90 minutes and GBP25 (although as we all know its a lot less by the barrel anyway) for the oil, that is a fantastic GBP105 per hour for the privilege of visiting a dealer that won't pick the car up, has a much scruffier showroom and appeared to have no secure facilities to store my car for the day whilst I was at work and they were playing Midas with their black gold. Needless to say, you can work out where my money is going.
Makes my previous Honda dealer look less like Ali Baba.
And the other amusement was that this London main dealer does not have any kind of body shop at all and claimed to have no ties to any other dealer/bodyshop elsewhere. Good to see that in my ten years away from VW, the standards I have come to expect from their dealers are the same as they ever were.
Still a good economical car with enough punch to accelerate into/out of trouble on the Mway though. Just a shame about the dealer thinking their customers' demographics are such that they must have more money than sense (although given the number of Golf V6s around SW London that may be true).
It looks like the customers are being forced to pay a higher servicing price to cover the depreciation costs on all those Passat W8s and Phaetons that do (and will) litter forecourts as ex-demonstrators.
Whilst on my high horse, I saw my first Phaeton (LHD, debadged (completely with neither marque nor model branding anwhere on the vehicle) and V6 (judging by the engine note)) on the road in Fulham yesterday, in solid (almost matt) dark green - did nothing to attract attention (admiring or otherwise) from anyone except the minicabber in his Hyundai XG - presume VW clinicked the Phaeton against its natural rivals then. It looked as memorable as the Audi V8. Read more
I was given the choice of either fixed or variable servicing when I bought my Passat from SKF in Bolton, and my neighbours recently were offered the same on a Bora from SKF in Stockport. I can't remember what the price differences were going to be with the Service Maintainance Tyres plan between the two options.
Browse
Just read a similar article in this month's "Car Mechanics".
Remind dealer that when you bought the vehicle you also bought it's codes etc.
Also says England is the only country in Europe where all such data is not automatically handed over on sale