June 2003
Back in March, I bought a second hand car which is taxed until the end of June, filled in and sent off the V5, new V5 promptly recieved with all the correct details. Now we are approching the end of June, I havent had a tax disc reminder. Has the system changed? Have they stopped sending out reminders? I have never had this problem in the past, in fact I always thought they sent them out quite a bit before the tax was due? Can I still get a tax disc without the reminder form? Read more
Anyone know if there are any pitfalls in replacing fr. and or Rr. pads on this . I don't usually get involved in such beasts, but have said I will look at it as it is a new customer following a recommondation. Forwarned is forarmed,n'est pas ? Cheers. Read more
Merc front pads are dead easy but back ones may need a special piston retracting tool. Be careful to replace correctly the pad wear indicator sensor. Make sure servo is exhausted (pump brake pedal several times with engine off) as pistons can sometimes move of their own accord when the caliper is swung away from the disc.
Invariably these are black Toyota Hiaces driven by men who appear to be undertakers (black jacket and tie, white shirt).
I'm guessing they can't show up to collect a body in the exposed back of the hearse, especially with no coffin, so I can understand why they use vans for the sake of discretion. I can even understand why they're black, for dignity and solemnity.
But why do they all have the slightly nonsensical 'private ambulance' text on them? Purely so they won't get moved on by traffic wardens? And why are they invariably Toyota Hiaces? Read more
Reminds me of a time I stayed at the San Francisco Hyatt. There was such a vehicle parked outside and one of those "managed" muted commotions going on of the type which are clearly embarrassing to swanky hotels and undoubtedly feature in Section 601.1.3 of the Procedures Manual. Screens, ropes, re-routed guest traffic in the lobby etc.
Now the SFO Hyatt has a vast internal atrium, with all floors having an internal facing corridor. I checked in and accompanied the bellboy up to my room. I asked him what's going on. He said "Oh, we had another jumper today". So I asked if that was a frequent event. He said a couple of times a year. I said how did they deal with that.
"Well, it's kind of a known thing, so they hold body bags in the manager's office"....
Hello people
I post this description of faults in the hope somebody out there has had the same problems.
The car is a 1987 Volvo 760 2.3 Turbo automatic, the problems are as follows;
When the car is started it idles correctly, select drive and then select park or neutral and the engine revs repeatedly from idle to approx. 1600 RPM over a two second cycle. This problem
can be overcome if the revs are held at 2000 RPM for a short period and then released.
The second problem is an almost cutting out of the engine at around 2-2500 RPM in any gear, revs freely when not under load.
The car is the in-laws who live a 3 hour drive away and unfortunately this was as usual sprung on me on a visit last weekend under the excuse "We don't like troubling you" - suppose I should be gtrateful really, but some warning would be nice.
The jobs done over the weekend include; Replace distributor cap,
rotor,leads,plugs,idle control valve,clean throttle body.
Good increase in performance but no help in curing fault(s).
Personally I think it is the MAF unit but do not want to go to the expense as the car is up for renewal next year.
As always any help is much appreciated.
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Thanks for this Andrew
I need a new car!
Car is needed for short journeys to the station , town, and as I have to drive to work 5 days a month 5 x 150 mile round trips to London (clear run on the way in, traffic on the way out)
And the occasional trips away whan I have time off.
I'm currently driving an old Volvo 360- which on the London run costs £17 for the round trip. Before this I had an Astra diesel which would do that journey on about £10.
I'd like to get closer to the £10 but would rather not be in something as slow as the astra. I'm undecided about whether it's worth buying a diesel or not?
I need something with air con, new as possible, no smaller than an escort, and I don't want to spend more than £2k
Thanks in advance
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Can I add my 2d to David's answer?
As in Mondeo ONLY if it's petrol.
And 405 ESPECIALLY if if it's diesel.
I have the above hatchback car in pepper red (well i think thats what it is called). Milleage looks genuine. Its in quite good condition. Drives well. Recent tyres (albeit cheap ones), front discs and pads. Has air-con and a cd player. Only negetive thing is a slight dent on the front bumper, and no service history (although it all appears to have been done). MOT and tax untill december, and i have just serviced it (oil + filter, and air filter). Does anyone here have any advice as to what i should expect to get for it at a private sale, and how much should i advertise it for?
If anyone here isin the slightest bit interested drop me an e-mail, address is in my profile.
Ben Read more
I agree, i think if yours was on an s it would be a fair bit more as its a Verona, plus the milleage.
I would quite happily accept 3k for it. I might stick it in for 3150 the first week then drop the price to 2950 f i get no takers. Thanks for the opinion.
My car battery (now 4 years old) suffered a lot of abuse last winter - short journeys once a week with all the electrical equipment on (lights, heated front and rear screens). During this time, the indicator on the battery was usually red (i.e. discharged). Always started ok though. I made an occasional long journey which charged it up again.
More recently, the engine has occasionally started a little slugishly. The battery voltage (measured 12 hours after use) now reads 12.1 Volts. The battery indicator is a yellowish green. I now drive 30 miles a day on motorways, so it shouldn't be suffering too much.
Should I replace the battery now to avoid any problems next winter? Read more
Johnson Controls also now own the Varta brand.
I am seriously considering buying a Mondeo Estate registered in January 2000. It has 112,000 miles on the clock and is going for £3,995. We have had a good test-drive and the car seems to be immaculate. There is a full service history available and the car has been regularly serviced at the proper intervals by a Ford dealer. It drives beautifully and is incredibly quiet - not even a tiny rattle to be heard. It has had a new cam belt and pulley kit but we wonder whether at this age it is likely to have anything major go wrong with it imminently. Have we got a good deal? Anybody able to throw cold water on our hopes?
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Yup! Did the deed this afternoon. Very pleased with it.
Has anyone had personal experience of how reliable C5's are? any expensive glitches especially over high mileage. The deals are great but I don't want to buy a lemon. Read more
I have my C5 2.2HDI, made 20th July 2001, delivered a month later, 29.000Km covered so far. No problems, except already reported knocking rear suspension, which was sorted a loooooong time ago. I love the car more and more. No rattles, squeaks just a very quiet cruising. Small reservation against the fuel consumption (nothing to worry about, but some are supposed to do better), probably due to a FAP. The 2.2HDI got award for 'The best engine in category of 2-2.5 litres' last year. It needs some time for full running-in but then it becomes a real cracker, in terms of refinement particularly! And above all you'll be cossetted by the hydropneumatic suspension...
VV
Just noticed that Parkers.co.uk no longer provide free price valuation. Before I can find another price guide, would anyone valuate the following for me please?
BMW Saloon
Year: 1990 (G plate)
Model: 316i
Colour: Silver
MOT: August 2003
Tax: August 2003
Mileage: 103K
Thanks,
Garrison Read more
Gazza
Value will be determined bt MOT as already mentioned, but also by the spec of the car - eg met paint, alloys, s/roof, elec windows, stereo etc. Also is it a 2 or 4 door? I think 4drs sell better (look better). Also service history is important.
As a guide my brother sold his E reg 318i 2dr with aftermarket alloys, cd/tuner and met paint for £750 last August. The car you're looking at would be £500-£800 dependent on factors mentioned.
Be fussy, there's lots of similar cars about so make sure it's the one for you. You may find the 316i a bit underpowered.
Hope this helps.
Pat
Browse
Sounds like the usual DVLA constipation. I sold my van in March (taxed to the end of May) and sent off the V5 with the new owner's details.
They sent the tax reminder to me, not to the new owner. Incidently, I have no proof that I sent off the V5, nor do I have a record of the name and address of the new keeper - why would I have? I wonder what would happen if the V5 had got lost in the post.
Ian Cook