August 2003
I have just been rear-ended in my QX at 5.30pm today, Tuesday 19th August 2003, on Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach near the BMW/Renault yard, by an agressive and unreasonable motorist (He would not even give me his address, despite asking twice. However, he is bigger than me and quite aggressive so I did not argue)
It was a black, blackened windows car, with an unreadable plate. It could be EDZ113 or BDZ113 or EDZ1B or BDZ1B. It could be a Toyota or Lexus but I am not sure. If anyone can make out what car and plate it should be, or witness the accident, please contact me.
I have contacted the Police, insurance company and my solicitor but without a plate, it is difficult to file an investigation. Read more
Hello all.
I am the (justifiably) proud owner of a 1999 Xantia which I love. However, I am less than fond of the key, whose rubber remote locking buttons are gradually disintigrating. I can still lock the car thankfully, but it's beginning to hurt my finger tips!!!! A Citroen dealer (the bigger, the more useless) has told me that the whole thing needs replacing and reprogramming blah blah blah, and that this is going to cost me over £80!
Does anyone know of a cheaper way of getting round this? Is it possible to get hold of a new key outer 'case' and then transfer the innards?
Any info would be gratefully received!
Alex. Read more
hello AlexD,
i have same problem. here in Greece independend original citroen parts dealer sells only rubber cover. each bag contents 2 covers (original). did not ask price. Whole key costs euro88.00. sure you can find parts shop to buy them. good luck. Nikos
Can anyone tell me how to read the fault codes on the Mk 4 Golf? The idle is a bit unstable, but if fast idled at 1,200 rpm with constant throttle pressure, the revs suddenly build to 2,000 and drop to 1,000 as a repeated hunting cycle. You can feel the throttle pedal “kick” when the revs drop. The air intake was contaminated with oil, so I’m suspecting there might be oil in the idle control valve. I’ve found the 16 pin connector (beneath the ashtray) but I’m unsure of a) The correct connections. b) Which light will flash to give me the codes.
The car is a 1.6 auto 8 valve and has done 40,000 miles.
Also, does the auto-box require an oil change? I can’t find a dipstick or filler plug. I did ask this question of my local VW main dealer but was told they weren’t sure! Perhaps it is a “sealed for life” gearbox? If so, does anyone know how long “life” might be?
With thanks,
John D
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Hi all,
Very interested what MPG you get out of your 4 pot and 6 pot 3 series BMW.
Ideally on motorway driving?
Many thanks
Q Read more
Bruv said he prefered the drive of the petrol,the instant go in any gear,no waiting for the engine room to put extra coal on.He is very unimpressed with 41MPG,rememebering that derv is more expensive than unleaded,he only went for the diesel because it was cheaper for company car tax,6 months in and about 12,000 miles,he wants the petrol one back!
A few quid short of £30,000 and a residual of about £10,000 in 3 years/80,000 miles makes for some quite expensive motoring,BMW are doing the routine servicing FOC,so some saving there.
I have a ford 1992 Laser. I had this car serviced on Wednesday 13th August and the mechanic never mentioned anything was wrong with the car except needing new right hand front drive shaft.
Well, yesterday i started it up (have driven it the previous days) and it was billowing grey/white smoke and it stinks! I called the mechanic and he came down and looked at it and said he thought they had put too much oil in. He took some back out and that seemed to fix everything.
This morning however it\'s doing it again :( There is black sooty stuff comming out the exhaust onto the garage floor and the smoke is still grey/white and stinks. The general smell seems to be a sort of petrol type smell. The mechanic did mention that my petrol filter might be worn and need replacing and thus be letting petrol into my oil.
How do i tell if my petrol filter is needing to be replaced? I\'m tending to think that something is wrong in the motor... the oil is clean, no sludge so i\'m guessing it\'s not a welsh plug... could i have blown a gasket somewhere??
Please please someone out there be able to help me. I\'m semi mechanically minded and can carry out most minor repairs to my own car so i\'m praying this is something i can fix??
Anne Read more
Adam,
Thanks for the advice. Im still having the smokey problem however it's become much less smoke and is now barely visible from the exhaust. I've got alot of wet black "stuff" comming out the exhaust onto the ground though and the car smells much like a lawnmower! you know.. that oil/petrol smell?
I have decided to drain out my oil and petrol and fill both from scratch myself to rule out any problems there. I'm also planning to have a play with the carburettor incase it's simply running too rich, i figure it cant hurt... lol... stupid thing is already unable to be driven. I have a 1 year old daughter and there's no way i'd take her in the car when it smells like that! If it's still doing it i'll have to find myself a new mechanic I guess. Thats harder that you might think since i live in the middle of nowhere :)
Can anyone please tell me where I can find the regulator on my 1993 1.7td astra (Isuzu) as it's putting about 15v across when revved and the wipers appear to be on speed!
thanks
Woods Read more
Car of my dreams, great summer, top down Yes!
I purchased a 320ci sports convertible on the 06/08/03 - 6mths old ex BMW staff car said the dealer
Two days ago, 10 days after I bought, it broke down on the Isle of Skye. We travelled on breakdown truck for 5 hours to dealer on the mainland. Its now at BMW local dealer (not dealer I bought it from) BMW assistance have given me a hire car.
Today 52 hours after it broke down the dealer said it needs a new wiring limb and they are "on back order from BMW Germany and it should arrive in 7-10 working days".
I have tried to to reject the vehicle under sale of goods but the dealer says they will repair it (in 2 weeks!)
Meantime I am paying for a sports car and driving a Vauxhall.
Any suggestions, advice? ( apart from I am a prat for expecting trouble free motoring and a quality service from BMW)
Thanks
Tintin Read more
You have a limited amount of time after buying a car to reject it. That time is normally defined as 30 days or a few hundred miles.
If you want to reject the car, put it in writing to the dealership you bought it from. Do not let the dealer that has the car now do any repairs on it.
There has been some good advice on this forum in the past on the Sale of Goods Act and rejecting vehicles, search using the search link to the right.
From March I think the law changed so if faults occur within the first 3 months after the sale of the car the onus is on the dealer to prove the fault wasn't there when the car was sold.
Speak to a solicitor, trading standards or the CAB. Do not delay!
Mike
(I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV)
Hi
Having probs with a MK1 GTi 1.8 Cabrio. Coolant pressurises
Have had head gasket and skim, still the same.
Checked Thermostat and changed.
Flushed radiator.
Is there anything else left it can be or am I to assume cracked head?
No oil in coolant or water (mayo) in oil.
HELP!
Cheers
Ed
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Hi thanks for the reply.
The coolant would seem to pressurise more than necessary. It has split 2 hoses and caused one to expand (top rad hose, split hoses from water pump to oil cooler).
When the coolant is pressurised the pipes are rock hard. It can be left for several days and the pipes are still hard and if the cap is released on the pressure tank, you can hear the gas escaping. If it pressurised when hot and then lost pressure when cold I could understand.
The garage did the head gasket and said it had been leaking, but they did not pressure test the head. Since the head gasket was changed and head skimmed, it does not seem to pressurise as much (ie split hoses etc before head gasket changed)
I guess it can only be a cracked head now?
Thanks
Ed
I meant to write this a few weeks ago, but it got lost in the list of things to do, so here goes just a few days before I visit my local dealer.
Perish the thought, but at six months old from new, the first fault on our V70 has been discovered.
This is that the elasticated top of the map pocket on the rear of the front passenger seat is only attached to the seat frame at the left hand end. On the right hand end, sure, it is stitched in to the leather seat panel, but not to the seat frame underneath.
The result is that pronounced knee recess is somewhat saggy on that side, and I am fearful of tearing the stitching over time if the pocket is used.
By tipping the seat backrest completely forwards (easy with the latch that Volvo so thoughtfully provided), I can see that the leather seams are stapled together at the bottom, but still worry that unless the seat back is replaced (which I don\'t want for reasons of matching and waste), the problem is likely to be made worse by attempted repair, not better.
Do we have any backroomers with upholstery experience in our midst, please?
Many thanks as always.
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It's nice to be right for a change!
Just backed my 98 (new shape) Honda Prelude into a brick wall and cracked the back bumper, and now feeling the annoyance of something entirely avoidable and self-inflicted.
It definitely needs replacing as the paint has cracked in a sort of spiral cobweb out from the crack. What I'd really appreciate some advice on is the cheapest way of going about this. Could I buy a secondhand bumper and have it stripped and resprayed (could be complicated given the silver Prelude lettering glued to the bumper)? If not, is there a way of getting Honda parts at any discount to main dealer prices?
Thanks in advance for any help. Read more
When I was a young whippersnapper, back in the late 80's, I worked for a bloke in Hitchin, Herts that had a business unit up by the railway station which collected, repaired, filled and resprayed plastic car bumpers. I think he used to sell the finished article to garages and hire companies for about half the price of a new one from a dealer. Not sure if he's still in business, but there are bound to be others around the country that do this kind of work.
You need some specialised tools (industrial hot air guns and the correct plastic welding rods) to repair these things properly. A quick fibreglass job will probably fall to bits again fairly quickly, as the bumpers flex.
Browse
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That's the Republic. NI has UK-style plates, but with Z or I and no 'date' letter.