August 2003
ive got a vwgolf mk1.
1.6 carb , 1981
the car struggles to do more than 80/90 , at 90 the car shakes. on high revs (motor way driving) theres a ticking noise and also a rattling noise (not necessarily at the same time)coming from the engine. Read more
I recently (yesterday Mon 18th Aug) approached a Citroen main dealer (Exeter) in order to obtain a current price (ie Citroen are advertising a 'VAT free price' at the moment) on a Citroen Berlingo 2HDi Desire. I was informed that this would not be possible as Citroen would be unable to deliver such a vehicle before the 30th September - ie they could not honour the VAT free offer which supposedly runs to 30th September even if I was willing to place a deposit on the 18th of August!
I ran JamJar who confirmed Citroen's delivery problem - Jamjars line on this was that the delivery period was 4 to 6 weeks - meaning that I could 'take a chance' on paying a deposit - if delivery was prompt I 'could' buy the vehicle VAT free - if however delivery and hence registration of the vehicle fell after 30th Sept I would have to pay the larger amount!
According the the Citroen Dealer at Exeter he was in the process of ringing the 15 customers who had placed orders for Multispaces to inform them of this 'new' situation (Citroen had emailed him about this the previous Friday [15th Aug]) which they presumably were not aware of prior to placing orders.
Needless to say my confidence in Citroen is fairly low at present - despite the fact that I still want a Berlingo - however I hope this message saves other people a disappointment or worst a large unexpected bill / lost deposit!
Read more
Anyone know for sure? Some say its semi some not.
The reason I ask is that I have oil changes at Rapid Fit between services and they use Castrol Semi Magnatec 5/30. Then at the dealer they use Ford (assume so) branded oil. Prolly same stuff but unsure.
Cheers all.
James Read more
A big thanks to all those that replied. The info has been of great help.
I asked because of the local Rapid Fit using Castrol and did'nt know if it would mix with whatever the main dealer uses. Anyway, I won't lose any sleep over it!
Cheers again.
Wonder if this rings any bells?
My '89 2.0i Scorpio always starts and idles well from cold, but the first mile or two it splutters and even stalls occasionally, Winter and Summer, but noticeably worse in Winter.
As soon as I touch the accelerator pedal, it seems to lose a cylinder or two - if it could stagger it would.
Once the temp. gauge approaches normal, the problem disappears. Read more
>>It's a twin-cam 2 litre
Ah, in that case the air flow meter may not be the same one as on the ohc (Pinto) engine. I know that I had to trawl through several cars before I found the right one.
>>my third Scorpio
Were it not for my present circumstances, I'd have a Granada/Scorpio again like a shot. They are magnificent cars and are, in my opinion, without equal in terms of comfort, performance, economy and reliability for the money.
HF's dad runs an '88 2.9i Ghia X which I am secretly coveting!
Cheers
Rob
Right, bit of a moan here, but a question lies within!!
Went to fill up my 1995 Pug 306 at my local filling station on Sunday. The low fuel light was starting to flicker and when this comes on I know I have 5 - 7 litres left in the tank. Went to the diesel pump and filled the 60 litre tank to the brim. According to the pump, I got 59.78 litres in. Obviously, if this pump is to be believed, I must have been running on fumes, which I most clearly was not. So, apart from having a moan on here, who can I moan to in the authorities to get the calibration of the pumps checked?? Do they have regular calibration, because I have the feeling I have been ripped off!!
Ross Read more
On a related note, what really cheeses me off is the pump that clicks up an extra penny when you re-holster the nozzle.
Our local station (belonging to the company that uses a tiger in its advertising) must have got so fed up with me and others complaining that they now keep a bowl of pennies on the counter for you to help yourself to!
Terry
I've just bought a 99 T Saab 9-5 with 56k miles at Manheim Auctions at Colchester for £5250 and can't believe what great cars they are at a knockdown price. It's smooth, safe and quick but why are they so cheap? I sold my Punto HGT last night as I was fed up with the hard ride and the Saab is a revelation after the Fiat-build quality miles better too. Read more
I,ve just handed back my 9-5 2.3 vector estate company car and cried all the way to the garage. Top car, very quick, superb seats and massive storage. also very classy car - supposed to signify intellignece, and authourity - lots of architects, vets etc drive them. now in a merc 220cdi - rubbish compared to the saab.
dominic
Hi guys i have a problem with my speedo sometimes working and sometimes not.
When it desides to work my fuel light comes on and fuel gauge drops to almost on the empty line, when speedo stops again light goes off and gauge goes back to normal.
Any help here guys.
Thanks. Read more
I don't think this is a speed sensor issue due to the other symptoms noted. It is most likely the PCB on which the speedo is mounted. You could try dismantling speedo head from PCB and checking connections as best as possible. Maybe just dismantling and reassembly will correct fault.
Have a 2000 1.7DTi Astra (isuzu lump). Lovely car but has a more often than not a flickering light problem. It affects all lights from headlights to interior light and dash lights and gets worse with load. Garage says alternator is within spec, but surely its not right. With a meter across the battery, with no load its charging at nearly 14.5v with a full load its about 12.2v. Whilst lights are flickering voltage oscillates about 0.6-0.8v. I suspect voltage regulator but any ideas? Or is the garage fobbing me off as its under warranty. Read more
Yes mate, sounds like your voltage reg. could be a bit flakey. Either that or a diode going. Maybe a dry joint somewhere in the alternator.
The alternator on my Cav 1.7TD (Isuzu engine) has packed in twice; first the bearings went at about 150k miles, then the voltage regulator a couple of weeks later. A geezer in a little workshop in my local town put a new one in for £28. It was another £28 for the bearings. A bargain, since a new alternator was to be £179 exchange from the Vauxhall dealer. The only problem is getting the thing off the car (2 drive belts and 2 oil pipes to disconnect), but it's pretty easy once you've done it a couple of times. Watch out for the vacuum pump; it's full of oil when you take it off!
I'm currently insured (or my 1.6s Ibiza is) with a well known supermarket. It's due for renewal on 1 September so last week I got a quote from their internet site of £267 fully comp - protected NCD.
This week they've automatically sent the renewal form thru' by post - £335.
So I can buy from the internet as if I'm a new customer again or pay the renewal at £68 more?! Mmmm
(I'm also considering (as I always am) changing the car it's now 3 yrs old - and there's nowt wrong wi'it but I just get the urge. I think I've narrowed it to 1 yera old Leon Cupra or Volvo s60 2.0SE - a curios pair but both a bit different and with 180bhp) Read more
Negotiations didn't get much further - £7600, a full tank of petrol, and a load liner for the boot to keep the carpet clean!
So anyway I've now got a canary yellow Leon - goes like stink - did think that the brakes faded a little after a series of hard braking into tight bends - but I won't be driving like that often, just went for a little play in my new toy.
Insurance was £485 from Tesco, it would have been a little cheaper but the wife had a claim 2.5 years ago when someone kindly decided to stick a screwdriver thru' the door of her car - and seems we're stilling paying for it.
Sorry for this real basic enquiry but my Passat's temp gauge seems to be dead. Sometime it'll come back to life and the needle moves to the halfway mark, as it should, but then almost as quickly it will drop back down to zero.
At first it was an intermittant problem but now it's hardly registering anything. The car's not overheating or anything, so I guess it must be a simple issue.
Anyone have any ideas as I am hoping it's a simple enough problem that I could remedy. Thx.
S. Read more
Forgot to say, no the gauge won't necessarily rise when idle in traffic.
S.
Browse
A few months ago, I posted here that a friend had to pay more than the original order price for his brand new Merc S600, because the list price had gone up by the time the car was delivered.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=12474
This forum's resident legal & car-valuation expert (DHM, not HJ) and a few others insisted that that was illegal or words to the effect and refused to believe that the purchase contract allows dealers to do this.
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