August 2003
Just completed a rather nice M25/M11 run to Stansted. Between the Dartford Tunnel and J27 there were several sets of road works ahead signs but no sign of any work being done (thankfully). I don't know how long they've been there or when the roadworks were completed but I'd have thought it a relatively simple task to remove
these as soon as the work was completed. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic about so it didn't matter all that much but I can't help thinking that phantom road signs like these (and indeed false matrix warning signs) are quite dangerous.
Anyone got any thoughts ? Read more
I am currently borrowing a standard Citron AX Début, baby engine - while low speed accelerating it occasionally looses some power and then picks up again - Any suggestions on what might be causing this power drop off in this 45K miles,5yrs old, run about? Read more
When the new engine was placed in my Xantia, it originally ran like a dream.
However, It ran low on petrol and I had trouble starting it.
I found some petrol in my garage, which I thought was unleaded and put this in. I also put another 5 lites in the following morning.
Since then it has been running like a pig. I am wondering whether I should have left this petrol in my garage well alone as I couldn't be absolutely sure of it origin.
I cleaned the plugs and put another 4 or 5 litres of unleaded in and it does run better, but still not as well as it did.
Two questions
Whould the 2 litres or so dodgy petrol have caused this and if so, will 'diluting' it with clean help?
What else can I do to improve the running of the car - perhaps injection cleaner etc?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks
H Read more
Hey guys can any one tell me where the filter is located and how to change it, cheers
The power steering on my 2 year old Mazda 323 hisses once the car is warmed through and can be heard easily in the cabin. The noise occurs when turing the steering wheel a couple of degrees to the left - not even as far as full lock. Mazda has already replaced the steering rack but now refuses to admit that this is a problem - Mazdaa claim this is a characteristic of the 323 model. Any one out there that believes differently? There is no hiss when the car in cold. Read more
I\'d compare your car with another UK car. Then I\'d see if there is indeed a problem or not.
I would have gone for the steering rack, but I see that has been replaced.
It could be as simple as a bulkhead grommet missing.......
Recently, I have experienced water dripping from one of the air vents (in the passenger\'s floorwell) in my Primera, while the aircon is working. Also, the aircon has lost much of its efficiency. Whereas 6 months ago it was icy cold, now it is barely cooler than the ambient air.
The car is 6 years old, and I know that aircon systems lose gas over time, but this does not explain the dripping water or the fairly sudden drop off in performance. What could have caused this? Read more
Thanks Dave, that's great. I'll see what I can find out tonight.
There were some yoofs hanging around my car last night (3AM).
When I got into work this morning I noticed a 6inch scratch in the paintwork below the passenger door.
The scratch was covered by a film of black grease so I am tempted to think it was not done last night. Would a recent scratch still be shiny after 25 miles on the M1?
Bruce Read more
If it's below the passenger door (say near the door sill) I suspect it's occurred naturally.
Most vandel scratches are usually around or just below waist height.
If someone's going to do your car the will not go to the trouble to make sure the damage is not very prominent.
H
Has anyone else had problems with there vauxhall Zafira mudflaps chafing on the bodywork, exposing bare metal. I had mine repaired under warranty and 12 months later the problem is back.My local Vauxhall garage are going to repair the problem again(as a good will gesture)but say that they have had no other complaints from any other Zafira owners about this problem. I refuse to believe this is an isolated incident so would urge all Zafira owners to pull there mudflaps away from the bodywork and check behind for chafing. If there is any sign of this take the car back to there local dealer and lets get them to admit it is a design fault before the corrosion sets in.
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I kicked up a right stink about this with my local vauxhall garage, thefirst time they repaired it the mudflaps fell off when I collected the car, now they have fitted self tappers, and given me a free 30K service.
just the other day i noticed water dripping down the right hand side of the passenger footwell carpet,its been dry weather for 2 weeks,it only happens when engine is running,could this be the heater matrix?
my car is a golf gti mk2 16v 1988 f reg
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Thanks for replies to previous post. I have found out it is the heater matrix that ruptured flooding hot water into the footwells. I've contacted VW who are going to look into it. Does anyone know of recalls related to this? Are VW still liable to repair this fault even if the recall work has already been done once?
I do not believe that the motor vehicle is responsible for as big a proportion of pollution or global warming as the eco-greenies make out.
The web is full of the green lobby. Is there any opposing evidence? Read more
I would have thought that 43,000 vegans crying must produce some fairly unpleasant emissions!
Any car salesmen on here ? If there are , how many cars is your target for month ? Do you have difficulty gaining your target ? Read more
I did it once (horrible job - only did it because i love cars - it nearly ruined that interest).
Low basic. Long hours. not many days off.
I have a friend who worked for Merc Direct. I did Vauxhall main dealer. We used to chat about it.
20+ on a Good month. 12 on an average month. Some months quieter than others.
As a main dealer, mine was a percentage of price sold. My friends was a set amount. However, as a main dealer they would take into account the part ex price as well so if you gave a customer a great deal on the Vauxhall and too much for his part ex you wouldnt get anything. Its the Net result of the whole deal taking into account the Main Sale Car and the Part Ex that counted. Bit of a nightmare.
£30k+ is feasible but he's probably good at it, and if he can maintain 20+ cars a months he very good at it. What dealer/garage/Trade Supermarket did he work for?
If you're going to buy a new car go to the main dealer on a cold,wet wednesday afternoon at the beginning of the month - December is probably a good one. The salesman will be crying out for a deal and you'll probably get a great one.
Browse
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It's not just the motorways that can have phantom road works. Here in West Wales they still operate with 3 men in an old pickup, the roadside hut, and a collection of road furniture.
Day 1: dump equipment by roadside, set up lights, cones etc, sit in van eating sandwiches, go home.
Day 2 : second van arrives, more equipment dumped, still no roadworks
Day 3 : lights have broken, been knocked over by tractor, or need shifting to include an even longer section of road.
Day 4 : Mark out a few holes ready for digging, but digger not arrived yet, so just tea, sandwiches, then pack up.
Days 5 to 5+x, where x is a very big number: Do the miniscule amount of cosmetic work that was actually needed.
D-Day : work finished, but leave lights for the clearing-away team to remove.
D-day plus 5: everything now removed, traffic flowing again.
D-Day plus 10: time to dig some new trenches in the nice new surface, because a different team need to put down drains, cables, etc etc.
And so on, indefinitely, until the road is due for resurfacing again, or the almost limitless road budget is ready for topping up in the new financial year.