September 2003
Anyone see the Watchdog progamme tonight which highlighted the problems with certain Peugeots catching fire, anyone had this happen and is it that common? Read more
Can anyone plese advise the UK agent for Magneti Marelli products or perhaps, a UK firm who deals with them on a regular basis ?
Thank you. Pete.
petel@clara.co.uk Read more
Thanks again to Aprilia and Renault Family.
They were all giving me the telephonic run round and the people at my local Lucas branch even claimed that is Lucas who own Magneti Marelli (Yeah, right!)
So I gave up trying with these people and was about to start playing with e-mail addresses your two postings came through.
Thanks again to you both.
Rgds, Pete.
After watching Britains Worst Driver - it's quite clear that most of these people shouldn't be allowed to keep their licence.
What are the Back Room's thoughts on mandatory licence re-testing ? Perhaps every 3-5 years ? It would certainly keep these lunatics off the road.
Obviously there would be serious cost implications etc - but worth it ?
Steve Read more
Growler, some of us voluntarily subject ourselves to re-testing by going through some form of advanced driving test. I'm not advocating re-testing for eome minority I have a particular problem with, but for everyone to ensure consistent, safe standards.
Maxine, I think your experience perfectly illustrates the case for re-testing. You passed your test and within 2 years you had picked up enough bad habits to manage to get yourself 6 points by the end of that period (not sure I would agree it's "easily done" unless your driving had deteriorated substantially since passing). Then, only 2 years after being deemed fit to drive you find it impossible to pass the test again.
Maybe if you'd known when you passed originally that there was another more stringent test a few years away, instead of knowing the original test could be the only time your driving would be assessed professionally, you would have made more of an effort to continue to improve after the original pass.
Not a great car, but far better than anything else the same size for the same money. At £10k I wouldn't dream of it, but at this money for a brand new car and you're not bothered about image or performance, it makes a lot more sense than a Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio or some kind of Proton.
They are well made and reasonably modern, and while it won't be worth a fortune second hand, it'll still depreciate less than something mainstream but more expensive. I'd say it's probably worth keeping for a longer time than most people do with new cars, say 5-6 years rather than the usual 3-4.
See if www.jamjar.com is doing anything cheaper as well. Read more
Seems good value - although may be worth a look at the smaller but more modern Toyota Yaris also....
The temp gauge in my renault 19 is dodgy. Appears to be reading way too hot. When the car is warming up, initially the gauge behaves normally with the needle gradually moving upwards. But once it reaches a certain temp. (1/3 from the bottom of the gauge) it quickly shoots up into the red zone. The first time this happened, I nearly had a heart attack and assumed that I had a serious overheating problem. I then did a lot of investigating in an attempt to fix the "overheating". Coolant flush, precautionary replacement of thermostat etc. Made no difference. Also, no signs of coolant leaks, airlocks, blown HG, blocked rad etc. I concluded that the car was not overheating and that there was a fault with the gauge. To be sure I've been checking the temp of the coolant in the expansion tank using a decent digi thermometer. I started the car from cold and left it at a fast idle (~2500 rpm) After a few minutes sure enough the gauge needle was in the red zone but the temp in the expansion tank was only 72°C. Thermostat was not open at this stage, rad still stone cold. A few minutes later the temp was 82°C and the top hose and rad were starting to get warm. At 86°C, the rad and top hose were definitely hot. Continued running the car until the fan came on - temp in the tank 93°C at this point.So, does this sound OK? What do you guys think of these temps, do they sound normal? thanks, brian Read more
Make sure that the small dia. return pipe to the header tank isn't blocked, this has a considerable effect on the whole cooling system of this particular masterpiece of engineering
Firstly, can I say how proud I am to be responsible for the 4000th topic? ;-)
Right - today i rang my local Vauxhall agent in Bromley to get a price for work on HF's Astra.
I asked them to quote me on fitting a new cambelt and a new clutch. The cambelt is £250 and the clutch is £400.
Chuffin' 'ell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I only got the prices so I knew what the absolute maximum would be. There is no way that I'd take a car of that vintage to a main dealer - we use a very reliable chap in Orpington.
But surely these prices have to be at the top end. I'd love to know their labour rates.
And at the risk of starting off another eMBe diatribe, surely it's another example of rip off Britain?
Cheers
Rob Read more
Can I just feedback about Mitsubishi servicing? Quote from France came out at 225 UKP, and from England 175 UKP. That suprised me... I do realise it might not be like for like, but did convert the miles (27,000) to Kilometres (43,200) and presume the service interval and schedule is the same in both countries...
Tim{P}
The National Motorcycle Museum near Birmingahm was destroyed by fire this afternoon.
£7 million worth of motorcycles were destroyed.
How did they get away without putting a full sprinkler system in ???? Read more
What got to me after all the sad shots of the burnt out bikes, was the idominatble optimism of the owner. How very British, no irony or sarcasm involved there. Glad no-one was hurt, but a huge loss to the nation.
I have a 98 Honda VTI 1.8
Car seemed...well is pretty much in excellent condition since buying it 2 weeks ago.
After a couple of washes I noticed today that there is very small flecks of paint coming off the driver side wing. Nothing major, but will need deal with it. I am wondering what's causing it?
Best way to make the paint work good? Don't know much about DIY.
Buy a can of red spray paint and simple spray it on?
Or will the whole wing need rubbing down with sand paper where it is flaking, primed and then sprayed?
How much would this cost to do by a professional?
Jason Clark
Read more
AI,
It was bought from an Independent Garage. Looking over the car tonight I am probably over reacting.
I guess I washed off the wax put on by the previous owner.
Car looked immaculate when I viewed it to purchase, but it's very minor flecks of paint probably caused by chippings etc, although seem a bit small for chippings.
I waxed it tonight with colour wax and a chip stick and it looks ok, not perfect. Although I am fussy :)
Thanks for the replies.
Jason Clark
www.TheMechanicsofWealth.com
Looking for some informed ideas about what my parents can trade their car in for.
IT is a 99V VW Passat SE 110 TDi saloon in A1 condition with 36,000 on the clock.
THEY are both in their late 60s and looking for a quality car which is very reliable, economical, and easy to drive. They would prefer to drive diesel (and it would suit their journey profile) and they would benefit from an automatic. They won't contemplate any kind of adventurous choice, so there's no point suggesting it. This is their second VW, they've had Volvos previously, so you get the picture.
By my reckoning, they'll pull in £5-6k part ex on the Passat and they'd probably contemplate another £6-8k.
Any suggestions chaps and chapesses? Read more
As well as looking at a Rover 75 can I recommend they take a look at the Volvo S60 or especially the S80 - big, comfy, safe, well-equipped cars - with no problems getting spare parts - some Rover 75 owners have had to wait a long time for spare parts I believe - due to Rover switching from Unipart I think.
89 1.4 Petrol Escort. Lying idle outside for nearly 2 years. Now unable to start it.
Battery charged up: ok
Spark plugs & distributor crudded up, cleaned: ok
Engine cranks over put doesn't catch. Can smell petrol so may have flooded?
What other things to check? Would the carb have got crudded up too? (petrol gauge low).
PS
Can't bump it because it looks as if handbrake is locked. How can I shift it?
Read more
Just make sure the car can stop.
You've a number of cylinders and calipers that haven't moved in 2 years.
A free ATS brake test may not be a bad idea - A couple of quid in their tea boat will usually keep the lads happy.
Good luck
If all else fails come down to Cornwall and buy one of my Xantias that I'm trying to sell. I'll even take the Escort in P Ex :)
Seriously, have you got a Haynes manual for it? See my ad in Classifieds.
Hugo
It is something of a puzzle to me that when the 6K oil change is championed here quite a few folks would blindly follow the makers advice thinking they knew better.
Anyway later...got a Mercedes to do which the owner sensibly has serviced 6 monthly...about 1,800mls between oil changes.
That's more like it.
;-)
M.M