October 2003
I am having great difficulty in extracting the inner back brake pad on the drivers side of my omega - it just dosent seem to want to budge. Any help would be gratefully received. If I could get it out I can push back the piston ok. my difficulty is in shifting it initially so that I can extract it. I have been able to replace the outer without too much difficulty.
Many thanks for any helpful suggestions.
Ian Read more
Recently road tested a new A4 1.8T,(no intention of buying one) and was very surprised when the salesman told me that within the A4 range, 60% of their sales are estate cars, which seems a very high proportion to me.!!
Just wondered if this was a local quirk with buyers here in the South West????
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...and why are so many manufacturers producing "lifestyle" estates with severely sloping tailgates that compromise luggage carrying? New Laguna is a good (bad) example; current Merc C and E class estates are also worse in this respect that their predecessors. No wonder the sales of full-size MPV's are on the up!
Another problem now :(
My son recently took his car into a bodyshop to have a wing replaced as an elderly lady had pushed a trolley into the side of it.
He decided to have both sides sprayed down the side and the bonnet also to make sure the car all blended in and also get rid of a few scratches.
He got the car back and was initially very pleased with the finish.
Until he looked at the rear quarter and noticed that between the window and the tailgate where there is a strip of metal that the bodyshop hadnt removed the water marks underneath and laquered straight over the top, so he now has permanent water marks :(.
He contacted the bodyshop and they at first didnt believe him, until he explained all he had done to check that it wasnt just surface watermarks.
They then offered to spray the effected sides and then laquer over the top, but this would cause colour match issues or to just leave it as it is :(
We tried to suggest that perhaps they could use a rubbing compound like Farecla G3 to remove this new laquer layer, so they could effectively get down to the top paint level where the water marks are located, remove the water marks and then relaquer it, so the colour match is still perfect. But they have refused saying that it cant be done, just wondering if they are just trying to save time and therefore refusing, does anyone know?
Thanks again
Keith Read more
Hi,
Sorry I probably didnt explain well.
Yes it is recently.
Basically on the sides they sprayed the wing and door and then blended into the panel, which basically means they get half way up the rear then flick the gun so it spreads the paint, so that it blends in and there is no further need to spray back. Then they put the laquer layer on top to give it the correct finish, the trouble is at this particular area on the car (just between the rear window and tailgate) all of the metal area there shows water marks, and they laquered straight over it, rather than just wipe it down before hand.
Hope that makes sense ?
A guy at the office here has brought his Blackbird over from Oz and is trying to get it road-legal for the UK. One problem he's got is the speedo, which is only calibrated in Km/h. It seems a garage is quoting him £500 to change to a MPH speedo. Apparently there's no calibartion test so he's tempted to open it up and paint an M over the Km!
Anyone know a more economical (and legal) way of changing the speedo?
Terry Read more
As promised, an update. Seems he took the speedo apart (well, dropped the guts and the dial out the bbottom after removing the fairing) and changed the "Km" to "M" and it passed all the certification checks!
So it seems no calibration check is carried out. And he got an MOT before doing the change.
funny old world.....
Terry
In due course I am going to replace my much loved 1998 Audi A6 saloon. Lexus are doing very competitive deals on the IS 200 & 300 range, and offered a high part-ex price for the A6.
I won't need anything as big as the A6 any more, so does the IS200/300 seem like a good bet? Loaded with goodies, slick 6 speed manual. Any suggestions very welcome. Thanks. Read more
The Lexus is king of customer satisfaction polls. Make of that what you will and ensure a thorough test drive, but sleepless nights would be few.
Hello all,
In May this year, I had an accident on the motorway. I was not to blame as someone drove into the back of me. This was confirmed when the third party admitted liability.
I am now in the process of renewing my car insurance and to my shock horror, my insurance premium had gone up by £120. I originally received a quote for £400 and when I tried to pay I was told that the quote was incorrect as they did not realise that I had an accident (even though they sorted it out!)
Insurance premium is now £520.
I phoned them up to ask why it had gone up and they informed me that as I had been involved in an accident, I am more likely to be involved in another accident. Just for comparison purposes, I asked them what the premium would be if I were to blame for the accident and I was told it would be £540.
Therefore for merely being involved in an accident that was not my fault I am being charged an extra £120.
If I was to blame for the accident it would be an extra £140.
I have full no claims (protected).
I am contacting my solicitor who dealt with the accident to make an extra claim for 3 years of insurance premium increases (as the accident will stay on my record for 3 years) but I do not know how it will turn out.
Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do?
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Must have missed that part, Mark - thanks! Will have to wait and see how my lot (What Car?, who have been very good) choose to play it.
One of our cars, a 16 year old VW Polo is coming to the end of its life. We need a replacement and like another Polo. This time we want a diesel but don't know whether the 1.4 TDi or the 1.9 TDi should be bought - secondhand.
I fancy the extra performance of the 1.9 but am worried about extra servicing expense, particularly as the engine is a tight fit - I would think doing a cambelt on the 1.9 is a pig to do.
Any ideas? Read more
I'd go for 1.4, only because the VW 1.9 TDI in a Polo-sized car makes it feel very nose-heavy (at least if the Seat Ibiza is anything to go by).
If you're open to suggestions re. make, I've just bought one of those new Punto 1.3 Multijet turbo diesels - give one of those a look before settling on a Polo, and ignore all the rude comments about Fiat. It's the best small car I've driven, frankly. Certainly lives up to all the nice things the motoring mags are saying about it.
(Oh, and I didn't know you could get 12 months' RFL for as cheap as £85 per year!)
Yesterday evening, 18:20, Barkingside "High St.", panda car in front of me allows a car to U-turn, from the opposite side of the road, to in front of the police car. While doing so, a car aproaching with dazzling Fog Lights on, pulled into the vacated parking place. Are U-Turns allowed? Fog Lights are not. Comments?
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Maybe it\'s anything for an easy life or maybe to keep a life ! The U turn suspect was probably some selfish lazy person who wouldn\'t benefit from a \"word\" anyway. The fog light driver wasobably a drug dealer with an ounce of crack and a gun and not afraid to use it ..... policing can be tough!
One of my sisters is on the point of buying a Ford Focus, a demonstrator with 2000 miles on the clock, brought in from Guernsey. Given the limitations on motoring in the Channel Islands, what should she look out for? Perhaps there's nothing to worry about on a nearly new car, but . . . Read more
Why do our cars sound like tractors on a cold morning? It takes a good ten minutes before they start sounding happy again. Are all engines the same? There must be a lot of damage going on under the bonnet during warm up. I'm considering building a garage/carport so at least one car has a nice sheltered place to sleep - is there anything else I can do in the meantime to reduce the stress on the cars?
Cheers,
eid. Read more
Update - did oil/filter on the Honda at the weekend. Sounded a lot happier this morning. Rover still slapping away though!
cheers
Ed.
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Thanks, I will be doing the Omega rear pads soon, discs/drum assy and handbrake shoes too ! :o(