November 2003
Two guys I know have in the last two months;
One bought a Lotus Esprit, for around £9k I think, and was very happy.
The other sold a 300 twin turbo for around £3 - £4k.
I can't say that I'd do it, but they were both happy with their experiences. Read more
I have a 1999 Toyota Avensis GLS hatchback. I got it just under 2 years ago, when it had done 18,500 miles. I bought it from a Toyota dealer and paid a bit extra to get a 2 year warranty. This comes up for renewal in January, and would cost a further £570. The car has now done 36,000 miles and I expect to add another 9,000 to 10,000 miles a year for each of the next two years. Most driving is on A-roads or motorways as I don't commute in it or use it much for short journeys. Given that the car has been completely reliable to date, do you think that the warranty is worth renewing? Or should I just stick the money in the bank and self-insure?
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I had a 98 avensis 2 litre petrol for 4 years /63000 miles- we had a fleet of about 20 at work. Only common problems seemed to be front brake discs which needed regular regrinds and replacement and the steeing column bushes which need regular lubrication and sometimes replacement.
I should keep your money in your pocket- they are fine reliable cars- people say they are boring- I found it the quietest most comfortable car I have ever had. Now got a mondeo tdci which goes very well when its going- but I am on first name terms with everyone at the workshops. Now I could do with that car being a bit more boring like an avensis!
Hi all .
Was wondering if anyone could give me some advice beofr i go to Fiat.
I have been going through about a lire of oil every 800-1000 miles, and Havr recently noticed that my coolant level has dropped, COuld this be a head gasket problem? There is no white gunk around the oil or coolant caps, but it does get a decent motorway run (150 miles) most weekends. The car is a Y reg Punto MK2 1.2 8v and has covered 24000 miles.
ANy help appreciated.
Cheers
Ross Read more
was there oil leaking from the old rocker cover gasket? If not, sounds like a fob-off as it's quick and easy to do.
However, not doing themselves any favours as you'll only go back when it drops again!
Keep an eye on how much coolant are you losing.
I have a 1994 Punto 75 with 59 000 on the clock.
The other day while tinkering around I noticed a while creamy sludge around the neck of the expansion tank neck on the radiator. There is not a great deal there and the water appears to be clear. Is it the head gasket gone do you think or is a little bit of gunk normal? There are no sign of water on the dipstick.
I am hoping this is not serious as the car has not covered that many miles, and has been serviced regulary!
Any view appreciated.
Many thanks,
FarmerPalmer
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Do you think it wil get any worse? I know things like this rarely get better!
Anyway, I will try and flush it this weekend, thanks
The car is a 1992 230E auto (124) with ventilated discs. About 3 years ago I replaced the front pads in about one and a half hours in a very straightforward and logical process. All was fine. Now they need doing again, and I want to replace the front discs which are probably original. The Haynes manual suggests 2 calliper bolts, and 2 disc screws. Is it really that easy? Has anyone experience of changing front discs. Does anything stick, or cause concern. I can't believe it is that easy, although most things on this model are very straightforward. Europarts suggests discs and pads for £80.
Advise welcome.
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Glad it worked out. Sounds like they've been replaced before, they would orginally have had cross-head screws - Allan screws were substituted later.
The Fiesta went into the dealers this morning to have the mis-fire looked at and now I'm waiting around feeling like a loved one is in hospital!
The mechanic who I showed it to said he had never noticed whether the noise was a natural feature of the car or not, but as I said it had recently got worse he said he would plug it into the diagnostic machine and get it all looked at so I left it with them for the day. I also mentioned the oil consumption and the occasional starting problem in case there is any connection...
Will post back with the results for anyuone who is interested, especially those who replied to my thread on technical matters, which may be where this belongs, I'll see what I have to report back with first!
I know there's very little point in this post so far, but I just feel like I have to do something! :-)
Blue Read more
My dad's got a company Fiesta. I don't know if this is the fizzing u describe, but at low revs (no labouring revs), when you push the accelerator, i.e. putting the engine under load, it sounds like a pneumatic road digger :-) ! Never had that on the previous 1.25.
I have just bought a second hand base model Micra - newest shape April 2003, privately.
When I wind the steering over to the right full lock and reverse I get a clunk from the front offside wheel area, about 1 time in 10. Also hear a similar noise from the rear nearside wheelarch, only heard it once there though. It sounds like a sticking pad or handbrake cable.
Any suggestions? Should I just book it into a stealership under warranty? Read more
I wobbled the wheels and when I move the wheel there seems to be some play in the steering, possibly the rack. Going to call the dealer this morning to get it seen to. Seems to be particularly bad when I run over a pothole and then wind the steering right over in reverse.
Many thanks
i own a mk1 1996 mondeo TD. have trouble starting it in the mornings. It will start at the third attempt. Large amount of smoke exits the exhaust when it first starts then settles down to normal idle. It will start first time afterwards even if left for 4 hours.
the glowplug fuse is okay, there is current going to each of the plugs. Have not removed the glow plugs yet. Seeing a large amount of smoke when it starts up i am guessing the fuel does get through okay.
any idea what can the problem be?
If one glow plug is faulty should it start up at first attempt like on petrol engine with a fauly plug???
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Do you really mean current? or voltage?
If it is voltage you detected, then a glow plug could still be blown.
Ideally you want to remove the glow plugs for inspection.
As a half measure, you could test the resistance of each glow plug (disconnecting the supply connection). Any open circuit (high resistance) glow plugs would be defective.
I would replace all four with good quality plugs, especially if it hasn\'t been done before.
Also check the state of your battery, as these glow plugs drain alot of current along with the starter motor.
It seems like there may be some gremlins in the electrics of the first batch of the new shape A3.
I?ve just had my 2 week old Audi A3 taken by the RAC to my Audi dealer with non-functioning wipers (very entertaining on the M5 today in torrential rain). Upon explaining the problem to reception they asked me to park it next to the other two A3?s with the same problem which have been awaiting parts for 2 weeks or more ?The RAC guy was quite familiar with the new A3 having been called out to a few with electrical problems but in the other cases he was able to cure by resetting the system.
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I've just had an update on this and there is an accepted problem and Audi are considering a recall. It's a faulty wiper motor and I've been quoted between 3 and 5 weeks for delivery. Hopefully this doesn't turn out like the coil problem that VAG had last year.
Having just had my much loved Rover 214is written off for me on the delightful M25 am faced with having to find something else. Have just test driven a Rover 25 1.8 GTi W reg and wonder whether anyone out there could comment on this model. Its got 16500 on the clock and apart from being in a boring blue seems not too bad. Thanks Maz Read more
The Watchdog programme was a catalogue of complaints from owners with K-series problems going back over three years. In fact, Watchdog had to put an addendum to the programme the following week to say that Powertrain had made a number of modifications to the 1.8 K in 2000 and the number of reported HGF had subsequently fallen. The programme wasn't helped by a 'technical' expert that not only had the wrong gasket on the show but also didn't know what MGR had done to resolve these failures.
The list includes:
Redesigned gaskets.
New metal locator dowels in the head and upper block.
New revised tolerance stretch bolts.
Of course, Land Rover said any problems and they wouldn't argue with customers and do any rectification work free of charge. They didn't say that the engine had a problem, that was Watchdog's deduction. But then, this is the Discovery we are talking about, not the most reliable of cars.
The K-series engine is one of the most proven and successful car engines of all time. Used in racing and a range of cars from 1.1L to 2.5L, almost two million of them have been manufactured. It is still one of the highest-tech engines around, the casting techniques are patented by MGR and licensed to companies like Jaguar and Aston Martin for their engine manufacture.
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I used ebay to auction an X reg Clio recently. There were 15 bids, but the top one didn\'t meet the reserve I set. However, I eventually sold it to someone who had seen it on ebay (they didn\'t bid)and who contacted me by email, so I got the right result.
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