December 2003
what are the new green camera's that hang above the bridges along side the blue one's? Read more
what is them vans with the 2 cameras pointing out the top of the van doors, are these tax cameras or speed or both? Read more
It's good to know that real felons drive cars that can be monitored and traced. I'd have thought they would drive a car that came across as legitimate or at least registered to a false address in a false name. Silly me.
Does anybody know what could be causing my P reg 115k miles diesel Astra to be burning oil all the time? It was serviced two months ago and the oil level is still ok.Worried single Mum of two! Read more
Hmmmmm.....sell it, pdq?
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
We are looking at getting a Corsa 1.7DTi as our main car. On the continent, all Vauxhalls are badged Opels. What are the differnces between the Opel and Vauxhall Corsa? Is it just the badges or are there differences to the engines, ECUs etc? I am worried that if we break down in France, will the Opel dealer be able to deal with a Vauxhall? Will their diagnostics be able to read Vauxhall codes etc? Read more
Our 2002 Vauxhall Corsa owner's manual says it can serviced anywhere in Europe by Opel so I assume the chips speak a common language. As far as I know they all burp out of the same Spanish manufacturing plant. I suspect the Vauxhalls may have better trim levels but the Opels may be cheaper. Vauxhall now tend to tune suspensions for UK roads but apart from this and trim levels I suspect they are pretty similar. I certainly can't fault our Corsa - the build quality is first rate & so far (15 months) the car has been fault free. Very cheap main dealer first service too.
Its time to change the timing belt on my 1990 (H-plated) Pug 205XLD (XUD7 non-turbo engine). I haven't really got the space or time to do it myself and so am looking at a garage job.
Has anyone got any idea of the recommended time for changing the timing belt on the XUD7 non-turbo engine?
I have seen in a few of the many timing belt threads here labour times anywhere from 'a couple of hours' to a very specific 4.3 hours. The variation seems to due to experience and make/model differences.
I've been quoted approx £160 labour (4 hours) plus parts and VAT at the west London garage (in W4) that I usually use and was suddenly wondering whether I may have the time after all.
Cheers
Rooster
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There.....it pays to shop around.
The XUD belt isn't really that bad to do at all. Just the bolted covers and boost pressure pipes make it a pig of a job on a Xantia!
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
I have 97 fiesta three door. The drivers seat does not lock in place. Everything looks OK but handle on side top for access to rear seat seems loose. Any ideas on how to fix?
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I own a 03 Golf and I am wondering when it should be serviced, it is set up on the VW variable servicing, I have read the handbook but have got conflicting times. What will the computer diplay say when it needs servicing?, does it need servicing at 10000 miles-1 year even if the display says nothing? and what is the maximum before service, 20000 miles-two years? Read more
With variable servicing you take it in when the car tells you to, which depends on your driving style. With fixed servicing it is every 10,000 miles.
Am quite chuffed at the moment as just had 4 new tyres put on the passat, cost covered by the VW tyre maintainance plan at just £7 per month. That's 6 tyres it's had in 13 months. Not bad for £91, which is probably the price of just 1 tyre
My uncle is a keen caravanner but is getting on a bit and fancies an automatic.
There is a Nissan Silvia on offer that he likes.
This is a 1.8 auto and a small car. He owns a small 2 berth caravan but it is very old (and so)heavy.
I think this is madness. I do not believe that autos and caravans mix in any case as you do not have the control you need. Plus as small a car as this is not designed for towing and I belive he will just destroy the torque converter.
Am I over reacting? Read more
I drove a Jaguar XJ6 auto and pulled a caravan: the only problems I had was filling the twin tanks.. at 15mpg it took 20 odd gallons every 300 miles..
Mind you I thought it towed well on Motorways at the legal limit:-)
madf
I was looking around at some cars this weekend (a garage that deals in high mileage ex-lease cars, all with FSH), with the intention of perhaps going for a 2000 - X-reg Mondeo 2.0 Zetec with 78k miles. However, I also saw an S-reg Passat TDI Sport with 100k miles. The Mondeo felt like it had done 78k miles but the Passat could have passed for 20k miles, such was the condition. It just seemed so much better screwed together. But the Passat was £1000 more!!
My questions are:- Is the Passat a good proposition with 100k miles and based on anybody's practical experience, what do I need to look out for (will it last another 4 years, 50,000 miles with nothing major going wrong)?
Looking forward to your replies.
Thanks
Jason
P.S. Is the Vectra such a bad car? Garage was selling diesel Vectra (2.0 DTI) T-reg for £1000 less than Passat with same miles.
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It depends what you mean by 'good idea'. If you like this car much more than any other you have seen and are confident you would get a lot of pleasure from driving a Passat TDI for the next four years (even if you have some problems), then I'd say it's a good Idea.
If you mean - is this the most cost efficient choice or the most trouble free choice then I'm not so sure. If you run any car from 100K to 150K over four years it will be a gamble. Gambling is all about odds, if your aim is not to have the trouble of a major fault then the odds are best if as previously advised you should choose one of the Japanese options. If your aim is to keep to a tight budget then it gets more complicated because as well as considering the odds of a major problem you need to consider the relative costs of repairs.
50K miles in four years is not a big mileage (12.5k pa). Currently by taking the diesel option you save about £300 pa in fuel costs, but will need one extra service per year, so with your mileage the cost savings will be marginal. Any eight year old 150K car will be of little worth so residual value is not an issue. If a fuel pump or even a battery fails on the diesel option it will be much more expensive.
You will get a much more and newer for your budget if you take the petrol option. That's what I would do.
it says in my new car handbook that i am to avoid driving for a long period/distance at a constant speed for the first 1000 miles, my question is how long is a long period/distance and how much should i vary my speed by? Read more
Won`t dissagree there.but given the tolerence on new engine`s will be less swarf to clear.so the interval for oil change will increase.I do dissagree with the idea that after 5k.it needs replacing ie oil filter oil/there won`t be the amount of swarf there so will not need replacing.As old unit`s
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Come on, look at how well the Passport Office computer system was implemented, or the CSA, or tax credits, etc etc. God help us now that the NHS IT infrastructure is being upgraded.