December 2003
Am considering buying a Mk IV Golf and need some advice, seen a Euro import VW Golf Mk IV 1.9TDi PD (130PS) 5dr with tiptronic transmission. This model isnt sold in the UK but the is being sold NEW by a well known car super market for £15,500.
It is a sports model with 16inch alloys met paint climate control sports suspension, sports steering wheel and instrument dials. However it comes without any radio / cd player.
My main worry is that they dont allow you to test drive and I havent seem car of similar spec ie diesel tiptronic in a sports model at any VW dealer so dont know what it drives like. Its advertised as a 130PS(old bhp)so should have some oomph but not sure what effect the tiptronic transmission will have. Im not interested in a manual at this price.
ANY ONE DRIVEN ONE OR KNOW HOW THEY PERFORM AND WHAT PROBLEMS IF ANY WILL I HAVE RE INSURANCE AND SERVICING
Other minor question is Ive been offered a very high mileage 120,000 !!! (mostly on motorway) Y reg 2litre Golf Mk IV GTi with one company owner, full service history and good interior / exterior condition for £6500.
ANY ADVICE ON WHETHER THIS REPRESENTS A GOOD BUY ? WHAT ARE THE DANGERS, IF ANY, OF A VW GOLF WITH SUCH HIGH MILEAGE COVERED IN SUCH SHORT SPAN OF TIME (APPROX 2.75yrs. Outside it looks great but Ive yet to see how it drives
Any advice would be appreciated
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Motoring it may not be, but I shall put this thread in \"I Have A Question\" later as there is some useful stuff in here. ND
Since newspapers boys were made illegal - 7 of us do a day each delivering the street papers...
So, Friday being my day, up at 7 and drove to shop, drove back at 8 in case they were have a lay in...
SWMBO assured me last night that there were papers today - wait till she wakes up!
Matt35. Read more
Sorry, its getting late,
DEL C:WINDOWSCOOKIES*.TXT
COPY C:COOKS*.TXT C:WINDOWSCOOKIES*.txt
should read:
DEL C:\WINDOWS\COOKIES\*.TXT
COPY C:\COOKS\*.TXT C:\WINDOWS\COOKIES\*.txt
Local VW dealer HAD 2.0 S 130 saloons for £12500 (sadly all sold!! allegedlt they only had 10 )£15K+ TO YOU WANT ONE SIR.In todays Telegraph Motoring section i see VW advertising same models with metalic for £11995 @ VW Bradford
Any body know if this is the cheapest in the UK ? Any body bought one Read more
Hi folks,
A friend's Nissan Sunny makes a slow tapping noise as you steer. Does it whether you're moving or not. The reason is that as you turn the steering wheel and the bottom of the spring moves with the road wheel, the top of the spring doesn't move round smoothly, but sticks until the tension in the spring is too much and then "pings" round.
Can anyone tell me...
Should the top of the spring rotate freely, or is it supposed to be fixed? How's it supposed to work?
If it's supposed to rotate freely, any idea of what could be causing it to stick? Does something just need lubricating? (What?) And any way I'm likely to be able to get to the relevant bit without removing the whole strut (which looks quite awkward).
Much appreciated!
Mark
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Yes, its supposed to move smoothly. You do have to remove the stut to grease or renew the top bearing. Obviously on an old car renewal is unlikely to be economic, so maybe a bit of grease will help the problem for a year or so.
I have just brought a second hand Megane, it has had a slight knock but in the side. The Airbag and seat retentioners are fine but the Airbag warning light will not go out, any ideas anyone??
I have tried disconnecting the battery for 30 mins and WD40 on the connections.
Thanks Read more
Hi,
This is a long shot but on Peugeots (French car) there is an inherant problem with the sensor harness's under both front seats. It's only a suggestion as i'm not 'au fait' with the renault. If there are harness plugs to the sensors in the seats, first unplug them and re-plug to make a good contact. If this makes a difference then the Peugeot fix is to cut out the offending harness plug and re-connect the wires like for like ie red to red etc.
Good luck with this and if it does fix the problem, do let me know as it helps with further enquiries of this nature.
--
These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
I have a 405 diesel - and it runs fine most of the time. When you have to go up hill it loses all power and really struggles - as soon as you start to go back down the hill - all is fine again. I'm thinking the pickup to from the fuel tank might have become blocked as the car had been standing a while before I had it. The car has a lucas fuel system with what appears to be the Bosch fuel filter. Read more
When was the fuel filter last changed ?? it may be partially blocked or if your fuel filler cap or filler neck vent is blocked. Both of these faults can starve your engine of fuel under full load conditions.
If your 405 is a Turbo version, you may be losing your boost pressure through a hole in the pipework or a hose has blown off.
My husband bought a V6 in February this year and has had a multitude of problems. Was told by the dealer that the airbag onboard chip was faulty and would be replaced on the 1st October when an update would be available from Renault. To date we are still waiting for the updated chip. Renault are now saying that they don't know when the chip will be available and we're not convinced they even know what's wrong with it - anyone any info on this? Read more
Is there a motoring section in todays Daily Telegraph? None of the copies in Sainsburys had one.
Cheers Read more
Or the best bit has been nicked.
John,
I've warned you before. If you want to go on being Arthur Daly's true successor, you need to be much less polite to the punters.
Today (27th Dec, 2003), your first Telegraph item is from someone who can't tell the difference between rear lights, front lights (presumably sidelights) and turn indicators. Your reply maunders on about style and "manufacturing convenience". If this person can't tell between a red or white light and a yellow flashing one, they should hand in their license at once and go see an eye specialist. In fact, as someone who professionally advises people on motoring matters, you have a duty of care to report them to the DVLC.
As for the Corsa with worn out brake pads and the eight year old Merc with a worn out autobox - why is it that so many of your readers think that their cars should last forever without maintenance? Because you are too polite to tell them that they are cheap as well as thick.
Now, John. Practice time. Type and send off to me, "Bog off, you interfering git. If you know so much about motoring journalism, go and set up your own website and see how many people use it."
Happy New Year!
The Other John Read more
Change my handle?
That's rich, from the moderator of a website called www.honestjohn.co.uk whose home page bears the message:
"Please Note: This is NOT www.honestjohn.com. He runs Caddy Corner in Texas and deals in classic 1950s to 1970s Cadillacs."
I remain the one, the only, your very own,
JohnR
(Shortly to be known as "The JohnR" please!)
In today's newspaper, Maplin are selling quick start units for £29.99.
400A with built in light and cigarette socket.
Too late for a Christmas present?
I think they are a good idea, especially at that price, and one in the boot of student offspring's car does increase peace of mind.
I do not know if they are available on the web at this price.
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Just seen them in woolworths for £19.99
As I mentioned earlier in this thread.
The downside of the Woolworths one is that it is not very powerful and you don't get jump leads to connect dirrectly to the battery, but instead you have to plug it into the cigarette lighter and wait for approx 20 to 30 mins for it to recharge the car's battery. If like my on car, you have to switch on the ignition to activate the cigarette lighter, then any charge to the car's battery is drained again by any circuits that also activate when you turn on the ignition.
Browse
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I drive a 2001 Passat which hasn't let me down but I've been less than fortunate with incidents.
A dealer who I can't mention who left hoses disconnected and didn't follow the service routine (whilst checking the box to
say they did).
A new turbo.
Another dealer who incorrectly fitted the replacement pollen filter which left me with 50mm of water in the passenger footwell.
New climate control (faulty control panel).
New boot release mechanism.
A heavy clonking sound from the front which still hasn't been
rectified after 3 attemps and for which VW will require the
car for 4 days.
(Their argument was that although they can't find the problem it's nothing to worry about - my counter-argument was if you don't know what it is, how do you it isn't a problem?)
My father owns a Golf MK4 which has been fine, however being retired he does less than half my annual mileage.
Better dealer service would make me happier as the car is basically fine, IMHO the dealers take the money and don't give good service, if you paid their rates to any tradesmen you'd expect a bludy good job!
Still think that there are better cars for 15k, it does depend on what you want out of a car though.