January 2004
The timing belt on my brother's S Reg Vectra 1.6 went on Saturday night. I am getting information second hand just now but as it stands he has been advised that the engine is goosed and will need replaced.
Car has done 108,000 miles, he still has 5 x £200 payments left to make and he has been quoted £800 to repair, but at this stage I am not sure if thats for a recon or what, and whether labour is included.
What is the view of the backroomers - is it worth his while to pay £800 ? Will his car be worth this amount once it has an engine? What Car valuation, via Auto Trader, varies from £300 to £1500! Does £800 sound reasonable for this job?
Would he get anything from a scrappy / breaker for having a structurally sound car, albeit without an engine?
Any thoughts, advice would be appreciated. Also, if anyone knows of any garages / breakers in Renfrewshire who they would recommend, please advise.
Thanks
PS Isn't it annoying when you have a brother who knows you are car mad but never thinks to ask your advice on timing belt change?
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Hi all,
this is my first post so here go\'s... i have a 1994 v6 Omega (auto) I have very little heat coming into the car. I have changed the heater exchange valve (at back of engine) the car\'s temperature is running around 87-92. Read more
Thanks for replying!
I cannot afford to take it off the road unfortunately, but am thinking of getting an electric car heater!
I am suspecting the heater matrix...but looking at the location it is not worth the effort to take the whole dash apart!
P.S. if you are still drining the Omega, watch out for the timing belt tensioners on the V6 models, as I was unfortunate enough to find out the hard way (£700 in parts and 1 week under the bonnet) that the tensioners CAN have a shorter life span then the belt its self.
Once again thanks!
No - not another new board game for kids. Just another example of the supposedly free new-car-buying market being 'interpreted' against the private buying customer.
I've just committed to a new Mini for SWMBO - no question a high quality car with a comparably high price to match. Negotiating with a Mini dealer left me walking away from my local vendor, who had let me have a car for an hour and spent another hour afterwards talking things through. At the sound of the 'd' word (discount to avoid any confusion!) I was made to feel like a 'turd in a bathtub'. The dealer let me walk away.
One phone call then followed to a dealer an hour's drive away and I got the movement in the deal I wanted (albeit small) and I placed the order.
The following day 'dealer one' calls me to get the order he let me walk away with, and on hearing the news, is then upset they lost the chance. I quote: ' Manufacturers tell us not to discount and if we've lost out to someone who has then it's not fair - you shouldn't be able to buy the car any cheaper elsewhere'. I politely eased out of the conversation.
So no surprise I hear you say - I agree; the motor industry continues to play Dick Turpin with the private buyer.
I think despite this, it's good that some dealers still understand that people buy from people, and will reflect a reasonable proposition from a potential customer with a resonable response. That's mainly how orders are gained, whatever the manufacturers tell everyone. Read more
I thought that manufacturers were not allowed to tell dealers not to discount. That is called price fixing, and some of them have been severely fined by the European courts as a result.
since doing untold work on my pug,cam belt change,water pump change,all bushes,power steering pump renewed,it dont start well from cold ,it starts after bout 5 mins of constant turning of the key,ive changed all the glowplugs(no luck ),it wants to turn over but it dont,help ..... Read more
had similar problem on my 405, found bad connxion on alternator, on cable to glow plug relay.
The free service on my Octavia has now ended and it's down to me. How do I get rid of the LCD "Inspection" on the dash that comes on for a while after I start up? Read more
Try pressing the trip meter reset button in and holding it in before you turn the ignition key, then turn the ignition key until your dash warning lamps come on, then wait for 5 seconds. This is the usual method on some other VW Group cars and should be mentioned in your handbook.
Is no one going to comment on HJ sans fedora and shades but with lovely companion, or do I have to?
Well, come on......
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Fellow posters: I thought perhaps I should leave a decent interval for someone else to comment on this but I can wait no longer. Please leave aside for a moment the admittedly absorbing eccentricities of your Alfa\'s ignition system, your neighbour\'s refusal to move his car so you can reach your potting shed, the problem with your front ball-joint resulting from the speed hump outside the GOat and Compasses pub and your dissatisfaction with Ford\'s response to your rattling ashtray, let alone the galactic mileage your Maestro managed with only one oil change and take the time to check out the Photo Site for a picture of HJ (sans fedora and Ray-Bans) and his delightful companion. Especially his delightful companion.
sc.groups.msn.com/tn/08/F1/honestjohn/2/a8.jpg
HJ: get to Manila when you can please. We have just had inflicted upon us the Chevrolet Zafira (yes, I kid you not).
I have a Rover 416 Sli auto, and need to get hold of a workshop manual for it, however the Haynes manual for this model covers the whole range except for my model, which is the only one which uses the Honda engine and auto box. There is a Haynes manual for the Honda Civic equivalent of my car, which in all but the name seems identical, so would this manual alone be Ok, or should I get this one, and a Rover one to cover bodywork etc. Thanks in advance for any help on this one. Read more
You can get a copy of the official rover CD on ebay for about a fiver. Miles better than Haynes manual, where just about every chapter starts with 'specialist tools required, take it to a garage'.
Collected a parcel from Halifax Post Office yesterday and returned to my car, parked in the PO's lay by. Get in the car, and I can hear the most dreadful revving noise coming from a little Yaris type hatchback, being 'driven' terribly by an old dear. She is absolutely revving the nuts of the thing, probably driving forward in 3rd or 5th gear.
She starts to reverse into the space behind me. I say to my wife, quick, let?s get out of here before she hits us - but I can't go forward because of the car parked in front of me. And the old dear is getting closer and closer behind!
I hop out of the car to see if I can prevent her getting any closer....but too late. I'm half way around my car and the wife shrieks that the o.d. has hit us. The o.d. gets out and says she is very sorry. (The parking space she was in was about 15 feet long, but she decides to stop only after she has hit me car!!!).
She looks at my bumper and says, no harm done. I'm a bit irate and say "well, I think you have squashed my bumper" and point out that one side of the bumper has popped out of its mounting. She says that she wasn't going fast enough to do any damage and promptly bursts into tears whilst I starting writing down her registration number, name, address etc. She then plays her trump card that her husband (in the passenger seat) has Alzheimer?s disease and she needs the car to get out and about. I point out the huge scrape down the side of her car where she has already had a previous encounter with something solid.
She is an appalling driver - and was witnessed by many reversing into me. One chap ran over and gave me his business card, volunteering to be a witness.
OK, so here is the bit I want help with. Do I:
A. ignore the fact that my bumper is now misaligned and take it on the chin, being sympathetic to someone who has a lot on their plate already who was genuinely sorry at that point in time to the point of getting emotionally upset.
B. proceed to make an insurance claim, take my car to the dealer and get them to check out if the bumper can be realigned - and sting the old dear's insurance as it was 101% her fault and I have witnesses.
C. ring her up and volunteer to give her some extra driving lessons
D. report her to the Police because I consider that she is a danger to other road users and pedestrians, because one day she may well cause a serious accident and kill someone - although this could take away the freedom she has in looking after her husband.
The floor is open.....which choice is the "RIGHT THING TO DO?".
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Andrew: I think it's the other way round. They don't crash often because they don't travel far. Therefore the insurance is lower. Has nothing to do with safe driving.
There's many an old girl with a metro that's only got 4000 miles on the clock. She probably doesn't even know there's a fourth gear. Thinks she's very safe as she always indicates right when going straight on at a roundabout!
a new michelin pilot was fitted to the front offside alloy wheel 3 weeks ago and on 2 occasions have checked the tyre and found the pressure has been approx 1/2 what it should be.took it back to the tyre fitters they checked the tyre and showed me with the tyre in the water that there was no loss of air. they then said that i should return if the problem persisted. went back yesterday and they have now sealed the tyre. anyone else with similar probs they stated that this seems to be a regular problem with the rim and tyre not sealing effectively.
regards
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many thanks your reply needless to say the problem is only with one wheel will check on the pressure to morrow. from first glance the pressure appears ok can recommend h j's tyre pressure guage from the american tool co as per his recommended suppliers. bought mine approx 7 yrs ago and is far easier and better to use that the pencil shaped ones.the local tyre specialist is based is milton keynes for info.
regards scotsman_1
watching Top Gear with family last night, my daughter in law commented that Stig could be female .... she could be right. Read more
Could be asexual - a Eunuch perhaps. Then we're looking at
33% chance....
Yes, but I think you mean an hermaphrodite. A eunuch is merely a male, sans....
Browse
Depending on what's actually damaged, £800 seems quite reasonable. Assuming that the car is S-prefix, it's around 5 years old so should be worth repairing assuming he's not had other trouble/problems with it.