February 2004
I received a 'phone call from the dealer yesterday asking if I'd like my car on 1st March, but with an 04 plate rather than with my personalised number. They will process the transfer for me, but local office of the DVLA are taking three weeks to effect a transfer, so I'll have to wait that much longer.
I find this a disgrace. DVLA are charging £80 to stamp a piece of paper and will take three weeks to do so. Read more
Hello again. Have no alfa anymore, only a pug.. will have to change my board name.. This car has had postings about it before.. Am going travelling for 10 months... two options with car.. sell it or lend it to my brother who will V5, tax, insure and use it..
What would you reckon I'd get for it to the "right" person?? Methinks lending it and having it back when returning o the UK is the best.. (better the devil you know and all that). I bought it 2.5 years ago with 98,000 on it for £4500...
Peugeot 406
2.1td GLX 110hp Diesel. 190,000 Miles
1997/R Reg 4 Door, Saloon. White.
Used daily on 140+ mile commute. (Motorway).
Excellent "mile muncher" with great handling for a "large" car.
1 year Tax 1 Year MOT.
1 former fleet owner - full Peugeot service history.
Complete history, all receipts. Serviced every 6 weeks.
Averages over 45mpg (up to 53). Up to 870 miles / tank
Digital Climate Control Remote Central locking
4 x electric windows Rain Sensor Windscreen Wipers
Wood dash kit. RDS Radio/Cassette, 6 speakers, Steering wheel controls. Immobiliser. Fully adjustable drivers seat
Front Fogs, 15" Alloys, 2 Airbags, ABS, Immaculate inside.
Good outside.
New:
Brake Disks All round June 2003
Brake Pads All round June 2003
Radiator
Exhaust
Rear Link Arms
Timing belt/head gasket changed 3000 miles ago
Steering, Engine, Gearbox, brakes and Clutch great. Read more
On the 2.1td, there is a stud on the tensioner which if torqued too much will fail. It is only "thin" with I believe a 10mm head on it. As the mechanic has "adjusted" the cam belt, this would make me very suspicious that he is to blame, unless it had been stretched previously when the belt was fitted.
The other thing is , as far as I'm aware there is no need to "adjust" these belts between cam belt changes, so why was it being tampered with?
Bad luck.
Reggie
Anyone used the A4 Portway park and ride at Shirehampton in North West Bristol? I'm heading for Broadmead/Lower Castle Street area so I am hoping it is not too far from the bus route. There are better bus routes with the other park and rides but they're all situated in awkward places as this one is just off the M5 so I am hoping it won't be much bother to get to!
I have never driven in Bristol before so is there anything I need to know as you Southerners have your different ways? :-)
teabelly Read more
Thanks for all the suggestions. Looks like I am packing an extra pair of eyes and some valium :-)
I've got the print out of the route which is a start. I may attach a 'Danger - Tourist' flag to the aerial in the hope that people give me extra room for the inevitable 'oh no I wanted that road' last minute manouevre that I have seen executed by lost people many a time....
There are a few multiple mini roundabouts around here. The worst is in somewhere called Smallthorne. It was always been a magnet for accidents and turning the impossibly complex junction into a network of mini roundabouts hasn't helped one bit!
teabelly
Can anyone tell me how to remove the thermostat housing from the Z18XE engine?
It's held on by two Torx bolts but, and Haynes doesn't help, do you have to remove the power steering reservoir? There isn't enough room to fit a socket on the end of the top bolt. It may be that if I invest in a Torx spanner, I can undo the bolt far enough to remove the housing.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Chris M Read more
Thanks for remembering my question Pastyman and taking the trouble to reply.
I left it in the end until I had the cambelt changed by my local garage that I use for the less straight forward jobs.
Chris M
After the TV adverts from the DVLA making the point that they don't need to look at the vehicle in question to find out if it's taxed or not, why display the disk at all? If you have paid your VED that alone should be enough.
In most lockable vehicles, the tax disk is relatively secure but on a motor-bike, anyone with a Woolworths tool-kit could make it disappear in seconds leaving you with nearly a tenner to find to replace it. Now that VED records are computerised and available to the various arms of the law, what's the disk for?
For the last year I have been using a scanned copy of the tax disk on the bike while the original lives in the filing cabinet, but the new disk with holograms on it has defeated my scanner. Maybe some silver paint and party glitter would help.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land Read more
Applied Psychology Hawkeye?
DVD
>>
As an explanation, I'll buy that. :-)
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
My mate's Saxo is giving a bit of trouble when cold - stalling etc. I suspect the CTS given that is OK once warmed up. Anybody know the hot / cold resistance values of the CTS on these engines, and where they're located?
Thanks
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen.... Read more
Cheers Peter, will pass your thoughts on!
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
Hi,
Right - i sent off some letters this week again for a car job after considering my future once again! - Anyway, i got a really positive response and one inparticular was from VW. I had an initial interview today and the manager there was a really decent guy.
Anyway, he told me that he cannot personally employ me - as VW now conduct an interview together with tests. This lasts approximately 6 hours. Apparently this just became compulsary in December and he does not know specifically whats involved as I would be the newest member of sales staff within the last 6 months.
Can anyone give me an insight into whats involved so im vaguely ready for whatever is thrown at me! :D Maybe someones been through them and passed/failed? Or even if you know roughly whats involved it would help.
I expect it will be some tests such as different sale scenario's, telephone skills, etc..
I have a friend who works for VW who joined this month so I am going to try and talk to him too, but your input would be highly valued too!
Thanks,
Chris Read more
I think we both know that there isn't exactly a large margin for discount with Honda cars! :-)
Blue
Hi,
I have a M reg Omega CDX that has a problem with the heater not working ! It blows cold air fine but just no heat. I read a topic with a similar problem regarding a vauxhall carlton, but i dont think these have the automatic heater controls (which I suspect it may be in this case as it just stopped working over night)
what things could be causing this?
Cheers Read more
i have same prob on a 2.5 v6 1994. no lose of water but i have been told that it may be the heater matrix. big money vauxhall dealer £975+ vat
Hi,
I have a friend who has a 1997 P reg fiesta 1.3 with a 'DuraE' engine. His problem is that the engine will run erratically when idling for most of the time, but is fine when driving normally. He took it to a few places and they all said the ECU was wrecked and he should get shut. Unfortunately he cant really afford a new car, but I suggested he may be able to "swap" the ECU with an identical one from a similar "scrapped" car.
My question is would this be possible? I am just wondering incase the ECU is "locked" to the car, ie the immobiliser and so forth.
Thanks for your help
Steve Read more
Much more likely to be simpler/cheaper faults like a bad connection, faulty idle control valve or faulty sensor(s) - ECU's are very reliable unless they have been abused.
Seems like quite a common garage practice to blame the ECU before checking out the basics....
Don't know if anyone can help, but my Astra had a period of about 6 or 7 months where it was doing a lot more travelling than it was used to. Whereas usually it only has short local journeys, it has been subjected to tearing around the country and adding maybe 8-10,000 miles to it over the last few months, compared to my usual perhaps maximum 3,000 per year, local hops.
What I am trying to find out is how urgent is it now for me to get a cam-belt change? The last one was done about 2 years before I got the car,(which I got about a year and a half ago) and in those 2 years it had done very small mileage also.
I am asking this because I am unexpectedly rather strapped for cash, but at the same time need my car like a baby needs its bottle!
Before reading this site, I had never heard of cam-belts, cam-belt failures, or anything like that. So, can I carry on and be at little risk, or is it something I must do?
Sorry if this sounds ignorant, but I *would* be grateful for any replies. Unless they are telling me I have to fork out immediately, of course ;)
Thanks to anyone that might be able to offer a bit of insight.
HF Read more
Hello all,
Many thanks for all these useful replies - have been offline for a few days and so have only just gained access to the site.
Reading through all this carefully, it is going to be way above my head to handle anything like this! (My limit is checking the oil). But I do take the point that it's pretty important to get it done as soon as possible.
I'll print out your tips and hints and maybe ask the local mechanic for a quote. Although i know it's beyond my financial means just now, and probably for quite some time to come!
Thanks to you all.
HF
Browse
.jpg)
This afternoon I received the following reply from the DVLA:
CUSTOMER REF : V152090
Thank you for your e-mail.
It may help if I explain that it is at the discretion of the DVLA Local Offices whether they process a application over the counter. There is no guarantees given that this will be done.
A application for a plate transfer can take between 4-6 weeks to be completed as there has been an exceptional amount of transfer applications made in the last year.
I hope this clears matters up for you.
Regards
L Webb
Customer Enquiries Vehicles
For further information on Driver and Vehicle Licensing, visit our website
on www.dvla.gov.uk
It's only taken them two weeks to reply, with a few errors as well.