March 2004
Whilst washing the car yesterday i noticed that small specks of rust were beginning to appear on the driver and passenger doors, just where the door starts- not the wheel arch which I thought would be the first place.
Does anyone know a quick treatment to stop the rust spreading?
Thanks in advance. Read more
quick question.
if you go over you service interval by say a mile or two will you invalidate your warranty?
what about by say 50 miles? Read more
Check the Policy booklet - most allow between 500 & 1000 miles either way mileage-wise or 1 month
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Dear All,
I have a very ordinary Ford Escort (1.6L DOHC Reg N). I have noticed recently that the tick over seems to be a bit on the high side about 1,200 rpm rather than usual 850.
The questions I have are
1)is this a general problem of Escorts of this age?
2)is there a relatively cheap way of fixing it or am I looking at having to reprogram the "brain" of the car?
Any advice or thoughts would be most welcome - Thanks in advance,
John Read more
The idle control valve on this version is unfortuneately very awkward to change as its located on the underside of the inlet manifold and access is limited both from above and below.Before servicing the idle valve try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes then reconnect and start up and let the system reset by allowing the engine to idle for a few minutes.If this does not fix it I'd suggest you have the engine management system scanned for sensor readings and possible faults.There are many possible reasons for your high idle speed e.g.throttle potentiometer,power steering switch ,coolant temp.sensor,air temp.sensor,air leaks after the throttle plate,and even the idle valve itself.
my vw passat has been suffering from a vibration at motorway speeds(70/75 mph plus)which is felt through the steering wheel.It does not go away at higher speeds,but dissapears as soon as you drop below 70.
I have re-balanced the wheels,fitted 2new wheels,checked wheel bearings for play,checked track rod ends.Dampers seem ok.
Below 70,the car drives and handles perfectly, but as most of my driving is on the motorway it is driving me nuts.
VW main dealer not helpfull at all.
Any bright sparks out there got any ideas?
Any help greatfully recieved.
turbo11 Read more
Interesting-just jacked up the right front and there is quite a bit of movement in the damper top mount.Did the same with the left side and ther is no movement.Are the top mounts fixed as normal or do they float when the suspension is on droop?????
Went to Blackbushe today to check out the topcar - as the HJ review, some very good prices - I'm not quite ready to buy yet (I have 6 months left on my current leased car) but intend to buy something nice and opt out of the company scheme. BMW 5-series seemed particularly good value today.
I had to go off to a meeting so missed two cars which interested me - did any one catch their prices?
First one was the delivery mileage X type (TC049) and the second was the BMW 540 Estate (Executive Direct 001).
Thanks. Tim. Read more
Thanks HJ, much appreciated. Tim.
Yes it is free in London to scrap a car.
They will even collect it for free.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3542549.stm
Lunchtime TV item said that if you report a car with no tax it will be collected within 72 hours.
All the more reason to remember to renew the VED.
There may be get out clauses but it sounds good to me.
It is cheaper than clearing up the mess of a torched wreck etc. Read more
Scrap prices have been at rock bottom for a while but are now increasing - up to £50-60 per tonne now because of increase in demand for steel in far east. I think breakers could now offer owners a minimum £20 for cars delivered to them or collect free of charge to help stop car dumping. Owners are providimg them with their raw materials that they can then charge £100s for.
going rates in my area - Ford Escort 1300 1990
engine £100 - £200
Gearbox £80
Panels £20 - £40
Carb £20
AFM £25
etc.
Roadworks on the M4?
If this goes ahead you aint seen nothing yet.
tinyurl.com/2xw97
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All part of the desparate measures to get another runway at Heathrow and a 6th terminal. This is one of the more outlandish. More 'moderate' ones are a Heathrow congestion charge to reduce car usage into and out of Heathrow.
Seen in Exchagne and Mart:
Runs on unleaded, converted by means of fuel catalyst; pellets in petrol tank.
Fairies at the bottom of the garden? (Or fairies at bottom of garden...) Read more
Cliff, I absolutely agree with your comment regarding the total uselessness of so-called fuel catalysts.
Very elaborate tests of lead-replacement additives and fuel catalysts were carried out in 1998 by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) at the request of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) and with assistance from Rover. Rover's part was to supply a batch of 'A' series heads, these being prone to valve seat recession.
The additives that passed the tests can be recognised by the FBHVC's approval crest on the bottle. It's a waste of time looking for the crest of approval on catalysts because none of them have it.
Afternoon all
Longish post, for which pardon is humbly sought.
Am toying with the idea of replacing one of the family Puntos with a pre-reg Honda Civic that has caught my eye on the "approved used" bit of Honda?s website. Having checked the Car-by-Car Breakdown on here, I feel (as a FIAT owner of some years' standing) that I could probably cope with the things mentioned in "What's Bad"!
The model in question is a Civic 1.6 Inspire S, which as far as I can make out consists of an '03 MY 1.6 S with various bits added from the SE spec (air-con, alloys etc.) The bits that haven't been added appear to be leather steering wheel and rear electric windows, without which I'm sure I'll survive. Mileage appears to be delivery only. Car was registered on 27 November last, and I have discovered that the Inspire S was a special edition offered between June and September of last year, which I presume means that this car has been sitting in a field somewhere for anything up to five months, before being registered by Honda and shoved off into the dealer network. The price asked by the dealer is £10,999, which appears to be about £1,000 less than the original list price and around £2,000 less than current list for an SE.
The fact that this is a special edition and the previous year?s model doesn?t bother me all that much; I shall be keeping it for at least five years. However, I would value Backroomers? thoughts on the following:
1) Is this a reasonable price and if not, how much might I expect to chisel off? I realise that Honda dealers are highly unlikely to wipe four-figure amounts off the price at the raise of an eyebrow, in the manner that FIAT dealers would. I am also aware that Hondas tend to retain value better than some.
2) If the car has indeed been sitting in a field somewhere for months on end, what are the potential pitfalls? I would have thought that these will be things like evidence of damage from careless manoeuvring, and possibly heat damage to the interior, given last summer?s temperatures. As the car is sold under the Honda Approved Used scheme, I am presuming (possibly naively) that any defects will be sorted out prior to purchase.
3) How much do services cost for the Civic? I can?t seem to find this information anywhere.
Any advice gratefully received.....
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Right then.
Firstly, thanks to you all for the helpful advice - much appreciated. Virtual pints all round.
Looked at some of these brokers' sites and found that the prices weren't much different for this model (which still shows up on Drivethedeal and so forth), and that I definitely cannot afford a new one. Not so sure I like the look of the '04 models anyway.
My Punto doesn't seem to be on Parkers yet as it appears to be too new.
Went along there today - test drove - knee room felt a little tight at first (well, I am 6'6" tall), but having fiddled with the seat adjustment, it was fine.
Car is absolutely mint - wherever it's been sitting, it doesn't seem any the worse for it. (It hadn't been valeted, either.) Everything works, no rusty bits or signs of disuse at all. Engine and gearbox all fine, only a little tight in view of mileage of precisely 90.
Given that the PX is a Punto Dynamic Multijet, same age as the Civic, with 6,000-odd miles on it since October last and with a ding in the driver's door where some idiot opened their door onto it, I do not feel at all hard done by with a cost to change of £6k, in view of the nearly £3k of finance to be settled on the Punto. I dare say that I could probably have done a bit better elsewhere, but I prefer my car purchases to be as argument-free as possible, and I'm happy with what I got, so I guess that's what matters.
Once again, many thanks for all of your help.
hi,
my girl friend is about to purchase a car, arranged pick for this saturday at dealer. we arranged the finance and it was accepted with dealer. including signing the finance agreement so all we are doing is showing some proff of address and then picking the car up, but on returning home (long drive) we have realised the flat rate is actually an apr of 12%
this is no good at all but she doesn\'t wnat me ringing them up complaing cos she doesn\'t want to lose the car. (£500 deposit paid).
we want to arrange a loan with her local bank and pay cash for the car at a lower apr.
can we do this as we have signed the finance agreement, cos they still need the proff of address which is part of the finance is it not?
and 1 final question, if the back said no, can we take a cheque from the AA for example down and we wouldn\'t have to wait for it to clear?
we need this sorted asap so help much appreciated?
thanks.
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We were tricked into what sounded like an okay finance quote about 18 months ago. Only later did it become apparent that they had not quoted APR etc.
I decided to phone Black Horse Finance to get a settlement figure and also found it has a Hire Purchase deal (explains why Black Horse wanted evidence of insurance) and not an unsecured loan.
However, when I asked for the settlement figure they were only too happy to quote me for converting to an unsecured loan at a decent APR rate (comparable to elsewhere) and was no hastle in paying off the original loan and setting up the new one.
Hope this helps.
Rob
Browse
If car is indeed a VW Golf and less than 10 years old ; there should be a warranty to cover rusting from the inside IIRC.
Otherwise if it is surface rust, that's easier to deal with.
I gues that you do not have mudflaps if the leading edges of the doors are getting rusty. My MK111 Golf was rather prone to the doors being grit blasted.