May 2004
Those signs that are in the central reservations of motorways, that are illuminated to say 'Fog', or 40mph. I suggest that they are worse than useless, and can be downright dangerous.
Trafficmaster seems to have about a 5 minute delay between a blockage & getting the information onto its system. The Highways authority seems to have a several hour delay before switching them off.
Saturday morning, driving up the M11, both directions indicated 60mph. Presumably it had been foggy, but there was no longer any evidence of htat.
Monday evening, going back down it, where the M11 meets the North circular, we were instructed to do 40mph. Needless to say, Trafficmaster (via Orange) confirmed no delays.
Who maintains these, and how? And why are they incapable of updating the information. Old information means that these signs cause traffic jams. Read more
I collected my new car on Saturday. A vectra on a 53 plate with 7000 miles. Purchased from a local dealer with a good reputation.
Within 3 days I found the following faults :
1. Cigarette burn on roof lining instantly obvious and not there when i put the deposit down last week.
2. Creaking front suspension (which is an issue with new Vectras apparently.)
3. Exhaust blowing.
4. Panel on steering wheel containg radio buttons fell off having been subject to previous bodged repair.
5. Rattle in drivers door.
6. Dispute over mileage . stock list stated 7100 miles,on test drive was pretty sure it was 7200 and on delivery it was 7800. Vehicle also looked like it had been driven through a field,dirty engine bay ( spotless on test drive )mud and straw caked underneath vehicle.
I took it back and they have promised to repair all the faults but argued slightly that the cig burn was there when I purchased it. The only problem is that this has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I spent 10k on a nearly new car and now face the hassle of them having it back for two days,the issue with the suspension looks like it may be protracted according to a Vauxhall website.....do I go along the route of asking for my money back..(I also part exe'd a car so would have get that back)..or face the insecurity of the poss suspension problems,and see how they manage to repair the roof lining and sort the other probs? Indeed am I actually entitled to a refund?
Anyone been in the same situation? Read more
I agree that the faults should be easily rectified..apart from the cigarette burn..which I didn't mention was head height on roof lining,eye level, corner of door pillar and windscreen......right in line of sight..as you glance 45 degrees right...."basically in your face"..and wasnt there when i inspected / drove the vehicle.....
its this thats upset me more than anything..there is no chance that they will replace whole roof lining.....and they agree they cannot but will attempt repair.........we will see!
anyway have followed advice on Vauxhall site re creaking suspension and put WD40 on radiator mounts top and bottom......all now quiet for now believe it or not! which beggers the question should Joe public who has just purchased a ten grand car have to resort to WD 40....me thinks not..
My cousin is in the process of part-exing his 320d for the above car. It is a 2000 (W) model with the "switchtronic" gearbox. Anybody own/ever driven one?
Seems to offer almost supercar performance and I am not sure he fully understands the running costs involved (not that I am jealous or anything you understand!) Read more
Thanks for that Chad. Incidently he is paying 20k for it and I imagine the 50k miles it has done will be nothing for that engine. Just hope his wallet can cope with sub 20mpg as opposed to 40mpg from the 320d!
I need to change the oil, coolant and brake fluid in my 150k 306 diesel which I bought six months ago. After I've bought all the fluids and spent hours reading my haynes manual to find bleed valves and things, is it worth it? How big a job is it and how much time/labour would it take a garage to do it?
feedback appreciated!
Jeremy Read more
but expensive coolant? Shouldn't I be using Halfords own?
What do you suggest.
>>
???
I would suggest Halfords expensive coolant. It is in a different coloured bottle. I think it is the 5/10 year stuff.
If you are doing it yourself then leave the cheap stuff on the shelf. Saving a few quid - is it worth it?
Good morning all,
I’m not sure if this should be in technical, or even classifieds – but it is basically a ‘wanted’ ad.
I have a 1997 Passat, which has steel rims. I’m looking to replace the existing rims with genuine VW alloys. I’ve contacted my local dealer and have been quoted £200 plus tyre plus fitting plus VAT per wheel!!
I’ve had a hunt around e-bay, and called a few breakers, but nothing seems to be available.
Does anyone have any bright ideas as to where I should hunt next?
Cheers
DB
Read more
Thanks for that. I've just called my local VW dealer who have confirmed they are ok.
Right - off to do some bidding!
Hi,
My Mum would like to buy a Volvo V40 as she wants a safe, comfortable and economical car for her job as a district nurse on the Wirral and also for commuting to and from her house in North Wales.
She would like the following specification with preferably the 1.9 diesel engine.
1) Air Conditioning
2) Cruise Control
3) Leather Upholstery
4) Heated Front Seats
5) CD Autochanger
what models would we look for that offer this sort of luxury? CD / XS / SE?
We currently run a Subaru Forester 2.0 AWD GLS with the All Weather pack (heated front seats, heated front screen e.t.c) which will have to go as it's a bit too thirsty but we still want to retain some of the luxuries that we've had for the past 3.5 years we've had the Forester.
I seem to remember the XS model having all these facilities that we looked at a few years ago when we were looking but not seriously lookign if you know what I mean.
The other thing that I would be intersted to know would be about the Service Intervals - what are they for both Petrol and Diesel. This would influence whether we would get a 1.8 or 2.0 Petrol or the 1.9 Diesel.
Is there anything else we should know - our budget will be about £4,000 so I realise it wouldn't be a totally new one that we would get.
Thanks for yor help - I appreciate it!
Regards
Keith Read more
Throttle housing on GDI's is a known issue to BBA reman - HJ has a link to them on this site. It won't leave you stranded. GDI engines suffer from short journeys more than most. Ours gets an Italian tune-up every month or so....
My son is having a problem selecting reverse gear on his 1996 A3 1.6. Has anyone else experienced this.
Have not checked it myself as he is in the services and away from home at present, so cannot be more descriptive at this stage
This prompts the next question anyone know where a useful repair manual can be sourced for this model?
David Read more
The only A3 workshop manual I know of is the official works one available in sections in PDF format (at EUR 18.40 a pop!) from erwin.audi.de. Note that they use an irritating anti-copying mechanism on these documents which means you have to install a special plug-in for your web browser to view/print them.
Alternatively, the Haynes Golf & Bora workshop manual is quite useful, given the similarity between the A3 and Golf IV.
Most of the dealers I visit have a notice board in the workshop listing hours(labour)booked, achieved, warranty hours, and targets and percentages achieved.
Of the ones that I looked at last week, the proportion of warranty hours compared to total hours were as follows:-
Toyota - 1%
Honda - 10%
Hyundai - 12%
BMW - 43%
MB - 47%
This was obviously on one week, but it sure tells a story. Read more
Question for Aprilla.
Why in your opinion has german car reliability fallen over the
years. What has gone wrong?
Thanks for any replies.
Rgds. Kal
Couple of factors.
Many German suppliers have moved at least part of their production outside Germany (mainly to Eastern Europe) in an effort to cut costs. I have visited a couple of these facilities and in some cases they have serious problems in terms of employee relations/motivation/training. Although modern production technology relies on a high degree of automation, it is still important to have a well-educated and diligent workforce - this is not always the case in Eastern Europe.
Secondly, German cars have not actually been especially high-tech in the past (e.g. M-B didn't start using electronic fuel injection until the mid-1990's) and a lot of their designs were fairly traditional. Look underneath a BMW E34 and an MB W124 and you can see that these cars were designed from the same paradigm.
Recently, these companies have gone high-tech and installed lots of electronics and complex 'added value' features. The Japanese have decades of experience in high-volume, high-quality but low-cost electronics - they have the designers and production facilites to do the job. The German's (and Europeans in general, in fact) don't have this experience and struggle to produce electronic systems of the required quality to a low enough cost.
Does anybody know if chips, tuning boxes and similar make a difference to the trip computer MPG readouts?
I have fitted a box from East Coast Racing to my C5, now the trip computer seems optimistic compared to the fuel needle which is approaching 1/4 tank. The last years driving has shown the guage to be deadly accurate. Read more
Not sure why but yes, it is true. Since I had a chip upgrade, my Saab 9-5's computer MPG shows about 10% less than it used to, yet actual consumption is unchanged.
My wifes heart is set on a BMW 5 series and I must admit they do seem a good 2nd hand buy now. With a maximum of £6000 to spend we have been looking at a number of high mileage 1996/97 cars. I am not considering anything without a lot of history but I am just wondering if anyone has any hints or tips as to what to look out for? I have seen mentioned the problem of premature bore wear and that this was solved by steel-lined bores. How do I check if this has been done or needs doing?
Any hints, tips or advice of any kind would be much appreciated.
Andy
Read more
Blackbushe cars, what are these then?
.jpg)
Last weekend I was coming back along the M40 from Banbury to Bicester. Just before J9 the middle signs were flashing 30 and the overhead sign was showing "Warning, pedestrians in the carriageway".
Don't suppose anybody knows what was happening ?