June 2004
Sorry if this topic has been covered before (I've done a search but come up with nothing) My Saab 9-5 has black plastic inserts in the bumpers and in the past have used a VW bumper cleaner which I read good reports of years ago.
When I ran out recently I couldn't obtain any locally so bought Autoglyms Bumper Care as I've always been impressed with their range. However, after heavy rain last night my newly treated bumpers look terrible, with streaks and runs everywhere. What is the best product for black and dark grey bumpers? Read more
I beg the moderators\' indulgence on this! I KNOW I\'ve posted similar stories many times before, but it just goes to show what we have to put up with...
This is a nightmare. I have been examining vehicles since 1990 and this is probably the worst I\'ve ever seen.\"
This is how vehicle examiner Kim Lee described a minibus taxi stopped between Verulam and Umdloti and subsequently suspended for being unroadworthy.
Lee, Assistant Director in the Motor Transport Services Division of the department of transport, said he had stopped counting once he had found 50 faults on the vehicle.
The 1982 Toyota Super 10 had been converted to carry 18 passengers and the driver. Among the faults found on the taxi were:
Three different sizes of tyres;
A bald spare tyre;
No working lights;
Broken engine mountings;
Defective handbrake cables;
An unsound chassis;
Defective steering mechanism
What was most disturbing was that the taxi, which had been impounded by members of the Public Transport Enforcement Unit on May 21, had been granted a Certificate of Fitness on April 1.
\"A cruel April Fool\'s joke indeed,\" said Lee.
There was also evidence of a defective clutch, shock absorbers and ball joints, leaking brake fluid and loose exhaust brackets.
Aside from the mechanical defects, the taxi also had various structural failures. Cracks repaired with body putty had reappeared.
Some of those threatened to separate the roof from the rest of the taxi. The doors were unable to shut tightly because rust had loosened their hinges. The rear hatch could not be opened and a missing window was covered with tape.
The driver\'s seat belt had no anchors and hung loosely from a hole in the floor. The windscreen wipers, which did not work, were held together with tape.
\"The whole thing is held together with body putty and duct tape.\"
\"It is literally about to fall apart and it was only a matter of time before someone died in it,\" said Lee.
He estimated the taxi had travelled about 500 000km, but that was impossible to confirm because the odometer had stopped working with the meter reading over 300 000km.
The driver, L P Mlaba, was charged with driving without the required route permit and is out on bail of R1 000. The owner of the test centre which issued the COF said he was investigating the matter.
The Mercury has both the names of the test centre and the owner but has been asked not to publish those until the investigation has been is finalised.
KwaZulu-Natal Transport, Safety and Security Minister Bheki Cele vowed to intensify the clampdown on unroadworthy vehicles.
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Here's one for you. Ian (CPT) you may understand:
Good friend of mine lends Nissan Patrol to his stepson to attend wedding 240km out of town. He is of course a foreigner (stepson is Filipino) which explains this whole thing.
Drug laden loonie (crystal meth) on scooter crashes into back of said Patrol and kills himself. One less idiot in the gene pool and let's all drink to that.
Next thing my friend knows is police show up at his place (240km away remember) with relatives claiming for "necrological expenses" (Pilipino for funeral) and other large amounts. He says well I wasn't there and I wasn't driving it. Ah but sir, the vehicle is registered in your name so you are responsible. But this idiot ran into my vehicle from behind. Ah yes, sir but these are poor people, he was the wage earner and you are a wealthy foreigner.......ok, been there, had that......
My English friend is not known for his tolerance and has spent like me many years in Asia so wearily asks the question "ok ok how much to doctor the accident report and shut these people up"? (We also know a "cooperative" judge if needed).
Shock horror! Directness is not a Confucian characteristic. Sir we cannot consider, but please step inside and talk to our Captain........
Visit to cop shop. report duly amended upon discreet donation to unofficial police benefit fund (no receipt). Relatives vanish upon handout of lunch money and transportation expenses.
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....and you guys are worried about cops asking you questions at petrol stations LOL.
The weather's always warm, the beer is always cold and the women, well.....they'll get you into trouble for sure..... ;+)
And the pension money goes a long way.
...later
G.
I bought an (70K miles ex fleet part s/h) 2000W 2.4GDI SE SpaceWagon in April 2003. In July 2003 the idling became increasingly erratic.Ultimately the car was undriveable due to frequent stalling.
The problem was traced to the inlet manifold being blocked with deposits - when cleaned up the problem went away for two months then recurred. Despite servicing/flushing/Forte-ing and using synth oil and Optimax this has continued. I'm told the problem is the Air Mass Meter, for which Mitsubishi apparently want £900 exc VAT.
Assuming it is the Air Mass Meter, is it possible to source this at a lower cost or to repair or at least test the current one? has anyone else come across this problem with these symptoms (I searched the Forum but could not find any clues)
Very Grateful for any suggestions/comments
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Got it from a supplier in Nottingham IIRC, who also supplied me with a Micra MAF at about the same time - I will try to find details. BBA-Reman are very good though.
I own a 1999 Skoda Octavia Tdi (110hp).
The problem that i get, is that it suffers from a flat spot betwween 2800 & 3200 r.p.m
Is this a characteristic of this engine, or maybe an ecu one ? Read more
Have a look at www.briskoda.net/forums/ and consider joining. There is an enormous amount of Skoda expertise on this forum.
Any good?
Looking to replace a Merc C-class sports coupe (v unsatisfactory-not recommended)
I read disappointing sales (in rest of Europe if not UK) and mediocre reviews. Sat in one and have to say was a bit underwhelmed.
But I've got a 5 year old Passat (1.8T) which has been brilliant, and drives as well as ever after 80K miles.
Or maybe an A3....
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Ahhhh Leonard J K Setright, apart from possibly George Bishop, I can't think of another motoring journo who I would really want to spend time with and sadly George has been dead a few years.
LJKS gave me some excellent advice about what tyres to use on a Honda 4WS several years ago. He was spot on.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
Anybody know of decent supplier that can supply a universal lead to connect to a Panasonic(?)CD player. At present 97 Mondeo LX without steering controls ( stereo)and 5000 series facia unit (non CD). Opertunity has arrisen to fit SWMBO CD player but i need the facia plate and connecting lead. Read more
Hi there,
Any car audio supplier worth his salt will be able to supply a adaptor lead and a fascia adaptor, if no one local, try a branch of Halfords, they sell the above items for approx £20 the pair.
Pastyman...
Picked up SWMBOs new (to us) Galaxy on Saturday. Tuesday, and second time in public carpark, now has foot-long ding along rear quarter. I shouldn't be surprised - this is about par for the course whenever we get a new car.
No point being despondent, the little M's will soon have it trashed anyway........... Read more
">> BMW are looking to buy rights to the Transit
>> chassis for the MkIII.
>>
So they're going to make it slightly smaller than the MkII
then?"
but faster, and with better handling!
And of course, if they use some bodymork too it'll look more like the original Mini.
A friend of mine has a company car which is due for renewal imminently.
He is approaching the lease company with a view to buying the vehicle for himself.
The question is what do the leasing company base their asking price on? Is it the auction reserve value or forecourt price or somewhere in between?
The car is a 2001 Y reg new shape Mondeo 2.0 TDdi LX Estate, metallic red, 80k with Full Ford Service History.
The rear bumper needs paint and there are a couple of other minor dents which will probably pull out.
Can anyone put a fair price on this?
Thanks,
PP Read more
many of the leasing companies wouldn't want the work involved & (potential) come-backs selling it to him directly. They may give an indication as to which auction centre would sell it, though.
Reserve prices are quite often based on a % of Cap trade guide, average. 80% is not unusual, then they can claim to have made an 'extra' profit, on their predicted, end of life residuals.
Your Parkers trade price would be a fairish comparison, to Cap. Mileage adjusted, of course.
VB
Omega (and presumably V6 Vectra nad Calibra) owners may be interested in my experience. The leaking oil cooler problem has been described before on this forum (oil leaking into water).
My problem was slight water loss from the cooling system, and turned out to be leakage from the oil cooler cover. This is a known weakness to Vauxhall mechanics - although not mentioned before to my knowledge on this forum, or in TIS 2000 (whereas corrosion of the aluminium cooler heat exchanger is).
The leak was slight, most of the leakage must have evaporated. When parked facing downhill some coolent tended to appear on the front flange of the sump, having run forward either side of the cooler cover and run down the front of the engine either side of the water pump (I suspected the pump initially). Another sign is white encrustations on the side of the bellhousing flange at the bottom, where the water runs down from the rear of the cooler cover.
In my case there was no visible corrosion damage to the heat exchanger, but it would have been foolish not to replace it once dismantled. Vauxhall have recently upgraded the replacement to stainless-steel and it costs only £76+VAT from Vauxhall dealers. (The previous one was apparently nearer £200!)
Car: Omega Elite Saloon 2.5 V6 Auto
Mileage: 70,555
Registered Dec 1999 (near end of pre-facelift model run).
Job details at independent garage: (£55/hour)
Parts £152.57
Labour £189.00
VAT: £60.62
Total: £407.03 Read more
Greetings. I have an aged 1991 Audi 80 2.0 which I use as a second car. It's done 180,000 but still plenty of life left. My one recent problem relates to the clutch pedal. The pedal will no longer rise to the top of its travel to put it in line with the brake pedal etc. When this happens, gear selection (particularly first and reverse) can be difficult if not impossible. If I nudge the pedal from underneath, it springs back up to where it should be and all's well.
Any views on the problem - cable adjustment for example. The clutch itself does not feel as though it is slipping or unduly worn.
Thanks. Read more
Is there a return spring on the slave cylinder, I suspect there shoulb be and its gone. thus it does not back the pressure bearing off so next time you use the clutch there is not enough travel to totally disengage the clutch thus the 1st and reverse difficulty Regards Peter
Browse
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I don't know what you're all getting so worked up about. Get a little man in for the job. Who cares what he uses?
;o)
I use Halfords exterior trim cleaner to bring the overall blackness back, then 24 hours later use the Autoglym exterior trim cleaner to put a light sheen on the finish. After years of trying different combinations, this gives the most consistent and long lasting finish.
I find black chrome and back to black ok on certain plastics, but not on others. Remember how the R5 plastic bumpers used to fade to light gray if shown more than 3 hours of daylight in any given year? Well the Halford stuff applied liberally and buffed in over several minutes followed by the Autoglym was the only approach that would get it black (well, dark grey) and keep it that way for a couple of months.