July 2004
was linked on here a few weeks' back.
Would someone be good enough to re-post it please as I am unable to find it.
Ta Read more
Please help my mondeo wont start,engine turns over fine,there's just no sign of it firing up,106,000 miles regular serviced,cam belt 10,000 miles ago.no previous problems.glow plug light normal and relay under bonnet clicks after about 7 secs,it may be the fuel pump??? i dont know.thanks Read more
managed to bump car off,no problem starts first time afterwards(warm engine)will try again in the morning,could this be the glow plugs?????
This weeks Auto Express....
0-60 6.5 secs
Top end 155 (limited)
47 mpg.
Wonder whether this will be launched...may sell the Beemer ! Read more
Probably the best thing that anyone could have done to a Vectra.
The 2.0 GM diesel unit for all its 16 valves is rubbish.
There again, VW diesels in Fords, PSA and BMW diesels in Rovers, BMW units in Vauxhalls - nothing new under the sun.
The thing is it's a good engine!
There was a discussion om UK company that provided this but cnnot find using "cdw insurance " search.
As just got a quote for $480 for 3 weeks am looking for cheaper deal
Thanks Backroomers
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You have to be careful, i have hired several cars in
Florida and they always try to sell you extra insurance. I
have never taken this out and stuck with the basic which
came with the deal from the package holiday. I am told
that you don't need this expensive extra insurance but I suggest
you check it out with a reputable travel agent or the
AA etc.
Barney,
We must be careful here and not get confused.
There are 3 elements of car insurance in USA including Florida. These are CDW(collision damage waiver - sometimes called LDW) SLI (supplementary liability insurance) and UMP(uninsured motorists protection) On most package holidays that provide a car with the major rental firms - Alamo, Dollar, Hertz etc - this insurance is included. The insurance that the rental firms try to sell is not needed because it is covered by normal holiday insurance.(lost luggage etc).
If you are not on a package deal you can rent a car in UK before you leave and that normally has CDW/SLI/UMP included. Depending which firm in UK you use you can obtain, say, a Compact car in Florida for approx £140 a week.
If you rent a car from a company in USA an American Motorist can get it without any insurance. This is because some American private motorist car insurance policies cover the use of rental cars. For the same Compact car without insurance you can pay as little as £75 a week. However for a Brit to take out the rental company's insurance in the USA could add £100+ a week.
However - and this is what Geoffken is talking about - it is possible to buy an annual insurance policy in UK that covers CDW/SLI/UMP for rental cars.
So looking at Geoffken's case. 3 weeks rental for a full size car paid for in UK with all insurance would cost approx £540. He has obtained a quote of US$600(£325) but they want US$480(£260) for insurance. Getting the £99 insurance from UK and paying £325 in USA for the car is a worthwhile saving. If he makes more than one trip to USA in the same year - as I do - the savings are greater.
I'm off on a couple of thousand miles of motorway sur le continent and thought about the merits of a lb or two in the tyres. Manual says 34psi with 3 bodies and 2 suitcases and 40psi with 5 bodies and 5 suitcases.
We will be 4 light bodies with 3 suitcases.
Do I
a) leave at 34psi
b) raise to 40 psi
c) compromise at 37psi.
All thoughts welcomed. Read more
Thanks - I've just been getting them to 37psi while waiting for any replies.
Well, got to get a new crankshaft pulley for the Astra but not sure whether it has power steering or not. Hubbie got the car second hand and the dealer said it did but I am not that sure.
I thought you could tell because there would be another filler cap under the bonnet along with the oil, water etc. into which you could add power steering fluid ... am I correct in thinking this or is there another way we can tell? I cannot see an extra filler cap unless its hidden away.
Sorry to be vague but I drive a good old mini and I dont think power steering was invented when she was built!!
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If you can turn the steering lock to lock with car stationary with little effort (engine running) you have power steering. If this requires some real physical effort on your part you either have no power steering or non-working power steering. I'm pretty sure 1.4 Astras of 1994/95 vintage didn't come with power steering, but I may be wrong.
We are as motorists taking a bashing from politicians with ever increasing fuel prices speed cameras etc. It seems to be their aim in life to get us off the roads. I suggest a no car week and the whole country uses our public transport system. I would arrive at work just in time to go home and save all that money on fuel and parking etc. Shopping would be wonderful as your wife could not get much home the car being unavailable. It beggars belief that car users take such a bashing, we cannot live in the past and like it or not cars are vital to this countries economy. Read more
Suits me.
WFH :-)
Hi All
First post here so bear with me please. We have a Renault Laguna dti estate which had to be towed home by the AA the other day. Turns out the timing belt had gone, but after some serious discussion with Renault and the Renault garage involved, it was agreed that Renault would cover the cost of replacement since the garage had put on a new belt during servicing 2 years ago. We're still waiting to hear if there's any other damage caused to the engine by the belt going, but I'm assuming Renault would cover that too since it stems from the belt???
Our problem though, is that a problem developed with the power steering too. Steering was fine until car stopped when the belt went, but it couldn't be steered during tow home and fluid leaked from car thereafter. Garage says two hoses have gone and it's going to cost £400 for repair bill, as this problem has nothing to do with belt failure.
Can anyone advise if this is correct? Could the tow home by the AA have caused the problem? Or is it 'just one of those things' and we should be happy that that is all we're having to cough up? Needless to say we don't know a great deal about cars so if anyone could shed some light I'd be grateful.
Thanks in advance. :-) Read more
Hi folks, update time.
Finally got our car back from garage last night. Renault covered the cost (well over £1000) of the timing belt repair as the belt was deemed to 'have failed prematurely'. Apparently the back of the belt can be examined for signs of stress/damage etc but there was nothing on our belt to indicate what had caused it to go. Valve damage had occurred to the engine so a fair bit of work was needed and we had to wait for parts to arrive which is why it took so long.
After examining car, the garage insist the power steering problem was not connected in any way to the timing belt problem and they reckon it's possible it has been building up slowly as the aluminium pipes were corroding and that it was sheer bad luck that it went at the same time. They also say that towing could not have had any effect on the problem as the pipes are covered by some sort of plastic 'tray' which would have acted as a barrier between the pipes and anything external.
(I have to say that the car feels better to drive now, so it may well be that the problem has been pre-existing and slowly building?)
We still had to cough up £400 (Renault prices) for the repairs but at least it's a lot less than the total cost that was needed to get the car back on the road.
Thanks again for eveyone's input.
I present this article for comments from the back room, persoanlly i think BMW's growth is down to an expansion of the brand, 1 series, x3 etc , but i think in the long run they will dilute the quality of the brand my mving into ford focus teritory, also I will be interested to know how they expect to maintain quality control know that they are a volume manufacturer. If I was Mercedes I would emphasise qulaity and exclusivity, and would start by offering an enhanced warranty and aftersales service, perhaps 5 year unlimited mileage warranty as a start warranty along with a service contract as standard with every new car sold.
BMW sales overtake Mercedes
By James Mackintosh in London
Published: July 7 2004 20:58 | Last Updated: July 7 2004 20:58
BMW has taken pole position in the luxury car market for the first time in seven years, beating German rival Mercedes in global sales for the first six months of 2004.BMW, owner of Mini and Rolls-Royce, outsold the Mercedes Car Group, which includes the Smart and Maybach marques, by 6,183 cars in the first half.
The BMW brand also outsold Mercedes-Benz badged cars in May and June, although the Mercedes brand stayed ahead in the six-month period.
BMW's success in snatching the sales lead reflects an aggressive programme of new model development that has seen the Munich company fill in gaps in its model line-up, including the recent X3 small offroader and 6-Series coupé.
It comes as Mercedes, part of DaimlerChrysler, tries to persuade unions to accept wage cuts in order to reach BMW's higher level of profitability.Daimler is also searching for a new head for Mercedes after workers' representatives forced the ejection of Wolfgang Bernhard, an efficiency specialist from Chrysler, shortly before he was due to start the job.
"There is a question about whether or not Mercedes can actually close the gap with BMW in terms of return," said Keith Hayes, motor industry analyst at Goldman Sachs.In the six months to June, BMW group sales rose 8.5 per cent to 590,983 cars, while Mercedes group saw a decline of 3.3 per cent to 584,800.BMW said profits were more important to it than its sales ranking.
But Mercedes said: "We want to be the No1 premium brand on a long-term perspective. It will be completely different next year and we will have increases again." Mercedes predicts a recovery later this year as the redesigned A-Class and new Smart four-seater rekindle the interest of drivers, and expects sales to be about 50,000 higher than last year's 1.3m.Michael Ganal, director of sales and marketing at BMW, forecast "significant" growth for the rest of the year.
"With the 1 Series [small car] we will make a powerful entry into the compact class as of September with a clearly profiled premium offer," he said.
JD Power-LMC, the market analyst, predicts that Mercedes will take back the top slot in the full year and increase its lead next year when more models are updated.
It forecasts a 17 per cent jump in Mercedes Car Group sales next year to 1.56m, more than a quarter higher than BMW's expected 1.22m.
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As some of you will know, I do periodically work for German auto companies as a consultant. In fact I shall be jetting off to the Fatherland on Monday morning.
Anyhow, there is little doubt that BMW's increased sales are due to its expansion into other market sectors. Not many people seem to want 'regular' cars these days (i.e. Mondeo's Vectra's) car have become 'lifestyle statements' (load of marketing BS IMHO) and BMW have been able to capitalise on this with X5, X3, Mini (this latter being a superb example of spin over substance). Also Mini is cheap to produce so margins are high.
Access to technology in the auto industry is now ubiquitous - the same CAD package and lean manufacturing techniques are being used by everyone from Mercedes to Proton. Everybody buys in the same consultants (Ricardo, Porsche) so it is harder and harder for the 'prestige' manufacturers to maintain 'clear blue water' between their products and the the allegedly 'mass market' products.
Moreover, the German companies have become more 'Anglo-Saxon' (under pressure from US-trained MBA's) and are demanding higher returns on their sales. I have heard it said in MB that until 1993 the company was run by engineers who set out to build the best cars that they could, and then they got the accountants to figure out how they could make a profit from them. From 1993 onwards the accounts decided on how much profit was needed and the engineers had to figure out how to make the car generate that profit.
I've been thinking of getting a spare remote key for my Mondeo. There are quite a few appearing on Ebay from time-to-time, but I'm unsure of how many different types of key there are.
My Ford Mondeo is one of the later Mark 2's which has no red key and has a 3 button remote.
Most of the remote keys that I see on Ebay are the 3 button types, but sellers say they're for the Focus or 01 Mondeo.
Does anyone know whether the later Mark 2's use the same remote key as the Mark 3's, or are they different? I don't want to buy one that isn't suitable for my car.
Many Thanks,
Galaxy Read more
Browse
this link the car looks completely different www.ec-fuerth.de/matthias/auto.htm this maybe a facelift of the existing model?
all very confusing,, i can't understand the German text but it says 2005 and the car has Passat on the back.
So which is the new Passat then?