March 2005

Question Copy CD stuck - warranty implications

Halmer on 26 March 2005

Just wondered what your views were on a case where a copy music CD has become stuck in the CD drawer of a 10 month old car and the main dealer has refused to fix in under warranty.

Presumably the lady friend of mine must have told them that it was a copy that she was playing. Read more

kithmo on 31 March 2005

Two points... I was correcting your misinformation, then suggesting that the

complainant look for a hole similar to that on other slot

loading optical drives, listen for a whir, try the business card

trick etc... (It's all there in my original post!).

I was just trying to point out that your post made no reference to a CAR cd player just "upmatket computers" and "some laptops", which had already been covered in a previous post, when the guy was asking for info on a car CD player. BTW which bit of my post do you regard as misinformation ?

Forum question of values/peace of mind

El Hacko on 26 March 2005

Why pay £2k for an old car when you can buy a new one (with warranty) for a little over £4,000? There's an interesting juxtaposition of two readers' letters in HJ's Expert Advice pages of today's Dly Teleg. Man wants to spend £2000 on first car for daughter, and reliability is main consideration. Cars in this sector can be expensive to run, HJ points out. Then, in next topic, a reader points out you can buy a new Suzuki Alto for £4,250 on the road and with three year warranty. Makes you think it's better to borrow more than your budget and go for such a buy. If £2000's your top budget, surely wiser to spend £1,500 and keep some back for possible/likely bills. Read more

El Hacko on 27 March 2005

isn't there a strong case to be made for the "comfort" factor: knowing that with a new car you have better chance of reliability?
especially applies to people (probably most owner-drivers)who know, or care, little about what's happening under the bonnet.

Question Advice on poss CV joint failure? Fiesta

wiggy_worm on 26 March 2005

Hi,
I'm trying to buy my first car and have found a 1996 Fiesta 1.1 in good condition. The only problem is, when turning the steering emits a 'clunking' noise which can be felt through the steering wheel. I've been told this could mean the CV joints need replacing. Does anyone know if this is likely and how much this would cost, and also would it cause the car to fail an MOT inspection?
Thanks a lot! Read more

Peter D on 26 March 2005

If you mean a clunking noise when it is being driven then yes it may be a CV joint but if the clunking is when it is stationary then it has rack problem or seized ball joint or strut top failure. Regards Peter

Forum Driving a Foreign Car in Britain

Zar1 on 26 March 2005

Hello everybody,

A Happy Easter to everybody!!

I live in Spain and drive a car with Spanish plates. I intend to visit England this summer for the first time with it. Several questions:-

1) Although the EC is planning on introducing a new regulation meaning governments have the responsibility to chase up fines occurred abroad by cars registered in their countries, at the moment I can stick two fingers up at any speed camera without problems????? Obviously if I get stopped by a copper thats different? What can a copper do to me as I have a Spanish driving licence?

2) From personal experience which route is better for crossing the Channel? I am looking at Dunkirk/Dover or Calais/Dover on the Seacat. Or the tunnel?

3) As I have "European"(sic) Spanish plates I don't need to put a stupid E sticker on my car do I? Hardly anyone bothers here, and the French never do!!!

4) I have Xenon lights. Presumably I need the direction changed? But I can't do that until I arrive in England as I need to drive through France. If I arrive in the evening or night will a copper nab me on the way out of the Ferry port? Instead of going to a mechanic (how much in England?) can I change the direction using headlight stickers, as I used to do with my old Cavalier here in Spain?

Sorry for all the questions but your help would be most appreciated.

Thanks
Read more

blue_haddock on 27 March 2005

Also could someone explain the abbreviations you use in this web page, for example IMHO, IIRC?

IMHO - in my honest/humble opinion
IIRC - if i remember correctly
SWMBO - she who must be obeyed

Question AC-Delco Battery

Kevin on 25 March 2005

Went to get the Chevy out of the garage today for it's fortnightly run and the battery has decided to expire even though it's on a fully automatic charger. The battery is an AC-Delco 75-6YR which has side mounted terminals.

I can order one from the US. for about $120 plus shipping but before I do, does anyone know where I can get a replacement or equivalent without paying the ridiculous markup GM UK. expect?

Kevin... Read more

Kevin on 17 November 2009

A belated thanks to elekie here for his suggestion of a Sintra battery.

Suedev,

I ordered one of these:

tinyurl.com/ycepx7h

£76 + £8 delivery inc. VAT. Arrived next day and fitted perfectly. Still going strong.

Thanks again elekie.

Kevin...

Question Peugeot 306 HDI phase 3 remote

paul_hdi on 25 March 2005

Hey there,

I have purchase a new remote plip for my "306 Phase 3" with the trim level "L" being the most basic, could it be that my car might not have a RF reciever or whatever it is that is needed with remote central locking??

I hope this is not the case.

I have managed to get the immobiliser working correctly, just the buttons don't seem to do anything,

any help would be greatly appreciated,

cheers,

Paul :)
Read more

JohnPug on 26 March 2005

You can program the early Ph1 IR remotes yourself, but the later RF found on the Ph2 and above need dealer 'assistance' ie more money.

Forum Totally new - zero on the clock!

Nickdm on 25 March 2005

I recall a thread a couple of months ago debating how many miles on the clock are acceptable when you pick up your new car from the dealer...

Collected my wife's Panda today - with 0 km! It'd been driven barely 300 yards from the compound to the PDI workshop. The mechanic said that it didn't even have any petrol in it when they took it out of the compound!

Should I have worried about a lack of pre-delivery test drive? Fiat must be pretty confident about these cars! Read more

ihpj on 27 March 2005

No doubt given the number of vehicles flowing through a dealership, mishaps will happen. But if a car has done 100+ miles and then been 'zeroed' upon hand over, I'd suggest that you could find mileage discrepencies by looking in the wheel arches under the engine bay front of the bonnet and sills for stones and chips and road muck that invariably accumulate in crevises etc.

I'd like to think that my Passat was original with 7.some miles on the clock since I took over half an hour to make sure that all the panels and lines were in absolute alignment and there were no colour discrepencies. OK so I might not know if a car door had been pranged and it had subsequently replaced, but if a 'smart' repair was done and then the car handed over to me as 'new' - without the fualt being highlighted - then I'd guess I'd have a case against the supplying dealer - or even if the mileage had been tinkered with before it had been supplied to me...Ithink that if these sorts of practices go on then Dealers are leaving themselves open should problems occur in the future. I can't see it being worth their while engaing in these sorts of practices as the norm.

Any hint that my new car might be anything other...and I'm not paying until I am 110% assured and convinced of it's condition - or why it has 20+ miles on the clock. Soory, but new means just that 'new' with little mileage on the clock and since msot cars are shifted around teh country via transporter - I'd want to know why my particular car had done 20+ miles?

Maybe it's jsut me, but I've only ever bought the one new car and been very satisfied. I doubt I'd buy new again (got it out of my system now!) so the problem shouldn't arise :) However I thank all the industry workers for their input and I'm perfectly happy to put my hands up and say that my expectation was off the mark. But I'd make detailed enquiries if my new car had 20+ miles on the clock at time of 'delivery'.

This is why these Forums are so good, so those with the knowledge can share it with the likes of us :)

Question Vectra Air Con

Archie on 25 March 2005

Can anyone recommend an AC specialist inthe Reading/Slough area. I think my compressor's had it as it's v noisy. Read more

Question Rover 100 Rad. leak

Doc on 25 March 2005

I have a very small leak at the bottom of the radiator ( I only noticed it by accident; I don't seem to be losing any water)

Should I use 'Radweld' or similar, or could this cause more problems in a low water content system?

Read more

DL on 26 March 2005

Well said Steve - replace the rad, it's not difficult to do and not expensive either.
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....

Forum Mondeo St 155 tdci or 130 zetec S

midlifecrisis on 25 March 2005

Just been offered £9000 for my ZT. Difficult to let it go but I need a hatch. Very keen on a ST Tdci, but dealers don't want to deal and the cheapest broker I've seen is £16495 (possibly pre-reg). I've also seen a four month old Zetec S 130 tdci for £11995. Is the ST with 155bhp worth the extra over the 'S'. It's looks more attractive and has a better spec, but is it substantially better to drive? Read more

midlifecrisis on 29 March 2005

The cheapest ST Tdci I've seen so far is ex-fleet, 5000m, 54 plates for £15495. I certainly wouldn't spend £20000 on one, but now they're getting cheaper they are getting more attractive. Nearly new and very well speced against a four year old 40-50000m BMW 320.