March 2005
Does anyone recognise these symptoms? Subject - Mondeo Mk2 Ghia estate 97R 108,000mls, regularly serviced, Mot'd last Sept.
A few weeks ago I noticed a pull on the steering that was similar to when the car is affected by lorry ruts in the road. I checked the tyres/pressures and these were fine - maybe it was my imagination after driving my wife's rock-steady Focus. Then she drove the Mondeo and agreed there was something wrong with the handling.
Over the last few days I have observed this more carefully, and it seems that under power, the pull is to the left, then when I take my foot off the accelerator, it pulls to the right - though this could be a reaction after compensating for the left pull.
Anyone any ideas? Many thanks Waino Read more
I'm off to Meribel early next month with SWMBO plus the two little birds - driving via chunnel and autoroute all the way to moutiers.
I know diesel is still cheap over there but how does unleaded compare - and is it worth coming off the autoroute to find a Carrefour etc for cheaper petrol?
- if so any tips on where they are close to the A26/A5/A31/A6 route to the alps?
ta
Dan Read more
PhilW 1 - Google 0
Dan
My van is a 54 plate Nissan Primastar, or as RF says is a rebadged Renault Trafic DCi100 with 3500 miles on the clock.
Today a funny thing happened. I had finished a job and was loading up my tools and squeezed in the rubbish to dispose of, consisting of 5 bags full of rubble and a bath.
When I started it up, I noticed that the SERV light came on and the Oil Fill warning came on initially. The oil fill warning went out as does the OIL OK status report a few secs after to show the mileage etc but the SERV light stayed on for the whole journey until I dumped the rubbish.
When I started the van up again, the status came up as OIL OK and the SERV light did NOT come on.
How bizarre - and why?
H Read more
Clue.....
or as RF says is a rebadged Renault Trafic DCi100
;-)
Growler has inspired me.
OK, so what is the best ordinary production car of all time in terms of:
1) Value for Money
2) Practicality
3) Ease of maintenance
4) Original thinking
Any other categories you can think of?
No supercars, sports, expensive 4x4, jags or other prestige, were just looking for cars that anyone could have bought.
My nominations are:
1) Later Skodas, built better than VWs and cheaper
2) For this category alone, the Fiat Regata Weekend. The most practical estate car in its time. A truely dreadful car in lots of other respects but it was practical - I owned one. 3) Escorts I and II
4) Peugeot 504 7 seaters - These were the first cars to truely cater for families larger than 5. Until then 2 cars or a minibus would have been needed for large families.
On the same thinking - Espace- met the same need but with impreoved legroom.
H Read more
I would suggest any of the Japanese saloons of the 70's and 80's. ie Corolla, Sunny, Bluebird, Carina etc etc etc.
Proved to the world that you could bring good equipment levels and reliablility to the masses for reasonable money. Then when they started makeing Bluebirds in the UK proved to the UK that reliable cars could be made - well - over here too.
Hi
My dads 1.6 Tourer suddenly decided it didn't want to start today. Would turn over a bit slower than usual, would start to catch but then not fire. A jump start from another car to bring the battery up a bit started it fine, but why would a low batter cause it not to start in the first place?
Surely if there's enough current to turn over an engine OK (worked on 5 attempts) there's enough to cause ignition? Or do you think it's another problem? If so, how does one know where to look for fault codes? Distributor looked clean and rotor OK.
Thanks
Mike Farrow Read more
Thanks all...
It got a new battery today from Halfords (old one still in warranty by 20 days, luckily), complete with a renewed warranty for another 4 years! You can't beat that!
Hi
Anyone out there know the implications (or remedy) for a kangarooing alfa 156 with the injection failure warning light on?
Cheers
Ross Read more
Thanks,
Is it something that is easily and cheaply fixed?
I know a lot of 156's have had MAF sensor failures.
Dear All,
I have a dual fuel Vauxhall Vectra that has developed the habit of simply cutting out when driving along quite smoothly. When this happens I simply coast to a halt, immediately re-start and off I go again.
Quite often, but not always, when this happens the light on the dash indicating an electrical fault in the engine electronics stays on (when this happens you can't rev above 4,500 without it being awfully rough). However, in the moring all seems to be well again until once again we go through the same tiresome cycle.
Is there any chance that simply disconnecting and reconnecting the battery will re-set the brain on the car and solve the problem or does it sounds a bit more omminious than that.
I guess I'm asking whether anyone has experienced these problems before and what was the solution - I'd appreciate any helpful tips,
John Read more
although I am not quite as optimistic as Dave is about the cure.
OK, maybe I should have said "sometimes", rather than "A lot of the time"
Went to a BCA auction on wednesday and was surprised to find that prices were very strong. Many were going well over book. Three that really stood out value for money wise were a Xreg Omega 2.5 Cdx estate, 88000m, HSBC bank owned for £2000. 2001 Y reg Monde0 2.5 Zetec S, 22000m £5400 and a 2001 Y reg Mondeo 1.8 zetec, 36000m, £3600.
There were loads of cars going through (time of year I expect) and it was very,very busy. Read more
I was one of the many that said I would never buy a brand new car. However, I've been back looking at Leon 1.9TDi Cupras and dealers want £14995 for 04 plates. Internet brokers are offering brand new UK cars for £14000 and looking on the cupranet site, others have achieved £14500 from dealers. I'm thinking about one, but with the impending arrival of the new version, I think there may be some offers on the way to clear old shape stock. Read more
I can't decide on the colour of my socks, let alone
which car to buy. As mentioned, the post referred to paying
more for a particular used vehicle than a new one. I've
been focused on used BMW/Audis for a while. On reflection I
thought it silly to pay the same for a four year
old BMW, out of warranty, than a capable but 'badgeless' new
car. I really fancied an A3, but the Leon is substantially
cheaper and not that different.
Thank you for confirming that my understanding of the original post was correct.
I would agree with you about a BMW, unless you really want one.
The car is a 1.9 Skoda Octavia TDI, max speed 113 mph (181 kph)
I'm looking at replacing all four tyres, so I want to shop around. The required tyre size is 195/65/R15, and the current tyres are all 'V' rated, which goes up to 240 kph
(The ratings are S=180, T=190, U=200, H=210, V=240)
The Michelin web site suggests H rated, and I may well go for that, but not necessarily for Michelin tyres - V expensive and quite noisy by all accounts). What margin on the speed rating would the wise people of the back roomers be looking for ?
And does anyone have any experience/comments on Yokohama S306's, or etyres mobile tyre fitting service ?
Read more
I got mine from Britania tyres in Bristol. Mine are H rated, V's will be more expensive, and probably wear out quicker.
As for insurance, the black circles link refers to running on damaged tyres (understandable). Providing the speed on the tyre is greater than the speed of the car, whats the problem? As for Skoda not specifying tyre speeds, VW don't either. VW can't even work out if I should use the tyre manufacturers (lower) max tyre pressure, or the one on the filler cap!
Joe
Browse
PP - I didn't source the parts myself, my independant man did - I will check with him. I know that if he feels Ford parts are worth it, he will use them (e.g. genuine HT leads are by far and away the best). He did say that the price of the suspension plate has come down so much that it isn't worth replacing individual bushes. My experiences with Mondeos and Fiestas (our Focus is a bit too young yet) are that spares can be sourced very reasonably compared to other marques - but this may be open to argument!