May 2005

StuartA

I have a query related to the new Fiesta TCDI , it has a wierd starting problem , it always starts from cold , however with the car hot , if it is parked for over 15 min it will not start , the engine just cranks for about 20 secs ( when the ECU times you out ), it will start up to the 15 min but gets less likely the nearer you get to 15 min. However , if you then leave it about 30 min more it will start . There are no indicator light problems and the car does not log a fault code . So the dealer says there is nothing wrong with it ! The fault is more or less repeatable .
Any help?

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Japsport

Hi All,

Just registered here after spending a few days reading the messages.

Any motor traders here ???

I'm a part timer, delaing in japanese imports, usually only 2,3 or 4 at a time & over the past 6 months done OK (low profits but tick along ok).

This past month has been awful !! 3 cars in A/Trader this week & not ONE phone call. 2 out of the 3 are the cheapest for 60 miles & the other one is 3rd cheapest.

Is everyone away on the hols or saving ???

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Obsolete

I keep reading in various papers that the consumer boom was driven by rising house prices, and remortgaging. Supposedly people are now mortgaged to the hilt and house prices are thought to be near a peak. Paradoxically low inflation whilst giving us low mortgage rates, also means that mortgage payments stay at roughly the same value relative to earnings for many years.

Obviously the time to negotiate a good deal on a car ...

Leif

Dunkyboy

Having read the current Tom Tom thread, i would like to ask which would be the best Sat Nav aid for me to buy.I am hopeless with maps and i always get lost, but am also no good with technology so i need a idiot proof system that requires little input from me, ie, i want to plug it in and switch on.The price is materless, i just want to get something that works out of the box. Read more

AR-CoolC

I did read in one of the car mags in the last month or so that there is a company making "celebrity" voice overs for sat nav systems. All done by actors though not the real people, IIRC there was a Sean Connery, a Micheal Cane etc etc.

Now if we all post on the VBH fan site asking her nicely then maybe she will think about it.

As you say though I would also be getting lost as often as possible.

TimW

Not sure how to ask this, but, how long would it take for abuse in a cars history to manifest as faults?

It's just that, seeing the way a mate of mine treats his Corsa (2003 SXi), I'm actually really worried of buying a car that has been treated the same way (Thrashed from cold, speedbumps at 70 mph, up to the redline in every gear, changing gear without coming off the throttle...the list goes on). Of course, the car is too new to just give up and die, so if you were to look at it on a forecourt it would seem in very good condition, as he keeps it meticulously clean.

Again, I'm hoping you'll all know what I mean. Read more

Blue {P}

Oh, er, is that considered abuse then? oops. :-)

Funny my old company car used to make similar noises around roundabouts...
Blue

THe Growler

Got my first look at one of these today:

www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2005_detroit/honda...m

These pickups are geting far too "soft" IMHO and this thing will have a long way to go to beat the the Nissan Frontier, our current market leader. If you want a car buy a car, if you want a pickup buy a pickup, not some indeterminate version of something in between. Honda's too late in the market with this anyway.

Obvious how they've taken their styling cues from the king of the breed too: the Ford F-150.
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Chris75

Is it just me or does that Ford Fairline look like they have re-launched the Cortina as a 4x4?

Imagos

Anyone know what Fords plans for the Ka are?

Will the baby of their range soldier on for ever in the style of a 2cv or the Mini or is an all new car planned.

With the design almost 10 years old now with little development and (probably) quite profitable why change a sucessful niche product? If it aint broke why fix it (cliche)

i suspect that it is a major dilema for the product planners on what to do with it in the next few years.

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frazerjp

I agree with you doc! It may come to a time where you need the dealer to change the wipers or even cover up the whole engine like they do on the Porsche Boxster which only the main dealer can open!
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)

Ed V

Anyone know whether it's possible to rent (say) an S-Class or Bentley for a 3 day week-end? One catch: I'm not going to pay more than one sixtieth of its purchase price! Read more

daveyjp

www.classic-car-hire.co.uk/index.htm

mat brown

Chaps

I'm trying to fit a radio taken out of my old Hyundai pony to a Rover 216. I have the wiring diagram for the Rover, but i don't know how to connect it to the Hyundai radio.
I have the harness on the back of the hyundai, does anyone know what colour of wire relate to what. I.e. which are the speakers, the power, the earth etc. I have tried guessing but keep blowing fuses!

Thanks

Matthew Read more

Pete M

There are generally two power feeds to radios. One is the main power and this is for the radio itself. The other is a very low current supply that is to maintain the station memory in the radio. The memory supply is probably unable to supply the correct amount of current for the radio itself, so the radio drags the voltage down until it stops working and takes the load off the memory supply. Memory supply voltage recovers, and the cycle starts again.
I fitted a radio in similar circumstances and it operated OK, but when I switched the car off I lost all my memory settings. What I had done was swap over the memory supply and the main supply. I suspect you may have done the same.
Note that some radios also have an auxiliary voltage output that is only live when the function is 'radio' as opposed to 'tape' or 'cd'. This is to power the antenna amplifier present on some cars (mine included), and without this, the radio performance is dismal.

Forum Diesel dye
John.Davies

All,
Seen next to the M6 yesterday, in compound that looked half Arfur Daly, half Pop Larkin. Large, 30ft wide hand painted sign - "Diesel Dye" for sale. Surely that's illegal? Passing off TVO that has been 'recycled', is the only thing I can think it could be used for.

John
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commerdriver

I seem to remember that, at the end of the 70s, Scottish & Newcastle Breweries changed their company car scheme to be only diesels so that they could all be fuelled at the depots. Don't know what they did about personal vehicles.

Greg R

I am looking to view some imported cars from America (i.e. left hand drive) or japanese imports.

I am in london and have heard that there are suppliers here where I can view a collection of these vehicles. Can anyone in the know point me in the right direction?

I have tried the standard google search but have found very limited information.

Any help would be much appreciated. Read more

Collos25

Get a 12 quid ticket with Jet 2 to germany buy auto magazine drive back with a Mustang at the price you would have paid in the states,no need for import duty or any special tax or changing the lights .If you are serious you would have one by now.