May 2005
Been looking at a people carrier,and quite fancy an Estima/Lucida,because of the spec.
I know that they may suffer certain problems,but then again,so can any car,but I would be keen to hear from owners experiences with them,particularly with parts and obtaining insurance,and which model/spec bought.
Any information would be gratefully received. Read more
Check out ebay, item no. 4552295525 (sorry i cant do a link) please why do pepole bother doing such hideous stuff to cars that arnt worth modding especially this poor metro.
I bet the poor guy had just realised he hasnt been pulling many women around Milton Keynes & hes just noticed why!!!
Suitable for banger racing perhaps????
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-) Read more
2 Fast
2 Furious
2 Stupid for words more like.
Shed.
I have had a 2000 4 cylinder Camry for 18 months and it's a really nice car. Its done just over 100K miles and been serviced regularly although recently not by the Toyota agent.
Problem is that the engine has started stuttering intermittently on acceleration although everything else seems to be OK. The stuttering happens right across the range of revs and the speed does eventually pick up.
Is there a way to avoid having all the electrics replaced bit by bit until the culprit is eliminated? The garage I take it to doesn't have scanners and stuff. Would it be better to take it to the Toyota agent who might be able to hook it up and diagnose what is wrong?
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Make sure they dont have a pacemaker, you could be looking at a murder charge.
The OEM 225x45/17 P6000s on my V70 2.4T have lasted well at 25k miles, especially considering the 410NM they are now subject to. Rotated front to rear at 16k miles, I reckon they'll be about ready to be replaced in another three thousand miles; about the time in fact that I drive from the UK to the Czech Republic.
This set me thinking; Replace before I go, or replace en-route?
Although not a bad tyre by any stretch, I've decided to replace the P6000s with Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 or Continental Sport Contact II. So, without turning the thread in to "Have you though about a so and so tyre" (I'm not interested, thanks) does any Backroomer have experience of likely real world prices in the countries mentioned in the title? (Prices in CZ look surprisingly stiff for the two tyre models I have in mind)
I will be driving a good 3,000-3,500 miles abroad, so if I set off with the current tyres, replacement before I return is a given!
TVM. Read more
Cant quote any specific prices but when I was in France a couple of years ago, the tyres for my Scenic were approx 25% dearer than they were back home. This included trying dealers, garages and the hypermarket sites.
When checking the rear tyres on my 'Y' reg Mondeo estate, I noticed that about 30mm of the inside of both tyres had worn down to the wires.
I renewed the tyres and the tyre dealer advised to get the tracking carried out a Ford dealer.
This I promptly did and they said that there was nothing wrong and there was no necessity for any adjustment.
Not feeling happy about this, I checked the tyres when I arrived home - some 12 miles and the inside surface was quite warm whilst the rest of the tyre was cold.
I booked into the dealership again and after 4 hours of tinkering, again they said that there was nothing wrong and all the suspension components checked out OK.
Now some 3,000 miles later, the inner surfaces of the rear tyres are bald!
What is going on? Surely something must be blatently obvious to cause this misalignment.
Would the next course of action be to return to the dealership, get them to have another go and put two new tyres on free of charge, or is that too much to ask?
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This is similar to my problem, in a recent thread, (tyres for Mondeo ). The local Ford garage yesterday found that a tie, relating to rear nearside wheel, was bent, and this put the wheel 1 degree out. The o/s rear tracking was also a little out. This will explain my excessive wear. I still have no idea what caused the damage.
Hi all,
Parked my car on the High Street in High Wycombe today, as its a Bank Holiday Monday, a lot of people were parking their cars a long the High Street like they do on Sundays. I parked my motor in virtually the same spot as i did the sunday last week, but this time as i came back about 10 mins later, there was the dreaded ticket slapped on my windscreen, gulp!!!!
But the fact is, there were IIRC no warning notices around the area i parked in & none i can see whilst entering the High Street!!!!
Does anybody have any opinions on this??? Cheers
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-) Read more
Actually it wouldn't cost you more. When you appeal the "half price if you pay within 14 days" fine counter is reset to 0. If you loose appeal 99% of times you can pay discounted price. If not, appeal to pay discounted price and they won't say no to that. :D
Recently bought a 2002 approved car from a main dealer and have only just started going through the manuals, service book etc and have found that the car has not had a service for two years, the first stamp was at 15k and march 2004 (so well over 12k/12months schedule) the dealer says it's nothing to worry about but I am unsure as it could effect re-sale value.
Any advice appreciated. Read more
Look - if its a Honda .....
IMO they are the most reliable cars you can buy and best and most helpful dealers with possible exception of Toyota....
I have always found the local Honda dealer will bend over backwards to keep my business and any problems I have had have been sorted out courteously and speedily.
So - don't worry.
Just thought I would do a 10K service on my Daughters car as she was visiting and as I slid under the 98 R 82K miles I see grease all over both hubs, rims and tyre walls. Both outer CV boot clips had fractured and let all the grease out. Main dealer closed so neatly fitted an 8mm cable tie over the cleaned and refitted pug clip. repacked the CV joints and all seems well. The car was MOT'd 2 months ago and all was well then, but both failing so close together. It look's loke salt corrosion at the joint of the aluminium clips. Regards Peter Read more
When I had to replace a gaiter on the 406, I found that a cable tie just wasn't strong enough and that the boot would come off the bearing carrier.
In the end, I had to fit the proper Pug clip which without the proper special tool was not easy. Since then, all has been well. Possible it was because the gaiter was new and did not have much give that I had so much trouble. I'd keep an eye on it to see if it holds.
Reggie
Got an old car and the manual that came with it states that I should lubricate with "Marfak".
What exactly is it (seems it is a Texaco brand, but not sure of what is the correct old version and if it is a grease or oil)and can I still get it or is there a modern equivalent?
Any help greatfully appreciated. Read more
Some for sale on Ebay cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35...W
I hit a road kerb recently, mainly to blame on my confidence with my heavy and robustly built car being invincible to road kerbs. Hit it at a bend at about 50km/h, not very fast but was fast enough to affect my camber, carrying 3 passengers behind.
The wheel that was hit was the left rear wheel (behind my front passenger seat). It is pretty obvious and the driving is different now especially when I approach a bend forcing me to turn to the right (the camber problem is at left). If you can imagine, the problem wheel has its top half tilted inwards to the car while the bottom half tilted outwards from the wheelbase. Been to several tyre shops and here's the results of my findings:
1. 3 Workshops - Not going to do unless Ford Agent can promise there's wheel bearings in stock. The camber correcting job requires hydraulic jack to push back the wheel as the absorber and possibly the arms holding the two rear wheels apart may have bent slightly). This jacking may push against the wheel bearing and damage it. No 100% confidence with Continental cars (one downside of continental)
2. 4th workshop - Can do it. Requires no jacking and cheaply corrected by screwing something back *raising eyebrows*. Not quite understand the Miri guy's explanation.
3. Last workshop - Not confident with Continentals. Camber Guru on leave, not back.
My verdict? 4th w/s sounds a little dodgy.
Learning pt? Don't ignore small kerbs and be over-confident.
Queries? What do you think guys? Any advice to share? Experiences with camber problem? My camber is 1 degree something off from wheel specs.
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Hiya,
Amazing how many garages give different advice. At their rates you would expect a more professional and consistent diagnosis.
You need a full 4 wheel alignment check. Camber isnt adjustable on a mondeo but rear toe is.
There is a fairly flimsy looking rod that has a bolt with eccentric washer arrangement at the inboard end, used to adjust the toe. Maybe this has bent?
I've had plenty of cars 4 wheel aligned and never been happy with the job - ever. These people spend £50k on a machine then let the young lad with 3 months experience use it for you. They charge fifty quid and the job is never right in my experience.
I've never seen or driven a BMW or VW with crooked steering wheel or pulling to one side. Maybe these places have better alignment equipment?
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I dont think HJ likes them very much, he certainly doesnt like the Space Cruiser at all as mentioned in his 'Car by car breakdown'.
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)