June 2005
Insurance cover is up for grabs next month so, although DirectLine has been excellent for the past two years, I've still undertaken the annual Internet hunt for the best prices and overall cover.
First stop was More Th>n which initially requires only basic details.
However, my 1999 VW Bora 1.6 16v SE wouldn't come up under the Year of Manufacture other than the 8v version so, as it's a November 1999 registered example and has the 2000 year specification, I keyed in 2000 at the YoM.
Up came the right specification but at an increased premium, so I e-mailed More Th>n last night querying this point.
The response was:
"Thank you for your email to MORE TH>N.
"We can confirm if the vehicle was registered in November 1999,
then this is classed as a 2000 model.
"We trust we have clarified this for you."
In turn, I've replied:
"Thank you for your reply.
"No, it doesn't clarify it for me - in fact it's completely illogical.
"The website states: 'Year of Manufacture'".
Am I being pedantic or do you agree that if you are requested for the year of manufacture then that should apply to the insurance cover cost calculation?
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by Read more
I've got a 1999 306 HDI which is exhibiting some strange behaviour. Occasionally you have to use the wrong button on the remote control to unlock the car (ie the button that should lock it.
When this happens the car then refuses to start and an independent electrician i had look at the car reported that the ECU reported it was locked out as if the key security codes had not been seen by the BDU (?) so was refusing to let the engine start.
Recently having left the car open, I returned and it refuse to start. I managed to clear this by locking the car with the key in the drivers door, holding it so the deadlocks activated and then bliping the car open.
Peugeot dealer claim their is no connection between the central locking and the ECU, but my car only refuses to start when the central locking is playing up (which fault is intermittent).
Has Anyone had a similar experience or think the dealer could be wrong ?
David Read more
Check the drivers door harness, this fractures where the cables go from the door the column, £50.00 quid and they dont even put spade connectors on the other end.
The car will not start for you as if the car has deadlocked and you try to start the the immobiliser kicks in and you need a code reader for the ECU to reset the immobiliser.
I had the same problem and had to fix it this way.
Goto www.autotap.com here you can get the lead for the ECU to link to a laptop and read and clear engine codes, a must for a PUG owner.
Hope this helps.
Well, age has gotten the better of at least two of my tyres, and it's time for a change.
I;ve just ordered two new Hankook 205/60/R15 V tyres from a local supplier, £99.90 for both fully fitted and balanced which I didn't think was a bad price.
The ones that they are replacing are super-econo-budget-cheapo ones that my parents fitted about 5 years ago, these are H rated which I understand is not as good as the V rated ones that I'm getting, although I'm not sure what actual difference it will make in the real world (I rarely drive my 316i above 147 mph)
So, I guess what I'm really asking is, are a pair of Hankook tyres for less than a hundred quid a god buy? I know it's a bit academic 'cos I've already ordered them to be fitted tommorow, but I'm curious if I should have phoned around a bit more, just so that I know for next time as the other two are gonna need doing in the near future.
Blue Read more
The Hankook Ventus K104s that I had on my previous car, a 2.5 V6 Mk3 Mondeo, were great. They cost a third of the price of Coninental Contacts and under half the price of Brigestone Potenzas and wore at a slower rate. They were not as grippy in the wet but just as good dry as the Brigestones but better than the Contis wet, but the Contis were phenominally grippy in the dry. They were a lot quieter than the Contis but noisier than the Bridgestones.
Hi,
I have a 1996 Escort 1.8 Zetec which has an intermittent idle speed problem. When the fault occurs the idle speed fluctuates between 800rpm and 1200rpm approx, you can hear the engine rev then drop then rev etc. When the fault doesn't occur the engine has a consistent rpm that doesn't fluctuate. Also, on occasions when you drive then come to a stop the revs stay at nearly 2000 rpm and the only way to get them back down is to put the car in first gear, let the clutch out slightly, then put it back in neutral. This usually works.
Also, the car feels very juddery when you put your foot down, it feels like a dodgy plug lead but i'm not sure. I know it could possibly be a flat spot but the car isn't very smooth even at low speeds. The guy i bought it off (workmate) did say he thought it was holding back a little so i don't think this problem has always been there. I had it serviced when i got it (approx 18 months ago) including cambelt, oil change, plugs, fuel filter, air filter but it made no difference. It's done 117,000 miles, and i don't really want to start buying parts to guess what the problem may be.
Does anyone know if replacing any of the following might cure the problem?
Plug leads
Idle speed sensor on gearbox
Oxygen (Lamda) Sensor (The exhaust does pop a bit too)
If you can help in any way, it would be appreciated.
Thanks. Read more
Thanks for the info i thought it was on the gearbox! Doh! I do think its that which is causing the problems with the car.
Thanks again Number_cruncher
Quite surprised to see HJ suggest a 2CV for a learner in last Sat's Motoring section.
Not only are they totally un-crashworthy, they've an unusual gear change, lousy wipers, handle like an expletive deleted etc.
In doing so he skipped over the Punto (quite good, if it doesn't eat head-gaskets) and other sensible middle-aged small cars.
Discuss! Read more
Ah the Renault 4 - a luxury 2CV!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
I have an interesting fault on the speedo of my BMW 635csi. When you put you foot down the speedo will drop about 5-10 mph and then when you take your foot off the pedal then it springs back to what I assume is the correct figure.
There seems to be no middle position, either it is in the correct reading or the 5-10mph too low reading, and it swings in between very rapidly.
I've switched the speedo closk unit for another with no effect so I assume its is either the cable drive on the gearbox drive.
Any ideas?
Where does the cable meet the gearbox on this car?
many thanks Read more
Early 635s had a cable speedo where a 2 piece cable ran up from the gearbox. 9 times out of 10 though if the cable failed your speedo just wouldn't work.
Anybody see this programme last night on Channel 5? Anything to get away from Wimbledon.
I liked the idea of fitting a Bell Ranger helicopter engine into a motorbike frame.I forget what they called it but it's apparently capable of 250 mph and they raced it against a jet fighter over a set course and won.
The story that the owner Jay Leno , the American chatshow host told of the curious biker coming up close behind him at the light to have a good look and having his front mudguard melted amused me ...
Then there was the Brough Superior rider who took his hands off the bars at 90 mph to demonstrate the stability of the machine.
Anyway the winner was the Honda 50 cc Cub , relegated the Harley Knucklehead into 10th place....
Sits back and awaits explosion from our far east correspondent... Read more
We might consider the Scott Squirrel parallel twin watercooled two strokes, of course.
But this all subjective.
How about a thread on the World's Worst Motorbike?
I respectfully posit the rickety Ariel Bleeder (sorry, Leader) whose serried ranks used to be waiting outside our workshop while we awaited parts for their wretched Wipac ignition systems.
BY uk.intellitxt.com (See Renault cars) I certainly did not insert any of these, in fact they seem to be all over the site? Read more
uk.intellitxt.com was added to the site HJ.co.uk yesterday as a trial. It was inadvertently added to parts of the site that it should not have been, the most obvious of which was the Backroom.
It has now been removed and it is not intended that it return to the forums.
That having been said, then this discussion can now be closed.
Mark.
So, after the monumental cock up by F1 in the US and the almost certain break up of F1 when the Concorde agreement runs out are you now more interested in A1 Grand Prix or do you still not give a damn?
Read more
Don't be silly. Its Gordon Brown. Everyone knows that.
Blimey, just popped over to the competition, Parkers, and had a browse around there 'Ownership Problems' forum, the new megane has 31 pages the majority of which are complaints, but then you look over the next 3 pages and an awful lot of people are complaining about pretty much the whole range, I had to chuckle as I only saw about two problems about Rover cars. I've no axe to grind about Renaults in fact I actually love the tsyling of the Megane, but wow, Renault seem to be having a few issues at the moment which got me thinking, will the press now turn on Renault in the same way they did with Rover? Read more
I didn't mean every one made of course- just that the problems don't affect only the 1.9dci. They've also shown up in the 2.2 and the 1.5
Browse
PS
At least Tesco is happy to list/accept my Bora as a 1999 manufactured model....:-))
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by