October 2005
Does anyone get more the 35 mpg out of a 1.6 petrol Zafira ? For a 1.6 engine the performance is better than I'd expected but no matter how carefully I drive the best I can get is 35 mpg and more likely 33 to 34. In a rush on the continent at 80 to 85 mpg it can be down to 27mpg. Read more
With six points on the licence, I thought it high time that I bought a speed camera detector, but am finding that the GPS signal is badly affected by fog & low cloud cover to the extent that the unit(Micro Road Pilot) does not function at all in these adverse weather conditions.
Can anybody confirm if this is normal or do I need to complain to the supplier.???? Read more
The reradiating antenna is a mag mount plastic blob, pops on the roof and terminates in a small "stick" the size of your finger you place near your device.
Mine is actually mounted inside the rear window at the bottom, where given the acute slope of the rear window provides a near 360 degree view of the sky. The "stick" is the placed near my blue tooth GPS antenna.
Following the correspondence regarding fuel consumption of the Accord diesel I'm happy to report that there has been a huge improvement. The car has now covered just over 11,000 miles and achieved 50 mpg on a journey from Rouen, where I filled up, to Calais, which was all autoroute except for the trudge through Rouen and the outskirts. At Rouen I had a consumption of 46 mpg from the Lot region, on a mixture of autoroutes and N and D roads some of which were which were narrow and steep. Speeds varied up to just over 90 mph.
Having complained bitterly about poor performance, I'm now delighted with the vast improvement. Clearly, the engine needed loosening up.
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I think its pure coincidence. We had our diesel serviced at 10,000 miles and have seen little difference in the economy.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
I am considering buying a car from a discount web site uk-car-discount.co.uk.
Has anybody dealt with them? Are they a reputable company? Any comments would be usefaul Read more
I'm currently waiting for a new Astra SRi ordered through UK-Car-Discount. The order processing and part-ex details where handled well and an estimated delivery date was given.
The only problem I had was the estimated delivery date of 4 weeks. I'm now up to 10 weeks, but it's not their fault (Vauxhall production delays). They initially gave me two new dates, but have not responded to my most recent request for a new date (last Tues). I assume this is because Vauxhall are still not able to provide firm details.
One thing I do like, apart from the price, is the fact I have put down £500 deposit and pay the rest after checking the car over when it's eventually delivered.
I tried 3 Vauxhall dealers in my area, two of them laughed when I asked them to get 'reasonably' close to the price quoted by UK-C-D and one even told me to go place an order with UK-C-D! So I placed the order.
On my ten year old Passat to cure a spongy brake pedal I have fitted a new master cylinder and still have spongy brakes. The hoses seem okay. The system is dual circuit with a mechanical load valve for the rear brakes. I have used a Gunson power bleed kit connected to a spare wheel tyre. My order of bleeding was rear offside then rear nearside then front offside then front nearside. Any suggestions as to what might be going wrong and how to firm up the pedal would be very gratefully received. Read more
That older model Passat had a really soft pedal as standard. In the mid 90's, my colleage and I swapped cars (my '93 Audi 80 TDi, his a '94 Passat TDi estate) for a weekend, and the Passat's long travel, soft pedal frightened the life out of me initially.
When it came to the end of the company lease, I bought it for my wife. I had to bleed the brakes once after changing the front hoses - the brake pedal was just as soft afterwards, but it would still lock the wheels in the dry...
SWMBO noticed this problem on the way home, so I assume that it only occured when she set off back home.
I checked the switch over the light was in the middle position (linked to door position) as it should be. Then pressed the switches in each of the doors + boot a few times and they seem to be OK.
The light stays on if I lock the car.
If I switch it to the OFF position and lock the car then the alarm goes off after a minute. So the fault is that there is a signal indicating that one (or more) of the doors is open, even when it isn't.
The alarm is a standard Daewoo dealer fitted one, and the car has no previous history of problems like this.
Which ever way I switch the switch on the interior light the battery is going to run flat. At the moment the car is safely in the garage with the interior light switched off.
Any suggestions on what to try next or should I take it to a professional?
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Nothing so smart as a fader on the light - it's a Mk I, lucky to have a seat for the driver!
Anyhow I fixed it - the switch in the boot (just a plunger switch like the others) - is tucked away to one side of the locking mechanism and it looks like it got pushed out of the way. I loosened the screws holding the lock in place and re-seated it. Now all is well and I saved sending for an auto-electrician for what was a minor fault.
Many thanks to all who replied.
I tested a GS300 today and I quite fancy it. I'll keep it for 3 years at least so independent servicing makes sense, not least because it's due a major service (60,000) and a cambelt change.
Anyone know of an indy Lexus garage in or around Manchester? Read more
Hi Everyone ,
Just thought I would share this oddity with you all.
I have recently become the owner of a 2001 318 SE Touring (was proud ownner) but in the 3 months I've owned it its been sat in a garage workshop more than on my own drive .
Firstly it was an intermitant fault with the amplifier which operates the remote keys , this took 3 visits to my BMW dealer.
And now my car will not start early Thursdays or Fridays , think thats sounds odd ? me too, however it has occured 5 weeks in a row ! yes every week !
This lastest fault has now driven me potty , the car is totally useless to me , both BMW and the supplying dealer say they can find nothing wrong with it, well last thursday enough was enough i rejected the car , not only because of this but because the supplying dealer has registered the car to me 1 month prior to me buying it and giving me a HPI report that doesn't tally with my V5.
Additional the dealer has prommised many things and not delivered , I honestly believe they think I will give up and walk away , well I have, but not without a fight on their hands for a full refund (maybe compensation too).
Considering this maybe a fault in my area with radio frequencies I contacted my local BMW dealer to explain my disgust and there response was "There is nothing wrong with your car , that is as far as we go ".
Warning To ALL!
If you buy a BMW , borrow it for a week or so first to check in works where you live , because BMW will not help if it doesn't .
PS: Great web site and will keep you posted how I go with my refund! (it was a large national dealer network!) Read more
Sorry to hear about your woes. I think that you have got a bad car - not all BMWs are bad - I am speaking from experience, having owned five post 2001 BMWs during the last couple of years. Right now we have a 318 and a 330 - touch wood, no problems, both 85+k miles on clock.
How do Vauxhall justify the whopping £45 for a new glass (not the whole fitting) that was stolen by some horrible person last week! They say it is because it is "heated". This adds at least £1 to the price of the £2 glass.
I supose I am lucky. Other dealers wanted up to £60 for this small item! On the other hand, a rear tailgate lock costs only £21 - a much more substatntail item.
Anyone else suffered like this?
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I find ebay an excellent source on new mirrors...
When I drove a company car and was responsible for our fleet, any employee who received a CCJ for a case like the above would have lost his company car (and his job) as the rules were quite clear that all accidents had to be reported to the police. Failure was treated as gross misconduct.
His employers (unless he owns the company or its a personal lease car) must be very lax. If so their fleet costs may be out of control.
madf
Hi,
I've got an old K reg (1991?) Clio RT that has just recently developed a problem. At the first cold snap in Sept I drove about 100 miles on motorway and then left the car for a few hours in a beach car park exposed to a cold wind. When I went to start it, it sparked up ok (sorry, don't know any techincal terms) but usually it revs at about 1000rpm, but this time it just fell to 0 and stalled. It then ran ok for a couple of weeks, but for the last week has returned to doing this every morning and also in the evenings when I leave work. It runs fine when the engine is warm and I can drive it from cold ok - i just have to rev the hell out of it as I get going, which the neighbours don't appreciate at 6am in the morning!!
Would I be right in thinking it is the automatic choke? If so, is that an easy thing to fix?
All help gratefully received Read more
Hi,
Not sure if the following thread is of any help:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=7863
There are also more discussions found on Clio starting problems via the Forum search.
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I suspect the 1.8 has a signiificantly better power to weight ratio than the 1.6; SWMBO's 1.8 does low 30s around town & just over 40 on a run. Presumably one reaosn why 1.6 is signifcantly cheap than 1.8 on the second hand market.