October 2005
Hi to forum
My wife's Matiz has developed a fault whilst parked up for 10 days. Returned home from holiday and started car - drove ok for a few miles then started kangarooing. Now car will start just fine and you can rev it's wotsits off without any hesitation or stalling. Pop it into reverse and it flies along as normal. Pop it in a forward gear and it stalls as soon as the clutch is fully out.Feather the clutch to get it rolling and as soon as you give it gas it starts kangarooing very badly.
Any advice would be greatly received.
Thanks. Read more
Hi all,
Posting on behalf of a the in-laws, who have an Almera fitted with the Birdview system. Apart from going through a Nissan dealer, does anyone know how they can get hold of updates for their Sat Nav? The car's a 53 plate, and they're going to Milton Keynes - where a lot of roads aren't on the Birdview (too new, apparently!)
Very glad I didn't get Sat Nav in my Almera... far too fussy if you ask me...
TIA Read more
During the night some low life saw fit to push my drivers door mirror the wrong way (forwards) and as a result the glass fell out. Fortunately the glass didnt break, cos the wires retained it, and I managed to persuade the glass back onto the carrier inside the housing.
I seem to have missed something though, because the electric adjuster now only works up and down, not left to right, though the glass does twitch a bit when I press the switch.
The last time this happened (passenger side) I remember there was a plastic flap attached to the glass which engaged with the left/right adjuster, but this appears to be missing now.
The question therefore, is how best to fix it. New glass? Whole new mirror assembly?
All suggestion welcome, together with clues as to the likely cost... Read more
Best to source one from a scrappy or...
... go to Ford. They'll be able to tell you which bit the 'flap' is attached to, or whether it's available by itself. Be prepared to spend about £30 for new glass.
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Mike Farrow
Norwich Union is trying to encourage drivers to say sorry after an accident: see www.aviva.com/index.asp?PageID=55&year=&newsid=2237
In general, I think it's a very good idea to go through life saying sorry when things go wrong, but I as always told that in case of a car accident, it would be take as an admission of guilt.
Norwich Union says no it won't, so I wonder what the real situation is?
It seems to me that it probably is OK to say "I'm sorry that this has happened to us" but probably not OK to say "I'm terribly sorry, I have been a complete idiot", because the latter is probably an admission of guilt. If that really is the distinction, then isn't there a danger that the first sort of sorry (the expression of regret rather than apology) could get misinterpreted as an admission of liability?
In that situation, the arguments later could get a bit silly:
"You admitted it's your fault -- you said sorry"
"Not quite"
"Whaddaya mean?"
"I did say sorry, but I didn't say that sort of sorry"
"Nonsense. People say sorry if they have done something wrong"
"Maybe, but not me. I say sorry for the situation"
"You pedantic weasel you, I'll have my lawyers on you ..."
... and so on.
Any advice? Read more
I can sort of see what the NU is driving at, if they are really saying that in those situations no one's word is worth much anyway, unless substantiated by disinterested evidence. If things said by both drivers can just be put down as mere words, and "sorry" is not an admission of fault, then neither is a statement blaming the other driver of much value either.
Are they saying, "say what you like if it smooths things over at the time, but we'll be going on real evidence like skid marks, paint scrapings, breath-tests,passer-by statements, etc" ?
Sounds a fair enough line of approach, but useless unless all companies work on the same basis, and that is supported by law.
I will not be intimidated by anyone.. ever. Not in any form of life, working, driving, by a hoodie out shopping or whatever..
So how should i have dealt with this situation?
Driving on a duel carriageway with roadworks, a single coned off lane that last for around 2 miles with nowhere else to go. A young lad in a white van quite literally feet from my bumper trying to intimidate me to go faster even though i'm at 40mph which is the temporary camera enforced limit on this piece of road.
I tire of his pathetic and unessecary driving i gesture for him to back off with my hand. as polite as i can be,
Arrive at roundabout at the end of roadworks, he pulls alongside and wants to fight me!!
What do i do? Nothing as you'd would expect from a sensible person like me.
But i'm sick of this, absolutly sick to death of being intimidated by mainly van or lorry drivers who use there size to intimidate me by pushing me down the road..
So how to I deal with this virtually daily occurence?
I can't take much more.
Read more
I think everyone runs into something like this sooner or later, it's just a sad fact of life these days.
I had an incident about a year ago while on the Bradford ring-road at night. I was going down a section of road which bends and has lots of lights which are often green most of the time so the traffic can travel quite fast (~40mph).
A kid ran out into the road in front of me, he was asian and wearing black so I only saw him at the last second and slammed the anchors on, I missed him by inches. The kid ran off without even looking at me but that wasn't the problem. The problem was the 19-20 year old and his 3 beered-up friends behind me that turned up 3 seconds later and almost went into the back of me because he wasn't looking where he was going and had seen all the lights on green.
He ended up swerving round me into the left turn lane to avoid hitting me. The guy was absolutly incensed that I had stopped at a GREEN light, obivously wasn't going to listen to my side of the story and chased me up to the next set of lights which were on red. He was screaming at me to wind my window down and get out of the car. Fortunatly I kept my cool, waited for him to get out of his car (pausing to get something out of his boot, I don't know what) and then (now that the lights where green) I drove off and left him standing the middle of the road.
Darkheart
is it possible to convert a Peugeot Partner 1.9 diesel engine to a Peugeot HDi engine, ie: is it the same lump as the HDi, if yes is there a kit,Thanks
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It can be done in a 306 so i'd imagine it is possible in a partner but as the 1.9 is pretty basic engine and the HDi is a complex unit controlled electronically by an ECU i'd say it would be a lot of hassle. Probably best to fit a 1.9TD if you want more power.
Anyone any tips on getting oil stains out of a brick type drive. I know petrol does the job but it is not a popular method with neighbours and propriety products don't shift the marks. Read more
Coca Cola or Pepsi works quite well, needs to be nice & dry though and may need a few goes.
Jim
I've been looking at a few Audi S8s yesterday and also calling up some independent dealers. The cars are 6 or 7 years old, all have Audi stamps in the service book, but none of the cars have any previous receipts/invoices to prove that the car has been looked after.
The point I'm trying to make is that if you take a car for servicing, and the dealer says "oh, you need to change your discs and your bushes and whatever else", and you just say, "naah, I will stick to the service only", you still get your service book stamped. So, just because a service book is stamped up doesn't mean the car has been well looked after.
I suppose as a prospective purchaser I could phone up the previous dealers to confirm what was done at each service, but it would be SO much easier if the previous owners kept the service invoices. Perhaps the reason why owners get rid of them is to cover up the fact that they never got any of the dealer recommended work done. Read more
My personal experience is that a full and detailed service history may put Informed buyers off!
Why?
Well if you see that to maintain the car you want costs between £350 and £500 per service, that MAY act as a cold dash of reality. (I had that when looking at Xantias - one serviced by a very good local Citroen independent - had done 100k + miles and the bills over 3 years were £2,000 plus for servcing and replacements . The car ran well and looked great. I did not buy:-)
Personally I have a generally low opinion of any second hand car before I decide to buy. If you look carefully enough - WITHOUT a service history - most faults are obvious enough*. But if it's electrical or ECU related only several test drives will possibly show faults. At that popint I start looking at warranties and what the advertiser says - in case of problems afterwards.
* if you are knowledgeable and have experience and model knowledge.
madf
My folks want a new smaller car to go with our Volvo V40 and went round a Toyota dealer to look at a Yaris and a Honda dealer to look at a Jazz. They were very impressed by the interior versatility of the Jazz, so they went out for test drive in it, and given they wanted an auto, a blessing in London traffic, it was the 1.4 SE CVT version they test drove.
They were impressed with the CVT auto, but found the handling 'not quite as positive' as the V40. Given that they want a CVT, and frankly getting a deal at a Honda dealer has zero chance (they were offered a measly 300 quid off the price for a pre-registered) I'm wondering whether the Sport version is any better/different in the handling department. AFAIK it also has slightly better options like intermittent rear wiper :o and climate control, for only 500 quid more if you go for the CVT.
Does anybody have any experience of the revised models and differences between the SE and the Sport, and why does the sport have an intermittent rear wiper and the SE only have the continuous wiper option, and is Sat-Nav worth it at nearly 2000 extra. Read more
You're right, boot space etc etc is more important to my Mum, and its her who's paying for it.
>>I've tried to convince my parents to try the Yaris, but it was dismissed out of hand straight away because 'you can't even fit a sack of potatoes in the boot';-)
I agree with the small boot but I assume they were aware that the rear seat slides forward to enlarge the boot.
I have a audi A4 1.8 SE and sometimes the clutch peddle seems to stick and not return properly, i have had to put my foot under the pedal to pull it back up i have tried to have a look under the car but can't see much I think it has a hydraulic clutch, has anyone got any ideas what this could be? Read more
Browse
The Matiz has a well-known reputation for the engine compartment wiring loom failing - the technical centre should have picked up on this one. Also the plastic inlet manifold goes soft on the driver's side back corner (where there is a little notch cut in the plastic). Water leaks out (or is drawn into the engine) and eventually the car will overheat. A new platic manifold is about £200, or about £400 if you have it fitted (its a fiddly job).