January 2006
Afternoon all!
My Current car is a 54 regd Golf 1.4 FSI, but due to an an increase in my annual mileage (for various reasons non work related) im thinking about swapping it for something diesel powered. My initial idea was just to swap it for a diesel golf, and as such i test drove an 04 Black 3dr 1.9 TDI at the weekend whilst mine was in having a door seal replaced under warranty. I paid (well my parents paid) £11,495 for my Golf when it was about 3months old, 6 months ago. By Trading it in, I expected to make a loss, however the dealer (VW) would only offer me £9000 against the TDI. Im not happy about losing £2500 in 6 months. So my options are;
1) Sell my Golf privately (£10-£10.5k?) and get the TDi
2) Trade it in and see the money come back in fuel savings
3) Sell my Golf privately and get a Fabia VRs/Old shape Leon 130Tdi or similar (i used to have a Leon and liked it alot)
4) Keep my Golf because my annual mileage of circa 20k prob wouldnt cost me a alot mor in petrol than it would in Diesel.
5)Any other options
Thansk in advance! Read more
Hi
I have a ford Ka with Zetec engine and am losing some water the signs on drive is that it is coming from the back right of engine as you look from the front. I can see couple of heater? hoses do these connect to engine block on that side? can I get at them from underneath using jack?
Regards Terry Read more
Terry
Has this Ka got air-con? Is this condensate from the air-con [pure water] or leaking anti-freeze?
Quite why the almost brand new dual carriageway A43 needs roadworks I don't know but they are there from now until end of March at the earliest and it is a mess.
Southbound you must exit by the Silverstone exit at the latest and plot a route that take you to where the A43 meet the M1 at 15a.
Northbound you need to plan a route from 15a joining the A43 at the top end of Towcester.
You have been warned. Read more
>> Oh joy. I've got some work in Milton Keynes shortly.
Commuting
>> from Bath won't be much fun with this going on.
Should be able to avoid it. After Oxford route Bicester, Buckingham
then A421 or A422.
Or use the A43 as far as Croughton and turn right just after the USAF radio place directly onto the A421. In fact to go as far north as where these works are (between Towcester and the M1)will take you out of your way.
Am thinking of getting one of these as a birthday present for dad.
Are they worth having or is it best to just save your money and go to the local petrol station?
If they are worth having have you any recommendations on which one to get?
Ta
--
If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished Read more
Oh, and by the way, if you have 4 cars on
your drive, 3 of which are owned by members of the
family who don't seem to think that tyre pressure needs checking,
it's very useful!
--
Phil
I couldn't agree more if you have lots of cars to check it is quicker, My three local Tyre dealers (one independent)all say don't trust any supermarket gauge, Te independent dealer has his gauge checked every 4 weeks !! I wouldn't care to guess how frequently the supermarkets are done. On top of that most Gauges can be used to pump up Bike tyres, footballs and in some cases Inflatables.
It can make life so much easier
Hi, We are moving the family (2 plus 2) to Oz later this year. I am planning to sell the Astra and the Seat Alhambra for about £3K + £14K. I will buy two second hand cars over in Sydney, for about the same money or less. One should be a people carrier for my wife to ferry the kids about, the other should be a largish/good-looking/well-handling car for myself. I usually carry small tools and equipment with me, but nothing too large. A few years ago I would have bought a 4x4, but now I think they are just to heavy, fuel inefficient etc.
Any tips on what to buy down-under? Practicalities, what to look out for? Many thanks, Big-G.
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The Vectra was a sales disaster. They tried to sell it for a premium price. I think it was about AU$32,000 speaking from memory. No one touched it. Very few sold. They then dropped the price several thousand but still no one wanted it. The same thing happened when Ford imported Mondeos in the 90's. Couldn't shift them. The market here used to be either hatchbacks of Corolla size or Commodore, Falcon size cars. That has changed a bit since the Japs brought out really good mid size cars like the 6, the Accord and the Liberty/Legacy. They sell quite well.
As you said it is a totally different market out here.
Anyone else been in the past or going this year?
Been wanting to go for a few years but always shyied away from it nearer the time. Booked our tickets for the race and ferry at the weekend so it's definatly going to happen this year.
Anyone got any advise to give to a couple of Le Mans virgins? Read more
Yep that was a great 3 minutes.
Some of the comments we got about the Zafira were very funny, people really did think we had it for a three day test drive, even though we were there for 6 days. lol
Just keep the how to get onto the track quiet, as we don't want too many people knowing about it ;)
Mods, I'm happy for you to pass my e-mail address on to Richy.
Just to report that I've just had 2 tyres (Dunlop SP2000E) fitted to the back of the Mondeo. All ordered through BlackCircles (no Costco within 100 miles) and very pleased with service. I was given a 9am appointment and job was done inside 20 mins.
Icing on the cake was that the fitting company (Central Tyres) manager's best price was £10 per tyre more than I paid through Black Circles.
_______
IanS
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Won't be using them, the only fitter locally is a highly dodgy garage I wouldn't trut him with a wheelbarrow.
(in fact he'd prbably cut and shut that as well)
I have to go to the Holiday Inn in Guildford tomorrow for 12 (noon). It is apparently on the A3, but i don't know whether it's on the east bound or west bound side. I can always turn around somewhere if need be.
Coming from the west and up the M3, am i best leaving at junction 4 and down the A331 then head east along A31, or stay on until J3 and straight down A322?
All advice appreciated Read more
I wont argue, I do it various ways, J5, J4, and J3 (Lightwater) though getting off the M3 early is adviable in rush hour times and J4 can be busy.
Recent corrosion reports in the MB Club:
W215 CL500 2001
W215 CL500 2002
W215 CL55 AMG
R129 SL 1999
Note that these are models at the top of the range.
And found on an MB complaints-from-owners site on the Web:
"1st Dec 2005, 12:35 I work for a MB Dealer as a Bodyshop Manager and am sorry for all you MB owners as I have yet to see a model that does not rust the new SL's (WDB230) as-well!!!"
As an MB owner all this makes me sad, but also glad that mine pre-date the era of lousy paintwork.
Read more
Hey all,
Anyone got/had an E39 540i or 535i?
How do the running costs, excluding fuel consumption, compare with the 6 cylinder models? Is it worth the extra expense? Whats the reliability like? How reliable are the auto boxes?
Found out I can insure one..
Cheers :) Read more
Head over to BMW Land, its an owners forum, free to sign up and lots of V8 E39 owners over there. They are a friendly lot so you can ask them opinions and questions etc.
Browse
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What about a 2.0 TDi (140bhp) Octavia? Should get a decent spec nearly new (under 10k miles) one for under £11k. Does over 50mpg with normal usage and has plenty of power? Have heard that the 140bhp is actually more fuel efficient than the 130bhp as it is a more modern engine.
Nick