January 2006
Am in the middle of buying a used motor from an independent dealer.
Although the make / model is linked to the Reg. Number on the DVLA's MOT & Tax database, when I was looking for insurance quotes last night the VRM did not bring up the make and model as expected on the insurance company system.
Does anybody else have experience of this? Is it something to worry about? The dealer is supplying the car with an HPi data check, so I guess I'll have to go through that very carefully. Is there anything else I need to be aware of? Read more
Does anyone know of one?
I have tried in vain to locate one,but am having difficulty.
Can you help? Read more
It is only the hydropneumatic Citroens that have different suspension.
106 = saxo
206 = similar to xsara
306 = xsara
406 = a big 306
607 = a big 406
The forthcoming C6 has suspension of a 407 but with springs swapped for spheres.
The radio reception on my 406 is not too clever,and in order to eliminate the fact of the aerial working loose on the back,I need to remove the set.
How is it done? Read more
Autocar this week published stats showing car buying trends in the U.K.during 2005.
WINNERS
Aston Martin headed the list in % terms with a gain of 182.4%, Ferrari were up by 32.3% and Porsche up by 22.3%, so not too difficult to see where those city bonuses were heading.!!!
Within the mainstream cars Ssangyong were the biggest gainers in % terms up by 38.0%, closely followed by Saab up 35.3%, Kia up 18.9% Mitsubishi up 10.6%, BMW up 9.3%,Skoda up 7.9%, Honda up 7.8%, Audi up 7.1%,Land Rover up 5.7%, Lexus up 5.0%, VW up 2.0% & Toyota up only 1.2%. M.Benz were almost static up 0.4% and are now selling fewer cars in the U.K than Audi.
LOSERS
Lamborghini were the biggest losers in % terms down 56.9%, but the biggest volume drop was Fiat down 50.8%, which makes them look extremely vulnerable. Other big losers were Alfa Romeo down 20.8%, Jeep down 20.6% and worrying for Jaguar down 19.1%. Seat & Smart both down 14.4%, Peugeot down 14.0%, Renault down 7.7%, Citreon down 5.7%, Ford down 5.3%, Mazda down 4.3%, Volvo down 4.1%, Nissan down 3.9%, Hyundi down 2.6% and Vauxhall down less than Ford at 2.4%.
Read more
I bet Aston Martin wished they sold as many cars as Fiat.They also lost money on ever one sold according to the balance sheet as did Volvo and Jaguar along with Vauhall/Opel.Whereas Fiat/Alfa Uk actually made money but as they are a family owned business they can do as they please the others are answerable to share hoders who I imagine are a little mad.Figures can be made to fit every argument.
52 plate Ford focus tddi, Ford dealers insurers etc say its a tddi according to Reg No: On rocker cover its stamped Endura DI.
Just below on the side of rocker cover is a label/barcode encased in a sort of plastic, on it it says "Endura TDCI stage 3"
What is the car and what is this stage 3 mean.
Cheers Read more
The I possibly means intercooled rather than injection?
Over the last couple of months my car on occassions has been difficlt to start when hot
(1)Today the car started up first turn of key after sitting outside all night in freezing conditons.
(2)Drove aprox 17 miles the last mile taking about 20 mins in slow moving traffic.
(3)Stoped to make call aprox 2 minutes
when I went to start car
(4)it was turning over but slowly as if battery was in a low state of charge car finaly started after the tenth time of turning over
Recently my car has a head gasket replacement and new battery any ideas, could it be the starter motor ?
by the way the car is Rover 416
Many thanks Read more
check simple things first; cleanliness & tightness of earth strap between chassis and gearbox, all connections to starter, and even though you've had the battery changed ( or maybe because!), tightness of battery terminals and earth connection from battery.
it's worth putting a meter on battery to check that it's charging Ok
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
Hi there,
I recently bought a second hand Honda civic 1.4i S 2000 V model. I was given only one key with the car and a remote knob attached to the keyring. I was wondering how to get a second key for it?
Can I just get the key cut by a key maker or do I need to go to the dealer? It might be quite costly if I go to the dealer. But m question is, is the key programmed so as to make sure that it can be ordered only from the dealer? How costly would it be?
Many thanks Read more
When the car was new it would come with 2 x Black Keys, 1 x remote ( which only works from a few feet away & is a bind to use) and 1 x RED "Master Key" which is used to produce additional keys and cannot be used to start the car.
I'm now sure that my petrol gauge is not working properly as no matter how much petrol i put in, it just never shows a reading of how much there should be in. It sometimes goes up a bar then goes down again just as if it couldn't make its mind up. It never seems to go over the half tank mark.
Is it more thank likely that a sensor has gone somewhere, or a relay or fuel gauge sender?
Cheers
Read more
If your temperature gauge is ok, then its probably the fuel tank sender,
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Will FIAT survive in the UK with the apparently dwindling number of dealers?
My question was triggered by
>>"Without a local dealer for warranty work I'm not sure I want to proceed anyway." posted by Jase
My nearest, recently opened, Fiat showroom has closed.
My nearest spares depts are a fair trek.
I do not live in the country but near Kingston.
I checked the excellent FIAT dealer locator for London.
Just 20 dealers but only 12 are inside the M25 and the others way outside.
Manchester has 18, Birmingham 11, Southampton 8
These dealers are also spread miles around.
I can understand buying a "special" car even if the dealers are few but FIAT does not fall into that category.
I do see many newish FIATs. Are they going to do a Lancia?
Read more
New Punto top selling car in Europe.
Hi
Could anybody please tell me at what period the timing belt is to be changed on a 1900TD 406 and what sort of cost Read more
i have my cambelt changed on 60,000 mlies and i paid £111.00 for the water pump/cambelt and auxillary belt and that was done by a chap in bournemouth called scotter autos hes a one man band based in a garage but works independantly
Browse
thanks for your help guys. It was on a private plate for a while!