March 2006
How much damage would a cambelt snapping at less than 10mph do & stopping straight away? Will I get away with just fitting a new belt or will the valves also need replacing? Any info appreciated, thanks Read more
I have advertised one of my cars on another website.I have had two seperate offers to buy the car unseen, from people writing in poor English,who want to pay me several thousands more than the car is worth to cover shipping costs to Holland,although one guy says he is a businessman in this country.They want to pay by bankers draft and dont want shipping till the money is cleared.Who would buy a car unseen for more than its worth? It must be a scam but how does it work if the money is in my account? Is the bankers draft fake or can they access my account and withdraw it later.Or should I scam these guys in return!
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Believe it or not this happened to me while selling my disabled mother's stairlift! The price was only about £500 or so, but the same thing happened. Just delete.
The golden rule in life, is that if something smells very odd.... it is!
Having just changed jobs and faced with a 150(!) mile commute daily I'm looking at what the best petrol is to help keep my '98 Escort healthy. All the petrol companies go on about increased lubrication, cleaning, etc, but is there really any difference between putting top grade(eg,BP Ultimate)in, or will I get the same result with supermarket petrol and a bottle of Redex at every tank refill? Read more
FSH up to 2002, then DIY servicing. In good condition for year with very reasonable mileage, and I always get a car checked fully as well as serviced, and the report was very favourable. As it's essential for work etc I'd rather pay for servicing than risk something going wrong from neglect. May not stop the engine blowing up one day, but at least it won't be my fault (defensive motoring; stops the wife nagging).
To Technical Matters everyone!!!
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But remember everyone - Technical Matters is the more sensible side of the forum. In other words, if the level of replies degenerate to general chatter and waffle instead of helpful and useful advice, I will do one of several things.
1. I will move the post over to discussion, and that may or not help NW in her quest to find an answer to her problem.
2. I will delete anything I consider non relevant for Techincal Matters, which may mean that any helpful advice could also get deleted in the process of the deletion.
3. I will make the thread read only if it becomes difficult to moderate. Again this won't help NW.
DD.
Just had a small bump today in my new car (only had it 5 weeks). On my birthday too :(
Low speed bump in heavy rain on a blind junction (no pavement, buildings rihght up to the corners): road markings and stop sign were obscure, I thought I was on the through road, but it turned out that the car coming from my left was on the through road, and she thought I'd stop, which I didn't.
So this Ford Ka went splot into the front left of my car, thoug because of the conditions it luckily happened at very low speed.
When we got out and looked, the damage seemed very superficial: a bit of scartching on my bumper and wheeltrim, and a bit of scatching on her bumper. We exchanged contact details amicably, and we drove off.
Later, when I drove off after I had finished my afternoon's business I finally noticed that my steering wheel was pointing 15-20degrees to the left when driving straight ahead. I managed a few expletives :(
Anyway, I think that the wheel must have borne the brunt of the low-speed impact. I'd be suprised if it was as much as 5mph, but I'm not suprised that it threw the steering out.
Can any of you experts tell me what sort of damage could I be looking at, and what sort of repairs might be needed?
The problem is compounded by the fact that I am booked to make a long journey on wednesday morning, so I neeed to figure out whether this likely to be a job needing a few minutes of adjustment, or one requiring a few days of intensive surgery on the car. Has anyone got any suggestions on what sort of damage there might be?
I was thinking that it might be worth just taking the car to a Kwik-fit or some such place, but I guess that depends on the likely extent on the damage.
Where I should go for a repair? To my Nissan dealer? Or can anyone recommend anyone else in Bradford who might do a good, prompt fix for me?
Thanks in advance! Read more
Sandy, the original question is nearly 4 yrs old. I'm pretty certain that NowWheels has another car by now.
{Prior to dividing this thread into separate volumes, it was one of the longest threads in the history of the Backroom (260 replies to date 06 Aug 2006). It has grown so big that I've separated it to make easier loading and reading for people still on dial up)
Volume 1 of this thread can be found HERE
Volume 2 of this thread can be found HERE
DD.
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Went for test drive in one of these today.
"6 inch stretched version"
Hmm If it's only 6 inches now, what was it before?
:-)
More on topic, I defend my description a a chav's car: this reinforces it.
In 6 months' time EVERY drug dealer will have one...
madf Read more
"It must also take the prize for the most posts from one individual - nearly 80. Yawn.
BTW, I think the 300C is an impressive piece of kit. But really..."
Well I think the bigger prize must surely go to the individual who ACTUALLY sat down and counted the number of posts by Murphy the cat!
Yawn!
That must account for a surfeit of time surely!
A report in the Auto Express states that Vauxhall are cutting the supply of cars that go to hire companies by as much as 25,000 per annum in an attempt to boost residual prices for the private car buyer.
Much as this has to be applauded, are Vauxhall going to sell an extra 25,000 cars to the private buyer? Or is this going to result in less production, possible job cuts etc.
I know that the hire companies get great deals, but surely, as a business, it is a good deal for Vauxhall to actually sell their product as well? Read more
Will this new Vauxhall ruling apply to car rental firms in the UK or throughout mainland Europe too ?
With run flat tyres being a relatively new technology around which the whole car suspension and tracking is designed & set up, does anyone know if runflats were later to be replaced with conventional pneumatic tyres, whether the manufacturers warranty and also the insurance would be invalidated.?????? Read more
Carried on for another 10 miles to work, phoned lease co,
drove down to KWIK FIT, will have one available in an
hour sir. Drove back to work, and then returned later that
afternoon when it was more convenient for me !
On a lease car you could have just called Kwik Fit mobile and you wouldn't have even had to make the 2 journeys.
Today I reversed into a car in a church carpark and scratched the front wheel arch. I don't think it's anything too major. I know I'll have to pay for repairs but was wondering (in case it all gets messy) whether I am compltely to blame as the car was parked outside of the parking bays. The car park was completely full and people were parked on the edge where you would normally use for access and turning. There was no room to turn around so I had to reverse out. The car was parked next to a corner which was tight for me to get round. Am I clutching at straws thinking that maybe the other car shouldn't be parked where it was therefore was a little to blame?
Does anyone know where could I get advice? I don't know the laws concerning this. Read more
Sorry you are fully responsible for any damage. Regards Peter
I am in the final interview stages for a new job, which I believe comes with a car allowance in lieu of a company car.
I currently have a 1997 VW Passat TDi 110 with 181,000 miles on the clock. To be honest, it's a reliable workhouse that hasn't ever let me down. But, I'm the kind of person who doesn't normally keep his car for more than three years - hence why I'm thinking of changing.
I don't want to use the car allowance to purchase a car on HP or Options, just in case I find myself without a job. Hence my thoughts turn to personal leasing.
I've spent a fair amount of time on the RAC leasing website and have found I can lease a brand new C5 1.6HDi 16v VTR coupe for £250 a month (3yrs/25,000 pa/non-maint/GAP & Early Termination Insurance Inc).
I don't think that's too unreasonable, especially as I don't have to deal with depreciation. Okay, servicing over the 75,000 miles will be down to me but I don't see that as a problem (especially as the maintenance option added £65 a month to the lease cost!)
Does anyone have any opinions on going down the lease route, and if a heavily discounted Citroen is the way forward to bring the lease cost down?
Cheers,
DB Read more
Presumably you mean a C4 coupé, not a C5?
Admittedly it's not a conditional sale like HP or a PCP, but you still end up with liability for ending the lease early with early termination penalties, or possibly restrictive terms and conditions on the early termination insurance. Without the insurance, you could actually be put in a worse position than with HP or PCP as there is no rule that says that you can hand back once you have paid 50% of the total credit price.
A new C4 VTR HDi can be had for £11k. Allowing £1,500 for the old car, that is £9,500 to finance. Over three years that works out at £288 per month. At the end of the period, you've got equity of around £4,750 in the car if you sell privately. That is roughly £198 per month net cost of purchasing that car, including interest. Also, if you were to lose your job, etc., you could sell the car which with a £1,500 deposit should always have enough value left in it to clear the loan regardless, which is all the insurance is really providing you with.
Browse
Sometimes it can prove cheaper to fit a replacement engine. The 406's have been around some 10 years now so finding a decent replacement engine from a breakers at a reasonable price shouldn't be too difficult. I had a replacement engine in my 1994 306TD last year, bought it from a local breakers for £300 with 3 months warranty. There were 3 I could choose from- all accident damaged 306's with around 100k on the clock. You should be able to find a 1.8 petrol for your 406 without too much hassle.
Martin