March 2006
Swmbo may need to change her car soon and needs something economical to own. It would be a used model about £7000 able to take the dog and two people. Any suugestions as to good choices regarding servicing costs and reliability? Read more
A mate at work has a V-reg Accord which suffered an auto box failure. Towed to local Honda garage. He rang up a couple of days later and was told it needed a new box and it was on order. He was just about to say "and how much will that be?" when he was told that Honda had agreed to pay for it even though it was way out of warranty, as a gearbox shouldn't fail after 50K. How many manufacturers would be so proactive? Read more
On face value that is great service, a 6 year old car.
However I wonder if there is more to it, afterall there have been a few threads presenting the opposite view re Honda dealers recently. Perhaps the dealer supplied the V reg Accord relatively recently and felt some responsibility, perhaps it had had a new gearbox recently though before the current owner bought it so the second failure was considered particularly unusual, maybe it was even warrantied.
It would be interesting to know more, the background of the car etc.
Our Jazz is just coming out of warranty and a local and trusted garage are keen to service it and undercut the dealer. No worries about affecting the value of the car as I envisage it staying with someone in the family as a kind of heirloom until it dies, as it is so practical and cheap to run.
However this is a car with 8 sparkplugs and needs valve clearances checked at this service. Anyone had a Jazz or other Honda serviced by an independent? Any problems?
And a question for the professionals here, do you have access to technical data on a Jazz, eg valve clearances, torque settings etc? Read more
Autodata list all the relevant information for the Jazz (clearances etc) so should be OK.
The total service time is listed as 2 hours - so I can't see it being difficult.
Just been to Morrison's this morning where what looked like a normal scooter but on very thin tyres whizzed silently up to the entrance to the store. The girl riding it had a cycle helmet on. Lots of shoppers stared and one or two spoke to her about her, obviously electric, scooter.
Nice one. Read more
Have to say I think I cd drive one of these but wdn't feel too cool.
The cool thing, which I know for sure I couldn't drive, shot down the road in front of me on the corner of Park St Camden Town and Regent's Park one day perhaps eight years ago, a skateboard driven at some speed by a small screaming model aircraft engine, controlled by a single bowden cable from a trigger device in the driver's hand.
Now that was cool.
Selling (for a friend whose abroad) a Honda CBR1000. 14k on J plate. A very clean and genuine bike will come with an MoT and full service prior to sale.This isn't a sales pitch its a request to value that's all. It may end up on ebay. Read more
Hawkeye, thanks.
Been away for a couple of days too/busy/tired to log on.
Its a 91J plate 1000F. I think I ad it at 1600.00 in view of its condition.
Hello All,
Anyone know of any independent Nissan specialists in Bournemouth?
Looking for alternatives to the main dealer, now the car is out of warranty and 77K under the bonnet.
Car is an '03 2.2 Diesel Primera
Thanks everyone. Read more
Hello all,
I have a 2001 Punto Mk2 HGT. Over the last year or so in cold weather, on start up the engine revs up and down by itself between 7-15000 RPM for a few minutes. The irregular revving goes away after a while, after the engine warms up a bit.
Does anyone know what might be the cause? The car's going in for a service/MOT next week so I'd like to be able to be a bit more exact in pointing out possible areas for the Fiat mechanics to check out.
Thanks in advance for all help/advice.
PMetcalfe Read more
Got the Punto back last Wednesday from Fiat, Level 2 serviced and MOT'd.
They told me that there was "an error stored in the lambda sensor and it had been deleted."
£45.12 charged for this.
Next day, irregular revving is STILL there.
Punto will be going back to Fiat. Their estimate for Lambda probe replacement: £119.46.
Any further advice regarding the irregular revving in cold weather is gratefully received.
PM
Hi there. Im thinking in last few months, to finaly replace my 15 years old Suzuki Vitara, and to get something brand new.
My life style involve city driving, and during weekends biking, skiing.. Also i have a dog..
So i need a car, that is comfortable inside, have a usefull boot, nice mpg. Another problem is that i have a bad back (mountain biking accident), so i need a comfortable driving position.
I have read a lot of forums, and a lot of reviews.
Im thinking to buy some of this:
1. Honda Jazz - I like almost everything, but i would prefer more safety rank (just 2 air bags, no esp) , a bit more space inside and bigger wheel distance. That sound to me like Honda Jazz 2. On channel4.com/cars, i checked future cars, and there is information that in 2007 would be new Honda Jazz, but there is nothing more in details on the net.. So what do u think? There would be totaly new version of Jazz soon, or would be just another face lift?
Here Jazz with nice level of equip cost 11880 EUR (I think SE level (CD, Automatic Air Con, 2 air bags, trip computer, 14" steel wheels..)
2. Ford Focus II 1.4 Trend level of equim. (alloy, trip comp, manual air con, CD, 4 airbag, ESP)
I can get this for 13200 EUR (or 12600 without ESP).
I think this is nice car, but weak engine. If i go for 1.6, it's like 2000 EUR difference (stupid tax in my country for engines bigger then 1.5)
3. Nissan Note - When i checked internet, sound like perfect car for me.. But.. Nissan finnaly get Note here, and very bad equimpent level, and very high price.. Entry level with air con it's like 14500EUR (no fammily pack), so im a bit dissapointed.
4. Ford Fusion 1.4 - 12000 EUR
I like it becouse of big boot, nice space inside, nice cabin quality (new face lift model)..But im wonder about Ford quality, and MPG compared to Honda?
So what u think? What should i do? Should i wait for new Jazz?
Or maybe to go get one of this 4 right now? (mabe some other ideas? )
Im planing to keep that car at least 5-6 years, and i would use it for city driving, but dont forget my bikes, skis during weekends.. Also i'm planing once per year to have longer trip (maybe across europe)..
Sorry for long post, and i hope i would get some usefull opinions..
greetings
Darko Read more
The Honda Fit had just been launched in Japan when I moved out there in 2001 IIRC; knowing the short lifecycle of some Japanese cars I wouldn't be surprised if there was a new one on the way, for domestic consumption at least.
Who does HJ's photography of the cars he road tests ? I like the narrative of his tests, it's often a welcome departure from the stereotyped guff produced by the comics. Much more relevant to the real world. But the photography is often a bit of a disappointment to me. There are some basic errors being made and it wouldn't take much to transform the approach to do the cars more justice. In the XK8 test all of the shots are underexposed by at least one stop, the use of a wide angle lens emphasises the elements nearest the camera, the depth of field is too big, the interior is metered for the exterior. I know he has a big fan club, often keen to express its devotion. Somebody must have a short/medium tele-zoom throw out the background, highlight the subject and emphasise the potential of the car ? And a hand held light meter to measure the incident light. I suspect the manufacturers won't be over enamoured by how some of their cars end up being portrayed. The black XK8, for example, ends up looking very glum indeed.
This is criticism, offered constructively. I shouldn't get barred for it. I'd be happy to help (free) if he ever takes the cars to Scotland (where there are fantastic test routes, by the way.) Read more
I am very much an amateur when it comes to photoghaphy (my Kodak Brownie box camera does have it's limits) but may I make a suggestion?
How about HJ telling Ubidenmark which vehicle will be the subject of the next test. HJ can take his usual shots but 'Ub' can also do a set by visiting appropriate showroom or by getting an owner to let his car be a 'model'.
HJ then has the option as to which set he uses on site. Try anything once....the proof of the pudding...etc.
Road Fund Licence expires at the end of March. Should I have received my form from the DVLA by now? Read more
Tom - partly correct! If you have a low polluting vehicle wait until Friday to tax your car - it may be cheaper possibly nothing. If you have a gas guzzler do it today because you will be hammered tomorrow!
Browse
Good thinking, JBB.
Maybe consider a Citroen Berlingo or similar if you need the extra seats. £7K should get you a good one, and demand ought to be stronger than for small hatches if and when you change it.
Or how about a Skoda Fabia estate - same logic applies?
Regards,
- Gromit