April 2006
Rather sooner than expected, I've been promoted and now qualify for a subsidised lease car.
It's a four year lease and includes everything bar the kitchen sink - private miles, servicing, tax and insurance plus being able to claim a small amount for business miles.
I've worked out a shortlist and had the quotes, and my contribution for the following cars, including income tax, per month for four years, is (all specc-ed with metallic paint):
Honda Jazz 1.4 dsi sport £110
Fabia vRS with added cruise control and side airbags: £130
Audi 1.9tdi SE: £220
Audi 1.9tdi Sport with cruise control: £230
Ibiza Cupra with cruise control: £230
I think the Audis and the Ibiza are out of budget, so realistically that leaves the Jazz and the vRS. I'm totally in love with the cheeky little jazz and all it's clever little touches, but the vRS is what I've wanted for so long! The only thing stopping me going for the vRS is that all our cars come on four year leases and it's looking a bit tired now. The dealer said there will be a tiny change in May (body coloured door handles) and might be a new model out next year but I can't wait until then to change my car. On the other hand, the Jazz has just had it's facelift and there are apparently no plans to make it look like a plastic Civic.
I pootle around Hampshire quite a lot, and there's still fairly regular trips back to the midlands, so it needs to be a good motorway car. I don't want to be filling up all the time, hence the diesels, but the Honda has amazing economy.
So would the sensible thing to do be to get the Honda? Or would you go for the budget busting Audis/Cupra? Or the Skoda? My promotion equates to about an extra £300 a month after tax, so that would eat that up, but on the other hand I wouldn't be paying out for car related stuff so would probably still be better off. Does a Honda Jazz say 'boss' though, like an A3 does?
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Can anyone tell me where the horn is (should be...) located on an LDV mini bus, year 2003. Has Ford engine......??????? Pls
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lack of use is one reason for it failing at the MOT
Hi, my 1982 pinks if the timing is set anywhere above 4 degrees, but the timing should be 9 degrees - as you can imagine, it doesn't drive as responsively as you'd expect!
1. Brand new weber 38 dgas carb recently fitted with K&N style chrome filter
2. Brand new bosch distributor
3. newish but rather cheapo leads
4. Correct spark plugs, Motorcraft AGR22c, approx 6K miles use
5. Always run on BP ultamate/optimax with Castrol Valvemaster
6. CO/mixture set to 2.5%
It was only recently I decided to check the timing and I discovered it was retarded, but I would like to know if any knows why it pinks! At about 3 degrees is does not pink, at say 5-6 degrees is only pinks when accelerating at higher speeds, say from 60-70 mph but I cannot replicate it at lower speeds, even when climbing hills etc. If I set it to say 7-9 degrees, it pinks much more and at lower speeds. Any ideas please? I don't believe I have any manifold leaks as the idle speed is rock steady i.e. no hunting etc. Generally the car starts fine, although can be a bit lumpy when cold - a characteristic of most carb engines I believe?
I am going to pour some redex into the spark plug recesses soon and leave it to soak for a bit, perhaps the engine's a bit coked up, although I would have thought modern fuels would be ok aqnd it get some good motorway runs?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated
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New Ford leads will be as good as any others;you say you've used the same leads for 4 years.You could have replaced the normal leads several times and still saved money.
Honda Accord 1.8 2000 W Auto.
My Honda has seem to developed a very poor engine idle. It seems to be down to a very low 200rpm when warm. No error lights on the dashboard. Normally its around 600 rpm. Car seems to drive ok otherwise. Any ideas on what to look at first? Read more
If its just an idle problem then confine your initial investigations to the throttle body (as mentioned by Cyd). Clean it out and check the by-pass passages and hoses are all clean.
Some advice please.
The heatshield around the cat on SWMBO's 98 Civic 1.4i SE is rattling out a right old tune.
Took it to local spannerman who said the welds had gone but that since it was still bolted on elsewhere it was unlikely to fall off. He said he couldn't do anything because a repair required specialist welding, so unless I wanted to shell out just live with it and turn the radio up.
Had conflicting conversations about a cost-effective fix, so any suggestions? Read more
Break the other welds and remove the heat shield.
Done loads and never had a problem.
Just don't park on a stubble field after a hard thrash!
DC
Now there's 2 words you don't always see go together.
I am about to book my car in for an interim oil change & was just wondering - as I have no experience or evidence of this - but - If I book my car in for this work and ask for fully synthetic oil - how do I really know they have used synthetic and not just cheaper mineral and charged me for synthetic.
Unfortunately I do not have a good relationship with a garage that I can trust - having said that the garages I do use have never given me cause not to trust them - but how do I really know ?????? Read more
Garage employees are just ordinary people, just like doctors, solicitors, etc.
There's no reason to think that they will be any less
honest.
That's the problem - a few years ago a Sunday Times survey found that 1 in 4 people would murder a complete stranger for a million quid if they knew they could get away with it!
I think at least 1 in 4 garages would use cheap oil then invoice for the expensive stuff.
Is National the only company to offer a low cost, quick, oil change?
I tried Googling for this but just got a load of guides telling me how to change the oil! Changed it today and for the amount I save now that I have to use fully synth top notch oil, it's not worth doing it myself anymore. Read more
Just to add one small response to Tyreexpert's post.
I note he uses Fram filters, APEC brake parts etc. Whilst I appreciate that the VM's do not actually make most of the parts that they build their cars from, they do actually SPECIFY the parts.
Thus, for example, Purflux (part of Filtrauto group - which makes Fram, Crosland, Technocar etc filters) supply the OE Mitsubishi-branded filters for Mitsubishi cars in Europe. However, if you buy an aftermarket Purflux-branded filter for a Mitsi you will find that its an inferior item. It always pays to stick with the OE filter part - the difference is usually in the quantity and quality of filter material and the anti-drainback valve.
I would not use a Fram filter on my own car. Another factor is that aftermarket filters are often 'consolidated' to reduce inventory. This means that if the seal dia. and thread are the same on two different engines then the supplier will 'consolidate' two part numbers into one and supply a part that fits both cars - even if not quite to the OE spec. Not exactly 'one size fits all', but you get the idea.
Similarly with brake parts, note that APEC is a wholesaler/distributor (they are owned by Lookers). They source their parts from third party manufacturers. APEC are OK, but not IMHO a 'premium' brand. I prefer to stick with Mintex, Delphi, ATE etc. for my own cars.
The same, of course, applies to things like exhausts, where the manufacturers part costs more, but is made to a higher specification.
Good afternoon all!
I need a help not to choose a car but to choose to buy or not to buy. Situation is complicated for me. I like to drive but had to sell my car two years ago because it was too expensive to keep it but not use it. I work in central London, so have to use public transport. So I need a car only to visit my friends sometimes and make short trips in UK (hiking holidays) without travelling in other peoples cars (no freedom of choice where to go, how to go, where to stop and so on). I would estimate annual mileage about 5 thousand miles or less. But my budget is very limited. Do I have any chance to find reliable car for this amount of money? I was thinking about Nissan Sunny, small Honda Civic, Ford Fiesta or Rover 200-25. My friends are sure that for this money I can buy only rubbish and will spend a lot on fixing all breakages.
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If you don't use a car often, you could rent when needed.
This might seem expensive - but all your costs are known and well controlled.
Your 1K car could be scrap at anytime. You have to buy insurance - and I would recommend breakdown cover also for the hiking holidays.
All this is included when it's a rental.
It might be expensive on a per-day basis, but it doesn't sound like you need a car on too many days.
I need 3 new tyres on my car. I have narrowed it down to Toyo Proxes T1-R in a 205/50/R15 size. Two questions...
1. I have a Pirelli P6000 on the rear nearside which is a couple of months old and does not need replacing. Is it advisable to have one (Toyo) directional tyre on one side and the non-directional Pirelli on the other of the same axle?
2. I am ordering via a web based tyre seller. Do I need to tell them which side of the car the new directional tyre is going on?
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I would get 3 P6000s, better really to have the same tyres alround and there is not much wrong with P6000s. Also directionals are a pain if you need to move them around, I know, I have them on my Mondeo.
my friend has a 99 206 auto. her indicators keep going off for no reason, and the dealer wants to charge her for it. she thinks there was some free fix offered by peugeot for this problem, and the CBCB says that the free fix was offered from jan 2003. Does that mean the fix was offered for cars registered after jan2003 or if an owner complained after jan2003?
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90% chance it will be the stalk thats starting to fail - these are very common and cause all manner of strange issues with the indicators.
No need to trouble a Peugeot dealer - GSF list the stalks at £26.50 (with front fogs) or £36.50 (without front fogs), and they are very easy to fit. Undo the screws under the steering wheel, remove the cowling, clip old stalk out, clip new one in and replace the cowl.
Browse
Congratulations PG - belated as I've been on holiday for a week.
Judging by the various published surveys, not to mention the Skoda drivers on this forum, you'll be very happy when you eventually become FabiaGirl. (Or you could stay as PoloGirl just as I've stayed as Avant, in memory of the best car I've ever had. I was seduced by a good deal on a B-class, but it'll be back to an Audi next time if I can possibly afford it.)
From what everyone says, I think I'd be missing the A4 less if I'd gone for a Skoda. Best of luck with yours.