April 2006
I've had a quote from my Fiat main dealer to replace a doorlock - fifty quid for the lock (to match the key) and two hours labour. Sounds like a long time given that this is a simple car.
Any thoughts anyone - sound reasonable???
Thanks Read more
hi there i have a 1.8 diesel endura engine courier van v.reg from cold it wont start i have fitted new glow plugs,fuel heater,fuel filter once its running its sweet have set up a seperate tank and its still the same any ideas??????? Read more
the van has been in to a well known diesel specialist last week who accomplished nothing but did burn the starter out,they said they bench tested the pump and set it up as delivery pressure was low but didnt do any better,,,i put a new battery on to.....
...seeing the car in the metal?
I know it's a silly thing to do - and I've mocked others for doing it - but it is very tempting sometimes.
Have you done it? Did you come unstuck? Read more
I bought my current car on ebay without seeing it. Before I showed any interest I checked the sellers feedback and what other items he was buying and selling. If another car had recently appeared in his list of lots I would not have bid as he would have possibly been a dealer.
The photos of the car looked excellent and the description was pretty accurate with a couple of minor faults that I could live with. I also telephoned the seller to ask some more questions. The answers were immediate and friendly, plus with a little bit more history than the description.
As the Fiat Marea Weekend was fairly scarce car and being the large engined turbo diesel estate car with just about average miles, the choice became did I want to buy this one or wait for another to come on the market. The car was roughly half the price compared to say a Mondeo estate of similar age and milage.
Because of the distance we arranged to complete the deal half way between us. If the car was not as described I would not have completed the transaction, this was made clear on the phone before bidding.
Having now owned the car for nearly 2 years, it was fairly accurately described. As soon as I obtained it I fitted a new battery and new tyres, had a service and MOT. The only non routine expenses I have so far incurred has been a new clutch and glow plugs. In the near future I shall have the injectors removed and cleaned and new discs and pads fitted. I assume that any car of this age will need the occassional replacement part, but compared to the deprecation on a newer car, it is still very affordable.
It is my plan to keep this car for another 2 to 3 years, may be longer (unless I come into a lot of money).
Looking back do I think I was wise? I think I should have run a car check on its background as I believe it has has a small amount of body repair that has been very well completed. Maybe I was just lucky, I seem to have a nice reliable car that did not have the poor electrics associated with many Fiats.
Would I buy from a car unseen from ebay again? Possibly. But then I might either use an auction buyer or go to a car auction myself. All secondhand cars have an element of risk when buying them as you will never find out what is wrong with them or why they are being sold.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
I have an original hillman minx radio in my car but unfortunately it doesnt seem to work, dont really want to take it out but I do need music. If i have another stereo put in elsewhere, is it simple to convert the car to accept it(positive/negitive issues)or is there somewhere you people might know where i can pick up good old fashioned stereo that works,which wont be too expensive which i can get for my little motor (local breakers yard no good).
cheers for any help. Read more
If I remember correctly step5/above should read "take a wire from battery positive and stroke it on the field terminal a couple of times, then reconnect the wires to the dynamo"
new style FORD FOCUS. CD6000 has an AUX facility for analouge input, but if the car does NOt come pre wired to use this , Ford tell me "it cant be retrofitted". It can only be a plug and 2 wires to get an external device wired into the radio.
The 4 flat keys needed to remove the new style radio are also a bit of a barrier to going any further. Where can I obtain them ?
Can anyone help ? Ford certainly cant!!
Read more
i believe the advice ford gave you is correct .
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"a little man in a big world/"
just put an ahu (tdi ) in my 1974 golf, to replace a failed aaz (td). have sorted loads of issues and I'm now at the stage (home straight hopefully) where I get
Control Module Part Number: 028 906 021 BF
Component and/or Version: 1.9l R4 EDC 00SG 0804
Software Coding: 00002
Work Shop Code: WSC 01268 Faults Found:
17978 - Engine Start Blocked by Immobilizer
P1570 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent
00522 - Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (G62)
30-10 - Open or Short to B+ - Intermittent
Coolant obvious I've put none in yet!!! But I haven't got an immobilizer, nor do I want one!! It starts for about 1 sec then dies. Also it has blanked out the fuel gauge, clock and mileage on two different instrument clusters. Can I default something in the engine ECU, as thats all I've got, to get me going? A scan does not pick up any other modules, eg Instruments or immobiliser. There must be either A pin I can short out or the software equivelant of, to 'fool the ecu that all is well and allow the car to sart and the instruments to start working again.
Cheers Pete Read more
Pete
You've walked into a bit of a nightmare here. The engine ECU is matched with an immobilizer box which itself is matched to a chipped key. Without the correct code being sent by the [missing] immobilizer to the ECU at key-on, then it will indeed only run for a couple of seconds.
How much of the AHU's wiring loom did you fit? You've obviously now got a diag socket; have you still got the immob unit plug on it as well? It may be possible to have the requirement for a security code removed from the ECU by a reconditioner [ECU virginizing] but it won't be a cheap process.
There is a possibility that 1Z/AHU ECUs built before August 94 don't have this immobilizer system; but you'll have to check that out for yourself.
I have a W reg Mondeo 1.8LXi (50000 miles). Driving along the Mway at 70 and suddenly the accelerator slows the car down!!. Limped to mates with no power. Called AA and he says blocked exhaust probably CAT gone. Towed us home. He said drive it carefully to garage and they'll fix exhaust. I tried to drive it onto my drive and it made a crunch and now won't even start. AA man says sounded like timing belt off. I've had someone else look at it since who says engine is not repairable and exhaust is broke.
What are my options now?
1. Get a 2nd opinion as to whether its repairable
2. Could I trade it in (obviously I'm not expecting a lot)
3. Is it worth anything to anyone in this state
4. Could I get a reconditioned engine - is this a good idea + how much (roughly) would it cost.
Basically we now want 2 cars and I'll be able to pay £8000 for both. I could get a main family car for approx £6000 and I intended keeping the Mondeo as a 2nd older car so now I don't know how to sort this.
I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
I feel somewhat hacked off that the £2500 car I had the other day is now worth next to nothing. Your help would be very much appreciated.
Read more
get an independant opinion as said and you also believe,
I had a car towed in last year by the men in yellow coats "head gasket guv shes gone" he said, well punto thermostats take 20 mins to swap and the car was back with customer same afternoon.
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
Hi,
I am thinking of treating myself to a Rover 75 diesel. Just worried about:
1. Long term reliability
2. running costs
3. Are last 2004/5 models best?
Any owner opinions, common problems, things I should check, etc would be much appreciated!
Regards, Ian Read more
I am in full agreement with that statement. If it wore a Jaguar badge, it would have been a roaring success
Hope this is in the right section.I'm after a MPV , not new but a decent second hand model.Been looking around at some models on the net and like the look of the VW Sharan .I know it's a clone of the Galaxy/Alhambra and I have heard one or two negative things about these models. In short ,would you recommend one of these and is there anything I should look out for on these models? .Or could there be better models out there? many thanks Read more
Sharan has consistently featured at the bottom of the JD Power reliability survey -in fact one of the worst.
I recently suffered cam chain failure on a three year and 8 day old Nissan Navara. I made a few inquiries and was aware that there was an isue with the cam chain, I appealed to Nissan customer car and was left with a £1400 bill. I know find out that Nisan new they had a cam chain guide mounting problem, the mounting bolt holes are failing and this leads to either catastrophic failure or the chain guide prematurly wearing out. Nissan have issued a service bulletin re this failure but this information is not made public!!!. It seems recalls are now only issued for safety critical problems not premature failure.iI know there is an AA dite where safety recals are posted ss there a similar web site where service bulletins are posted. It makes a mockery of the block exemption re servicing and warrenties if the manufacturers keep information like this "secret". Read more
I don't know the correct industry terminology, but I think every car has a pretty huge list of known problems (and fixes) which are circulated around the dealers.
Browse
Thanks a lot, I thought so. They do have a name locally for this sort of thing. Interestingly, the local Volkswagon dealer also has a bad name (arrogant, expensive, don't give a monkeys etc...)and it's the Japanese dealers I hear good thing about. I live in France. Company/Dealer ethos seems to transcend national boundaries.
I'm about to visit a scrapyard to try to find the lock - doesn't matter if I get a different key - it's likely to get done-in again anyway.
Have a nice Sunday and thanks again.
John