May 2006
A friend has offered me his Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd 3.1 TD £8000 on 2000 X plate 39000 miles. I currently have a 1996 Renualt Laguna 1.8RT probably only worth £350 - £650
The Jeep is in excellent condition, nothing wrong with it and well looked after. Parkers internet guide seems to indicate £3000 under book in good condition.
it has 26mpg ave and its impracticality, cost of parts and that it might not get under my garage door and having to park it round the back rather than on the road. Common sense tells me I should get a Mondeo Diesel preferably 130 BHP perhaps a Zetec.
I still can't get my head around that the jeep is good value.. I wondered what all your opinions are!!!
Dorian Read more
Hi all
2 weeks ago I had a conrod failure on my Peugeot 306 1.9 TD from 1998 with a XUD9TE/DHY motor.
When I searched on the Internet for an engine to replace it, I found the Car-by-Car Breakdown telling that this failure was not unusual:
"Spate of conrod failures on 1997 -1998 R and S reg 1.9 XUTD diesels; one case of a late reg T: too many to attribute merely to running with low oil levels. Seems only to affect cars built from April 1997 with DHY (not DHX) serial number engines"
So I (or the garage) will have to find an engine without this fault.
But I do not know which engines will fit my car. Is it possible to take an engine from a Peugeot 406 (DHX), or the older Peugeot 306 D8A? Does these 3 letters identify a unique motor or are there different DHY motors?
Read more
Swop the fuel pumps over if you can, So much simpler in the long run.
Anyone any idea when the 170ps diesel engine will be available in the Passat? It's availabe to order for the Golf but can't find anything with regards to when the Passat's going to get it. Read more
Anyone know if this is planned for the Audi A4, it
would clash with the 2.5TDi as this has 163 BHP.
My understanding is that it will be available in the A4, and that the current 2.5 TDI gets replaced by the 2.7 TDI from the A6
Peter
Just wondering how much these cost in your area nowadays? £40 here, up £15 from last year. Read more
Thanks guys. Thought I was about to pay too much at £40 but TBH I'll stay with the same place I've used the past 7 years. At least I know they don't 'find' work. A tenner saved at an unknown could well end up costing £££s in work.
Hopefully their MoT fee might level off in the future. (Or, more likely, the competition will level up).
the alarm on my car is playing up. i have the standard 1 button vw alarm fob. when i press the button on the fob the red light in the top corner does flash. however nothing happens on the car. ive changed batterys in both fobs but still no luck. opened up bonnet and the connection is in the alarm speaker and wiring looks ok.
any help/suggestions Read more
Power at the plug? Valet key switch turned to off? Fuse blown? I've owned 2 mk3 golfs and neither had a standard fit alarm.
Can someone tell me how much is expected to be paid for full service of a car, in general? Is that a ripped off for the following:
4-year Full service done last month - 270 + VAT
Details:-
Local Private Garage (London Zone 3/4)
Corolla, Y reg, 22k on the clock
MOT
Engine Oil
Engine Coolant
Spark Plugs
Wipers (£30)
Labour Cost
Where do I find reasonable price & quality work, if that is a ripped off?
Thanks.
Read more
My relative has a 2003 Toyota Yaris where the 3 year service was carried out 2 weeks ago for about £250 (including MOT & coolant change).
It is nowhere near Dulwich so I hope I'm not naming and shaming this main dealer....but....the price seemed fair enough but I got a call during the work to be told "the wipers are a bit scratchy and judder a lot. We can supply and fit new ones for £35." I very, very politely said " no thanks, we'd do them ourselves."
Within a couple of days I learned from the owner that the wipers were now really making a poor job of clearing the screen and one in particular (driver's side - there's a surprise!) looked to be loose and a bit broken in places.
They were all fine before the attentions of the dealer. Abominable behaviour - but there's no point complaining.
I have now bought a pair of Toyota branded wipers from a London main dealer for £9.99 the pair, which I thought was a real bargain, and will fit them this week-end.
I've driven a 1998 Civic Aerodeck (1.6 non-VTEC) for the past 4 years, and always thought that it was returning 30-35 mpg, though I'd not checked.
Last weekend I drove to Hull and back, and working on the 'top-up to top-up'calculation, I was pleasantly astonished to find that it appeared to be returning 41-43mpg. Admittedly, there wasn't much low gear work and I didn't exceed 70mph.
Are there any Backroomers driving a similar car who can verify this consumption?
regards,
P. Read more
Never had an Aerodeck, but I've driven several similar Civics, and in my experience 40+ mpg is easily achievable with this engine, particularly given the driving pattern you describe. Current Civic (1996 1.5 lsi auto, 3dr, 95k miles) regularly returns 44 mpg at this time of year.
Ed.
Needing an estate car, I was settled on a Mondoe estate. With about £5000 to spend I was settled on buying one 3 / 4 years old.
However, I have seen some advertised in Auto Trader in the salvage section at just a year old for that sort of money. Clearly they are accident damaged.
The pictures in the ads give an indication of the type and extent of damage. I know that generally speaking Category D damage is less expensive to repair that Category C damage (where the structure of the car / chassis is damaged).
Has anyone bought a car this way?
Are there any guidlines available anywhere that give an indication as to how much body repairs costs for cars of any particular make or model?
Or must the car be taken to body shops for quotes for a realistic repair price to be obtained?
Regards Read more
You should be able to buy a nice Mondeo Estate for that money that you can just jump into and drive.
They don't sell for that much, anyway, without even bothering about buying an accident damaged one.
I really don't recommend going down that road; too many pitfalls for the inexperienced. Leave well alone!
Hi
I have a friend who has a Peugeot 206cc coupe. The paintwork on the roof is starting to bubble.
The car has a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty.
She has been to the dealer, and they are saying that they are checking it out with head office. The problem is it is taking a long time for them to come up with answers as the dealer is saying that the car needs to be looked at.
Anyway, what is her best course of action to push this. The dealer seem disinterested.
Thanks for all your help!! Read more
Thanks for that. I will pass this advice on!
I will let you know how it goes.
Hi,
I have a 1994 Peugeot 106, and recently had the tracking / wheel allignment sorted. They also replaced something like an axel, or similar device that connects the steering to the wheels (i'm not very technical and can't find the receipt).
The steering wheel feels very light / slack, and feels like i now have have power-steering.
Does anyone know what this could be?
Also, if this work was carried out to rectify the issue in Jan, and MOT is due in June by the same garage, should they sort it FOC if it is results in a serious failure?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Martin Read more
Sounds like track rod end was replaced,usually gives that effect ie back to as it should be.
if steering wheel out of alignment,tracking not adjusted correctly on both wheels
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Steve
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Never ever buy a car off a friend, unless you want them to become an ex-friend, or you are extremely pragmatic (and even then they are likely to feel very guilty if the engine drops out the week after). Especially not something that Aprillia thinks is less than good.....
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....