July 2006
What's happend to this chap? Used to enjoy reading his missives from S.E. Asia, having worked there myself.
S6 1SW Read more
I have the opportunity of buying a 1991Mercedes 190E 2.5 16v dones 47k miles (in India)- has a new clutch, discs, exhaust. Pics show it to be clean only wheels were replaced with 5 spoke alloys. Car was owned by a rich family (who are known for fastidiously maintaining their cars) as one of their toys and did 3000 miles per year. Only other point is that the self levelling suspension was disconnected as the oil seals failed in this climate. (have heard this about merc T series over here also)
Is the car a potential classic? Also is it practical in terms of parts availability. No Merc history, only specialist records. Was looking for something as a thrid car that would handle well and bring a sense of enjoyment/ occasion beyond my daily Honda coupled with my fascination for the old school mercs
Please tell me if I am mad or insane
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Ajit, won't the indian roads have taken a toll on the car as well on the engine and gearbox, and could rust be an issue if the car has been kept on the coast?
Also has it always had the right spec oils etc etc used.
Hi Folks,
About 3 weeks ago, my car (T-reg pug 406) went into the garage for:
* Air-con service & regass (it hadn't been getting cold since last November, I left it over the winter as it was cold enough!) - I was told on collection that it had been totally out of gas, so they pressure tested it, added extra oil & die, and regassed it, and could find no leaks. (~£85 vat, 1yr warranty)
* Brake discs & pads (~£175 vat)
* tie-rod replacement (ends worn) (~£100) vat)
Now, it came out, and went back in very quickly when copper-slip on this discs & pads made the brakes a little dodgy (and took me a couple of hours sripping down and cleaning after a 100 mile drive when the squealing started and I noticed the problem). But we'll leave that for now...
The Air-con was lovely and cold when I picked the car up, I've been using the car (and thus the air-con) 2 or 3 times a week since, and over the last week or so have noticed it's not been managing to get as cold as it was when I picked it up, to the point this weekend where it wasn't changing the temperature of the air at all.
Took it back to the garage this morning and was told:
"well, if it's been out of gas for a while, the neoprene seals may have dried up and it may need one or two more regasses before it maintains it's pressure properly, but we'll check it over to make sure there are no visible leaks, as we don't want to regas it if there are, as that'll cost you another £40."
So, my first question is, does this explanation of how my AirCon system has lost its pressure ring true to anyone? or is the garage just saying this, regassing it, hoping to charge me £40 and send me on my way? Presumaly if it doesn't hold the gas again, i'll go back in another 3 weeks and be fed the same line...
If there is a leak in it somewhere they're not finding, i'd rather have it fixed up-front, for the sake of both my wallet and the environment!
Secondly, the liklihood of them wanting me to hand over another £40 when I go to pick up the car?
In your opinions, ought I to stump up the cash? My gut feel is no (possibly as i'm not too keen on the explanation provided above), that the possibility of my losing all the gas in a couple of weeks wasn't raised to me when I took the car in to have the work done, and that there is no guarantee that it wont all bleed out again in the next few weeks leaving me with a huge bill to pay for air-con work (i may as well have gone to the main dealer given what the final cost may end up as).
Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts.
Gav.
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I have just had my Passat re-gassed and a dye was added that shows up under ultra-violet light. Ask for this to be done, because if you do have a leak it will show up well.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
I'm looking for something to replace my rusty Fiesta here in Italy as it would cost more to replate it than it's worth, and a mountain winter won't do the rust any good.
I've been doing the rounds and today saw an early Skoda Fabia 1.9TD. I'm not ready to buy just yet but he did start it up - no problems there, and exhaust looked pretty clean. It's got high mileage but was in excellent condition and has obviously been used as a rep's car as the inside - particularly the passenger seats - looked pristine.
The price seemed OK for the local market although the mileage was around 63000 miles. I presume the engine shouldn't be a problem for a long time to come assuming regular oil changes? Any comments on the likely longevity of this model or other things I ought to look out for? Read more
If it's really an early Fabia then it's likely to be a 1.9SDI rather than TDI (no turbo) - make sure you can live with an 18 second 0-60 time in the cut and thrust of Italian traffic
SwMBO's old clunker broke down in the supermarket carpark yesterday. Anyway to cut a long story short it seems the battery has had it. I tried to jump start it from my car but this would not get it going/turning over so we called the recovery people from her Insurance (DLine - Green Flag?) to tow it to a garage or so we thought. Anyway to their credit the recovery people turned up after about 30/40 mins and put a meter across the battery which read low. I mentioned that I had already tried to jump start it, to which he replied that most modern cars dont have enough spare 'juice' to do it. With that he got his portable booster pack out clipped it on and the old girl fired up on the first turn.
So my main question is will any old battery do or are they specific to the car (2.0Gxli Spacewagon) .
Also i was a bit surprised that my car (2.0 Td) didnt have enough to get it turning over.
Cheers P
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For all normal comparisons amp hour figure is largely irrelevant; but it does allow comparison from 1 battery to another. But CCA is the figure you need to be looking at for petrol or diesel.
It is the power that can (theory) be delivered to starter. Amp hour is how long battery will take to drain (Not much use unless you want a camping style battery).
Do not fit over large battery without upgrading charging system if likely to be doing lots of start stop motoring or heavy use of electrics.
I recently saw an old 1970s style VW camper van on a 54 plate. Are they still being made somewhere?
Thanks
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Hmmm. If the quality of the reproduction chrome from Brazil that you can get for Beetles is anything to go by, I'd steer clear of a Brazilian made camper.
£18,000 would buy a well sorted classic camper, with money left over for a nice Beetle as well!
Hi all,
Me and and my gf have a '03 Ibiza 130 Sport (nominally my car), and a '52 Golf PD100 SE with all the trimmings - cruise, AC, etc (nominally hers). The golf is paid for and very reliable, but dull to drive. The Ibiza is on a PCP with the balloon payment due in Feb '07, it's great to drive and has been 100% reliable so far, in fact overall it's probably the best car I've ever owned.
However, my gf fancies something a bit sportier and fun, so we are looking to buy a new model MX-5 in ther next few months. The question is; which car do we trade in ? I'll be driving whichever car we keep as I do thousands of business miles and need a diesel, but if I get saddled with the golf I'll be getting it revo'd as soon as I get it as I'm used to the torque of the ibiza, but there are question marks as to whether the 5-speed box on the golf can handle the extra torque.
Basically, I'd like to keep the Ibiza, but if it's going to leave me well out of pocket, I'll take my chance on the golf.
All opinions very welcome,
Jake Read more
If as David thinks they're worth about the same, then chop in the Golf in PX for the MX-5 (or sell it privately if you can be bothered with the hassle - you may get more depending on how generous a Mazda dealer is). By the time you've waited for the Mazda, you'll only have another few months paying for the Ibiza.
The main financial question is how will the proceeds of selling the Golf compare with the balloon payment on the Ibiza? I don't know about SEATs but Skodas usually have low balloon payments but higher monthly payments: SEATs may be similar.
Provided you can afford it, keep the Ibiza. Your driving enjoyment over a high mileage is important to you - and for the girlfriend (think of the mood you may come home to her in after a long journey).
I'm increasingly annoyed at the way people seem to judge roundabouts/ringroads. Take, for example, the M42 j.6 ringroad. If you're heading north on the M42 and get off to head toward Coventry on the A45, you should be in the RH lane (because you are going right) and feed through the lanes to the left at each interval. You should NOT get into the middle lane for the NEC and just go on round. It's the same at Droitwich (j.5 of the M5), where people get into the LH lane to go right! What is wrong with these people, apart from the danger they cause, they also force the traffic in the correct lane to filter slower, and clog up such islands and the slip roads?!!!
Sorry, it's just really beginning to grate... Read more
The choice of the best lane at multi-lane roundabouts can sometimes be confusing for strangers, especially if the lane markings change part way round. All you need is a little patience and tolerance. In any case, I'm not entirely convinced that there is such a thing as a "right" or "correct" lane ~ they're just recommendations.
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L\'escargot.
Interestingly, despite the recent swathe of problems arriving from my dear Ford Focus, it has managed to come up with 40mpg and 42mpg on it's last 2 tankfuls. This is substantially higher than what it has been achieving pre-service (35mpg, average). Apart from standard fluid changes (coolant/oil etc - which have never affected fuel efficiency before) the only thing replaced were spark plugs. I kept the oil topped up anyway, so I was wondering if this reduced drinking habit could really have come from something as cheap to replace as spark plugs? Read more
The gap widens as a result of the electrodes burning away. With deterioration in the plug's insulation as well, fuel consumption can get worse, along with performance.
I too would think the air filter, if it was replaced, might have made a difference. And isn't it possible (not likely I agree) that some fine tuning of the car's electronics, injection pressures and so on might have been done? It is probably supposed to be.
I have just discovered that I have been filling my Mondeo TD with the "wrong" oil and would appreciate your views.
With the Endura DE being a conventional, old tech diesel, at the last two services I have just been out and bought a good quality 10W/40 semi synthetic diesel oil wherever I could find a decent deal on it (used Havoline and Comma respectively). Car has run fine and in neither case has it needed even a small top up between services.
I have since learned that Ford recommend their 5W/30 Formula E petrol engine oil for these cars built from 1998 onwards. Not only does the grade ring alarm bells on such an old design, low tech engine, but I was always led to believe that one should use a dedicated diesel oil in diesel engines because the added detergents perform such an important job.
I don't wish to argue with the manufacturer, but I just wondered what you would do on a 117,000 mile car that is now WELL out of warranty? Would you stick with the 10W/40, or would you switch back to the 5W/30?
I always change the oil and filter at 6k instead of the 10k Ford intervals if this is relevant. As I said, the car runs fine on 10W/40 but I don't want to run the risk of doing any damage longer term. I can get the Formula E stuff easily (use it in the Fiesta), so it makes no odds either way from a convenience/cost point of view.
Any advice appreciated
Cheers
DP Read more
Sorry guys if i disagree with you.
There is a need for diesel oils, they do actually do different work inside the engine.
Use what you want to use, but I will always specify the right oil for the right car. i dont believe in the fleet idea of 1 oil is ok for everything. It's ok generally but not perfect.
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Send a link to the photo of him at our Ace Cafe meet with HJ ?
That might jog a few responses.