July 2006
I've said in the past that shortly I would like to renew my later in the year for a New Vectra Estate 1.9td.
But after watching Jeremny driving that VXR on Top Gear, I've had second thoughts. I know most will say we shall never have to drive like that. Which is true. But it worries me where I shall also tow a caravan and I don't want to worry about ploughing straight on with or without the van in bends or corners.
If you drive in wet/damp conditions or even on a frosty surface, you could in effect have the same cronic Understeer at low speeds.
So my question,
Is the New Vectra 1.9td really as bad he shows Read more
I recently had a costly collision with a foreign LHD lorry in this country (lorry pulled into my lane and hit my rear passenger side, I had a witness and as it happens the police were nearby and so helped me collect all of the drivers details). My car is waiting to be repaired and I will have to stump up the excess (£400) when I pick it up, I hope to recover this because I have legal cover and I?m claiming it as uninsured losses.
The big BUT is that the lorry driver is from a non-EU country (Romania) and I have been lead to believe that it will be nearly impossible to recover my money.
Has anyone had any experience of this? Or can give me some advice.
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Thanks, that reassures me.
recently i took my SEAT TOLEDO 97 2.0 litre to an independent dealer to have the air con re-gassed, it was working but just not getting cold enough. I was quoted £70 for gas and system check which seemed fair enough. After a 2 hour wait a mobile air con guy turned up and re-gassed the system he then checked it over and told me that the condenser was leaking and offered me a replacement part for £317 although it was not an original SEAT part and told me that if i agreed straight away he could fit it next week. I declined his offer as i thought i may be able to find a cheaper replacement somewhere else,he then emptied the system completely of gas and asked me for £50, i pointed out that the air con was not working at all now and it had been working (though not effieciently) when i brought the car in, i asked if he could return it to the condition it was in before but he said it would be illegal for him to put any more gas in, so i paid £50 to have my air con emptied, my questions are 1. is it illegal to gas a leaking system 2.if the condenser was leaking why hadnt all the gas escaped 3. if i bought some gas at the store would it be illegal to gas it myself 4. how could i pinpoint a leak.....all advice gratefully received Read more
Mark - I know an excellent mobile air-con chap that did my mum's Range Poser. I think he came out to us from Newton Abbot. Will get his number and post back.
The 10A fuse that supplies the aircon on my Passat is blowing, it was doing it last year and I put it down to sticky buttons on the climatronic controls, the buttons were sticking in and that seemed to blow the fuse. I have freed up the buttons but now the fuse is blowing again. I increased the fuse to 15A rating (not good practice I know!) but it still blowed. Please can anyone help and suggest a simple fix, I know that Aircon repairs are going to cost an arm and a leg! The car is a 2002 SE TDI (diesel estate)
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Ha, you can send me a cheque, or I take credit cards!!
Glad it's sorted.
Are you going to the Motor Show?
No, I thought not.
No, I can't be bothered either. Read more
Thanks for the pictures bobda. Very good.
A almost wish I'd gone!
SWMBO had an altercation with a little old lady at a roundabout which has ended in the little old lady admitting fault and SWMBO's 20 month old A2 being written off! The gap insurance looks a very good buy now!
She wants an EOS but lead time is likely to be longer than the lengh of time she can hold on to the replacement car. She would like a convertioble and will want to specify her own colour and extras so will probably be new (I know it is stupid but someone has to do it and she doesn't give me any choice - if I want a reasonably quiet life).
Needs to be faster than a petrol A2 to 60 (sub 12 seconds) budget probably 20-22k.
Suggestions for alternatives welcome Read more
The EOS isn't based on any other VAG chassis so has no 'hatchback underpinning equivalent'. Like any niche car they won't sell many so they are more expensive. Other makers offer cheaper alternatives, but you will find their spec is lower, so a top range cheaper alternative is required to compete with a base level Eos.
The customer services team for my make of car, a european car, one year old, claim that prior to the pdi inspection the uk insert is calibrated in kilometers. This is changed to miles at pdi. Any comments?
Also whilst on the subject - if I accidentally zero the odometer is it possible to restore the mileage figure and if so how might this be achieved?
Thanks
Don Read more
Have you considered renting your son out to the local used car lot? :) LOL
My Nissan Navara Pickup, bought new from a UK Daeler, is now 19 months old. Whilst it has been mechanically reliable there have been a number of bodywork issues:-
1 Snugtop with rusty hinges and paint bubbles replaced under warranty
2 Rusty Locking wheel nuts replaced under warranty
3 Corrosion on sidestep / running board replaced under warranty
4 Paint osmosis on bonnet, resprayed under warranty
5 Rust inside drivers door frame repaired under warranty.
This appears to me quite a lot of problems for an nineteen month old UK sourced, UK specified vehicle. I am currently in correspondence with Nissan UK about the vehicle because I believe that these problems may continue outside the warranty period when it comes up. One question I have asked is the date of production and origin of the vehicle (I am concerned it may have been stuck in a muddy field over an extended period)
Nissan have informed me that they are forbidden to disclose this because of the Data Protection Act. My understanding of The Data Protection Act is thatit is there to protect personal information but is also there to empower people to access personal information. I am not sure therefore why it stops me accessing basic production data.
Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks
GAN Read more
Explanation is on article, my pickup is previous generation, registered Dec 2004, the first Navara Pickup on your article is May 2005. Hence the factory production did not exist when this was being shipped in October 2004.
I did a search on google under Navara and rust this afternoon and apparently the models for the Japanese market would rust badly in the UK because they are not protected from road salt. However my note from the Customer Services manager said:-
"Your vehicle was commissioned by Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd and was built for the UK market.."
It is one of the few unambiguous replies to date.
The only other thing I was thinking is that I remember one version of the Mercedes E Class had a huge propensity to rust because apparently of some kind of problem in the galvanising of the steel, but one of the points in the same email would seem to contradict this.
"There is no known concern regarding this model which would suggest that these vehicles rust prematurely."
Thanks for the help
Wales has been chosen as the preferred location for a new car assembly plant, BBC Wales has learned.
A group under the name of Project Kimber bought the rights to produce DaimlerChrysler's Smart Car roadsters earlier this year.
Since then the group has been looking for a suitable location.
An announcement is due at the British International Motor Show in London that Wales has beaten Germany and the West Midlands to be the preferred location.
A source close to the project has told BBC Wales that a deal to bring the assembly plant to Wales has taken a major step forward.
Project Kimber will not as yet confirm where in Wales they want to set up the plant, or how many jobs will be created.
But if all goes to plan, it is understood it will be making 8,000 cars by next year.
:: insert welsh jokes here ::
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
Quote from todays Torygraph.
'What level of Regional Selective Assistance from the Welsh Assembly Government? The people involved went to such extraordinary lengths to avoid my legitimate questions that frankly I'm suspicious.'
Looks like a MAJOR bung then.
its on a p-plate and all i can see is about 2 or 3 lines on the display and what i need is help with taking the clock out and replacing it with a new 1 is it easy and how would it come out thank you in advance Read more
Glad you got it sorted. I had the same on my 214, but i just lived with it!!
Browse
I have hired from Enterprise both the Mondeo and pre-facelift Vectra, and preferred the Vectra every time, I always seem outnumbered, but to be honest, I really hated the Mondeos, they handled VERY well on twisty roads, but that made me push and push it, and the whole journey becomes like hard work, like you've just spent an hour ona go cart track. Almost any modern car will be limited by the speed limit rather than capability these days and increasingly so. The Vectras handle well, but are more confortable for cruising and sedate driving, and had more powerful aircon in hot weather. Also, the 1.9CDTi SRi is impressive with the 6 speed auto, and worth considering.