July 2006
I saved over £100 by separating the two halves of the key card carefully with a stanley knife and getting a tv repair shop to fine solder the microswitch back in place £10, before supergluing back together. The key card looks original from outside, though the plastic is messy inside, because there are quite a few links between the two halves that have to be separated. It was slow & careful work but if you were going to throw it away, anyway, it's worth the risk. The tip is to think of all the electronics, including battery slot, to be in the lower half of the key, ie NOT the half with the switch dimples. Best of luck. Read more
Ok before you say I told you so, I won't do it again!
Running a bit late today, was eating brekkie in the car, and pulled out of petrol station to make a left turn, whilst eating a sausage with one hand.
ANyway, kerb to my left was 6 inches high and drove into that as I made the turn, hence I have a kerbed chrome rim and one big hole in my Pirelli P Zero!
My question is regarding the wheel, how best to prevent corrosion where it's been kerbed? Do I just polish up with NXT metal polish and then apply some clear lacquer? the rims are triple plated.
Read more
Now, I'm considering (though not set upon) a replacement for my Focus, partially because it's driving me mental with problems, partially because the a/c is temperamental (works when I'm trying to show it doesn't work, yet doesn't work when I'm alone), and partially because I could do with gaining about a £1k. So, Focus 1.6 LX, 108,000 miles 51-reg facelift I reckon I could get about £3,000 for it. So for £2,000 I found 1.4 Puma (98S), 1.5 Civic 3dr (97R), Mazda 323F 1.5 Gxi (98R) and 406 Coupe 2.0 (98S). Now the latter is a bit out there (running costs, ins, fuel), and has covered more miles than the rest (100,000 vs. 50,000 for the rest)...but the beauty and practicality draw me to it... what do other backroomer's think? Keep in mind, I could use space to move my stuff to/from uni, and I like driving. Read more
If you like Mazdas then got for 323 but the newer one (T reg onwards) for practicality. I bought V plate 1.5 with only 38k miles on it for £2.5k. You should be able to pick one up for around £2k. Its a very nice car to drive and they're mean to be bomb proof so reliability won't be an issue. I've got air/con in mine and it WORKS.
Best of luck mate.
I have a 1998 Mondeo and one of the rear doors does not always lock or unlock with the rest, all the other locking functions appear fine it is simply the fact that the rear door will occasionally remain unlocked when all of the others lock and vice versa.
Does anyone have any ideas where I can start looking?
Many thanks
RB Read more
Had the same thing happen with a saab and a vectra.
The saab just needed the lock mechanism stripping down and cleaning. The Vectra had bent a rod.
I guess it could be a wiring fault but I'd check the mechanism in the door first and if you still suspect the wiring try unlocking and locking with the solenoid out and watch to see if it works.
Of course if it only happens sometimes checking the wiring like this might not help.
Hi all
I've posted here recently about changing my X-trail for a Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer or Outback. Today i went to see a pre-reg 3.0Rn sports Tourer. It drove like a dream and looked stunning in Atlantic Blue with Ivory leather. The price was good -£6000 off list with only 50 miles on the clock.
When it got down to business I got a bit of a shock. I had downloaded a valuation from the Glass's link on this site for my X-Trail - £14650 excellent; £13200 average and £11350 below average. My car is excellent , apart from maybe needing new tyres shortly, and has covered 23000 miles. I was given a Glass's valuation by the dealer of £13100, but he said he would need to speak to a trader who would underwrite it. He came up with an offer of £11000 ! He said the price of 4x4's was on the floor at the moment.
Do any of you in the trade think the dealer is offering below book to recoup some of the hefty discount he is offering? Incidentally, a dealer offering an almost identical car today, but £1000 more, offered me £ 12000 trade-in. Is it a classic case of price-to-change being the all-important consideration.
Hoping back -roomers can throw some light on the murky world of trade-ins
Many thanks
HectorG Read more
Hector
Surprised at your comment about the 2.5 being rough - mine's as smooth as a peach with 25,000 miles on it and I certainly wouldn't call it noisy - mind you, my other car is a Fabia VrS which is relatively noisy so the Outback seems silent in comparison. My Outback reminds me of the 2.5 4-cam Estate I had several years ago which was virtually silent when you came to a stop .....
Build quality, as you point out, is significantly better on the Subaru. I've had seven Subaru over the years and they have all handled the miles well and proving to be very tough vehicles. Also, on a thread a while back,one of the more knowledgable contributors (Aprila I think ?) highlighted the impressive engineering integrity of the Subaru. Not being an engineer myself, I can't comment from that perspective, but there is a general air of the vehicles being built in a totally different way to most of, say, the German marques. There is an attention to detail, a lightness of touch that gives Subaru their uniqueness.
I did consider the Sports Tourer, but the extra ground clearance of the Outback (and higher profile tyres) is what I required as I go to a lot of muddy rugby grounds, fell races, hill runs etc., so the Outback has significant benefits for me.
As for depreciation, forget it, it's not worth bothering about as you will take a hit, but so what. Just enjoy your purchase and revel in the quiet satisfaction that you have purchased a car for using, not for what it will be worth in 3 years time (having said that, I think the 2.5 would hold a higher percentage of it's price as it is significantly better on fuel and a couple of insurance groups lower !).
My Outback is now coming up for 3 years old (it was one of the first 'new' type) and it still feels like new. It is not doing many miles due to recent work changes and my wife just goes a few miles to work each day in it, so realistically it could be with us for many years to come - it certainly feels like it will last . If I traded it in, I would only get something like £12k so it's definitely worth keeping for as long as possible.
jdc
Makro have the above on offer at a reasonable £150 odd inc vat. It is a handheld PDA with built in GPS. Unfortunately I think the deal finishes tomorrow!
Does anyone have one of these? Also does anyone know if I would be able to load TomTom onto it?
I realise this is a short deadline but if anyone could help it would be appreciated!
The Acer spec is on tinyurl.com/zkubm
Thanks Read more
Thanks for the info guys. Decided not to buy as I hadn't given myself enough time to research it.
Roly, I have previously used my friends HP IPAQ 1710 with Via Michelin and although it worked well, it needed the car cradle for GPS. I was able to put TomTom onto it though.
I will continue to look........
I've been nosing around in the VWvortex forums and note that there appear to be many reports of oil sludge problems in the VW 1.8t engine for US owners. I can't find any reports of it in the UK. Strange that - particularly as the Americans seem very keen on 3000-5000 mile services. Any comments anyone? Read more
Why are we worried about engines in America? Is yours ok? What about others in the UK, are they ok? I not worried about being shot due to the fact most Americans own guns am I.
What about Russia, China, whereever, does their oil get dirty and if it does how will it affect me?
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2 Dirty VW diesels and a Honda with an 18 inch blade
this morning i went to work, all was well with my 1998 s reg td mondeo. got in the car after work and after starting the car i noticed the airbag warning light was flashing! the car was parked in the sun all day and the temp was about 30 degrees, could the temp be a contributing factor? Read more
only if you have a crash,
2 second job to reconnect usually.............you must have moved a front seat vehemently?
i am thinking of changing the gas struts on my 306 as im sick of getting smacked on the head everytime i go in the boot. I was wondering if any other struts would fit a 306 hatchback as im looking for cheap ones on ebay
i thought maybe a saxo, citroen ax etc may fit?
has anyone ever replaced these? Read more
Could be worse indeed - my partner's Celica (1996) struts have gone, and we got a quote of £200 including vat for these from Toyota.
Couldn't believe it. And there's no pattern parts available either.
I just think of opening the boot as a free workout, instead of the gym.
Ian
My son just bought a diesel car, went out to the pub with him today and coming out of it was quite a few people sat on the terrasse.
Thought nothing of it but as we were about to start the engine, quite a number of gents were staring at the car, so there we go start the engine and the grin on their faces really annoyed me as clearly it wasn't a V6 noise but one of a diesel. He has told me that this can happen every so often..
Whats the problem with diesels?? It seems like its exactly the same as badge snobbery!
Car in question is a mk3 golf TDI Read more
Given that your pollution concerns with diesels revolve around the soot & particle emissions - does the particulate filter fitted as standard to my car not go some way to allaying your fears ?
MTC
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