July 2006
At What mileage should the timing belt be changed and what other components should be changed at the same time Read more
is anyone bothered?
btw, its strongly rumoured they are keeping the K-series in its original form (SAIC that is).
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they are talking about making component parts for the rover 25 and 45 to deliver to x-part.
the 25 makes sense as there are alot on Britians roads.
but the 45?
surely not.
my source is ex-rover dealer who is now a kia franchise but keeps on the 'loop'.
apparently their are no rover 25 central locking motors in the country - he has a list of ten people waiting to pick one up as soon as available.
was drving to a site in Whitehaven and had the whole day to get there, so we left early - and nipped into Preston BCA on the way to see if I could pick anything up.
Very expensive IMO.
everything seemed dear.
big motability section which the dealers where crawling over. Prices where well over book, and some tight profit margins (or they have buyers lined up).
However, I must say - alot of the motorbility stock iwas in poor condition. Of the 4 picassos that tempted me, 3 had been through a bumper or panel re-spray.
Even part-ex where expensive.
for example, a 5 door honda civic p plate with 64k - on an se trim.
it was well worn, had quite a bit of surface rust on one arch and if you looked close enough - the bumper had been through a re-spray.
made over £800 quid!
When I was in the game, I would have offered £300 tops as a trade in.
so are we in the midst of silly season?
or was it a case of dealers stocking up? Read more
I'm interested in picking up an Audi A4 Tdi from an auction, might hang on...
Q. My boot door lock has gone for the second time in 10 months. This time I am told they need to replace the 'mechanical' part of the switch, as last time they replaced the 'eletrical' part. Am I beinging fed a line, or does the central locking system on a Nissan 2.2 D estate with central locking have two parts????????? Read more
Sorry for not replying sooner, but I found out that this part is just one and not two as I was told. 9 months and it failed again. Why did Nissan go to Renault?
Always wondered - are their any limits on what you can legally drive on UK roads, providing it passes type approval (headlights, etc.) ?
I'm thinking ex-Formula-1 car, or ex-military tank (with tracks) .... Read more
Not so now. Pedestrian controlled vehicles though is still a class.
I checked up what groups I'd get if I took my test in Morgan three wheeler.
Invalid Carriage was the only extra.
I'm not that sure about modern registrations, but certainly no lights is easy. Cut of year for mudguards might be 1934, the same as speedometers!.
The addition though of a rear view mirror is, I understand compulsory on everything, although certainly in 1930 they were neither compulsory nor fitted to the trike.
Get back to the early 20's and you only get rear wheel brakes.
General rule - the older it is, the more you are exempt
This weekend I have organised the first meeting of 300C owners in Europe. There are about 10 of us coming and we're meeting up in the Lake District for a meal, dealer visit and an afternoon at Holker Hall nr Grange Over Sands, where we are going to enjoy Afternoon Tea on the lawn !! (& the Motor Museum, Hall & Gardens)
When the car was first launched in the UK, the press and motoring forums were full of nice things about the looks of the car, but also suggested that the people that would buy them would be "drug dealers, gangsters, footballers, chavs, bookies," etc, etc. After this weekend I'll be able to tell you the truth behind the headlines !!
So far, there are people coming from as far away as Aberdeen & London and most folks are bringing their wives with them.
Fingers crossed the weather will be good and we'll have a good day. Hopefully, I'll have some piccies to post as well.
MTC Read more
MTC,
Those group pictures should really be accompanied by the soundtrack of the theme to "Sopranos"
:-)
Lee -- There\'s no place like 127.0.0.1
I've bought a V plate Mazda323 1.5 petrol recently and when driving in 4th or 5th gear, car seems to pull back a bit and you can feel it. I've changed oil/oil filter last weekend but it hasn't made any difference. What other things should I look at. Could it be a faulty spark plug or something? Thanks Read more
I once had a Mazda 626 that ran fine, but seemed to lack power on the motorway. In the end, it turned out that the air intake was fed from a piece of tube buried in one wing, behind the headlight. A piece of the foam that stopped it rattling had become dislodged, and was stuck in the intake hole. This was restricting the intake air, and thus the power.
When a new part is fitted to your car does this item have a guarantee period of time? Read more
If the new part was fitted free under warranty then it will not extend beyond the warranty period.
Any other part should have a normal warranty period.
Why ask someone (me) to go and look at a car with you, if you ignore what I say?
£650 for a 3 door N reg Fiesta 1.25 with 98,000 on the clock, but with no oil in the sump or road tax and a rapidly decaying battery. Think it had the wrong coolant in it too.
Still, I got twenty quid out of it.
Very annoying though.
Rant over... Read more
Years ago I nearly bought a tatty old Triumph GT6. The vendor, who I met in a car park, would only take cash and not a cheque. So I went home, intending to get the cash for the next day. That gave the head a chance to have a word in the ear of the heart. I phoned the guy to say I didn't want the car after all, a case of one time-waster talking to another, I suppose!
Surely the extra cost of the paint is nowhere near the £300-500 extra.
How much of this is regained when selling on?
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...for the model we wanted, there were only metallic colours so why
not just give a straight price for the car...
This is a fair point. Mrs B is awaiting delivery of new Panda to replace existing Panda (she wanted one with a diesel engine and a/c) and of the dozen or however many colours available only 3 did not attract some sort of extra charge (£350 for metallics and I believe £200 or so for black). Fortunately she wanted a plain blue one!
Browse
There are 2 guides and 1 tensioner, which may require attention. I have just been through my timing belt catalogues and can find no supplier who produces a cambelt kit. If yours is a 2000 on model, there are 3 idlers and 1 tensioner.