August 2006
Helping a friend look for a used Charade, we came across a 04 plate Black EL. To the best of my knowledge Black coloured Charades were only introduced earlier this year or am I mistaken. Any enlightenment would be gratefully appreiated.
John Read more
My BIL is on his fourth replacement rear shock absorber on a 2 year old Clio Renaultsport 182.
The obvious problem is that the shock absorbers actually bottom out (before the springs) at well below the fully laden weight - thus knackering themselves and allowing no rear suspension travel. After a recent holiday he weighed the contents and occupants just to make sure.
Garage will not admit a design fault , but just replace bits, this seems a ridiculous situation.
Anyone else come across the problem?
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I wasna fu but just had plenty. Read more
I have just had my local multi frachise garage prosecuted for wrongfully failing my cars mot.When i said to the vosa chap about next years mot and saying ill take it to such and such he then informed me that they had been prosecuted lately aswell.Im just wondering if anybody knows of any way to check a garages track record online as it has really made me lose faith in mot testing stations honesty.Worse part is i justed assumed as this garage was a main dealer they would be about the fairest place to go without being conned.If it wasnt for the stupid amount of money they wanted to put the car right i would never have taken it to a small garage to see how much they would charge to put the car right. Ofcourse on inspection the mot tester( had it looked at somewhere else to confirm) said there was nothing wrong with it and to complain to vosa,so i did.The vosa chap said they get points awarded them and if they reach a certain amount they lose there license to mot.So as stated above really,is there anyway to check if garages have points against them.
Cheers Read more
I searched beforhand for an mot only test station( council,bus,fire service and ambulance stations) and there are none in my area. There used to be a couple of places years ago and thats how i used to get my mots. These now seem few and far between. If someone can tell me of any mot only stations in south lincolnshire you can have a thousand thank yous.
is this motor any good? Read more
A farmer mate of the brothers drove a diesel Amazon for a while.
The brother asked him why he always but always had the sheep trailer on behind.
Simple answer, It made NO difference to the fuel economy.
About 20mpg with trailer OR without trailer, and bytimes he needed the trailer.
so he simply kept it hooked on.
But since he was doing a 50 mile round trip twice a day the novelty soon wore off.
and the Amazon moved on to pastures fresh.
A friend is considering buying from a small, Kent-based dealer, a 2002 Skoda Octavia Superb 4X4 1.8T hatchback with 36,000 miles on it. He isn't a car person but I haven't really got time at the moment to go and drive it with him.
Apart from what is said in the car-by-car breakdown, does anyone have any experience of this model? Is the 4X4 system liable to cause trouble or noise? And what should my friend look for or ask about, apart from recalls and so forth? The car is listed at £6.7K, and his knackered but road-legal and fairly well-maintained Peugeot 309, virtually worthless now, is available for PE if the dealer will take it.
He is going to see the car tomorrow so quick response would be helpful if anyone has anything to say. Read more
My friend liked the car and decided to buy it. He said it was refined and drove well, but the thing that swayed him was the style of the dealer, which dealt Skodas long before the VW takeover and is a respectable family business. No pressure to buy, simply the statement that the dealer wants happy customers who only come in for routine servicing and to buy new cars.The dealer offered a couple of hundred in PX for the old car and promised to sort out an exhaust rattle and replace the cambelt (34,000 miles early) before he collects the Skoda.
Thank you for useful inputs.
317 mph in a JCB! Pity the ones with buckets aren't as quick.
www.jcbdieselmax.com/html/home.php
More remarkable is the engines and gearboxes are all JCB manufactured and used in their everyday vehicles.
Quarter of a mile turning circle isn't too convenient though.
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and that high wobbly suspension?
They don't have any suspension IIRC.
Sometime (post-launch of the new MINI) I'm thinking of acquiring a MINI Cooper. Whilst I know its a very good car in it's own right (handling, styling etc etc)...my biggest potential reason for buying it will be because with my own money (£12k-ish) will be for residuals and running costs - with such decent performance AND mpg of combined 48, it would seem ideal (except I'll miss the space of my Focus should I do it). I'd obviously pay for the service pack - but which other options from Cd-changer to Sat Nav to keyless entry are likely to recoup some of their value do you think? And will the MINI continue to enjoy such high residuals??? Read more
Yep: Chilli pack, aircon, CD player, plus a few 'nice to haves' that will let you enjoy the car even more, and make it a bit more distinctive when you come to sell.
Sorry - I know this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find the thread.
Believe it or not, two people are interested in coming to see my car tomorrow.
I don't have 'any driver' on the car's insurance policy - the people need to show me they have third party cover to drive other vehicles before they get behind the wheel of my car, don't they? Or am I being super paranoid? (Don't worry - they are both young women who are coming to see him, but if they bring anyone else with them I will be taking Dad/other half with me on the test drive...might do so anyway if they don't mind)
Is there an ideal wording for a receipt, or is it enough to just write the amount, name, car, date and time? Someone at work said I should write 'sold as seen', but surely that's obvious?
One of the people said that they were very interested and have the cash to bring with them. That being the case, and if they like it, they can take the car with them that day can't they? I have a vague recollection of having to wait a couple of days when I bought my first car but that might have been because I had to get a bankers draft and that took a day or two. If I get one of those pens that checks the notes and complete the right bits of the V5, the car is theirs immediately, isn't it?
Thank you!
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- but if they look after
it and keep it for a long time it may not
lose too much.
and thats so polite it hurts...............
polos on this age fall to bits
they are made in spain
they are rotten
they suffer all types of gremlins from bodywork to engine /gearbox maladies
the girl dun gud,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but i wouldnt answer the phone over the bank holiday period...................
hello its mr ikarea i dont know if you remember me but i bought a volkswagon polo off you and we are having a bit of a problem............................................
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mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Car:
Nissan Micra 1997 1.0 Shape
48,000 miles
Symptoms:
Sitting inside the car, with the gearbox in neutral and the clutch out, I can hear a knocking noise that keeps time with the engine speed. When I depress the clutch the knocking noise disappears. In fact I only have to push the clutch pedal a very little and the knocking noise disappears.
The knocking noise can be heard when driving, and doesn't disappear once the engine is warm. If I depress the clutch while driving the knocking noise disappears.
I've listened to the engine and can't hear any obvious 'wrong' noises.
I bought the car without a service history (yes I know!) and so I don't know what work, if any, has been done on the car.
Could this be a worn clutch? There is quite a bit of vibration coming through the clutch pedal and, as mentioned, I only have to push the clutch pedal a very little for the knocking noise to stop.
Anything else this could be?
Thanks. :-)
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Idler gear rattle!!!(reverse gear idler)
My wife has a 54 reg low mileage corsa, it's had a knocking (when driving over rough surface or drains etc), coming up from the front nearside ever since we picked it up. Taken it back under warranty, they can't find the problem. I've had the wheels and calipers off and isolated the knocking to the Anti-roll bar but can't find anything obvious going on. Any Ideas?..... Thanks. Read more
Got a techy to come out onto a rough bit of ground, he agreed either roll bar OR steering rack. They ended up replacing the rack under warranty - job done. mind you, the whole front end feels tighter, even the gear stick feels tight again???.
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Sounds like wrong part is fitted. Measure distance between shock mounting point centres (call it A) - then measure bump-stop gap (B). Calculate A-B - this should be the length of the shock when fully compressed (to within a few mm). Check out some after-market shocks to see if they offer a shorter compressed length.