September 2006
I visited this website - www.fordforum.com - for an insight into how US buyers of Fords view the company's current problems. I found it a bit depressing. They still seem firmly wedded to buying gas-guzzlers despite the clear indications that more fuel-efficient vehicles such as Japanese manufacturers supply are the way forward.
I think Ford should be ditching their current range in favour of importing (or locally manufacturing) versions of their Euro lineup. Fewer 20mpg machines and more 40 mpg ones. Read more
I got the letter this morning; the lease company says the Vectra is being retired! For those that have read my woes, this will not be a sad parting. Well, thats not quite true, when it has been reliable it has been a good load carrier.
Anyway, I would like to get something more exiting, but my budget is limited. It so happens that the Ford Focus ST 2 costs an extra £30 per month on my scheme above my company allowance, including a contribution to ?car tax?. (It?s a car ownership scheme so we don?t actually pay car tax). The other car is a Mazda 6 2.3l sport which is £20 below budget and I would get that back.
My ideal car would be an Audi A3 convertible, but my scheme works best with cars above 2 litres (2001 cc plus) and save for the 3.2fsi, Audi have stopped doing cars above 2 litres, which is a real shame.
Has anyone got any experience with the ST or Mazda that they would like to share (reliability, MPG etc).
Thanks Zipppy
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Mazda6 2.3 Sport is a car that is not deserving of its title. Despite Sport name and 2.3 litre engine, it isn't particularly quick and the most Sporty thing about it is the ample room in the back for your Golf clubs.
Audi have not stopped doing engines above 2.0 in the A3 - they actually never did, really. Previous generation A3 the largest engine was the 225bhp version of the 1.8T in the S3. Now, with the new A3, it's available with a large engine for the first time in the form of the 3.2.
From your list I'd go for the Focus ST.
Ever since they came out I have loved the look of the Audi TT and have always dreamed of getting one, lack of a driving licence and the price tag was always off putting, but I'm trying to put that right
I'm in the army and due to start driver training in January, shortly after I am due promotion (at which point I'll be on about £20k, _after_ tax and outgoings for food and rent) so maybe there is a chance I could afford one
In January I'll be 24 and only 7 months off my 25th birthday (when my car insurance should drop?), but with no 'no claims' behind me, is the insurance gonna kill me even if I wait until I'm 25?
or maybe the maintenance will be the deal breaker, as I have heard the TT is not the most reliable of cars
in my favour is the fact that the car will be parked in an army camp surrounded by barb wire and men with guns 5 nights a week, would 3rd party insurance be an option or is that always a no-go? not much chance of it getting nicked
I have a pretty normal male mid 20s social life (drinking out with the lads and watchin footy) and no major outgoings or debt
any advice (including 'stop dreaming and go get a fiesta instead) is welcome :) Read more
6-10 year old merc 320 or above. Goes like stink and costs very little.....................but it ain't gone wrong yet.................Still, it's fun for now.
best regards....................MD
Hi,
noticed this evening that the battery light on the dash is staying on after the car is started, the light isnt very bright but definately on , could this be the alternator on its way out? or a knackered battery? any ideas please.
Duggie Read more
dj67blue. Never do that trick it can take out ECU, very expensive. Just measure the charging voltage if it is not greater that 13.75 the alternator, it's brushes or it's connection are faulty. Regards Peter
Hi All,
Would anyone be able to tell me what my car is worth:-
Its a Madagascan Blue Peugeot 307CC New shape on 05 Plate (August)
Full Service History.
Full Leather
Multi CD
Metalic Paint
9000 miles
My local dealer is only offering £12,000 ! - Am I being stiffed here - I was thinking it was worth about £15,000 - or am I being dillusional??
Any help greatly appreciated.
Tez.
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£15k would get you one of these retail, i.e., before haggling but after the dealer's profit margin, allowance for warranty, reconditioning costs, etc. (Some of these should be minimal).
I think £12k is a bit low - Glass's says £13k p/x for "average" condition and I would say that's reasonable.
Why does it say consult car handbook if the car is Euro IV spec on the Millers bottle, does it damage something on the Euro IV emissions system ?
(I was going to email Millers about this but their email link keeps bouncing back)
Has anyone used it in a Mondeo TDCi ? Read more
...Millers had said that only BMW EuroIV diesels were affected (for reasons concerning the catalyst)...
Glad to read that. I've used it in my Mondeo (which is Euro IV) for about 2 months, with good results (and for some reason the trip MPG thing has been more accurate since I started - now only 2.7 mpg optimistic as opposed to 4.3 before)
Having already started to grow nervous about the longevity of the injection system, I thought "Arrrrrgh!" until I read AS' post.
I have lost the Keypod for my Alarm/immobiliser for my 1992 626. It was a (supposed) factory fitted item as the pod had "Mazda Finish Line" on it. I have already been in touch with Mazda but according to them my car was not fitted with an alarm/immobiliser Anyone any idea how to get past this big problem ??
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anyone know where the control box for immobiliser is so i can bypass it??
Just got back from a weeks holiday down in Devon (in case you were wondering why it's been quiet in here ;) ), a few miles short of home, driving along a 60 road at, erm, approximately that speed, when an idiot pulls out in front of me at a distance where I would have had to slam the anchors on even if I was doing 30.
No accident ensued, but in order to rapidly slow down while scoping the other side of the road for a split-second, then rapidly accelerate past him, I had to do a four gear block change, which wasn't the cleanest I've ever perpetrated.
Anyway, now the gearstick has gone all wobbley. Still got all my gears and everything, but the stick isn't self-centring any more, and you can move the stick laterally even when it's in gear.
I take it this isn't a gearbox problem per se, but something wrong at the stick end, a broken spring perhaps? Any advice or suggestions? Read more
Hi
Sunday, me and the family will be travelling up the M1 and expect a load of cones.
When I see millions of these cones, I often wonder if there was a better and cheaper solution.
Several times we've seen the men drop off and pick up comes from the back of the lorry.
Does anyone think that this design of cone will ever be replaced and if yes, with what?
BTW - on the way back from a trip several years ago on a sunny day, a lorry had ran over about hlaf a mile of cones - no one was hurt but our feeling was the driver must have feel asleep - it was a French regd lorry. Read more
I've seen flat ones that are flexible. After they've been run over they just pop back up again.
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L\'escargot.
I have to get myself a large estate for next year and I have never driven or owned any of the options so Im hoping someone may have done.
What I want is a large and by large I mean Volvo sized, estate which is also fairly economical ( hence the diesel idea ) which will also be durable and reliable as far as you can with old cars.
My shortlist is Vauxhall Carlton 2.3D, Audi 100 Avant, Volvo 740 TD, Peugeot 505 2.5D and the Ford Granada 2.5D.
Im not keen on turbo cars really as at the age Im looking at, its likely to be knackered, so id prefer one of the non-turbo options as a preference.
My budget is about a grand or so.
What id like to know, is any of these cars proper reliable and what are they like to own. Im NOT interested in performance whatsoever, so if its sluggish, not bothered ( I put that in because I know many people like punchy diesels and may assume I do, but not in this case )
I have already crossed the Merc estates off because they are not that economical, nor is the Peugeot 504. Also the Citroen CX doesnt appear because I owned one of them and it was a nightmare.
Id also be interested in any petrol options that can get near the diesel economy, but they must run on unleaded.
Thanks! Read more
I'd go for an Omega or one of the Vauxhall's - an old Vectra if it's large enough, or the new Vectra if you want to pay more.
Having driven US versions of European cars, they make the mistake of putting in US style slush boxes and gutless engines. Unless they can sort out the tranmissions (make them more efficient) you need a big lump just to make the darn things go. My old 1.6FSI Touran had more grunt than the 2.5l hire care I had last time I was in the US!
Having said that, the American Hemi engine sounds wonderful, and is very quick, especially put in a Monaro!
Joe