January 2007
Can someone remind me of the auction fee on a 5.7k fall of hammer price at B C A.
Cheers Read more
is a worn suspension bush a guaranteed mot failure or is it one of those will he wont he fail it on the day
because ive had this clonking f/ns since i had the car and he didnt say owt last year ,its due again in 3 weeks
should i risk it and see what happens would be a waste of money to spend owt now only for him to fail the car
on a hat full of faults, oh its a mk 3 fiesta runs alright just has little things go awry now and again Read more
Definately summat wrong. Need to spend summat on new wishbones - aint dear. Suprised he didnt say owt last year. Should have and will fail. Common problem. They be cheap though. Money aint wasted on suspension and brakes they be there to safe your life.
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Fullchat
Two propositions. (All IMHO of course)
1)Cars are getting easier to *service* as per book. ( complexity not being reflected in regular service book details)
2) DIY owner servicing is diminishing, but is *not* mainly related to the increased ( overarching, but not in routine servicing ) compexity of modern cars.
Regarding the former, I started DIY with cars of late 50s design and the time, effort and skills needed then, in the early 60s were considerable.
The following
( manual brake adjustment/tappets/head removal/decokes/lapping in valves//greasing/contactbreakers/frequent spark plug replacement/HT leads/distributercap/dealing with structural rust),
are no longer part of the regular DIY of contemporary cars
Some current car *engines* are only oil and filter changes (Servicing for the actual engine at routine services) . OK I`m refering to the Fiats Multjet here as I`m familiar with it, but the aygo`s petrol engine must be similar. Both with hydraulic tappets and chain drive camshafts reducing servicing even more.
OK, so the computer, management systems are there, but not part of regular servicing.
So my question is, why is DIY reducing, when *regular* servicing is easier?
I became interested in engines through building control line model aircraft aged 11years, my first engine being an E.D. Hornet 1.5cc Diesel
Well my mates and I took them apart and when we all bought motorbikes age 16, it was not too big a leap to service them.
Then we read car mags and started servicing our cars.
Thing is we ALL did this ( boys in our class from school.)
The driving force ( beyond interest) was that servicing costs ( labour mainly) was so high and servicing so frequent, that we really had no choice aged 17yrs. It was DIY or no car, with all that implied re girls.
Some of us ( mates from school) continue to service our cars as our 60s approach.
Opinions? I`m particularly interested in how others ( other than professionals mechs )of other ages became interested in DIY,
and aquired the ability to service their car and to why DIY owner maintenance ( beyond the warranty) is reducing.
Anyone agree with me that cars are actually *easier* to service. ( with consideration given to engine choice and regarding work specified in the handbook at service intervals)
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>>>I can change an oil and filter on nearly any car quicker than you can drive to the local main dealer and book it in!
Aprilia, you are a good mechanic I am sure. But I do not think you could change the oil and filter on my TDCI Focus without a ramp.
I have always done oil changes on my cars, but I just cannot do it on the Focus. It even takes the garage quite a while.
Hi All
I recently posted about having a ruptured Achilles Tendon and the problems I have had since.
I am taking delivery of a new Nissan Note Auto petrol vehicle on Tuesday
and I would appreciate any advice on Do's and Dont's of driving such a vehicle and also how do you control the revs for running in purposes.
I have decided to trade in my 05 X-Trail diesel due to the heavy clutch action and the strain it would put on my left leg.
Have any members of this board got any experience of this vehicle?
Hoseman Read more
Hi Murphy
You are dead right, I don't think that I'll be driving another manual change car again.
I take your point about using the gearbox instead of the brakes as the cost of replacement parts for the brakes will be a lot cheaper than transmission parts.
I'll revert to using the brakes and the hand brake when stationery
Cheers Hoseman
I turned down a free 91 230 TE auto.
Offered to me for nothing, but my plate is quite full. The only known issues were that it need new rear brake shoes (she said) and it was running smoky. No idea how much oil it was burning - but otherwise good in/out I was told.
Was I a fool? Could I have sorted all this for reasonable money and be riding around in a near-free bullet proof motor, or I did I turn down a money pit?
FWIW my 405 TD is very well behaved, and a good size for my needs, and even if it was lovely, high 20s mpg is not as good as low-mid 40s from the Pug. Read more
Our 4 year old Cayenne S is due for its 4 year 40,000 mile service.How much will it affect the residual value if the service is done by a non-Porsche dealership? Read more
More complicated with a Porsche than it looks. If it is maintained to Porsche specs (not neccessarily by them) then for around £770 you can get a full OPC (Official Porsche Centre) warranty which is pretty much the same as new for up to 9 years.
If it hasn't been serviced at an OPC then their is an inspection charge of around £220 which will, if their is no work pending allow it to be OPC Warrantied, if any work is found to be required then this will have to be done before the warranty is issued. They'll normall combine inspection with a service.
We have lots of members who use specialist Porsche maintainers rather than OPC's & not just for cost, but for quality as well!
Come over to www.porsche-1.net/forums & others will give you similar info & good local people, even better become a TiPEC member!
hi all , its playing up again, as i was driving the glow plug came on it started to flash , what could it be, i changed the dipped bulb [ that was a nightmare passenger side ] then went to the hospital to pick up my father in law ,the glow plug light came on, i hate this car any tips or costs would be appreciated
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If your glow plug light flashes on a Mk III Mondeo and your car goes into limp home mode don't panic. Even if a constant yellow engine warning light comes on too just step back and go for the least cost option. A faulty cam sensor will not give a DTC code when you run the dash diagnostic test (zero cost vs taking your motor to a garage to have DTC codes read off). Just hold in trip button for three seconds before switching on ignition to go into gauge sweep etc etc etc. You should see DTC / NONE come up after the first few dabs on the trip button. Then, if you've checked all the engine's electrical plug connections (zero cost), cleaned your cam and crank sensors (zero cost) and, the glow light / engine light continue to haunt you purchase a cam sensor for around £20 - £25 pounds from Ford or EBay. Pop it in and see if the glow plug light has now gone when you start up again. If it has but, the engine light is still there after start up switch off and try the following procedure. Switch the ignition on and off (without starting the engine) twenty, yes TWENTY times. You'll hear the "Program A New Key" beep after about six goes but carry on another fourteen times then, finally start the engine. Low and behold the dash will now be free of warning lamps and you'll only have spent 25 notes. Hope this helps anyone who reads this.
And some Chav's Dad's Rover is saved.....
Hi all,
I've got a N reg Mk3 Golf Estate (Diesel) that are due some new tyres. I do a general mix of driving (round town, motorway, country roads).
Tyre size is 185/60/14 H
Its currently got 2 Arrowspeed (cheap Kwik fit brand) on the front (the ones that need changing) and BF Goodrich on the back (don't need changing).
Cheers
Richard Read more
www.mytyres.co.uk has BF Goodrich tyres for £29.30 per corner + fitting, balancing etc. (an average of £10 but can be as low as £6).
I'm using Hankook K406s in the same size/speed rating on my Peugeot 306 and they are excellent for grip, reasonably quiet and apparently long-lasting after 7k miles. They're £30.60 on mytyres.co.uk + fitting, balancing etc.
For comparison, Arrowspeeds are £39.50 each, fitted, and at my local tyre place I pay less for Hankooks than I would for Arrowspeeds in Kwik Fit.
Hi
I have a 1996 Astra Estate and the interior fan only works on speed 4, any ideas how to fix it so i havel all of the speeds?
cheers
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I agree with Dave and Simon.
The fan still works on 4 because this setting "bypasses" the resistor
Cheers
DP
Browse
I paid £200 at BCA as a private individual on a car costing £2,800 about 5 months ago.