February 2007
hi everyone,
I am thinking of buying the above car, it has 174K miles on it. Can anyone tell me what is likely to go wrong with this type of care, common faults etc, and what I should be asking the vendor prior to making a decision ?
Cheers
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My brother-in-law is contemplating training to be a driving instructor. Any opinions, good or bad? Any idea of the time to training and the cost? Read more
I spent considerable time looking into this a couple of years ago & the figures just don't add up for the hours. better to train in a different trade or do the above part time with hours to suit.
Hi,
an advert in the Telegraph 2day, on HJ's page, is offering 'new' unregisterd Rovers for sale.
Yes, they are cheap, verses equivalant '2007'cars from Ford, Vauxhall, Renaut etc etc, but Rovers were never that good {?} and if they've been stood for 2 or 3 years, what state will thet be in?
Tyres, aircon, oil, fluids, cat etc all knackered?
And except for the galvanised 75, what state will the metal work be in under the covering of paint. And them K series engines !! Very poor at the best of times!
I would not buy one, not even at these prices,
So who is buting them?????????
A 2 or 3 year old car, that's done average miles, from just about any other manufacturer would cost far less and be a far better bet?
Any why buy an MG-FT {or what ever it will be called} from this summer?
The Mazda MX5 is far better. Honda , Alfa & othetrs all do much better 2 seaters, that are not based on a 1980s backwards Metro.
Lots of 2 and 4 seater convertibles with folding tin tops / optional hard tops. All much better then the MG-TF. So who'll by them?
Rover took £100s millions of tax payers' money over the decades, so why bring them back?
And when it all goes belly up, will they be looking for yet more tax-payers money to sort the mess out?
Paul {Forest of Bowland} Read more
Fair enough regarding the 75. The 75/ZT were on the money at launch, but the 45 and 25? Come on. Even the rosiest rose-tinted spectacles can´t cover the fact that way before the end of their production lives they were a long way off the class standard - overpriced rubbish IMHO.
Remember that the later model 75/ZT were effectively de-contented towards the end of their production runs, the facelift of 2004 removing much of the clever stuff that had got them their good(ish) reputation in the first place:
......Sadly in the background, Longbridge production engineers were doing all they could to de-content the 75 range. This was little more than a cost-cutting measure, which ran under the name, 'Project Drive'. Although much of the cheapening of the 75 was not so evident to owners, the tell tale signs were there if you looked hard enough. The lavish wood dashboards of the early cars were replaced by plastic imitations, the door mirrors were replaced by those used in the 25 and 45 ranges, but most shocking of all was the deletion of the rear anti-roll bars from 1.8-litre and CDT versions to the detriment of the car's handling. Evidence of penny pinching could be found in every wheel arch and under every carpet......
That´s from austin-rover.co.uk BTW.
Rover 45 was based on the Honda Domani, circa 1990. Not exactly cutting edge.
Rover 25 designed around 1992 - so well past its sell-by-date.
Do some research R40 - you might be surprised ;-)
Hello. 'Exhaust gas monitoring' warning light has started coming on. Car spluttering and struggling to start. Is it worth taking to Renault Dealer for diagnostic computer thing or can i take a gamble on it being the coils. Read more
It could be any number of things. If it's a late model 1.6 VVT then it could be the dephaser pulley. Modern cars are too complex for guesswork and the components too expensive. If it is the dephaser pulley then you will do well to get any change out of £500.
It needs to go for proper diagnosis and have the fault codes read. Doesn't have to be a Renault dealer, a good independent should be able to interrogate the system.
I'd be interested in hearing from other owners re' failure of the display on E series instruments pods. Mercedes Benz (as is usual for their "Customer Service" ) refuses to acknowledge any known early failures of the instrument panel. My present model is 2001 and owned by me from new.
I have a recent letter from MB which states that they keep no figures on Early Failure, Failure Rates, Reliabilty or Design Life of ANY component. Quite frankly a risible statement however it might explain the rust problems, pod failure, non connection of my demist system during its build at the factory and many, many more problems. The marketing focus on each new E- Series appears to be one of "trust us we have finally got it right".
A previous new model from 2000 exhibited ABS, Brake Failure and other warnings on a daily basis. Cutting a long story short the advice from MB was that I should pull over whenever this occurred, switch off the ignition, restart the car and if the lamps went out then all was OK! This in a 2 month old car! Rather difficult on a motorway.
I accept that faults occur. I also accept that MB are not responsible for repairing my car out of warranty however the refusal to accept that this early failure fault is well known to them is dismissive in the extreme. What is unacceptable is the risible, dismissive culture within MB Customer Service. All smoke and mirrors with no substance and that hasn't changed in the last 6 years! Nice cars but buy at your peril for you will find Customer Srevice is a front for "please go away".
Thank you.
Tristar Read more
>> my next car will be Japanese.
>>
Read the 'Almera woes' post.
I read it, and there doesn't actually seem to be much wrong with the Almera. He's mainly complaining about poor workmanship from the dealer it seems. Plus broken a few bits and complaining about the cost of the parts (which seem fairly average).....
Has anyone ever changed the bulb behind the LCD clock on the instrument panel?
Any hints & tips? Read more
Register on the UK Micra forum for free.
They are friendly and helpful. I got some very useful advice on our Micra.
Better to get the bulb before taking it apart.
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You can involve the Eurocrats though! These stickers are heavily regulated - the label itself and its glue - in case they are accidentally eaten by anyone.
Health and safety and all that.
hi, i took the rocker box off the fiesta today to replace the leaky gasket and noticed it was all caked up with thick tarry sludge,should i clean it off with petrol or gunk or summit or leave it as a barrier to noise from the tappets and to reduce the effect of cold air condensation that blights these cars, also can i clear the oil ways to improve oil circulation to the top end and what would be the best way? cheers Read more
As I have said before ,clean out the whole of the crankcase ventilation system,particularly the the filter and the orifice controlling the air-flow thro' the system;Halfords sell all the parts cheaply if you need to replace any bits.
can someone help me please and put my mind to rest. i have agreed to sell my car to a man in scotland over the phone. he has booked and paid for his flight to birmingham next week. i am due to meet him there and take him to my bank to put the money in there and then. he will then drive home. i am having second thoughts about this, he knows i feel uneasy with this arrangement but i agreed. i think he is selling the car on as says he is a dealer and does this all the time. i now dont want to sell my car to him or anyone else. i know i have messed him about and and feel very silly and sorry. i am going to write him a letter telling him that and enclosing a cheque for his flight. i have his phone number but to be honest, i have not got the guts to tell him over the phone. he as my address and number. the last thing i want is things to turn nasty. have i covered myself? can he sue? many thanks. Read more
Sell it and move on.
hi all
just got hold of a code reader for VAG cars and want to try it out on a few mates cars, however i cant seen to find the location of the socket on 2 particular cars one is the latest shape of polo and the other is the new beetle
anybody help me on this? had a look on the web but not much help
cheers guys
andy Read more
just above the ashtray usually, there's a plastic cover that lifts off, it's not that obvious tho.
Browse
Like many things, the price you pay changes attitudes. If less than £2k, OK.
If over it, it should be immaculate imo...
madf