March 2007
I am going to look at a P reg L200 with 102k on the clock. It has 11 months test. What should I look for or be wary of? What should I pay (it's from an independant dealer) ?
Johnny Read more
hi i have a vauxhall astra p reg 1.4 ls.when you put your foot on brake it goes down to the floor can any one help,also the temperture dial does not work. Read more
The following things have failed on my N plate 1995 1.8l Volvo 440:
1. Dipped head lights
2. Main beam
3. Blower motor
4. Rear electric windows
5. The lamp in the recirculation button
6. The SRS (airbag+pre-tensioners) warning lamp is now lit
Everything else works (including dimmed headlamps). It's intermittent, with everything working fine for a while (tens of minutes) before the above list fails, usually for a few tens of minutes too, but recently it's been like it for more than an hour - failed permanently, I guess.
Any ideas what the cause might be? Where would be a good place to take it to be fixed? Read more
Any ideas?
Just had what is proving to be an expensive day washing cars.
Took a thorn out of SWMBOs offside front tyre and heard air escaping - right on the shoulder so not repairable. No-one open on Sunday's has them!
Now the question: The tyres are Potenza RE050A 235/45 R17 97W
I am told these are now available in either 93W or 83W but are not listed as 97W! Bridgestone's website helpfully only lists the sizes for the RE050, not the RE050A.
I cannot find anything in the manual which states the load rating to be used on the car (EOS 2.0) and obviously VW's service dept is closed. Will call them tomorrow.
I am unwilling to put a tyre on with a lower rating than the one supplied on the car - am I right or is this not too big an issue? Read more
No help to your original query but I've got these on an Impreza (although slightly narrower). When it came for replacement the tyre place was adamant that the precise version of these tyres was used at it was almost model specific - obviously not something that I could verify but there do seem to be a number of "sub-types" within the RE050 model, so there may be something in it and worth tracking down an exact replacement.
I understand that these tyres have got a very stiff sidewall but I've generally found them pretty good in both wet and dry conditions if a little on the noisy side (though the Impreza is not the most soundproofed of cars). As a bonus I got 28K miles out of the first set too!
PST
Went to Holland on Friday for a meeting and due to flight costs, we flew into an airport some distance from the meeting and hired a car. We ended up with a Renault Grand Scenic (1.6 petrol)
Apart from being as flat as a pancake performance-wise, I was very impressed with it, particularly the size of the boot with the 3rd row of seats folded, the comfort levels, the amount of kit provided, and the list of really nice detail touches which seem to have been designed by someone who knows what's involved in carting two young kids and their various paraphernalia around. I even like the styling which, for an MPV looks quite smart in my opinion. I showed the car to SWMBO, who normally disagrees with me on everything relating to cars, and she even likes it.
It's got me thinking that a diesel version could be a good candidate for our next set of family wheels. Looking through the usual places, it seems the budget would stretch to an 04/05 1.9 dCi 120PS version with the 6 speed box and 60k ish miles. Question is, are they any good from a reliability point of view? Any ownership experiences or knowledge gratefully received.
Cheers
DP Read more
We had one for three weeks as a courtesy car and liked it very much, especially the hand brake and six gears. One point though, although the hire car had only done about 4,500 miles, the seats were showing definite signs of wear. For this reason I would go for the version with leather seats.
2.0 16V Automatic Yr1999
Can anyone tell me where the idle valve is please? It's idling at 2000rpm This could be an MOT fail item right?
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Can anyone tell me either what the speedo diagnostics are or where to find something that explains them?-for 2000 Escort and 2006 Ka. Read more
Last week my engine failed in spectacular F1 style with plumes of white smoke out the back. The car has been recovered to my regular garage and the cause is being investigated, cracked cylinder block suspected.
My inclination is to have it repaired. The car is a 1992 Toyota Celica GT4, so in theory cost could be close to value? What would be the point of no return cost wise? It's all about cost of course.
The car is in mint condition (other than the engine!) and has had extensive work done on it. Perhaps the most difficult thing for me is to think what I would replace it with. Read more
Why not see if you can find another example that is sound mechanically but with poor/damaged bodywork, then swap the engines over. Then sell the donor car on ebay as spares/repair. This should work out less than finding an exchange engine or having the existing one repaired.
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Roger
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
Whereabouts do I find the starter motor on a Fiat Brava? Read more
Sorted, had a rumage and worked it out.
Yesterday afternoon I followed a Metro for about 2 miles and was certain the driver was severely intoxicated. Coming up a steep hill he crossed a double white line by half a car's width and as he pulled back he narrowly missed a car coming down the hill. He then crossed the central dotted white line another 4 times, missing another two cars - one had to pull partly off the road to miss him. As I was only a mile away from home and he was driving on a major A road I thought the police showed be made aware, hopefully before any accident.
At home I dialled 999, only to be told to contact the local police and I was given the number. When my call was placed through to the control room the person seemed as though they had no idea of the local area to my surprise. Before he would take any details he had to read a statement written by the Crown Prosecution Service that the police were unlikely to take any action as there were no other independant witnesses (my wife and daughter do not count it seems). After taking details of the car, I suggested he might find my contact detail useful - Oh yes! Would I be prepared to act as a witness in court if it proceeded, of course I would.
So from seeing some of the worst driving I have ever seen in 35 years of driving, and being my first time ever reporting a drunk driver, I feel as though the police do not want any help in catching drunk drivers. I did realise the chances of them having a car available locally on a Saturday afternoon were slim, but the driver would almost certainly have driven past the local police r&r house on the same road a few minutes later so they could have caught him if they acted fast. At the worst they could have visited the registered owner at home or wait a short while for them to arrive and test the driver. All that appears to happen is it will be logged on the computer as background information.
Would I report another drunken driver after this experience - yes. What would you have done?
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Roger
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
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there are other reasons why police park right outside where the call is:
1, you might (and often do) need the car again in a hurry........no good if it's around the corner at the other end of a car park
2, people vandalise police cars.....if it's right outside where you are and everyone else is 'beaking' to see what's going on, then only the most foolish oik is going to vandalise it...(tax payers money and vehicle off the road for days to repair, which would mean longer response times)
3, you might need some of the equipment in the car...(firearms... to... statement forms)
4, if you call for assistance, your colleagues know exactly where to aim for......(most important this one if you're about to get your head kicked in, i sometimes deliberately leave it in the carriageway for this reason alone i.e don't park it all that neatly)
over the years i've found those that moan about things like this......are usually the first to moan if you don't turn up quick enough as well (see 1 or 2 above).....and.......now that i deal with the complaints ....i can assure you that yes the bin is ultimately where it will all end up.....only you will have wasted an hour of my time in the process filling in pointless forms....if that's what you want me to do with your taxpayers money, then be my guest...but personally i feel i have more important things to do
Browse
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Personally I would seek a 2nd opinion. Prefereably before using the car again if you're sure there is a fault there.
From vague memory, looking from the front of the car under the bonnet, it's on the left hand side of the engine, near to and just behind where the top hose returns from the engine to the radiator. It should be screwed into the aluminium housing. There should be a blue wire (it might be blue with a white tracer - can't exactly remember) with a spade connector on the end that clips onto the sensor.