May 2007
I will be swapping my car for an estate that I want to keep for the very long term. (£25K budget)
I am looking for all the values I consider to be part of the W124 estate:-
Durability
Reliability
Comfort
Discreet
etc
Any suggestions please - so far I am looking at an Accord Tourer or a Legacy estate but would like some advice from you guys and gals in the know. Read more
Just wondering whether cutting the lawns once a week is C0 positive or negative, i.e. does the Honda (tenous motoring link) produce more CO2 in the time to cut the grass than the grass has produced CO over the preceding week?
Wonder what the BiK is on a 32" Mountfield? ;-)
No seriously, anyone have any ideas as to how much CO2 a sq/m of grass can convert in a week?
Read more
I was wondering how many backroomers still 'drive' the car in which they are a passenger. Does your foot occasionally head instinctively for a non-existent brake pedal? Read more
It depends on who is driving.
I'm not a passenger very often, but when I am, it is usually my wife driving. I find that the most relaxing thing to do is to look out the side window at the scenery, and just trust her.
Pendulum's story reminded me of the occasion when I was a passenger in a BMW being driven at 130 mph on a motorway. The driver's style was rather competitive / aggressive. I requested that he slow down a bit. When he asked me if I was scared, I replied in the affirmative, and he did ease off. (He was banned a few months later.)
Hi all,
I have just bought a Golf GTI Anniversary. I have been told the alloys are prone to corrosion and cannot be refurbished as they are chrome. The alloys currently are in very good condition and I plan to keep them that way but am not sure how. I fear the salt in the winter will not do them good.
A friend had his alloys treated (they weren't chrome but normal silver) which has kept them looking mint. Can I get my alloys treated to protect them from the grit and salt from the road?
Cheers Read more
You need to be very carefull what you use to clean the wheels, once the lacquer is scratched the corrosion will start. They're £450 + VAT each and made by BBS, not VW (thats before the VAG-slag train arrives) so I would'nt use abrasives or pressure washers if they were mine
We have just come back from the most appalling camping weekend ever !.
But that is not what this post is about .
I took my old army lorry to a military show at Horndean and on the way there on Friday i broke down, the dizzy came loose, and i had to pull over quickly, hazards on etc and met a chorus of blasts of horns.
On the way home just as we were on the slip onto the A3 we came across another breakdown, not us this time, and i offered help.
Now were on the end of a long slip and not on the A3 as yet but again loads of blasts of horns.
What the hell is wrong ?, cannot these people handle the fact that some one is not moving the same way that they shoot up my backside, with my beacon flashing and lights on, and swerve away at the last moment cutting people up op in the outside lane.
And this is in a lorry that can and does do 50 mph plus ,i really feel for the Militant and QL owners who can only do 30 mph.
It is coming to the point where i am limited to where i can safely drive without encountering motorway type speeds and driving style.
Oh if anyone starts on about caravans and tractors , well, been there and done that and also have come across the "you should not a, be in my way and b, not be going slower than i am"
The fact is i am entitled to use the road and you should be aware that some of your fellow motorists may be going slower thn you and they have every right to be there.
There i have got that off my chest.
Read more
But on those cold winter days what can beat a nice warm dog poo to keep your hands warm ;-)
Ive only just discovered some companies that offer warranties on older high millage cars (i didnt know they existed) so im after some more info on them
I have a 306 hdi (2001) with 177,000 on the clock. I got a quote for £170 which i didnt think was bad for 12 months. The list of what is covered and what isnt is quite specific but i wanted to know how these companies work?
for example, who has to carry out any repairs? could i take it to my local mechanic?
How do they know if the fault is new and wasnt there when the policy was taken out?
Do they pay for the repairs or send you the money?
And how reliable are these policies in general?
Thanks for any info Read more
Warranty Direct is currently on news for not approving more & more numbers of valid claims!
There are more get out clauses available than get ins! For a car with 177k miles, it is indeed better keeping the money in banks :)
I have a ford focus 1600 ghia auto year 2000 it has recently been showing empty after filling up with fuel I have looked at the dash fault codes it is showing 9202. Does anyone know what the code refures to and how I can find out a list of all codes.
Read more
Many thanks caveman now I know I am not alone with this fault I shall not worry
There are those who will pour cold water on all reliability statistics.
However, I gather from those that know about such things, that ADAC breakdown statistics are more reliable than most. And what is interesting about ADAC statistics is that the Renault figures have improved greatly in the past few years.
The statistics indicate that 2002 Renault were right at the bottom of the heap. (This is true whether one looks at results for 2003, 2004, 2005, or 2006) But with each succeeding year, Renault vehicles seem to do better. And the results for 2006 show Renaults apparently doing as well or better than Toyotas or Hondas.
The following results (indicating number of breakdowns per 1000 vehicles) are for cars sold in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and are taken from the 2006 results. www.adac.de/images/Pannenstatistik2006_tcm8-179730...f
2004 2005 2006
Renault Clio 10.0 4.3 2.1
Renault Twingo 6.7 4.3 2.6
Toyota Yaris 6.9 6.1 7.5
Honda Jazz 7.8 5.5 3.4
2004 2005 2006
Renault Megane 11.1 5.1 4.4
Renault Scenic 17.9 6.0 2.5
Toyota Corolla 7.8 6.2 8.0
Honda Civic 8.9 8.5 8.1
2004 2005 2006
Renault Laguna 19.0 7.6 4.7
Toyota Avensis 9.2 8.4 7.1
Has Renault really turned the corner?
Read more
My source at Toyota tells me they have been having reliability problems with the (French-built) Yarises. Mainly component failure - a result of cost-cutting? For example the Finnish post office use Yarises, but the brake cables having been seizing in the cold weather.
Did anybody notice the small article by the chief of Honda in the DT finance on saturday where he stated if the UK was not willing to embrace the EU fully it was not prepared to invest anymore in the UK.Make of it what you will but not very encouraging. Read more
I wonder what the CEO of Honda will have to say after about 2010 when
he's selling vehicles for Francs Lira and Pesetas and the Euro (as it is now)
is just a bad memory?
1995 called. It wants its arguments back.
People, please give some guidance.....
Got a 1.9DCi scenic, new turbo fitted just before christmas, the old one went pop!
Since tehn teh low pressure fuel rail balance pipes burst, replaced, and also the EGR valve as it was fulll of something messy.....
Anyeways ontot he problem, car runs fine at all times, however once doing above 65 - 70 the igniition warning light comes on, then goes out once you slow down..... only does it at 65 - 70, obvioulsy a faulty sensor, problem is when reading the ECU fault mem, there is no fault stored (as these engines typically dont store everything). Has anyone had something similar and can tell me what it is?
Ill be getting my live diagnostics back soon (I hope) so can have laptop plugged in whilst driving and see what it says when the light comes on but really want htis sorted ASAP.
Any help much appreciated, oh and no these have a hugely bad rep at the moment, so only relevant replies please as dont want to start another debate on how poor this engines electrics are!
Biggz Read more
Result:
Found the cause of the probelm, this could be a common fault with a lot of cars. The MAP sensor is mounted to the firewall / bulkhead of the car next to the glow plug module, this means that it needs a very small rubber vac hose going to it to give it its reading. On our car this had come loose and was danlging about, however I also noticed that where it connects to the intake manifold the pipe was very thin and worn, this is something to lok out for as you wont see the pipe unless you look hard for it as it is behind all the intake pipework!!!!!!!
Thanks to all those who helped
Biggz
Didn't Saab run an ad a while back saying that the then latest model produced less noxious stuff in coast-to-coast USA trip than a lawnmower used for X hours?