I bought a new Zafira 1.9 (120PS) diesel last year which is just due for its first service. The last few weeks I've noticed that the exhaust system occasionally seems to be running very hot, even after a fairly short run. There's the smell of very hot metal and a loud ticking noise as it cools.As well as all this the performance at slow speeds is a lot lumpier than it used to be. The symptoms look all too like those described in the 'whats bad' section of HJ's Zafira B review, although that mentioned the 150PS engine rather then the 120PS.

When I spoke to the dealer to book the service he claimed that 'Im not aware of any problems with the diesel' and 'its perfectly normal for the exhaust to run hot, even red hot' (!) Having experienced a different dealer's lies when they denied the classic Zafira (2002) problem of door straps ripping off ('We've never heard of that happening before' - several Trading Standards calls and a threatened court case miraculously jogged their memory and the doors were fixed at their expense) I'm very dubious!
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Hi
I have an MB320CDI on a 54 plate with the new V6 engine. MB dealers are offering to add an extra 50BHP by fitting a Brabus engine management upgrade chip for £1400. To expensive for me but got me thinking...
Various companies offer the same service for around £400 examples of which are at the address below. They claim that as a "Ghost" chip it cant be detected by the MB servicing team and as such wont invalidate the warranty.
www.dmsautomotive.com/
Questions;
Does any body have experience of these engine management upgrades and if so anything I should be wary of. MPG increases, Engine wear problems etc etc. Thoughts and views much appreciated.


--
\"Eagles may fly in formation but Weasels dont get sucked into jet engines\"
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Hi all,

I am selling my 02 Toyota Corolla t3 and would like to guage peoples opinions on the following before i place the ad on Autotrader.

I had my engine replaced last year under warranty/re-call. Some 02 Corollas had a problem with excessive oil consumption and toyota replaced any engine that displayed this problem, i didn't even have to do anything, they told me they would replace it so i was happy.

Thing is, would you be put off to know the car had to have its engine replaced or would it be a plus point?


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after she reversed into my drivers door ( i was behind her waiting to turn right and she decided she was sticking out too far so reversed into me) we both pulled over to swap details " who you with luv (insurance) ?".... "diamond " she replied......i had to bite my lip, apparently diamond specialise in insurance for women cause they are a lower risk....my pink fluffy dice Read more

Bah! Community policing! Billy?s in disgruntled mode,
I have lived in my little terraced house, in a little terraced street, (seven houses) that goes to nowhere, for 20 years. In all that 20 years I have never parked my car anywhere else but in the narrow back street, as do a lot of my neighboughs. When a car is parked there, you cannot get another vehicle past, unless you are parked hard up against the wall, then it is a tight squeeze, but you can get a car past.
The front street is just as bad, (although a bit wider) but when two cars park opposite one another, the road is totally blocked, the residents know this, and accept it, we think nothing of having to go out and move our cars to let other folk in or out, tis life around here as we live it!
This morning I found a FPN stuck on my windscreen, between the hours of 00.00 and 0405hrs my vehicle was deemed to be an ?unnecessary obstruction, fair do?s, it is declared sorn, (has been for the last 14 months) and is technically deemed to be on a ?highway??? , but this is where my logic gets itself confused, this particular car has lived in this back-street for the last 10 years as have its predecessors before it, no-one has ever had a ticket, as there are no parking restrictions of any kind, and conversely, no signage declaring it a clearway! In 1993 I bought a 16ft boat on a trailer, which I wanted to keep there also, so I enquired at the local station, and duly a pair of policemen arrived to assess the situation, after many admiring looks and comments, they stated they had no issues with me keeping it there unless someone complained. Until 12 months ago this boat lived there happily for 13years! No tickets, obstruction, or complaints.
Now new miss plod in town, has slapped me a ticket for obstruction, (bet she laddered her tights on it while skulking around in the dark), whilst at that precise time there is one of those builders 1tonne bags of sand, and several bags of builders rubble not 3 doors up the row, (not lit or coned) and this wasn?t deemed to be an obstruction, so was not ticketed by her, and furthermore just to annoy me further, the front street was totally blocked from 17.30 last night ? 0900hrs this morning, yet she didn?t ticket these vehicles as obstructions.
Rant nearly over now, but in a small town, in a tiny insignificant corner like this, I would have thought that in the interests of good community policing that she might have had the decency to knock on the door (during daylight!) and just say ?move the car before I ticket you!
Just reading the evening paper, during these hours while she was protecting the public from a sorned car, there were ?a burglary? ?a car theft? and ?a stone was thrown through someone?s front room window?
Community policing priorities! ? Bah!

still, at the end of the day my own fault - bah again!

billy
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