May 2007
On a 4 year old car (when services due would be dashboard indicated) does anyone know if simply changing the oil and filter would provoke a "service due" light due to the change in cleanliness of the oil? I am a fan of frequent oil changes but see little point if my efforts to look after the car cause the light to come on; it is my intention to have the main service done by mercedes.
thanks for all help. Read more
If I press the re-cycle button on my Focus, I get lots of air coming out of the dash, but if not I get almost nothing - car was just in for an oil change, could something have been hit that would stop the air-flow ? Read more
I have always sealed the top cover over the pollen filter in my Mk1 Focus with clear silicone bathroom type sealant and never had any problems. It does a neat job and the cover will come off fairly easily the next time.
hello all,
just got back from being out of country for a while. come home to find that my c-max 1.6 tdci requires discs and pads. does anyone know of anywhere that i can get good quality (OE if poss.) parts not at dealer prices. i've been quoted £286 for the parts! Read more
Gm pads made in india! But they are "genuine" quality !
"Genuine" parts are not always as good as you may expect them to be !
I prefer ferodo, mintex, delphi etc every time over dealers!
My 1.6 TDCi 110 Focus has now been with me for a month, however, in this time, the only time I got vaguely close to diesel-like economy was on a trip Stoke-Cambridge and back. Since then, I've returned a somewhat paltry 37mpg (20mpg short of the combined figure). Whilst that's certainly an improvement on the 33mpg I used to get from my 1.6 mk1 Focus, it barely covers the extra cost of diesel fuel, let alone inital outlay. Is this normal for around town?
I've wondered if it's my driving style: I'm driving it so that I change gears whenever it's above 2,000rpm, except possibly first where it reaches 3,000 (often too soon). could it be that the engine isn't run-in enough yet, having not quite reached 15,000 miles yet? Or is there possibly something wrong?
Whatever it is, is undermining the car as a package, and coupled with the lack of character it's making me question whether it was worth the "upgrade". Read more
No experience of the 1.6l TDCi in the Focus, but in my 1.8 TDCi mark 1 Focus, I generally get around 46 - 48 mpg during my daily commute of 10 miles each way on mixed roads, but last summer when I had a commute of 65 miles each way, mainly on the motorway and 60mph A-roads, I achieved an average of 53mpg. The mpg definately improved with mileage in my car which now has 73,000 miles on the clock. For the first 20,000 miles or so, I generally got around 43 - 45 mpg, sometimes as low as 39mpg, so it may still improve with mileage. As the car should still be under warranty, it may be worth getting a dealer to check it over - they may be able to update the ECU which may help the fuel economy.
hi all
im trying to find the out if im all right to drive my car to the test centre to get the mot done
my car has no tax mot or insurance, whats the deal if i get pulled?
if the car has no mot then the insurance is invalid anyway right?
i just dont what to get insurance then see it fail and be a wast of a £100 deposit
cheers,
mozza Read more
Some correspondence I had.
My Vehicle is currently laid up due to the weather and the MOT expired this
week.
Would I be covered riding to an MOT station? I know it is legal to drive
without an MOT and tax disk for the purpose of a test, but the wording of
your policy would indicate I wouldn't be covered by insurance.
regards
Dear Customer
Thank you for your email.
The underwriter has advised me that unfortunately you will not be
insured to drive to the MOT centre.
The only way around it would be to get them to pick your vehicle up.
If I can be of further help, please contact me.
Brief outline?.
Wife?s was turning right at a traffic light controlled junction. Third party ?jumped? the red light and emerged to wife?s right. Both parties braked but collision was inevitable (wife?s front end with third party?s nearside door).
Third party has admitted he did not see the red traffic light (there was a left turn filter that he thought and assumed was meant for him ? he was going straight on).
Police were not called as there was no apparent injuries. Details of witness (who was following wife?s car) were taken.
Is there any point in reporting to the police?
Cheers,
DB Read more
As DVD says, the reality is that unless the above is there the CPS won't go anywhere near it. Police around here have got an abbreviated system for dealing with RTCs that come outside the criteria for CPS prosecution, they won't even fill out an accident book.
I have used SAAB's own brand cockpit cleaner to clean the trim etc in my car for years. It has been brilliant, in that it does actually clean back to how the car looked new, rather than put on some thin veneer of silicone.
Cockpit shine and other brands all leave horrible residue.
Are there any brands that spray on and wipe off that are good at CLEANING?
The SAAB brand stuff appears to have been withdrawn. Bob Lutz.....you've got to love him. Read more
I used to work for a fruit machine and juke box supplier. When these machines came out of the pubs the exteriors and interiors were coated in what I suspect was a mix of tobacco tar and beer, almost impossible to remove. We used a wonderful foaming cleaner called Amberclens which is still available though I cannot name a supplier for you. It would be great for car interiors and would leave no residue.
Found this on the Avon and Somerset Police website. Have never considered that anyone would drive an expensive premium vehicle round with no insurance (unless that was the original asking price and is now old and worth a fraction of that).
ADDED: 4/05/2007 9:54
A man caught using his mobile phone while driving not only received three penalty points and a £60 fine, but had to endure watching his £60,000 Mercedes sports car being towed off to a storage compound.
Checks carried out by officers who pulled over the driver on Queen's Road in Clifton revealed that the driver only had a provisional UK licence and no insurance.
He also already had nine penalty points on his licence, meaning the three added for his latest offence would mean it being revoked.
Superintendent Andy Pullan, in charge of the force's Road Policing Unit, said: "Driving using a mobile phone is a dangerous enough offence and one that our officers rigorously enforce, but to be driving without a full UK licence and with no insurance makes him a potentially huge risk to the public.
"We immediately seize anyone's vehicle if they are found to have no insurance ? on average, this means around 250 per month. We often find that driving without insurance is just the start of it and these motorists are either disqualified or wanted for other offences.
"Officers who pull over a vehicle even for a relatively minor offence always take the opportunity to carry out full checks on the driver and vehicle which, as this case shows, often means taking dangerous motorists off our streets."
Read more
Indeed Lud. Also, as you have said before, how can one quantify "using a hands-free
phone wile driving is more dangerous than DUI": if someone is just over the legal limit and less affected by alcohol than some then that is NOT the same (and don't bleat it is because it isn't) the same as someone who is up to their neck in alcopops and affected a great deal by alcohol is it? I am not justifying DUI, I don't drink when I drive at all, as I don't want to risk my licence, plus on a more altruistic note, I am somewhat affected by even a pint. To me a zero tolerance makes more sense, in the same way that I think banning hands-free, whilst not in keeping with MY beliefs, is a clearer decision than wasting rainforest on pointless reports.
Clear motorway, using hands-free. How is that dangerous? Go on, tell me. I am intrigued. Is my cognitive ability any more affected than when I am daydreaming about Emmanuelle Beart, something I do far more often than use my phone?... I doubt it.
I've had my new CR-V EX for a couple of months now and am very happy with it so far - apart from tyre noise that is. I can't remember the tyres on the test vehicle making anything like the row mine are making. They are Dunlop Grandtreks, which are supposed to be reasonably quiet according to the dealer. But even he agreed that the resonance was more than he had expected, but so far no suggestions of any replacements. I know the mk.ll was reasonably noisy, but most of the road tests I've read on the mk.lll CR-V say it's much quieter, well mine isn't.
All comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Ago Read more
>>>>I think Aprilia got it right and I've got to decide whether I prefer style over function or vice versa.
This reminds me of the situation my brother was in when he got his new company car.
The car (a Saab 93) he test drove he loved. However, in between him deciding on that car and the car being sorted Saab stopped producing that model and he ended up with a more sporty one which was ok in the sense that it was more powerful but the suspension was as tight as a drum and the low profile tyres made it an even harder and noisier ride. I went it it once and once was enough for me. My Vauxhall Combo van that I had then was far more pleasant to be in.............
Now that I am getting the local VAG specialist to do the work on my Passat, the loan cars are not the almost new Polos, Golfs etc.
Today I have a P reg Skoda Felicia wth frilly edges to the wings and no power steering. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like.
Still, if it saves me a few quid on the jobs probably worth the humiliation.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty. Read more
I have started using an independant for my Audi A4. Got there yesterday and they
forgot to book me a car..Ended up with the guys passat from behind the desk...Drove
it like an old lady for the day so i suppose it may be possible
they say that to everyone just to treat their cars a little bette!
Not sure a Passat is downmarket from an A4 though.
.jpg)
I was relieved to read this. I am going to buy one of the new C Classes when they appear. I will go for a C 220 CDI probably. I am a big believer in changing the oil more often than the main sevicing, particularly important with diesel, but also good to do with petrol. You have a beautiful car. The SlKs look beautiful. I have always been a big fan of Mercedes.