June 2007
Hi All,
Wonder if I could get some advice on my wife's car? She drives a Renault Scenic (New shape) 04 plate 1.6 petrol with around 22000K.
Found that her back nearside tyre is worn on the outside of the tyre. I checked the pressures a while ago and notice that was down to around 20psi so pumped it up. A few months on though it seems to be getting worse.
Do you think its worn bad because:
1)I had the pressures were to low (I would have thought though it would have worn both sides of the tyre and not the middle if this was the case, not just one side??
Can tracking go out on the back of a car??
Could it be a suspension fault?
The car is still under 3 year warranty
What would your advice be?
Many Thanks
Jlo
Spelling corrected - PU Read more
Hi the Lexus dealership in the UAE has a requirement for oil change frequency - every 5000km's, I realise the heat of the UAE is a strain but every 5000 KM's seems excessive. They state they use BP 5000.
From the BP web site:
SAE 5W-40
API SL / CF
ACEA A3-02, B3-98 Issue 2, B4-02
Volkswagen VW 502.00 & 505.00
BMW (Longlife-98)
Mercedes Benz (MB Sheet 229.3)
Porsche
any views gents? Read more
I noticed in HJ's Toyota Soluna Vios 80,000km Test report he says:
"Our Vios gets an oil change every 5,000 kilometres, of course."
Now they are up for sale I wonder how many more UK workers will loose their jobs,when the asset strippers get hold of Solihull its good buy car plant hello supermarket.From good engineering jobs to stacking shelves at a stroke of a pen and a lame government will let them do it. Read more
Turn it the other way round. Would I want to buy and run - or
rather would I WANT to afford to run - any Jaguar? Is the driving experience
worthwhile?
Based on my drives: a resounding no.
wife's diesel X type isn't dear to run, not in the slightest. For what it is it's a smooth, classy, comfortable car. I'd agree a diesel isn't as smooth as a petrol, but that's the trade off for the economy.......... in comparison to many other diesel cars it's extremely good.... and look at how many diesels they sell nowadays
can't imagine the S type diesel is dear to run either.....maybe Tr7v8 can elaborate
Collared a Jag man at the Chunnell the other day (who was supervising numerous modern Jags who were coming back from a trip to a Chateux with prospective customers)...and asked him why no X Type auto.......stated it was because the Ford auto unit wasn't refined enough for the Jag, hence the wait until next year...seems good policy to me.......we would like the auto, but also want some refinement, so the wait would be acceptable...(now all i've got to do is afford it, which is another story).
I have a 97 Pasat estate with 88500 on the clock. It's a 1.8T and drives well for it's age.
When i first got the car i didn't notuce but it had water ingress issues.
I removed the carpets and dried tham and then thought i had fixed the problem by clearing the drains (sunroof and battery), resealing the door membranes. I also got 2 faulty airbag sensors replaced (they had corroded in the wet conditions under the carpet) and had the cambelt changed.
Now recently i got an earthing fault on the lights. Turns out i have my old water ingress issue back again. I have dried the troubled area but the carper remains a bit damp on the underside and i don't have the time or will to remove it all again (i have a new baby at home and a toddler that wants my time and attention!).
My question for you all is do you think i should sell up and move on with this car or just keep it and drive it onto the ground. I do a fair few miles on the motorway each day and so anythin g i do buy will be depreciating quite a bit? Imust confess i have a passion for the Passat's (for my sins) and would most likely replace it with a 130 TDi or another 1.8T.
Also what are the ethics of selling a car that you know has bit of a damp issue under the carpets? Will Karma come back to get me?
{Subject header amended to make less vague - DD}
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I actually had the windscreen replaced not so long ago but the car was dry after this until i had the aircon problem sorted hence i'm sure this is the problem.
Since the aircon drain funnel is broken it gave me achance to pour water in the drain hole and test if it's blocked. Fortunately it's seems to drain away fine so fingers crossed a new funnel will fix it.
I wonder if anyone can help me out:
I received the following penalty charge notice ? I have reproduced it below in verbatim
The council of the London borough of Ealing believes that a penalty charge is payable with respect to the vehicle registration mark XXXXX for the alleged contravention of Entering and stopping in a box junction when prohibited in South Road ? Junction of St. Joseph?s Drive, UB1 on xxxxxx at xxxx.
The alleged contravention was noted by camera operator number 1025 who was observing real time pictures from a traffic enforcement camera at the time stated. The alleged contravention is supported by recorded video footage.
The stated video footage is provided with the notice.
As far as I can see (and understand) I appear to have broken ?Penalty Charge Notice contravention code 31 (Entering and stopping in a box junction when prohibited)? However the charge notice does not spell this out as required by the traffic act. Is my reasoning correct? If so, is this adequate grounds for challenging this notice.
Thanks in advance.
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You are more than welcome for the explination. Although I still don't see the point of trying to wriggle out of it when it would appear from your post that you did in fact break the rules. You asked for advice, and thats what you got. The post from DVD completely sums the situation up - I can't see any way that you can get out of it. I understand how you feel - I've been in similiar situations, you probably feel cheated, wronged, hard done by etc - from my experiences it's sometimes best to just pay and get on with it - you fight the battles you can win. Refer to some of my previous posts on parking tickets and RFL.
If your post had read something like "I entered a box junction to turn right and got a PCN" - then I would support you 100% in challenging the PCN as there are times when the authorities must be challenged to keep them in check. Thin end of the wedge, police/nanny state etc etc...
I know that wikipedia shoudn't be quoted, but I'm going to anyway as it seems like a good explination to me.
"A box junction is a traffic control measure designed to prevent gridlock at busy road junctions. The surface of the junction is marked with a criss-cross grid of diagonal painted lines (or only two lines crossing each other in the box junction) and vehicles may not enter the area so marked unless their exit from the junction is clear (or, if turning, to await a gap in the oncoming traffic flow). In the United Kingdom, drivers may enter the box and wait when they want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.
Similar yellow boxes may be painted on other areas of roadway (such as the exits from emergency vehicle depots) which must be kept free of queuing traffic."
hi all,
my wife has got a 1998 Corsa Breeze 12v and only when turning right, the steering wheel is very stiff, but not all the time. any suggestions.
thanx
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try this link
www.bba-reman.com/content.aspx?content=vauxhall_co...e
I am visiting the UK in September with the missus. We intend going from Haywards Heath to Yorkshire and on to Glasgow finishing up at Prestwick where we will take a Ryanair flight to Stanstead and on to Europe. Probably we will spend about 14 days in the UK.
My question is what are my best transport options in the UK?
I looked at rail but it was going to cost the two of us about 200 pounds. I then looked at hiring which was a little dearer but which would be much more convenient. The problem there was the one way with the drop off in Prestwick. I don't want to have to drive down to England just to drop off a hire car but I think that I will get a big price tag on a one way hire. The hire car website I looked at was rather coy about the charge which made me suspicious.
Looking at the cheap car thread TVM said that his rellies buy a banger for a two month trip in the UK. I hadn't thought of that. 14 days seems to be a short time for banger buying and there is the cost of insurance to take into account not to mention the time taken to find a decent banger.
What would you folks advise? Read more
Just tried it via our discount website and it come back as a Focus sized car for £223 and a Mondeo for only £249. Surely a way for others to get the discount because once on the HolidayAuto website via ours, there's no personal details that are obvious. And this is from the home PC so not related to checking IP addresses etc.
Now a Fiesta 4-door for £200 for 14 days with one way trip is quite a bargain IMHO.
Hi folks,
My wife's been having problems with her 2003 Renault Laguna 1.6 petrol in the past week or so.
She was out doing some shopping last Friday week when the car refused to start back up. She reckons it was running extremely 'growly' prior to parking it. (Direct quote!)
Garage towed it back, diagnosed a faulty crank angle sensor and replaced it the same day under warranty (6 months, 6000 miles), we've had the car for 4 months.
Didn't really drive it until last weekend when we took it on a 400 mile round trip. On this trip we noticed that:
* starting the car seemed more laboured than usual (usually went on the second turn, afterwards took > 1 second, all temps)
* Very low idle such that the engine shook in the bay, ~600rpm,
* Distinct lack of power
Anyhow it all came to a head on Sunday morning when it stalled when pausing in traffic. Limped it home after that, and had the AA man out an hour later, and told him about the repair.
He examined the sensor, and found that it was indeed new, but for some reason the connections were different and the mechanic had cut the wires on the loom and attached the new sensor by simply twisting the wires together and popping some insulating tape over, and only on one of the wires!
The AA guy said that he'd never seen anything like it in his career, and the car in his opinion was 'an accident waiting to happen'.
So went down to the garage yesterday morning, calmly but firmly stated my point about, in my opinion, that the repair could have been responsible for a fatality if we'd been unlucky. The service guy said (direct quote) that the AA were 'drama queens', and that there's a backup in the ECU that ensures that the car goes into limp mode if the sensor fails, and won't simply cut out.
So, who's right? Let me add that the garage did not apologise about the fault, but fixed it by soldering and shrink wrapping the wires properly.
Any opinions would be most welcome.
BA Read more
PPS. Armitage - The NCT in Ireland is independent of garages - only designated NCT centres may carry out the test and they are not authorised, much less equipped, to carry out any repairs. So if something is considerably amiss, then you have to go back to your mechanic/dealership for a fix. Something which I stated to the service guy about me not wanting to see him again, and him probably thinking the same :)
Have seen a toyota previa with LPG conversion for sale. Had a quick chat with the owner. the mpv is an auto on a L plate with a full mot and 150k on the speedo. He is asking for around £1550 which i think is a bit steep. The reason he has it at that price is because it has LPG. What do you think it is worth?
how difficuly is it to insure a LPG converted vehicle? Read more
use the autotrader search on the left and you'll see lots of Previas in this price bracket both older and younger. Condition and history is everything at this age - check especially the inner sills and everywhere within 18-24 inches of the suspension points. Previa's have nice plastic panels around their lower half which hide all sorts of nasty rust traps - been there, got the photos. If it's in good condition it's worth it - if you really need a Previa; slightest suspicion - run away!
ps I'm on my 3rd, an H reg bought for £500 with nearly 200,000 on the clock but solid and runs well.
One view of the top 50 car flops - strangely enough the Austin 1800s and derivatives suited my late father and the family perfectly..:-)
He had put on a lot of weight through being in a car for most of the daylight hours and, when we went out at the weekend, we could cram in the family, one or two friends and a Lab.
motoring.aol.co.uk/top-50-car-flops/article/200705...4
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by Read more
I had a 1 hour test drive in an X-Type and it's a good car.
It's a mystery that being based on a Mondeo Chassis is a problem after all
the TT sold very well and that shares a platform with a Golf plus various
Skodas and Seats.
It's like a lot of things in this country..........it's very easy to sneer and look down your nose at something, with only a small amount of knowledge on the subject and/or a small part of the story.
The X Type has always been sneered at generally, despite being, in reality, a pretty good car. I'm not saying it's the best in that segment, because it isn't, the BMW 3 series probably is and the Audi A4/Mercedes C Class are very good cars. I think it's a shame that a perfectly good car is ridiculed unnecessarily, which undoubtedly affects sales, when it offers a valid alternative to the German marques, buily by British workers, with an interior that only the Brits really get right (leather and wood) and following a degree of British heritage.......(albeit owned by the Yanks).
I own one (missus car) and would certainly have another one........and would not touch one with a barge pole if I thought it was carp.... i'd have the BM.
Browse
Not heard of this on Scenics. Lagunas yes. Car has only done 22K.