July 2007
hi, my mum is on the lookout for a small automatic car, budget £3000.
any ideas on what she could get?
anything to look out for or to stay away from?
any with low insurance (she has just passed!)?
thanks
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Hi Guys,
The other day i decided to tackle the rumbling wheel bearing on my wifes Peugeot 307.
All went relatively painlessly until i had finally re-assembled everything ,went for a test drive and i thought great no more rummbling.
A few yards down the road and the ABS light came on and the digital read out came up with ABS fault and when i breaked it was juddering as if the abs was working when it was normal conditions, this now occurs frequently and the light stays on but not juddering all the time.
When i think back to pressing the bearing in i think i might of scuffed and slightly damaged the magnetic bearing shield that the ABS sender picks up on.
What i need to know is if this could be the problem or is there anything i can reset or is it a case of put my hand in my pocket and get another bearing (not cheap) and go through the whole performance again being more careful and put it down as a learning experience.
Any comments or advice will be greatfully recieved.
Cheers,
Mark Read more
Dont know the setup but ensure that the sensor mounting is clean and there is no trapped debris causing it to sit proud.
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Fullchat
Don't know if this is a tech matter {kicks across to discussion} but here goes, just that i would like to know the best way to clean/ freshen up the cloth trim inside of a car ie, light soil and particularly smoke stains ..thanks Read more
Agree with Spikeyhead, but do not go overboard on liquids, as there are several detectors in the seats which should not get wet.
I use car foam, wipe off with damp cloth, then vax.
Only query is about the "special" waterproof coating some seat are supposed to have.
Would this ruin them ?
I know this subject of which tyres has been discussed and i have search for some answers. However, i was after michelin pilot primacy 195/55/15v but they have been superceded by the more expensive exaltos but the H rated primacys are around £77 locally
The tyres i have on at the mo came with the car and have lots of tread but they are cheapo budjet tyres and i have got some motorway miles to cover.
Im a firm believer in paying for what you get and am interested in the bigger brands. Ive read a review of vredestein sportact 3 of being very good but wanted some more opinions. My old man also swears by his continental premium contact 2
any offers are appreciated. Read more
Got the Vredestein Sportrac3s on my Primera in 195/60/15s. Great so far. Not especially quiet, but not unduly noisy either. Seem real good in the wet-the wet weather performance was main selling point for me. Won an Autoexpress award this year too, if you value their opinion. Noted for good dry performance and excellent wet performance.
I'm looking to change the coolant at the same time as the cam belt, tensioner and water pump on a 1.5 dCi Renault. The original coolant is a fluorescent lime green colour. Most "recommended" aftermarket brews are red. Should I stick with the more expensive Renault brew or will one of the so called "universal" 4 or 5 year types do?
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I have a 2002 Proton Wira, which I bought second-hand in Jan 2006. When I reported the constant showing of the engine light, I was told that this model (1500 hatchback) was the subject of a recall for an engine management fault, which corrected for me at the main dealer. Subsequently, the EM light has come on again and stays on all the time that the ignition is on. No obvious problems with performance, indeed it passed its MOT last month.
Other intermittent faults - and I wonder if these are connected to the above - are malfunctioning of the instrumentation, e.g, rev counter, temp gauge and fuel gauge all giving false readings. No problems with the speedo - yet!
Questions:
1 Should I be able to get a main dealer to look at the engine management system again under the terms of the recall?
2 Is this likely to solve my other problems?
3 Is there anything I can do to sort any of this out myself?
Dave.
Slight tweak to subject line - PU Read more
Hi,
Following on from my previous thread of needing a daily commute car for 100plus miles per day.
Requirements were
Reliability
Good Performance for Motorway
Car must be under 5 years old
All this for around £5k
I now realise this was a pretty tall order for a car less than 5 years old at around £5k
However we have stretched our budget £7.5k
I notice there are lots of X type jags at this price...lots of 2 litre diesels and 3.0 v6 petrols.
has anyone any experience on this car?
How reliable are they?
Comfortable?
Why are the cars so cheap...considering jag is a premium brand? Any opinions?
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Yup a lot of the ignorant comments about X-Type being a Mondeo around. Less than 20% of the X-Type is Mondeo & most of that is switch gear & electronic modules. Although the suspension is similar to Mondeo it's redesigned, e.g. the dampers are twin tube not single etc.
Reliability of some of the early ones seemed to be a bit flakey but the later ones appear to be much better. I had a Premium Sport Estate 2.2d on loan & was quite impressed, handling & go were certainly very good.
One of the problems with the X-Type is that their are many around which are base models from the Co. sector, this seems to have depressed pricing.
PS. New S-Type post 2002 has very little Lincoln in it all of it has been Jaguarified to a greater extent.
is a working speedo an MOT requirement? I've looked at the MOT website linked in the BMW ABS thread and it doesn't mention it. The reason I ask is an MOT is due soon, the speedo's packed in and the sender is refusing to come out the gearbox. Read more
Good drivers use their speedometer constantly to monitor speed.
...
heading north on the M74 on Saturday in very light traffic. I'm in lane 1 doing 70 (honest....) up ahead are two old Volvo estates (one white, one green) in lane 2 doing 65 ish. Just as I'm about to head over to lane 3 to overtake, they both indicate left and move to lane 1, so I overtake in lane 2. Once I'm past and in lane 1 they both move back into lane 2 again - odd or what??? Read more
On a deserted motorway during darkness my experience is that the middle lane is far safer as any hazards are more likely to be by the edges of the carriageway.
But I suppose Plod knows best.
i'd thoroughly agree, but in the case quoted the motorway wasn't empty when the (police) car approached from behind and they didn't move over, which the driver could easily have done
....that's the problem bit...not driving down the middle on an empty m/way
i often do it, as debris etc can be difficult to spot at night and is more liklely to be in the nearside lane.......but if someone catches me up, i pull left again........it's fairly easy really and i don't think the traffic cops were awkward at all, they were trying to educate someone into driving properly and complying with the law...which is what they're paid to do is it not...Pendlebury didn't mention his b-i-l was reported for it, either
My 95 306 has a keyhole under the bonnet on the nearside corner. What is it for? I don't have a key that fits so I can't give it a try.
Keep upright Read more
Yep. So that the lights can flash all night without waking you but leaving a flat battery for the morning. Great!
Browse
And your 1k car should last two years, following which the risk of a prang is much reduced.