July 2007
Do insurance groups really bear any relation to the true risk of the vehicles?
For a 25-year-old newly qualified driver, the quote for a Volvo S40 1.6 S is £1000. For a Volvo S80 2.5 T S, it is £1,950 (other details identical). Insurance groups are 7 vs. 15. I can't see there is that much difference in the vehicles to justify the extra cost.
If you have a high insurance group you basically have to eat the cost of most types of damage to your car due to the effect on the NCD. Whereas people getting in lots of scrapes in their small city cars won't mind making a claim because their insurance only costs £200/year. Read more
Anyone have, or have access to, a diagram of which fuse covers what in an '04 C-Max? My cigarette lighter has stopped working (needed for Sat Nav) and there are so many fuses, I'm hoping not to have to remove them one by one. Read more
Hello
In the granddaughters ka and the wifes fiesta there is a fuse box diagram. (last few pages)
Have not looked in the mondeo's handbook yet.
Try ford themselves.
--
(iam not a mechanic)
Martin Winters
I have a BMW E38 with the M52 engine (2.8) that has 30K miles on the clock X-reg.
If it starts instantly it will run as it should but if it doesn?t start instantly then
It has a lack of power for the journey. The DME error codes are code 65 inlet cam sensor.
I have changed both the inlet and exhaust sensors re set the DME but the fault returns with the same code 65 and loss of power. I have cleaned the connectors on the sensors and DME checked continuity and checked the supply and GND to the sensors and all seems well. Dose anybody have any suggestions on what to try next or if any other faults could cause the error code of the inlet cam sensor to be stored by the DME.
Could the O2 sensors cause this fault and error code?
erm
Some detail added to subject line - PU Read more
I drive 30,000miles a year mainly on motorways on my weekly commute between Worthing and Birmingham. The driving position on my Peugeot 607 is really now beginning to cause me problems. I have tried all of the seat adjustments but my backside seems to be sinking into the apex of the seat, it appears to be getting worse over time. I am really pleased with the car and loathed to change Is there any simple solution? All ideas would be appreciated.
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Thanks for all your ideas. I try the rolled up towell and adjusting the seat so I am not so upright initially. I'll let you know if any improvement
Hello,
In order to diagnose an issue with the temperature gauge on my 1.4 VW Polo 1996 N-Reg not working I had cause to replace the thermostat. This meant having to drain the coolant.
I don't know what was in it (I bought this car recently ) but it was pink in the coolant tank but blue when it came out of the radiator hose - sounds weird. Ha.
Anyway, I used Halfords Ready Mixed Coolant to fill the cooling system back up but I'm now worried because the coolant looks brown inside the tank and I vaguely recall brown colours being bad news as far as VW coolant goes.
Can anyone offer some advice? Read more
Alec, top man :) Thanks a lot - just been to Pulman's and bought some G12+ so I'll get it flushed through :)
to flush the coolant system I just disconnect radiator hose, put a garden hose into the coolant tank and flush cold clean water through until it runs clear?
Obviously, I do this when engine is cold.
Hi My Renault scenic has recently had a new alternator belt fitted, prior to this the electrics were playing up and the car became difficult to start. All this has now resolved except for the trip metre re-setting itself to zero every 5-6 start of the engine. When plugged into the diagnostic machine at the garage it came up with no fault. Any ideas?? Thank you
Amended subject line to help other readers - PU Read more
I was wandering through the Yorkshire Dales yesterday and came across two Ferraris (what they were doing out in driving rain I do not know - I wouldn't) and came to realise that these modern beasts are incredibly wide; ridiculously so.
We also came across what I assume to be a Mazda MX-5 rally as there were several groups of them going in tandem at some speed and certainly far faster than the Ferraris.
What conclusion did I draw from this?
Well, why did Ferraris and their ilk become so wide? They only seat two people and their raison d'etre was a fast drive through a wide range of non-motorway roads. I imagine the opening sequence to The Italian Job as being the absolute pinnacle of Italian supercar driving, sweeping along a winding twisting road high above the Italian Riviera (excluding the JCB of course). You can't do this in a modern supercar. They are so bloated they cannot possibly fulfil their true purpose. An MX-5 is surely the true size of a modern supercar, if only it had a nice 3.0 V8. I suppose a 911 comes close as well, but I just don't get the supercar of today; a BMW M5/6 is simply better.
Apart from exclusivity, and they are getting more common near me, why would you buy a modern supercar? Read more
As PU says a hot hatch or Evo or Imprezza or (take you pick) MX5
SLK M5/6 even 911 must be able to get you from A to B faster
in more comfort and with more fun that a modern supercar.
If it was wet the EVO or Impreza might be quicker than a supercar. More comfortable? Have you ever driven an EVO or Impreza- comfort isn't one of their strong point.
The M5 might be more comfortable but you'll look like a rep or even worse and estate agent.
M6 a property developer
MX5- I have no idea why you are even mentioning it as you WILL NOT arrive quicker.
Hot Hatch won't be as fast unless the road is very narrow and winding
SLK is fine if you style hair.
I'll take a 360 or 430 Ferrari, an Audi R8 and beat any of the others.
I have been offered a Hyundai 1.5 mpi with a knackered head gasket.
Anyone have any experience of what sort of a job it is to do these?
Cheers
Stuart
slight alteration to subject line to clarify abbreviation - PU Read more
I would go for the engine swap. These are normally quite reliable motors so you should be able to get a decent unit at a low price.
As I've never been in the market to actually buy a car new outright (PS I am not 12 years old before anyone thinks I am - just never had £30K burning a hole in my pocket) I've never had experience of the new car buying process and have always been puzzled as to how much when you order a car it already is sitting somewhere on a dock or in the dealers yard or whether literally an order is given to build it and how much this varies by car company.
A mate of mine has had a succession of BMW X5 3.0d models and seems to have to order 12 mths in advance and even to be on good terms with the garage to get one..Is this a freak occurence just with this model?
I am interested in whether if you go into the average BMW/Audi/Lexus/Merc dealer do they actually have "stock" cars that you could buy there and then or is it all "build to order". I read somewhere that all BMWs were done that way so they never had unsold stock sitting about...hence their famed profitability as a maker...then I read that in Germany BMW punt out a ton of vehs to stock there in all sorts of the usual sales wheezes and indulge in shifting metal like everyone else.
Each time they launch a new model the other volume makers eg Ford/Vauxhall talk about "only building to customer order" and not flooding the market with cars to keep the factories running. Yet that seems to be what they end up doing....
What common vehicles are currently with a waiting list/only build to order? Is it many? Have more makers managed to keep to build to order and still get the whole thing to work without getting wild swings in demand...?
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Yes compared to the UK certainly there is nothing like the old company car pecking order of badges which produce a myriad of model nos....
What is normal there is that the model itself might not be that well equipped but will be produced mostly in a "loaded" spec with typical options but then discounted back to a fairly basic price. For alot of midrange and smallish US cars (esp the Non big 3 makes) technically an automatic is extra yet all the deals at dealerships are mainly for autos and hardly anyone is ever asked to pay extra.
I get the impression as well that because of shipping distances and lack of patience among Americans who are generally more demanding that there's more of a culture of having stock available and doing deals on the spot. Also remember very few of them get company cars so alot more people are used to paying with their own money and doing deals. So even for the premium makes they can't just behave as order takers where nobody mentions money and just get the company to pay...
Some time ago (over a year I think) someone posted a fabulous link to an old film of Saab 9000's 'dancing' for want of a better description on a runway with musical accompaniment.
There was also a link for a tunnel in Russia where a camera had filmed the slippery conditions (and ensuing mayhem) that also was worth watching.
Looking at the (very funny) link with the Volkswagen ad with the swear word listed earlier in this forum that brought a big grin to my face I remembered these two past glories.
Are there other ones that I have missed could be compiled into one thread that would provide some of us with a smile when the rain-clouds come yet again to spoil our summer? Read more
Re the Russian tunnel video - there are, in fact, a large number of these videos of the tunnel.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Browse
Doubt many directors on six-figure salaries drive S80s somehow. Well I do, but it's because I'm cheap, and so are the used ones.