August 2007
A friend asked me to change his front pads following an MOT. After doing this I test drove the car and noticed that the brake pedal jumps very slightly when braking. This is not regular and is not associated with speed. When it does this it is accompanied by a slight "tick". My friend told me that the car had been doing this for some 3 weeks. Could this be some intermittant fault with the ABS? All help will be gratefully received. Best Regards,
{Slight tweek to header to indicate which model Vectra and expand the question asked - DD} Read more
Are Vredestien tyres any good? My local tyre place has "deals" on 'em. Got a nail in my front tyre and I've been looking for an excuse to re-shoe the beast with some nice safe tyres, but not budget ones and obviously I want to keep the open wallet surgery to a minimum.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Read more
They're pretty good on my Passat diesel but 20K miles is the max from a front pair .... the factory fit Conti Sport Contacts lasted 34K!
Conti tyres are very good value for the small price premium, I've found, on this car and my wife's Punto
I have a high mileage car at around 180k. The engine sounds very rough at the moment with a clicking noise when accelerating. There is a lot of noise and vibration through the car particularly at idle when you can fell the engine pulsing through the steering wheel.
I have changed the cambelt, had a new injection belt fitted, had an oil change and a compression test all of which reveal nothing.
On a strange note if at some speed I turn right the engine goes completely smooth and silent and then i can feel the vibrations and noise coming back as i straighten up again.
Any suggestions much appreciated. Read more
Did you also change the tensioners and water pump when you had the belts done?
How did they do the pump timing? Do you know which injection system you have? MSA version?
How is the fuel economy?
Have you checked the bits of metal around the exhaust?
What about the intercooler pipes?
just needed to know which side drive shaft/cv joint is needed to replace as every time i turn left whilst driving it clicks/knocks through the steering wheel.
thanks Read more
CV joint?
Hi all, hoping to tap the collective wisdom/experience of the backroom.
SWMBO is now approaching the half way point of pregnancy with our 3rd little one , so the time is coming to say goodbye to her trusty Ka which we bought new in 2002.
She is rather a 'hesitant' driver so I really don't think a vehicle the size of a Picasso/Scenic would be manageable- the Ka is littered with battle scars and on its 3rd set of wheel trims if that makes sense .
I was thinking along the lines of a Meriva- we have to get in 2 boosters for the 6 and 9 year old along with seating for the new one when the time comes. Any other compact-ish cars we should consider or is the Meriva the only one/ the wrong one?
We would be happiest if the kids could all go in the back when the time comes to lose the baby seat but happy if it goes in the front at first.
I have a 3 dr 05 Astra with 3 belts in the back so I hope this will be fine for me - I keep my cars in tip top condition and the thought of it ending up in the cosmetic shape of the Ka brings tears to my eyes!
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>Why does a booster seat ensure that a belt can't be incorrect?
Why? To protect the child from internal injury caused by the belt transferring energy to the soft parts of the abdomen in an accident.
How? If you look at a booster, you'll see it's thicker at the front than at the back, so raising the child's knees a little and naturally tilting the child back into the seat. The horns at the side then guide the lower belt over the pelvic bones and prevent it from sliding up over the abdomen. The booster also positions the child better relative to the diagonal belt - and allows a better view out - but the correct positioning of the lower belt is its primary function.
Without a correctly shaped, hard booster, a child in a seat shaped for an adult will naturally slide down and forward, tilting the pelvis upward and under the lower seat belt. This is why a booster is required and a rolled-up blanket will not do.
The legal requirements, with some reasoning (although a deplorably inaccurate use of the word 'stomach'!) are all here: www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/childcarseats...m
There is no mention of Sim-O's clippy thing. It may be a bit better than a seat belt alone in the case where 'two occupied child seats in the rear prevent the fitment of a third', but it should be strictly for occasional use. My boys would have liked to take a friend along on a day out last week. Our car won't take a third seat in the back - and there's no override for the front airbag - so I said no.
Sorry if this sounds patronizing or sanctimonious, but I've gone for spelling it out as plainly as I can because it really matters, and there's some truly appalling ignorance and recklessness out there. No-one who even aspires to being a responsible parent should need the law to tell them to do this stuff - and to read enough to understand why it's important.
I have a Ford Ka which I purchased from a large dealership 4 years ago. The dealership has several branches. When buying, I initially went to the dealership in town A, but found the salesman more helpful at the dealership in town B, so I purchased the car at that branch. However since town A is much more convenient, I have always had the car serviced at the branch there.
A few weeks ago, I got a telephone call from the dealership, saying that they noticed my car was due for servicing, and could they book me in. I had been planning to phone them, so I said "Yes" and proceeded to book the car in for a service followed by an MOT.
Yesterday I turned up at the garage with the car. I gave my name, and the car registration number. She had a bit of difficulty finding my booking. She asked if I had been contacted by the call centre, and I said that I had. She went and looked again, and came back with papers, which I signed. I had booked a courtesy car, so she gave me the keys, and off I went. At 4.30, I came back and picked up my car, serviced and MOTed, and went home.
This morning I got a telephone call from the dealership saying that I hadn't showed up, and would I like to book in on another date. I assured the lady on the telephone that I had indeed showed up, and the work had been done to my satisfaction - adding that it had been done at the branch in town A. She then told me that the booking was for the branch in town B. No mention of this had been made in the original phone call, and I had just assumed it was the town A branch, since they have done all the previous services. She wasn't bothered, so it seems that all is well that ends well.
The totally astonishing thing was that the branch in town A had managed not only to fit me in without any problem, but had also given me a courtesy car! Read more
I cannot imagine any dealer wanting my wife sat in their showroom for 4 hours in the mood she would be in if they had done that to her.
Just had a week on Jersey and hired a Fusion 1.4 diesel. It looks like you can get one for about 8.5k and I have to say it seems a very practical car. Loads of room in the boot and for a 1.4 diesel reasonable performance. The interior was very functional and the switchgear simple to use. The driving position is higher than a normal saloon which I quite liked. Read more
Well largely so anyway.
Calais - Lille - Belgian border: Autoroutes, well surfaced, not too much traffic.
Belgium Mons - Charlerois - Namur - Ardennes: Auoroutes, well surfaced, very little traffic
Belgian main roads: some rubbish surfaces but generally very smooth, very little traffic
Belgian minor roads: mixed bag, very little traffic
Luxembourg: didn't travel extensively but what I did experience was very good surfaces and very little traffic.
Everywhere: no over-regulation of traffic, no over-signing, no cameras; motorists treated like responsible adults.
Iffy surfaces vs BMW M Sport suspension aside, the driving was a joy. I think I'll be back for a second helping come half-term. Read more
So you've never been scared witless by a stream of Porches doing 150mph up the
autobahn? In the rain...
It's not so much the speed, it's the fact that they often drive about 2 car lengths apart at 100mph that worries me more...and personally, I've found the BMW drivers the most aggressive.
Most of the germans do seem to know what they are doing on the motorway, but they just don't seem to be able to get the hang of safe following distances.
You go to a show with classic cars and one of them is a 1990 XR3i cabriolet!
Of more interest was a 1965 Anglia. The car had been owned by the same couple for almost 40 years, then the owner died and his wife became too ill to drive and it was sold to the present owner.
Mileage was 46,500 and they had every piece of paper ever issued for the car, including the sales order which makes interesting reading in comparison to car costs now - I have recalculated costs to today's prices.
The car was a basic spec, not a 'deluxe'. On the road price was £547 (£7,311), but this included some interesting options. Cabin heater £14 (£187) and two wing mirrors supplied and fitted £12 (£160!). Reg plates were £2 (£26) and a years road tax £15 (£200), purchase tax was £3 (£39).
The car had had just one major piece of work which was the replacement of the front wings. Unfortunately the paint colour couldn't be matched accurately due to colour fade of the original car, but the owner is intending on getting the car resprayed at some point in the original grey paint.
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I remember being in the car with my sister at the grand old age of 37, when this topic came up..
my response was, "When you've been driving for longer, than you weren't allowed to." at that time it was 17/20, now it's 17/25 oh my word.
Can anyone recommend a servicing and repair specialist for my '03 MX5 1.8i in the Swindon or Newbury areas please?
Kind Regards
Hugh Read more
It's not quite swindon or newbury, but I used to take ours to Rotechniks nr reading.
A superb independant mazda specialist who'd i'd recommend.
www.myrx8.co.uk/
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Thanks very much. We will give that a go. Regards.