August 2007
Neighbour is buying a new Mazda CX7 and has for sale his 4 yr old Mazda 6 Sport4 - AWD 2.3 automatic estate car with 20K mls.
They are almost as rare as hen's teeth - does any BR have one / had experience of in the past. If you have the TS2 model this must be similar apart from the 4WD - what are your experiences.
I would get it for the trade-in price offered by the dealer - it has done just under 20K mls in the 4 years.
I have an 9yr old Mazda Xedos6 and it has been nigh perfect in the 8yrs I have had it so my Mazda experiences have so far been 99% positive. Read more
Hi all
The subject spells it out really.
At high speed (>60mph) the engine intermittently stutter for a second and then regains power.
I have checked the normal fluids (I am not a mechanic by any stretch) but wondered if it is something obvious
I am currently running a couple of mile to work and on short B road runs it is fine
please help
Booted over from discussion -PU Read more
thanks for that bell boy
My old Clio (1171 cc type "E" engine, poverty spec "Oasis" model) has started showing red (charging) light on dashboard sometimes. Goes out usually if engine is buzzed, but eventually comes back on. May be worse when wet, and has been getting more frequent. Drive belt is secure /tight. When light is out my multimeter shows that the battery is getting charged (14.4v ish), including when loaded (lights on etc) if engine is buzzed.
I suspect alternator (brushes?).
- What do you think?
- Where can I buy alternator brushes?
- if its the regulator is that included in an exchange alternator?
- and how on earth do I get the alternator out without removing the engine? It is sandwiched between the engine & bulkhead, Haynes says take it out over top (after removing wheel arch liner etc), but that would mean removing the inlet manifold! I am speechless .....
Appreciate your wisdom thanks. Read more
Thanks again to all for your help. All sorted with a replacement alternator. Thanks to those nice people at GSFCarParts who supplied the alternator at a rather decent price. And it all came out / went back without remove of the driveshaft - took the battery off, and squeezed the alternator around the back of the engine / over the steering rack up & out over the gearbox. Yippee!
Having three kids the youngest of which is now on a booster seat I was surprised at HJ's advise reagarding child seats in Sat's DT, I quote:
"Never, ever rely on an inertia-reel belt to locate a child seat"
Having researched and invested in childseats over a 13 year period I am really not convinced that this is sound advise because this is how the majority of child seats are designed to fit into cars and we have many friends and relations that locate child seats in this way.
HJ, a clarification would be appreciated? Read more
HJ,
Any comments?
Thanks.
Does anybody know about this? I have been in an incident recently where I think somebody may have tried taking a photo of my number plate with a camera phone with the intention of using it for cloning purposes. I have let the police know and i'm also planning to write to the dvla to inform them.
Just wanted to know if anybody has any knowledge and if my worries are warranted. Read more
Me I tke pictures of everything and anything if it looks interesting (not done any of car number plates though), you don't even know that your cars been cloned. Stop worrying and enjoy the extra days holiday !
my idle seems to be getting rougher every week, it is getting quite noisy now (small knock/rattle) and seems to have a very small wobble/vibration.
there also seems to be a lot of noise from within the exhaust while accelerating.
once i get on the motorway the noise levels seem normal, its only in the lower RPM's.
i also suspect my VSS is on the way out as the speedo occasionally goes a little haywire and i have had to turn off AVC on radio cos of the volume issue.
Any suggestions? before i get shut of it!
wish i had fixed my head gasket on the scenic now, instead i got this thing instead!
Its had New CAT, O2 sensor, plugs, oil & filter, Air filter. still runs like swearing deleted Read more
Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 2002 model
Apparently it gets mistaken for a triumph mayflower! you know the one.
As an aside form the Secrret Life of the Motorway thread I was thinking where new motorways should be built for the economic benefit of the Country.
Two for starters.
A link from somewhere around Leeds/Bradford north west to the M6 to allow better access to north Lancs, Cumbria and Scotland. HGV drivers must spend hours queuing on the M62 around the Manchester conurbation to access the M61 then M6. You actually travel south from Leeds to Manchester before going north again. IIRC it was planned for during the 1960s but never happened.
A second would be a cross Pennine route from Sheffield to Manchester - conversion of the old Woodhead railway line has been mooted, but will this ever happen?
Anymore? Read more
>> >>
see pathetic.org.uk/unbuilt/m67_manchester_to_sheffiel.../
>>
I live/work/drive nowhere near there, so it wouldn't have affected me one way or the other - but fascinating all the same!
I have a Ford Mondeo TDCi on a 54 plate. After an extended motorway run I stopped for 10 mins. On rejoining the motorway I noticed a noise like rushing air when accelerating. The torque is down and grey smoke is appearing from the exhaust. MPG is also down (according to the computer). It is running a bit lumpy when accelerating. There are no strange noises at tick over and there are no warning lights flashing. I got home OK but am not happy. Turbo problems?
Any suggestions?
Read more
An "extremely competent local mechanic" sounds like the perfect choice.
So with very little delay, as there was one with parking sensors in the VW system, a VW Golf estate 2.0 TDI replaced the B-class last Wednesday, with not a wet eye in the house.
So far so good - very good.
Best things -
Even from brand new, there's plenty of response to the accelerator. VAG diesels take up to 10,000 miles to loosen up fully, so there's an even better time coming. I'll follow HJ's recommendations for running in - as always, many thanks HJ. There's an element of the sudden rush of shove, but this is a 140 rather than a 170 and it's easy to keep it under control.
Gearchange is a delight - I went for a manual partly to save money partly as I can control the revs and minimise turbo lag. DSG is good, but I still think for a diesel automatic you need 2.5 litres or more.
Ride / handling compromise excellent - much better than any of its predecessors, especially the lovely direct steering response. For normal driving I don't think it's inferior to the benchmark Focus or even a BMW.
Comfort and accommodation are fine - the seat has proper wheeled adjustment for backrest and lumbar support and the steering wheel moves both ways as it should.
Not-so-good -
Only niggle so far is that you have to take the rear headrests off to lower the seat. But we don't often have people in the back so I'll leave them off most of the time.
If you wonder why I didn't wait till September to get a 57 registration, the Mercedes, so they said, would have been worth less in Septemer than August. Which being trasnslated means that the VW dealer had their August quota to make up. But I don't think it maks much difference nowadays. Being the first of a new model, the Golf estate should hold its value well anyway.
I'm going to enjoy driving again now without having to resort to the Mini. Wish me luck. Read more
Golf Estate looks OK.
BUT you can still buy a Passat Estate for the same money and it is well equipped. That is why I bought a Passat rather than a Golf- seemed much better value.
Hello everyone,
My mid-life crisis is obviously not yet over. Hooray! I have had a wonderful year with my pretty Suzuki Swift (thanks to all who recommended - you've got great taste). But... having driven something small and very, very nippy for a while, I now feel an overwhelming urge to drive something gigantic, huge, mega, big, gigantic and anti-social. However, my road-domination must be achieved on a very tight budget. Can you make any suggestions?
I could probably afford a new cheap SUV or a second-hand posh one. I tend to prefer new because I am always afraid of people dumping lemons in forecourts. I am a bit scaredy cat. So far I've considered:
KIA Sportage
KIA Sorrento (what is this car? What is the diff between that and the Sportage? Why does Honest John like it so much? It looks nice to me? Is it ok?)
Suzuki Gran Vitara
or older
RAV4s (do these look boring? Or haven't I learned how to appreciate SUVs yet? I am a novice.)
the CR-thingie - that new Honda one
Landrover Freelander (my husband wants this but the one I saw looks like a housebrick)
Calling all SUV owners and drivers. What should I do? What can I afford? What do you drive? How do you like it?
I have about £15k but could probably stretch a bit for something very nice. The biggest problem will be finding a garage to sell a car to me. The KIA garage said it had no cars - it could get one but from 100 miles away. The Suzuki garage had nothing to test drive because the boss had gone on holiday in it. Have they no cars or do they just not want to sell them?
All opinions very gratefully received.
Alijazz
PS I like the look of the Sorrento. Would be particularly interested to hear about these, especially diesels. Read more
"How well you all know me."
Alijazz,
You don't need advice on which car to buy - you need a psychiatrist!!!! ;-)
(note smiley)
--
Phil
Browse
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Wasn't the only UK Mazda6 with 4WD the MPS with 2.3 turbo petrol and a manual gearbox. This sounds like an import or am I wrong? All sorts available in Japan and easily imported as they drive on the left too. In fact their MOT writes off cars around 3 years old.
Rob