November 2007
Been reading forum for a few weeks now and enjoying the banter twixt various contributors ! I wonder if anyone else is mildly bemused by car fashion ? Why do certain brands or even sub brands appeal more than others ? It is not always evident that function has won out over form ! I have had something over 35 cars in my driving life. Some of which were so called premium brands. While there is no denying that some of them were very nice, I think I finally realised a couple of years ago that you don't actually have to buy a premium brand to get a good car. I currently have a Mondeo Estate which seems to do pretty much everything I want it to and sometimes ponder on why people get so locked into having to have the "right" badge. S'pose it depends on what "floats your boat ! " and long live freedom of choice I guess.
Read more
I have inherited my late father's Audi A6 petrol Avant and whilst it generally runs well and returns 34mpg I have had a nagging problem. It has a misfire sometimes! It is more a hesitation or hiccup rather than a regular miss. The odd thing is that if the engine is switched off and restarted it normally totally dissappears. When I first got it, 10,000 miles ago I replaced the rotor arm, dis cap and plugs but the leads look fine. The fact that it can run clean makes me think it is a sender or of course the ECU. As it is not dire and not changing in its occurance I am reluctant to replace everthing or of course pay a dealer more than the value of the ncar!!. Any help appreciated. Cheers Roger Read more
I now have the answer!! John Bowles VW/Audi specialist in Sevenoaks had the car for three days and changed the thermostat, some improvement, changed the air-control valve, no change so old one put back, the lamda sensor changed, had been running rich, and finally found that the ECU RELAY was at fault. Now perfect
Bought 4 glow plugs for the old 620D that we use as a runabout. Can only see 3 plugs yet the electrical dealer's book definietly said 4. Am I missing something?
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad. Read more
Thanks Screwloose.
Difficult job getting them out. Steel screwed in to aluminium. British engineering at its best.
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
Has anyone else noticed that after the adverts on C4, just before the start of the next programme, they always show two cars and how not to drive on a motorway, both swerving over to the left, extremely late to avoid a contra flow, whats that all about, what's the relevance to anything other than showing 2 idiots who can't drive.
Also for csgmart who on IHAQ 107 was looking for a Nintendo wii, did you have any luck??.
If not try Talksport how low auction, they seem to have got hold of some and auction them off, otherwise if you need 2 mobile phones check out www.dialaphone.co.uk/sun, they were advertised as a FREE WII with any 2 phones Read more
Well spotted hamsafar.
And the cars are a just a side show to the number 4 being shown as road working equipment on the roads. Look a bit further up the screen next time.
If it were real the cars driving like that would have been BMW's cutting across at the last minute. (Sorry pug).
Hey,
Looking to purchase an 03/04 plate Seat Leon SE.
Originally had my heart set on the 1.8 (non Cupra/FR) and having been for a test drive I felt this was the car for me. However, had continued my research into the models and the 1.8 is listed as to be avoided on What Car - although this gives no justification into the verdict. There also doesn't seem to be many cars with low enough miles in good enough condition around to purchase and I'm now looking towards the 1.6.
The 1.6 seems readily available, and mainly private owners which I would prefer. The price range also seems to be lower, partly due to the amount on the market.
Does anyone have any comments on the 1.6/1.8, or why the 1.8 would be rated "as to be avoided". Also, I'm struggling to find the difference between the SE and the SX models, they seem the same to me!
Read more
I'm afraid Diesel is just not for me!
It's nice to have a change and drive the work Diesel (Although, it's the 1.7 Astra Estate) but I really like getting back into my petrol!
Think I'm heading towards the 1.6 ... need to do some research into the 1.8 VW engines, didn't realise they had alot of problems...
Hey (First post Whoop!)
I am looking into purchasing a 03/04 plate Seat Leon SE within the next few weeks. I've heard conflicting stories of purchasing a car before Christmas, such that demand is increased as more people have time off yet prices are more competitive because Christmas is looming and more people don't have the money to buy at this time of year.
Having thread some of the car buying used threads, I've not been able to find anything that relates to this directly.
Does anyone have any tips or guideance for buying before Christmas? Are targets usually set for Mid December or End of December - is there many used car targets even?
Thanks in advance...
Read more
Bought a seat toledo the fortnight before christmas from seat main dealer, less than 1 year old, 4K miles for £9995, should have been nearer £13K. He almost polished my shoes as well when I declared serious interest so near to the festive season...or maybe he was already drunk from staff partying! Either way, especially if you are part exchanging as well, I wouldn't wait til January-I think you will find plenty of receptive, eager salesmen desperate to earn their quota. Also, the workshops are quieter, so the chances are you will get a good service and proper valet pre delivery.
Pete
I got some new glow plugs for my old car [to get it half decent to sell it!] - but when taking the old glow plug out, the bit of the engine which the glow plugs screw into broke off! ...I was just asking what that bit is called, I'm not sure if its the cylinder head because I've looked at some images of cylinder heads and none of them have a top cover bit...
The top cover bit [which the glow plugs screw into] is what is broken, none of the internals! ...Can that be replaced on its own? if so does it have a name?
Cheers! Read more
I had a spark plug blow out of my Simca 1100 Special, left an interesting dent in the bonnet! No thread left at all so as a temporary bodge secured it using an L shaped bracket mounted to a nearby bolt. This bodge was still there nearly a year and many thousands of miles later when I sold it. (ok not so high compression as a diesel)
Hi forumers,
Just wondered if you could possibly give me some advice. I am looking to get a van for my florist business and originially thought about going down the contract hire route. I was looking at the Nissan Primastar and found a couple of places online who looked like they had some good deals.
I contacted one who gave me a contract hire quote which sounded OK and after giving it some thought I gave some details to go through the finance check. I was passed for credit and was sent an order form confirming the price etc. I was told they were looking for some stock availability so the order form was just a sort of confirmation of the price and vehicle etc without actually having a vehicle details on it, colour, registration number, extras etc. I told the guy that I needed a vehicle ASAP.
In the meantime the other company got back to me and after discussing some finance options with them they suggested going for a finance lease which gave me a bit more flexibility of perhaps buying at the end or selling it midway through the contract if needed. This sounded a good deal and after speaking with my accountant I asked this company to check stock. They came back with an excellent deal, a vehicle in stock and whats more they are very local to me. I went through the credit, I paid a credit card deposit and have got the Reg & Chassis numbers here and once the docs have been signed i can expect the vehicle delivered to me next week.
Meanwhile I hadnt heard from this other contract hire company so when I phoned to tell them that I now had a vehicle secured elsewhere they told me the 'order' was only cancelable if I paid a £750 + V.A.T. fee. Now, I never paid this first company any money, they didnt tell me what vehicle I was 'ordering' and they were still checking stock.
So, now they are threatening me with legal action etc if I dont pay them this money. But surely they couldnt have incurred any costs within TWO days?? Furthermore, I don't want the contract hire deal and this company are based some distance from me.
Can anybody please give me some advice as to whether this first company have a case against me. Yes I did sign an 'order' form but what did I actually order since there was no actual vehicle involved.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Kind Regards,
Kelly. Read more
Munckin have you sought professional advice?
That is exactly the thing to do.
Phone a solicitor, or firm. Outline the problem, and ask whether they can deal with it.
See them, taking all bumph and a timeline, + what you said, they said. Just that, not your opinions, or anyone elses.
Let me guess... provincially? £200.
I'm sure that this has surfaced before and I guess I know the answer but for reassurance a person previously driving a company vehicle for the past 5 years now made redundant has to seek his own insurance policy.He's had no accidents in that time and therefore has a legitimate right to ncd.How does he formally get the required documentary proof to satisfy his new insurance company? Read more
Been in this situation a couple of times before. I have been taken at my word as a regular driver and not having any claims. Pointless to state otherwise, in the event of a claim you would not be covered. But I have known letters issued by company HR to state that the use of the vehicle was constant for xx years etc etc. Don't worry, your record is easy to establish. Best of luck. Concrete
My fuel pump has packed in (£105 to get recovered off the motorway - ouch!!) The car was a good runner previously sailing through the MOT every year so I am reluctant to scrap it.
How big a job is it to change the fuel pump (mechanical drive - not electric), and the cam belt at the same time, as I can't get any mechanics to change the pump with a second hand scrap yard one? They will only fit new parts. One mechanic told me that I needed a diesel specialist as it needs setting up but another told me that is rubbish but he won't do it. The diesel speciallist said it would cost £100 to diagnose that the fuel pump is broken which I have done already and £500 (the value of the car!!) to fit a recon pump.
Thanks in advance for any help/ advice
Read more
Thanks for your replies.
I don't know what type of pump it is. I've been told that it is the same as a Saxo.
I don't know what exactly has gone wrong with the pump. If I remove the fuel cut off solenoid and pump the primer ball the diesel spills out as expected. If I crack off the injectors there is no fuel getting through when I turn the engine over (with the fuel solenoid plunger removed). I have removed the cam belt cover and everything is turning OK. I presume it is something wrong internally on the pump. The failure was a sudden complete loss of engine power as I was accelerating onto the motorway (ie engine was dead)
If it is not a major job I will give it a go. Can these pumps be reconditioned or is it a job for the experts?
Browse
This is a really good post actually and I have to also agree with nearly all the comments. The more you read about the current mondeo the more you think why would anyone bother with anything else - including a 3 series. Ford are also getting their reliability act together and have been producing fairly reliable cars for along time. If they got the dealers sorted in the same way surley they must be home and dry ?
On the subject of car fashion, you must have all noticed how the whites and browns are coming back into fashion, it remindes me of some of the colours on life on mars.
I think I'll let my side burns start growing and get the flares out so I would look really good in a brown mondeo.