November 2007
Hi all,
Went for a lovely drive this afternoon, the weather was great with the roof off and Barry Manilow jamiroquai on the iPod.
Found petrol was a lot cheaper in Barnsley than around home so filled up and then drove to the McDonalds near Stocksbridge on the A628 for a coffee.
When I got back to the car I was genuinely disturbed by the smell of petrol around the car, took me a good couple of minutes to work out what it was. I've attached a picture on the HJ site so maybe you could work it out more quickly?
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/2007album.msnw?action=Sh...8
I sometimes wonder if they should let me out on my own without my medication....
Lee
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Dahonist Read more
Driving through Kidderminster today. An event in itself I know... however, saw an 07 reg Rover 75. Now that got me thinking. AFAIK, Rover have not produced cars since 2004 (54 or 05) at very latest. Cherished reg plates don't allow you to make the car look newer than i is, so how on earth does a 3 year old car drive away with a newarly new registration mark? Read more
The lwb 75 isn't exactly a limousine, despite the badge - the standard 75 was so short on legroom front & rear that it was competing with Focus, Astra & Golf - the lwb 75 was simply the car the 75 should have been from the outset, it would certainly have sold to a wider audience.
Focus Diesel 1.8 TDCI 03 plate - 115ps, 24K miles from new one owner.
This car was reluctant to start when only part warm,got towed into Ford Main dealer was there 5 (yes 5 ) weeks before they got it to start.
They replaced Diesel inj pump, PCM module, crankshaft sensor etc bill was £1919-22.
A few days later same thing refused to start towed in again.
Fault stayed intermittent for 6 months till it got so bad it had to be towed in to dealer again as I could not live with it.
This time they found it (by accident) - it was a chaffed lead under the gearbox, lead which fed the fuel delivery system making occasional contact.
I am hoping to sue the Dealer or Ford for the £1919-22 they charged me .
Am I alone on this one - can any one advise how I proceed.
Note Ford Customer Relationship Centre where NO USE at all didnt want to know..
I am sending details to motor mags and the popular press motor supplements.
typo in subject line fixed - PU
{it is now ;o) -DD} Read more
When you find one,please let us know!!!
I am looking for a good site for car valuations. I have looked at Parker's and What car but I was just wondering what sites you would recommend?
Thanks. Read more
Or
wisebuyers.co.uk
or
autotrader.co.uk
I won't be trading the Boxster for a while, so this is more out of interest than intent, but having spent an afternoon looking at moters on the trader website I saw some tasty 15k-ish motors:
* E39 M5
* E46 M3
* CLK 500
* Audi S4
Do these motors realistically cost more to run than a Boxster or is that naive? The Boxster isn't particularly cheap to run IMO. I'm not talking about insurance, fuel & tax, which will obviously be higher in these group 20 monsters, just servicing & maintenance & provisional budget for service parts etc.
With the Boxster it seems to cost about 1k-1.5k a year using specialists, which I can stomach (just). I know the M3 needs valve clearances adjusted by BMW periodically @ quite a cost. I'm not fussed about using main dealers if I don't have to although it might be more appropriate with a 5 year old car like this than my 9 year old Porsche.
Interested to get views on this especially from anyone who has run one of these beasts Read more
I'd say all of them would be more expensive to run than a Boxster and, on average, pretty much all of them go wrong more often.
The E39 M5 is probably the first one I'd avoid unless you get it with a BMW used warranty. They may be great cars but can be hideously expensive to run once they start getting on in a few years and miles. Also, like any E39, they can get quite sloppy once they reach a few miles and the suspension has not been overhauled.
On the Audi's the gearboxes have a tendancy to go pop about 80k. Audi say they are sealed for life but actually need the fluid changing about every 40k if you want the gearbox to last. I've also known several Audi V8 engines to start burining through loads of oil at about 70k miles.
They're all nice cars but unless you do a very low mileage if you can't afford a newer lower mileage example think very hard indeed about it. I doubt any of them will get 20mpg.
hi all, could someone please help ?
I'm in the process of fitting a handsfree kit to my ford mondeo estate 2000 W reg auto petrol. i need to know what wires i need to tap into to get negative, positive, and ignition also mute if you know it. the four colours on my handsfree kit are
red positive......... to what colour on stereo loom
blue,ignition.........to what colour on stereo loom
yellow, mute.........to what colour on stereo loom
black, negative.........to what colour on stereo loom
any help would be most appreciated. i have no electrical testing equipment.
thanks
kevin.
Tweak to subject line. Read more
Try Soundlinx.co.uk and search for mondeo power & mute interface.hth
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7077591.stm
Diversion details above. Read more
Sometimes, normally when its cold, the central locking activates without warning even with the keys in the ignition & the engine running!
Any ideas?
Thanks
Read more
Hi,
Mine locks up even when driving. I too carry the spare key but I've got into the habit of dropping the drivers window down if I get out of the car with the engine running - caught me once but fortunately I was only at the bottom of our drive.
Thanks for your interest
Regards
Bri
Just road tested Freelander2 auto & have to say I was impressed. Build quality far improved & even the dealer say's they would rather not talk about the original freelander. It appears to have the ford/psa 2.2d with 400nm tourque at 2000rpm which is just what I am looking for a 6 speed auto box. Quick for a hulk as well, very grunty . A little juciy but apart from that it has a good towing capacity which hopefully means the box is strong. Has anyone actually experienced any problems yet. I have spoken to a couple of dealers independent of a sales inquirey & they say they are the best vehicle for reliability they have had the pleasure of dealing with.
Doc Read more
Further long-term test update of FL2 TD4 auto in last week's Autocar - they note:
Road noise on high speed runs
Average test "economy" = 27 mpg!!
P.S. - GBP34k - and that's without all the bells and whistles.
Yeah but over here I think you can get them new, fully loaded, for $35,000 apparently. I thought I might get a low mileage 1 year old one or something. But not if they're a basket case !
I spent a very pleasant couple of hours this morning on the corner of Streatham Common watching this pass.
I know every car was now over one hundred years old, and the brakes leave something to be desired, but I was positioned at traffic lights, and I was amazed by the number that 'ran a red'. Not one of them (five hundred odd) hit anything while I was watching. Although I'm sure much of this was due to the reactions of the gobsmacked drivers of more modern vehicles being confronted with a side on view of something that's lasted a century or more.
Do the authorities turn a blind eye to the junctions that have cameras covering them? Read more
>>There was a rather grand chap on a pennyfarthing who was overtaking the traffic, too - presumably a local rather than a long distance peddler
Two penny farthings passed Streatham Common. I wonder?
Browse
'scuse me while I hijack your post :)
heading towards mum's 18 years ago with 6 month old son in an immaculate '74 Ford Granada Ghia saloon. sniff sniff smells like petrol, oh well only another 5 mins 'till I'm there, will have a look then. 3 mins later the car suddenly fills with black smoke; exit one Granny (the car not the lady). Anyone who tells you petrol onto an exhaust won't ignite hasn't had a rubber fuel line perish on a V6 Essex.