February 2008
How often do you have to change the timing belts on a J reg Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8 TD.
Mathew
{3 requests to include year and engine details in the subject header and you missed all of them!} Read more
Hi,I am having heater problems with the heater on my 1997 1.8GLX Petrol Model.When I turn the blower on it blows warm for a short while,then it goes cold.There is nothing wrong with the cooling system as it gets to normal on the temp gauge.There is no oil in the water and all the pipes that I can get to are getting hot.I am sure there are no headgasket issues.Any ideas? Thanks Andrew...
{3 requests to include year and engine details in the subject header and you missed all of them!} Read more
Thankyou Screwloose,I will give that a try.Andrew...
After 110,000 enjoyable , but expensive at times, miles in the Passat Estate, I've made a change.
'Get something sporty SWMBO' said, in a rash moment. So a pre-reg black Hyundai Coupe SIII, 2 litre is mine. Took delivery in a snow shower and it has been freezing fog all day. Initial impressions are that it is a torquey and easy to drive car even at the 3000rpm limit imposed for the first 500 miles.Plenty of room for my 6'2". Lots of goodies to entertain me. And I think it looks great!
Read more
Nice one! Will be interested to hear how you and the HC get on together. It's on my maybe list.
All,
I have a Ford Mondeo diesel, 1.8. It now shakes quite a lot when I apply the brakes and if the car is travelling at about 40-60mph, especially the steering wheel there the shaking is most prominent. Below this (say at 20mph), there is no shaking when I brake.
Does anyone know what is causing this? And will be an expensive repair?
Thanks in advance.
{3 requests to include year and engine details in the subject header and you missed all of them! As you've not even bothered to mention the year in the main post, I've picked up the range of years from the drop down menu that you chose} Read more
Another tell tale sign of warped discs is uneven braking at low speeds under light brake pedal pressure. Drive at say 20 mph and gently apply the brakes, just to the point where you start to feel them bite. If the discs are warped you'll feel the braking effort won't be constant - you'll get a perceptible increase and decrease despite constant pedal pressure, and possibly accompanied by a gentle pulsing feeling from the pedal.
Don't be tempted by the cheap "non-brand" disc and pad bundles off Ebay either. I did this once, and the discs lasted 3,000 miles before warping like a length of DIY shop timber. The pads used to rumble and fade after one good stop from motorway speeds as well.
The brakes on these cars are excellent if in good order. My MOT tester always comments on how powerful and progressive they are. "Lovely brakes, them" he says.
Cheers
DP
Well the deal on the above is done and our last decision concerns the spare supplied. It's an easy question I suppose but which should we go for? I'm inclined not to like spacesavers but it does give a lot more room in the boot and will be easier to change if/when the worst happens. The car won't be used for long/motorway runs much if at all so are there any other issues we should consider before deciding which to go for?
Thanks all! Read more
Yes - tested it on Saturday morning - seemed pretty much spotless so, so far so good. Will let you know how it turns out though.
Re the gunk - she'll carry a compressor whatever else happens. Yes I'd heard that about some tyre places not being keen on the stuff - the stuff we have apparently inflates as well as seals flat tyres so if that's true, a tyre which is so badly holed the gunk won't fix it probably wouldn't be repairable anyway.
I am finding it difficult to sell a used 2001 V5 gs Auto freelander .I realise that four wheel drive is not popular nowadays ,but the buy your car for cash websites only come up with very derisory offers .No one can be that desperate . I am very non- mechanical and selling to a private individual fills me with a little dread ,also taking into account the various scams one hears about ,I wonder whether I might make a terrible mistake . Reason for sale is ,a friend has a very desirable car for sale ,so obviously the transaction cannot include P/Ex .Also I am becoming tired of the gas guzzling antics of this car .
Any suggestions?
John Todd
I assume the reference to the V5 is a typo and it should read V6 ? Read more
BCA Sure Sell Auction - they will give you an estimate of the SP and their charges. You can put a reserve on it to ensure it does not go under the hammer for a derisory amount
So went with daughter today to pick up her Colt after its first annual service at the supplying dealer.
OK, I'm already cross because Mitsubishi wouldn't allow us to buy their £150 for 3yrs servicing deal, as we bought the car 3mths before they introduced that. Receptionist cheerfully presented a bill for £200. "Errr...how does that relate to the £125+VAT that you (and, separately, your colleague) quoted us when we booked the car in"?
Cue completely baffled looks and much searching (even though they'd managed to quote without any hesitation) through "the system" to find how they could possibly have quoted us less.
I queried why the body warranty section hadn't been stamped. Service Manager was produced to say that was optional, and would be charged at 30mins. That it is a separate item is bad enough, but I'd been told beforehand when I queried the work required that the £125(+VAT) included a body inspection. Mind you, she also said it included the "engine oil gasket drain" (deciphering the invoice tells me this is the sump plug washer!).
They also washed the car and in the sunshine its previously perfect paint now has swirl marks that wouldn't look out of place on an ice rink.
The only thing actually wrong with the car is excessively baulky gearchange and that came back as "unable to reproduce fault". Read more
2 years ago I noticed the inner wheel arches rusting and
now the paint on the outter section on both sides is bubbling in the same
places.
It's perhaps a bit late now, but as you've owned the car from new and if you're still dealing with the same dealer, then you may well have had a Sale of Goods act case on the grounds of durability.
That happened on many MB cars in a certain age range, and MB will repair them, under goodwill, even if they've been serviced outside the MB network.
Hello all. I've a small problem with the heating in my Laguna and any assistance would bw most welcome. The car has a digital control for the heating. All aspects of the unit work just fine except for the heating only on the drivers side. She has heating on the passenger side and thus has no problem. But the lack of heat on my side is driving(excuce pun) me mad. I was quoted ?50 for a diagnostic on the system, and ?600 for a new digital control panel. a bit steep I'd say. Any body had/have a similar problem? Thanks Read more
Hi all,
I've got a 2002 1.9dci with what sounds like a similar problem, everything works fine apart from i only get cold air from the drivers side.
I found a really good renault forum on the net, but for the life of me cant remember what it was called, but someone had posted on there, that it is your right hand mixer motor that is at fault, not the control panel. apparently, there are approximately 8 different motors on these fully auto climate units.
The motors are about £45 from renault or a good motor factors, but unless your a contortionist, you need to take the dashboard out, to change this one in particular.
I got quoted for this from renault at about the same as a new control unit (approximately £600), whether or not it would be cheaper to buy the motor and get a local garage to have a go i'm not sure, but for now i've got round the problem by turning the heating on the passenger side to max, and then pressing the re-circulate button (right hand temp control inner button) until the red light appears, after a while warmish air comes through.
Hope this helps a bit
Simon
snipquote
Story here
tinyurl.com/2lxnfu
Comments are interesting - someone even compared this with WW2 fighting spirit ;)
Read more
....and of course, there is the obligatory "I had to get my kid/granny/Mum/Dad/dog/cat (delete as appropriate) to the doctor/hospital/dog fight club" (delete as appropriate)
But, again, people will extract the Michael when it comes to parking. Got a parking space but two or three cars? use someone elses space, got a space and a garage? and two cars? fill the garage with junk and use someone elses parking space.
Cannot count the times my daughter has got home from a long day at work to find some inconsiderate oik has parked in her clearly marked spot without even so much as a note or phone number. In my own block, some oik has dumped his Jag without tax in one of the 7 spaces. Been there since May 07. His wife has a car she parks in slot 2 of 7 spaces. Yes, they have a garage but filled with detritus from their home run business.
I tell you, I would love clampers to come visit!
Hi,
I am close to completing the purchase of a new(ish) sports car from Car Giant. The problem is they will only me trade for my current car, a 1998S Audi A3 1.8 SE.
The Audi is in good condition for its age with top spec and I know I can get over £2,500 for it with a (reasonably) quick sale through Autotrader but don't really want to spend time photographing it and then having people coming to my house, idiot vendors calling up and the risk of somebody being unhappy in future and knowing where I live.
I'd be happy to accept £2,000 for it (Car Giant offered £1,500). Do you think this can be achieved through auction or am I best to sell it privately? I have never tried an auction before, Sure Sell looks good but they charge their commission and I still need to drive it there.
Thanks for your help.
Read more
As a private entry at auction, buyers will be suspicious. Even on a good day it would be unlikely to make above trade book at auction, coupled with the fact its a private entry and I'd say you are looking at below trade value
Browse
That would be the reference to "both" belts.....