February 2008
I flashed past a very slow HGV in the rush hour on the M1 this morning on one of the Northern up gradients.
The surprise was an Axiam 500, just in front of it with a grim faced couple peering out and doing what looked like 35/40 MPH.
Now we have a couple of these locally and I got chatting to the old Gent who owned one outside the paper shop. Seemed like it was the `lack of stigma` compared to his previous three wheeler that he liked. He had never passed a car test and this, with advancing years was his only transport option where he could get out to the local beauty spots with his wife and a picnic.
Seemed ideal, as its all 30/40MPH limits here now even on our dual carriageways, for a substantial distance out of the city and in and out of the next villages.
Now I started with bikes and we were the generation before the 70mph limits, riding those cafe racers and doing a ton on local roads.
It always amused me after that to have to take a test to drive a slow little underpowered four wheel breadbin, but we all did and moved on.
For those who didn`t though, the Robin proved a nippy vehicle, although needing more skill to drive than the four wheel cars around it.
So the French rural transport solution (Cyclecars) doesn`t seem to fit well with our conditions or typical drivers, most of whom will be previously skilled bikers, unlike in France where I guess a typical user could have driven or ridden nothing at all?
To take one on the M1 though......
Regards Read more
I just thought I would get peoples opinion on the Advice I got from my Renault Dealership.Because I have been far from impressed with them in the past (two days after having a gold service and mot which cost me around £400 my battery failed ). I don't care if they say the battery isn't checked in a service /mot , it's a bit bad to have to call the AA two days after spending £400 on a maintainence check at a main dealer. Also according to a mechanic I spoke to last year they ripped me off completely in terms of the service.
So anyway I booked my car in today for another service and mot. The guy sounded quite disappointed when he said my service/mot would be somewhat cheaper this year and would probably be £120. He then just as I was about to end the call asked about my cambelt. My car has done 48000 miles. (I can walk to work and just use at weekends when Iam designated driver ). According to my renault handbook the cambelt should be changed not later than 72000 miles.He quoted me £500. I mentioned about what was said on the handbook and he said the cambelt also wears over time. How true is this? and anyone know exactly how many Renaults belts snap before 72000? The time period is not mentioned in the handbook as far as I can see. Call me Mr cynical but I don't fancy spending £620 unless I really have too esp as the car has a low milage for it's age. I drive like an old person because of the amount of speed cameras around here.
Read more
Hi, my renault laguna 1.8, 16v, 2002, done 28069 miles, rattles. It only starts rattling when is warm and idling under 1000rpm. When cold, it does not. CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE!
Dear John
Since purchasing my Mini Cooper S R56 I have had problems from the word go!
It all started off with a horrible diesel like rattle at cold start up, the dealer replaced the cam tensioner under warrenty, this had no effect and the problem continued, however to replace this the high pressure cam driven fuel pump had to be removed/replaced, My second trip to the dealer was to have this replaced as it was leaking post cam tensioner replacement, at the same time I told the dealer the diesel rattle sound at cold start up was still there, BMW tech reps were called in, they said they had seen this on the early build R56 engines and to replace the engine. The engine was then replaced, everything was perfect, then after 1500 miles travelling down the motorway the radiator pipe worked its way off due to the mechanic not putting a clip back on the pipe, this led to the water exiting the engine, As I was under pressure for work purposses I had to continue my journey another 25 motorway miles, I made it to the destination where I was met by a BMW tech, they towed the car back to the dealer and gave me a courtesy car.
The dealership are now replacing the Head gasket, Plugs, Coil pack and putting the water system right.
My question is, will the cylinder head and upper bore area be ok or from your experience do you think it will have warped? Will the engine be ok after having the cylinder head gasket replaced as people have told me it will never be the same again, is this true??
Many Thanks in advance for your reply.
Dean Read more
yeah except the OP DID include ALL that was necessary to identify the engine in his original post ....
The discussion wasn't so much about that. It was about failing to include the engine details and the year of manufacturer in the subject header.
Anyway, all in the past now (well it was)
DD.
Depending who you speak to, there appears to be different answers so can anyone please help me with a definitive one?
My Dad's Focus 1.8 Zetec is now 7.5 years old but it's only done about 47000 miles from new (he's retired!).
I told him that it must be due a cambelt swap as it's never had one. Having studied the handbook it seems to imply that it should be done at 5yrs or 50k. He mentioned the cambelt to his local garage when booking a routine annual service but was told that it only needs a belt swap at 10yrs or 100k! From what I could find in the handbook, it is only a Zetec E engine (1.4 & 1.6) that has a 10yr/100k limit and the 1.8 is 5yr/50k.
It seems odd that a garage would turn down work (obviously not a main dealer!) when a customer is happy to pay for it, but I am just a bit unsure about what is actually right as I don't wish my Dad's pistons to say "hello" to his valves any time soon!
Any advice would be appreciated - thanks! Read more
I have a 2001 model 2.0 Focus at just over 50000 miles and plan to to the change at 10 years. If I still have the car then I will also be fitting the full cambelt kit with the tensioner/pulley wheel, as I believe on zetecs in 99% of cases this is the piece that fails, not as many people think the cambelt snapping. I must say though I am not overly concerned and don't feel there is any need to do it early. Also your engine should have the revised cam-belt setup which was introduced in Jan 99 where they deleted the lower idler pulley.
Can someone give me the correct procedure for flushing and refilling the coolant on said car?
I intend to refill with long life coolant(red stuff) so want to make sure the current blue coolant is completely gone from system.....also is there a drain plug on the engine block.....or is it done through rad drain cock?
Thanks in advance! Read more
Further to above, the temperature gauge does not stay at one place while driving at high speed, it is erratic, goes towards the red and comes down (but never had it completely on the red)
In July last year I bought a brand new Astra SRi Sport Hatch 1.8. The car was superb and I had no issues with it. In September my circumstances changed and I got a new job with a company van with fully expensed fuel etc so I decided it was time to give my Astra up :-(. During this time my Girlfriends car decided to pack in and we decided to get rid of the astra (Mainly due to the fuel consumption) and downgrade. i went to Vauxhall and asked what they could do for me regarding a possible swap for another Astra (maybe a diesel?). They did not have anything suitable unless I was to add money to the deal (which I cannot afford to do). The salesman recommended a Corsa SXi (new) could be a better option to reduce the Fuel costs incurred with the astra. Now I don't really like the new Corsa and the ones he was showing me were bland apart from the last one which had a really tidy VXR kit and upgraded alloys on it. I took it for a test drive and it was fine. Back in the office the sales guy was saying that it would be much better on fuel etc and was showing me the figures of a combined 48MPG (great I thought). After a few weeks my girlfriend found she was filling the thing up constantly so I went back to Vauxhall to mention it. They took it in and hooked it up to their computer and found no problems. They suggested that I Fill it up 3 times and record the mileage and reset the counter each time to work out the average MPG. I have done this and they have worked it out to be 37MPG (about the same as the Astra). Now my problem is that they are saying that this is between the Urban (35MPG) and the Combined (48MPG) the miles being consumed are mainly motorway so not a lot of gear changing etc. I was assured when I bought the veichle that the extras would make very little (if any) difference. Can someone please advise what actions I can take next? Sorry for the long one but we are loosing a lot of money filling this overgrown go-kart up all the time!! Read more
I keep wondering whether to replace my Vectra 1.8 with a smaller car, to try and save money as I am soon retiring. I did fit into a Corsa, not quite as bad as Laurence Dalaglio on Top Gear into their car, but I did have the seat right back before I could get in. From reading these comments,it may be that I'd be as well off keeping with the Vectra, which has been good. It gives about 38 m.p.g. and after 28000 miles all the tyres are OK. And of course it is very comfortable, quiet, and has a big boot.
Hi,
My dads airbag light is constantly lit. Its not been deployed that we are aware. I have tried disconnecting the pretensioner under the seat but still lit.
Other than the sensor is there anything else that could be a 'quick fix'? Read more
I also used to fix lots of these and mostly soldering the connectors under the seat or the squib was the problem. Just to add to the advise when soldering use a gas soldering iron. I have seen a mains iron trigger off an air bag ! you have been warned
Hello all
I can use the central locking to lock the car's four doors from the driver's door. However, two things have been happening. First, when you unlock the driver's door it doesn't open the other three. Second, the car has been unlocking itself after, perhaps, 10 minutes of being 'locked.' Obviously the second problem is worrying.
You can, however, lock and unlock all doors from the passenger side but the unlocking problem still occurs. My thoughts turn towards:
(a.) A door that the central locking is detecting isn't closed (although I tested the doors and courtesty light goes out with each as it's closed);
(b.) A problem from the driver's door not sending the signal through the looms to the other three;
(c.) Blown fuse - haven't checked this - but then wouldn't that prevent the locking from the passenger door?
What to backroomers suggest?
Cheers!
AA Read more
Have a 94 Punto Selecta so wiring might be different.Your fault re unlocking appears to be in the control box where there are various relays reversing the current for unlocking.My control box is adjacent to the Auxilliary Fuse Box in glove Box.
Your 'Self Unlocking' is almost certainly in one of the door locks (I had a similar problem).Each door lock has a (mechanical) switch which senses the door is closed. The interior courtesy light is a much cruder affair and does not indicate the door is truly closed. Hope this helps.
mega snipquote!
Reading owners' reviews on the UK sites I am surprised by how many people seem to be replacing their cars every 3-4 years. A relative told me that "this is the cheapest way to do it as if you wait any longer you don't get a decent deal on the part exchange".
Now, I don't know know much about cars but that sounded strange to me. I work in finance and know my way round a spreadsheet so I set to work. After a couple of hours playing around with initial costs, depreciation schedules and projected servicing charges I came to the conclusion that buying three cars every 10 years incurs roughly twice the cost you would be facing if you bought one car every 10 years. My calculations are probably crude but they took into account factors like part exchange value, fading fuel economy and rising service costs over time.
So... have I missed something? Is it simply that such people are not private buyers and that there some quirk of company car ownership that makes frequent replacement sensible? Or is it that there indeed many drivers out there who are prepared to buy an entirely new car every few years, thus taking the full impact of depreciation? Any comments welcome.
Suss Read more
It's simple really.
Most new cars halve in value in 3 years.
They have a useful working life on averag of 10-12 years.
It takes little thinking to realise buying a nearly new car say 2.5 years old will be cheaper in deprecaition terms.
A policy I have adopted for the past 15 years. It takes time to buy the model and spec you want in the condition and price range you want...but with automatic searches on Autotrader and ebay , it's like old rope finding suitable candidates..
This question is mainly aimed at Oilman.
My new Hyundai requires ILSAC GF-3 , 5W-30 engine oil for all conditions.
A new description to me- what does that mean?
Also mentions API SJ, SL or above which I have heard of.
Read more
I noticed some of the Magnatec 5W-30 in Makro yesterday, it said ILSAC GF-3 on the label. I thought of you GWS!! It was £21+VAT for 4litres.
I bought some Castrol Edge 5W-30 for my 2 VWs. It was £34.99 +VAT = £41.11.
They have quite a good selection of Castrol oils at Makro, for those of us who like Castrol.
I would have thought that your Hyundai would be privileged to use Ford recommended oil, what would Cheddar say?
Browse
.jpg)
The Bond Bug was a Reliant Robin with a different body. The 875 was a completely different animal. It was alleged Reliant bought out Bond because the 875 was such a threat to the traditional Reliants. They then scrapped the 875 and introduced the Bug, calling it a Bond.