March 2008
I've seen the above going for £100 with tax and MOT til end of May.
97k, M95, "regular" service history.
I'm tempted to get it for the hell of it!!
Opinions?? Read more
Whenever I drive my car from a cold start, 2nd gear always engages with a crunch. I have been told this is called 'baulking' which is caused by the cold gear oil being too thick to allow the synchromesh to work. Does anyone know if this will cause premature damage/wear? I was also told, to fix this, all I would need to do is replace the transmission fluid. I would like to know if this is good advice and also what spec/viscosity gear oil I'll need to use. After the car is warm, the gear changes couldn't be smoother, it's just the first two or three changes from 1st to 2nd on any given journey.
I have heard stories of '2nd gear crunch' being an issue on a lot of VAG cars past and present. However, I don't think this is acceptable for a 2 year old vehicle with just 25k, supposedly built to a high standard, to be having this problem. I've had the car since 18k and this issue has been present since I bought it from a VW dealer with full VWSH. I assume the gear oil to be the stuff put in at the factory so why am I getting this problem??
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Read more
Have you tried double de-clutching as a no-cost solution?
I own a 306 T reg 1.4 Meridian, and i am having problems. The car originally was just stalling at junctions and would idle irratically, and was slighly jerky when releasing the accelerator, i continued driving it for a few weeks, before i replaced the idle speed control valve (advice from internet) The car seemed to work fine for the day, irratic idling gone, jerkyness gone, although the car didnt seem to pick up aswell, i was just pleased that the car was driving better. BUT i came to drive it the next day and it wouldn?t start, unless i applied throttle, and whenever i dipped the clutch it stalled. it got worst, so i eventually called the AA out on home start. He tried replacing the stepper motor, this didnt work, tried to play with the idle screw, but it was rusted in, so he thought this was either the problem, or it was electrical. As a temporary measure he adjusted the throttle cable to stop it stalling, and i took it out for a quick 5mile blast, and it worked ok. I came to drive it the next morning and it was back to the way it was, before. Throughout all these problems, whilst driving, the car would jerk the warning engine diagnostic light would come on and it would lose alot of power for 5 or so seconds, and then the light would go out, I believe the two problems are connected. + The trip meter keeps resetting itself, could that be from a surge of electric? Please help if anyone has any ideas, I don?t know where to start next, ive read lots of other problems that sound similar, and so many people said they tried this and that but solutions and it didn?t work. Read more
Luke
If the idiot AA man thought that tampering with the [factory-set] throttle stop was a good idea; it shows how much the AA miss their lovely training centre. [And all their other assets that Buffini looted...]
You really do need to get the fault-codes read; I've got a horrible feeling that you still have the factory-fit Sagem long coilpack, it's failing and it's spiked the idle control circuit in the ECU.
There's just a small chance that it's a feed or earth issue; so get those checked through first by someone who knows what they are doing - not the AA man obviously.....
Last week my wifes 2005 fiesta which we have owned fronm newwas invoved in a serious accident (not her fault).he entire side has been smashed including the windscreen post and floor is bent. The car has only covered 6000 miles from new.
The insurance companies "approved repairer" has given a quote of £3300 to repair it. This is about £2000 less than the car is worth prior to accident.
I am not comftable with the idea of them repairing such extensive damage.
Will the ford warrenty both body work and mechanicals still be valid?
It is not currently at a ford delaear- can I insist that it goes there?
Can I claim the reduction in value from the other driver as I will be left with an extensively repaired car rather than a pristine one (which we have had from new) so is worth less when resale comes to be considered.
Quite frankly what ever they do I am going to sell the car immediaatley upon its return as given the extent of damage neither my wife or I would feel comftable travelling in it.
Any advice please?
{typo in subject header corrected} Read more
Probably because very few people know about it.
Daughter has failed her driving test for the third time!! The Examiner failed her for 'hesitation' because an oncoming driver signalled for her to pass a parked car on her side of the road by flashing his headlights and she waited. The reason she waited was because one of her friends also failed her test because she chose to accept the other driver's invitation and move off in almost similar circumstances!
Question: does the Highway Code indicate anywhere that it is appropriate for a driver to make a manoevre when another driver flashes his lights? My understanding is that if I signal to another motorist in this way and an accident results then I could be held liable.
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When I took my LGV test, clipping the kerb was a fail.
Our v reg scenics back in the garage again. Last year the water pump bearing seized which cost 800 for new pump/cam belt , this week it started running rough and garage have checked spark plugs.ht leads, distributer cap which are all ok but theres low pressure in 4th cylinder so they think its either head gasket or the heads knackered . Estimated cost to fix 1200 quid if it needs a new head. So do i fix it or just trade it in? Read more
If you trade it into a Main Dealer and assuming the saleman misses the faults then its a grey area for them .. a lot depends on what SIV (stand in value) they place on the car .. if they value it to trade out of down the auction then they wont really be bothered in chasing you ... typical SIV would be about £300 to £600 (you may be offered more in a deal due to the over allowance) in this scenario ... however trade it into an independant dealer who intends to retail it then you may find he pays you a visit a few days later to collect the difference.
Over the years we have taken a few wrong uns in PX we just put it down to "nature of the job" ..... HOWEVER I did once prosocute a private man who had clocked his trade in by a 100,000 miles ... he now has a criminal recored for theft thanks to the trading standards.
Just got back from a holiday in Oz and 2 speeding tickets have now arrived from Queensland police. One from a mobile camera and the other from a Gatso. Neither picture they have sent shows who is driving and there were 2 authorised drivers in the hire car.
How do I stand if I ignore these? I don't intend to visit Oz again but I don't know what action they may take in UK if I don't pay.
Postman Pat
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By the way, I dont think the car hire firm will be interested...they have given your details to the police and I don't think they will give two hoots if you pay or not. It must happen to them on a daily occurence.
When I change down there is sometimes a short screech from the box, and vibration is briefly felt on the gear lever. It is a recent phenomenon - the car has had 172,000 problem free miles. There is no noise from the thrust bearing when at idle, the clutch action is fine, there is no noise changing up, Reverse is fine, and gear selection is fine.
It only seems to occur from 3rd to 2nd or 2nd to 1st, but I suppose thats when its under the most load.
Is this the start of something expensive? is it best to get it looked at before something goes klunk? has anyone else had experience of this? Can anyone help?
Cheers! Read more
Did you find out what the problem was? I have exactly the same thing happening.
Thanks
Bought oil and filter for an oil change which I will be doing over the Easter weekend. I was given a free bottle of Wynn's engine flush.
Never used this stuff before. Is flushing an engine before a change a good idea?
Car has done 95k miles now and I don't want to cause any problems by flushing the engine when I've never seen the need before. Could it 'loosen' something inside the engine that will later cause problems or is it a good idea?
Comments/thoughts appreciated. Read more
So would I.
Had the local Vauxhall dealer on the phone earlier tonight.
Will sell to me as first registered keeper the above car for £10,500 on the road. With my GM card points I can get another £1,500 off the car, leaving a net cost of £9k.
I do about 25-30k mileage a year so sounds like relatively cheap motoring to me, at least it would be cheaper than putting petrol in the Zafira GSi.
Should I do the deal?
(Either I do or I keep my current car so suggestions of an alternative are welcome but will be filed in the electronic round filing cabinet :-) ) Read more
Thanks for all those that replied and e-mailed me.
Took out a 1.9CDTi 150 for a test drive, fine car, last diesel I drove for any real distance was my wonderful 1.7 td K reg Cavalier. Bought at 6 months old ex-demo for £10,500 in early 1993 iirc, the vectra was available for £12,500 so effectively negative inflation over the last 15 years in car prices. Not sure why people complain about the cost of motoring.
The 150 diesel was a better car than the 1.8 petrol, in particular the 6 speed gearbox which would probably save me an extra chunk in fuel.
Anyway reworked the figures and the diesel Vectra looks good.
Drove the Zafira GSi home and realised that I really didn't want to change, so wont be. I'll put up with the petrol costs etc and enjoy it for a few more years until it dies a death.
I'm happy :-)
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Cut a slot in the top and use it as a money box.
MD