March 2008
Trying to find a VW Vans dealer that operates the Motability scheme.
Need to order a Caravelle to carry motorised wheelchair and 9 year old.
Have phoned VW uk, no help.
Have phoned VW Commercials " we don't have that list of dealers " !!!
Motability website not much better.
Bear in mind this deal could be £25k plus, VW don't seem interested in doing this business.
Any info gratefully received, Thanks, Bob Read more
Sorry to raise this once again (well I'm not really that sorry) but I read this on a motoring web site and thought it was priceless.
I don't want to get into a debate over the poor reliability of certain brands and so have removed reference to the type of car although enthusiasts such as us will have a good idea - I think.
"The XXXX has generally been well-built, though owners have reported problems with this 2003- series: issues include wiper failures, clutch faults, ignition coil failure (in 2.0-litre engine), radiator leaks and head gasket failure and easily-damaged metallic paint.
Not as good as it could - or should - have been. It's still got the feelgood factor, with solidly-clunking doors and neat interior finish, however."
How on earth can you describe a car as having a feel good factor and expect to even put quality in the same sentence as car that is that unreliable.
Oh the sheer con of damped grab rails and a nice dash - how it fools some people.
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Well it was clearly a Volkswagen of some description.
The motoring press seem to bathe in the aura that is everything Volkswagen-derived. A solid-sounding door seems more important than actually quality. I had a Sharan 10 years ago - I haven't owned any sort of VW group car since!
Looking for a new car and most tempted with Subaru Legacy Diesel Tourer. But, an alternative might be the Patriot (Limited with diesel engine). Does anyone out there have one and what are their findings? Read more
When I was looking at various different new cars last year I looked at the Chrysler 'Mondeo-equivalent' (think it was called the Sebring). I was generally very unimpressed by the fit and finish on the car and the driving experience on a 10 mile test run left a lot to be desired, not even up to Mondeo standard. It reminded me of an older Kia. If the Patriot is at all like that then I would avoid like the plague.
I know this point has been discussed widely before, but I thought I'd share my experience:
With petrol now at almost £5/gallon (I avoid motorway filling stations), the actual cost just for fuel in my Legacy 2.0R is about 15p per mile (at 33 MPG). This is quite a shocking statistic in itself and makes walking to the local corner shop to buy milk, (at twice the supermarket price) look good value!
Anyway, yesterday I had to drive a 540+ mile round-trip to Devon using the M6/M5 from the Northwest, I left early and cruised at approximately 10MPH slower than I would normally drive. My total time driving for the entire trip was about 1 hour more than the "norm" at 9 hours (12% increase), but my fuel consumption was 15% less than normal at 38MPG. So I saved myself over two gallons of fuel and had a much less stressful time driving. I hardly used the "fast" lane and was generally in the inside lane for most of the time.
I remember the same thing happening during the fuel blockade in 2000 when I got my Passat TDI PD to do almost 65 MPG.
I just hope I can make myself drive slower all the time! The thing is, that if we ALL drove 10MPH slower, I think journey times would stay the same, (or even better) as there would not be the "bunching" problem as much on the motorways. Read more
It may be different now
ONly going on the last couple of years, the French and Germans on either side were fine but the Belgians in the middle were just like us - maybe them having a BL factory over there rubbed off our driving habits onto them! Mainly on the 3 lane bit from Brugges to Brussels though....
The 406 went in for a service this morning - had the call to say a return pipe from the fuel filter has snapped off during service. No part available until Tuesday apparently.
How naked do I feel without my car? I've even looked in to hiring a car in the meantime but they all seem a little expensive....
DB Read more
It's a 130k hack so I suppose they could argue that the part was worn in the first place? Not sure I could argue it was their fault.....
A mate of mine wants me to change the clutch on his Puma 1.7 but wasn't sure if this car needs accurate subframe positioning afterwards using locating/setting pins.
I've changed many clutches on various makes but have not done one on a Puma or even the Fiesta on which it's based.
Any advice greatfully received.
no mention of year, so used dates from drop down menu Read more
I have been nominated to have a look at the noisy rear brakes on this Golf.
I am guessing that they will be disks.
It has done 30K from new. Presumably the pads shouldn't be worn out.
Is there anything in particular to look out for or common faults?
Any special tools required?
I have not seen or heard the car yet.
Cheers
Ian Read more
Thanks 659.
This car is unknown to me. I don't know if pads have previously been fitted.
I used needle nosed pliers to wind back the rear pistons on my X-reg Primera.
There is a cross in the face of the piston.
Are the pistons on the VW very different?
The winding tools are less than £10 normally, so will probably take your advice! Not my money.
Presumably there are no odd (torx, etc) fixings on the calipers?
I have only seen calipers with standard bolts or 7mm Allen.
I know that PSA diesels have Particulate Filters and use EOLYS fluid as part of the chemical process. I see that BMW diesels also have particulate filters but do they also use EOLYS and, if not, how does the filter work without it, please?
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Some more info here, this is a scan of a SEAT leaflet on DPFs, which describes how the current generation of catalyst-coated DPFs work in both passive and active mode.
xs125.xs.to/xs125/08124/dpfle3124.jpg
Hi, My car has started making a grumbling noise at idle. This was first accompanied by a higher pitch "whine" a few weeks ago which I guessed was the water pump. So I changed that (which was completely knackered) together with the cam belt and Aux belt and assumed a fix. However a week later and the whine has gone, and the rumble has resurfaced.
The problem is only noticable with a warm engine and only when waiting in slow moving traffic, when coasting (there is a few hills on my route that traffic builds up on) I can't hear the grumble. Only when the car is stationary can it be heard. When the water pump was changed, I did inspect the other pulleys etc although I'll admit not very thoroughly.
I have had the car about 4 years now and I know everything has been serviced at the right times etc, it has about 120k on the clock.
Any ideas would be appreciated, personnally I'm stumped. Cheers. Read more
Noises are very difficult to pinpoint on a forum like this - only a skilled technician listening to the car in real life will be able to advise.
I'm in Somerset and Peugeot trained if that helps.
Hi guys,
I have a clunky / grindy / rumbly (not quite sure how to describe it) noise coming from (i'm almost certain) the alternator on my 99T Citroen Saxo 1.1x {obviously not seen the 3 separate requests to include the year/engine info in the subject header}
I think it might be the bearings.
Does this mean I need a whole new alternator or can you replace the bearings?
Anyone any idea how much it normally costs for a garage to replace an alternator?
Given that the car is only worth about £500 and then MOT is coming up when it will need brakes and probably a few other bits, i'm in two minds whether to just sell spares / repairs...
Thanks Read more
Didnt realise they were 20.8 mm :)
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Try www.jubileeauto.co.uk. If you need a large wheelchair accesible there is very little choice at a reasonable price. The vw doesent need a lowered floor many do. Also consider the Renault traffic if its not too big.