April 2008
I've just bought a nice 62,000 mile E39 323i with full dealer history, and I'm ironing out a few little issues with it. I've found that once I reach around 30mph I get a rumbling sort of noise, if I dip the clutch the revs drop but the noise stays at road speed, also, it doesn't alter if I lightly apply the brakes or gently weave. I've read that front wheel bearings are often a problem on the E39, but I'd have thought the braking/weaving would have loaded any clearance and made them go a bit louder or quieter, any thoughts? Read more
Are bonnet pins road legal? Read more
That's going to depend on the judgement of the person considering the individual case.
They can easily fall foul of the rules on protruding sharp edges.
Multipoint topic with optional questions and a blog link for added interest.
1) What are your views on Electronic solenoids operating valves, now that they are about to be used on affordable cars?
2) Technology of the future? and the extra efficiency of Solenoid petrol engines narrowing the gap, consigning Common Rail diesel, with all its reported woes to the dustbin of history?
3) Would you be among the first users of the technology? or will you stand back for a couple of years and see if there are significant problems?
4) Petrol or diesel with this new development?
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Regards
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"5,608,312 lb.ft"
If true, that roughly equates to the leverage you would get by applying half a ton of force to a mile-long spanner. I wonder what they do up the propellors with..?
One of my young sons has finished his diploma in welding and Iron work and now is looking for a used car for under £2k but prefer it to be as cheap as possible.
As he is looking at the moment he posed me with an interesting question which I couldn?t answer as I just don?t know:
Which used cars tend to rust more? Now the only thing that pops into my head is that I did see many Ford Ka and Transit with loads of rust on them but can?t think of anything else from the last 10 years.
I know some cars are galvanised but after searching the CtoC breakdown here I just became more confused. Does any one know which car would be structurally sound for fewer than 2k? (Obviously it is depends on how the up keeping but some are better than other, you don?t see too many Rovers with rust).
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Buy a Mk3 Cavalier - wonderfully reliable for less than £800 but a car that confines most of its rust to the rear wheel arches (unless it's one with independent real suspension) giving your son something to practice on.
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Anyone seen Big Bad Dave lately????? :) Read more
One of my best friends bought a brand new Bentley nearly three years ago - if the stolen example is as unreliable and with as many common design faults as his, it will be returned pretty smartish...:-)
My pal's car was part exchanged within two years of buying it because he was so fed up.
HJ's column in Saturday's Telegraph mentions potential MoT failure when the amber paint flakes off 581 PY21w indicator bulbs. If your indicators are looking a little anaemic and you hate waste, I can tell you that a coat of Tamiya X-26 clear orange will repair these bulbs to my MoT man's satisfaction. The paint has remained in good nick for 3 years on Mrs H's car, as long as the original. The exercise also gives one a useful reminder of how to access and replace said bulbs. Read more
Some r/light/stop/light and indicator glasses fade as well;Halfords(in the past) used to sell little bottles of red and amber laquer to refresh them.
Hi all. Hopefully a quick question. I bought this car for £500 a month ago and it had been MOT'd for 12 months just before i bought it and is in excellent condition with 75k on the clock.
I had driven about 500 miles in it before sitting in the front of a traffic queue a couple of miles from home waiting to pull off in 1st. The car just failed on me. Tried to restart and couldnt get anything out of it. Recovery man said cambelt had gone and it should be scrapped and offered to take it there and then.
As i was not moving when the cambelt went, is it possible this can be fixed fairly easily? How much would this generally cost to put right?
Iv been quoted £80 to fit a new one and see if it works but im wondering if any experts can tell me whether this is actually worth bothering with and if this is the death of my car after only 2 weeks of actual driving. I really hope not as i can ill afford a new one. All my savings went into this car
Any advice appreciated. Read more
OK ill see. Mechanic is coming tomorrow to have a look at it so i shall wait and see what they say. Thanks for your thoughts though.
We often discuss reliability issue for cars. But how does HGV reliability issues compare with that of cars? Are HGVs more reliable and long lasting than cars doing same mileage?
We tend to say nowadays that after 7 years, fixing a car is often not economical. How does it apply for HGVs?
I understand that all HGVs use diesel engines - so probably petrol vs diesel issue won't arise.
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New HGVs now have extremely high pressure common rail injection systems, 2400 bar for example, to squeeze as much mpg out of the diesel as possible and to comply with Euro 5 regulations. Hence, there is still scope to improve on car diesel engine efficiency and hopefully the reliability will be as solid as the HGVs.
Something they said while I was watching the F1 GP this afternoon (just before I dropped off) about fuel being measured by weight (I suppose the pedants may point out they meant mass). If I understood them correctly, the energy available is proportional to the weight of the fuel, not the volume, because of the amount it expands due to temperature.
I know petrol does expand with temperature, but it got me wondering by what proportion, and does it matter? Most petrol station storage tanks are I presume underground, and so their temperature shouldn't vary much day by day, but should we be buying the stuff by weight? Read more
The minor differences due to temperature are more than outweighed by the fact that diesel fuel has a significantly higher density than petrol - it's about 12% more dense. However it has the same calorific value so, because fuel is purchased by volume, a diesel driver gets 12% more mass and therefore 12% more energy in each litre - which accounts for a lot of the 'economy' benefits of the diesel engines. The higher cost of diesel therefore seems a bit more equitable!
JS
My son has been issued with two parking charge notices while parking his car in the carpark space he owns behind his flat. The carpark is partly controlled by a private car parking company. The company when he complained cancelled the first ticket but issued second on another day. he has complained a second time but no reply this time other than threat of passing details to a Debt Collection Agency. How do we make this problem go away?
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Whoever organizes the parking enforcement for the flat management company needs a good talking to.
The ticket issued by the private company is legally unenforceable. If its issued by the local council then that's a different matter.
Enter a car park that has terms and conditions of parking on its entrance and its possible that a contract is entered into between driver (not the registered keeper and the reg keeper is under no obligations to disclose in this instance). However unless the terms and conditions are negotiable then its probable that the contract isn't enforceable in any form.
Penalty clauses in English law are not enforceable. It's possible that if you overstay in a supermarket car park then the supermarket could enforce a charge related to loss of income by using the car park when you weren't in the store, but that would only be possible if the car park was full and they could show that they were likely to have lost income.
Should a debt collection company try chasing them, remind them of the laws on harassment when chasing debt and ask to meet them in court. You're very unlikely to hear from them again.
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Hmmm, so far I've had to put a litre of oil in it, three litres of screenwash, a pint of distilled water in the rad to reach the cold level and I've reduced the tyre pressures from 43.5psi all round to the correct pressures. I think the tyres may have contributed to the noise, but there's still a noise there, not quite a rumble but not quite a whine, very low level.
Previous owner's excuse is "it was serviced only 5,000 miles ago".