June 2008
A colleague and I hired a car to take us to Heathrow Airport last week. Received a rather jaded Mazda 5, with 18,000 miles on the clock and plenty of scuffs, dents and chips to show for them. I looked the car over and checked the damage sheet supplied by the company, and all seemed to be in order.
On arriving at Heathrow, we parked the car in the designated area to be greeted by a team of the company's staff who buzzed around the car inspecting it for damage. I duly produced the sheet, and was informed that there was a 'new' (or at least previously undocumented) chip on the windscreen. I was shown the chip, and informed that I would be charged £45 (plus, almost more insultingly, a £10 'administration fee'!) for this damage. (It was possibly small enough to be repaired, which of course would be done free by an insurance company on most private policies.)
Only I had driven the car, and I didn't hear or see the offending stone - which I certainly would have expected. But of course, I had not seen it prior to driving the car, so I could have no argument. Even though my employer would be paying, though, I still felt aggrieved.
What was interesting was how much activity there was around returned cars. When we were taken to the desk where damage-related paperwork is dealt with, it seemed like the busiest part of the operation. Fresh on the desk were the bits of a damage report torn up by a dissatisfied customer, and the driver of the next car after ours was also accompanied to the desk. I commented - half-jokingly - that they must be on commission, and the employee dealing with us confirmed that they did indeed receive performance-related bonuses on this work.
In line with forum policy, I shaln't mention the name of the company in question. They're one of the many big-name rental companies with a branch at snip - a location can also identity who they are. But I wonder if this is common experience, and whether all the companies are like this. I've never had any trouble before with damage to hire cars, so is it an airport thing, or big-branch thing? Read more
Hi today i banged the side of my car into a bollard by accident and now i have a big dent near my back wheel. :( how much do you think this will cost me to repair pls.
slt Read more
i got it fixed i got loads of quotes. one told me 1000 got it dun 4 200 worth lookin round
my car has recently been off the road for two months due to smash, but now repared my battery was disconnected and ive recoded radio which is working fine but cd changer isnt working, the fuse is ok and wiring seems ok under seat.......any ideas? Read more
The underseat multichangers on these are not coded.However there may be a reset button on the magazine carriage behind the sliding door that requires a pin/pencil to push to reset.Also you say the car has had accident damage so it is possible that the unit has been damaged by shock.The cd mechanisms on these are very fragile.hth
hi just bought an audi A4 1.6 p plate was not runnin very good would sometimes cut out or revs would rise if sittin out of gear since then it has cut out and wont restart any ideas wot it could be ? when tryin to start car it trys but just wont kick in could it be fuel pump ? Read more
If the pump is working; you can usually hear it for a couple of seconds at key-on.
There are many different versions on that year; what is the three-letter engine code for your engine - it's on the cam-belt cover label. [Something like ADP or AHL.]
At £78K.
Will it sell?
Has anyone seen one yet?
A Prius seems very strange to passers by when running on volts but a Tesla at speed must be a very disconcerting experience. :-) Read more
That price is shocking!
In Mrs P's GTi (Luckily). Turning from the 50mph A road into our lane, held up by an oncoming car, I glanced in my mirror to see a baseball hated youngster fishtailing his car towards me, smoke coming from his rear tyres. I was in second gear and still rolling, so I cancelled my indication and booted it and the Golf took off, right gear, right speeds. If it had been wet I doubt whether the Golf would have been able to rocket as quickly as it did and his stopping distance would have been reduced - by me. It all happened in slo-mo, I'll never forget his pallid, grimacing face and eyes out on stalks, his passenger's mouth open (no doubt screaming) - I bet his undies need changing. I went round the block and came back and true enough 20 feet of tyre marks. What ifs include being in the Landie, on the bike or in the Skoda - none of which bear thinking about - the Golf went on boost and like the proverbial scalded cat - who said performance cars are pointless ? Read more
"Early or later Maxi?"
Later - a '73 and a '75, both bought new. The original (1969) was underpowered as well as having as you say a cable-operated gearchange. The rod change was a bit better but still not great - baulking into first was particularly infuriating. So much for progress from the 50s to the 60s and 70s - my first car was a 1955 Austin A50 with a delightfully smooth column change.
But Maxis were tough (attempting to get back on topic...). I remember a Ford Anglia bashing into me from the rear while I was waiting at a roundabout: the front of the flimsy Ford was stove in but the Maxi completely undamaged.
I still feel sad when I think what happened to Austin. My A50 was a much better and more reliable car than the equivalent 1950's Ford: the Maxi and Cortina each had pluses and minuses; but the Montego was one of the cars that killed Austin, whereas the Mondeo is one of those that gives Ford the good name that it has now.
I had the dashboard airbag warning light appear, so I followed the advice on this forum and it seemed to cure the problem. The dashboard light went off but every time I start the car I get airbag fault on the central display (for the trip computer / radio etc...). Does this have to be reset by the dealer or do I still have a fault ?? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.. Read more
Last week I purchased an oil filter from my local branch of GSF for my C5 HDI. Its made in Germany by 'Mann Filter'. They are not a brand that im familiar with but having studied it I must say it looks pretty decent. Has anyone got experience of Mann filters please? Im a little concerned because it only cost three quid. Read more
If genuine, and I have no reason to doubt it if its from a properly traceable source, then they are a top quality filter.
Better known in commercial vehicle circles; which in my mind supports the quality acclaim.
And although I understand screwloose's concern over "fake" parts I am not so convinced of "oe" parts being better. They often come from the same source and are identical.
The bits to watch out for are the counterfeit, and spurious unknown branded stuff.
In all my years of changing filters the only faulty 1 I have ever had was a "genuine" vauxhall 1!
Just bought a 1996 406 1.9TD executive. All was well for 2 days.
The idling speed is all wrong which is controlled by the vacuum.
no vacuum = fast idle,
vacuum on = warm idle (900rpm~)
After it warms up there is no vacuum to slow it down. It does function though, when i rev the engine the vacuum comes on, and then off at 1500rpm or less. IE it thinks the engine is COLD.
I guess it is controlled by a temp sensor? If so what sensor?
I hope you understand what i mean
Please help!
Thanks Read more
UPDATE!
The car is fixed!
Or to be exact it was fixed yesterday.
The fuel lever positioning sensor was to blame. The reason why yesterday the revs were not right is because I had the A/C on.
When A/C is off the valve operates bringing the engine speed to warm idle.
When A/C is ON the valve is off (fast idle position) due to the strain on the engine from the compressor.
Also the fuel lever positioning sensor tells the engine when its under heavy load. The A/C switches off briefly when engine is under heavy load (below 2000rpm) to help the car speed up and then is switched on after that.
When the fuel lever positioning sensor is unplugged the simptoms return.
Thanks to Screwloose and others who helped me
Hi,
just bought a 2000 1.9D kangoo and the airbag warning light is on, although it goes off occasionally. Anybody know what this means and how to turn it off?
Thanks in advance,
Mike. Read more
I doubt if this would have any effect on the insurance as on the more modern cars,there is a switch that turns off the airbag,,.....
I think the suggestion to clean out under the drivers seat, might be the best idea, I'm going to try that..on my Kangoo.
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ifithelps,
Try viewing the thread in 'threaded view' and you'll see the fuller picture of what I am tring to explain to you.
As for ticking you off, I wasn't. You would have known if I had been. For starters I wouldn't have said please ;o)
It was a mere suggestion more than anything else following recent mention by a couple of BR's of some people posting willy nilly and posts not following in order within threads.