June 2008
Prob a long shot, just wondering if anyone did? Read more
After weeks, if not months, of umm'ing and arr'ing, it's crunch time and I need to make a decision .....the options are;
2005/05 VW Passat Trendline Estate 1.9 TDI PD130
2005/05 Ford Mondeo Ghia X Estate 2.0 TDCI 130
2004/54 Honda Accord Executive Tourer 2.2 CDTi
All are in very good condition with ~ 70k miles. Price range is £6-7k. I'll be looking to keep the car for around 4-5 years.
I thought I'd settled for the Accord but the Mondeo and Passat keep making a case for themselves and I'd probably be silly to discount them offhand.
They each have good and bad points........and I'm really struggling to make my mind up.
Your thoughts and experiences would be welcome.
Thanks in advance. Read more
Worth checking with a friendly Ford dealer whether your car has the latest engine mapping. Not sure about the 2.0 diesel in the Mk 3 Mondeo, but other recent Ford diesels have often suffered from dramatic on/off delivery when pulling out of junctions, crawling in slow traffic etc, and these problems have been ameliorated by later software updates.
My 2.0 diesel Galaxy (though that's a PSA rather than in-house Ford lump) became much sweeter to drive and fuel economy rose slightly, after a software update 18 months after I bought it.
I have a 2004 2.0 vvti XT3. Only just bought it . It seems a little reluctant to drops its revs between gearchanges ( although it does in a second or so ). It isn't a big probelm, I'm just curious as to whether this is a known problem or just a characteristic of this engine.
Also , there is a similar very slight delay when just dipping the throttle from idle before it spins up.
As it happens I've driven another vvti which seened to have the same "problem" but not as pronounced.
Any ideas anyone ? Read more
Are you sure your foot isn't still touching the throttle when you depress the clutch ?
When you blip the throttle in neutral with the clutch depressed is the rate of fall in the revs the same as when changing gear ?
It's often a feature with some motors especially if the person isn't use to the different characteristics, in which case a slightly different technique/timing of throttle/clutch use is needed to compensate.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/747852...m
The video
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7478532.stm
or the USA version
ironhearsedestinations.org/9.html Read more
The original one? www.motorcyclefunerals.com/
Thanks for that link. I thought this had been done before.
Much nicer to have the key man alongside you rather than trailing behind:-)
Interesting to note that a wide variety of tastes has been catered for with the extended fleet.
You all know what he was famous for.
tinyurl.com/5ylmnk
And if you are really into the subject:-
tinyurl.com/3ozutk Read more
Nearly T-boned at a mini-roundabout a few months back.
Going straight on, I decide to observe the roundabout to a point which means a serve to the left, then right to carry on.
As I swerve left, guy behind assumes I'm turning left and starts to overtake.
I swing back to the right and things get very close.
The moral of this story is don't follow so damn close.
If he had kept a proper distance, there would be no collision danger, whatever the rights or wrongs of my driving.
Over the past few months or so, our Honda Accord 2.2 cTDi executive has sometimes given a wee shudder on turning on the ignition.
Having taken it to be tested at our local Honda dealer, it seemed all was OK. However, today my wife had been driving it, and the alert (exclamation sign flashed) and then car started to knock and shudder whilst in motion. She pulled over and after a few minutes all seemed well, except for the fact that the foot brake sounded like an air brake everytime she depressed it! By the time she arrived home, on parking it and turning the ignition off the foot brake had no give in it and as she described it, 'It was solid.'
I have tested it tonight and everything seems to be fine again, but I really do not like this shuddering and wondering whether this is an injector prob. Can anyone advise?
Read more
Mmm! We did go back to the Honda dealer who ran a diagnostic test on the car....and guess what? They find nothing wrong with the car! This is the second diagnostic test we have had done to this car...and each time nothing.
Whatever caused the car to behave in this way is a total mystery, and is running fine again...including the brakes! We are baffled!
Anyone got any further brain-stomping ideas??? We haven't an iota as to what it could be.
All suggestions gratefully received!
Have so far visited two Vauxhaul Main Dealers who, after some head scratching and consultation with people in the workshop, contradicted each other as to the following question.
2002 Agila N/S Door Mirror, with colour coded rear cover.
Took front surround ( black plastic ) and rear cover ( made from blue plastic with outer surface colour coded to match the vehicle ) to two Vauxhaul dealers, put them on the counter and asked, ----
Are either of these two items available separately please?
Came away non the wiser, so could anyone " in the know " provide definative confirmation please?
Thank you.
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Many thanks to Roosterbooster for the reply.Yes, the front piece ( black plastic ) does surround the glass and you confirm that both pieces are available as separate items.
Of the two main dealers, one partsmen stated specifically that the parts are NOT avialable separately, the other could not make his mind up either way. Suspect that in both cases, they were more interested in selling me a complete mirror assy and charging extra for a paint job on the rear cover. A " nice little earner " no doubt.
If anyone reading this has access to a Vauxhaul Eper, would appreciate the part numbers for these items.
Many thanks to Rosterbooster.
Rgds.
Has any one experienced the yellow steering lock light permanently on the dashboard. This started to happen occasionally about 3 months ago on my 1 series 116i, bought as second owner but previously used as a demonstrator model direct from Williams BMW? It went in to BMW in March and has been 'upgarded' with the latest software which was supposed to fix the fault, but gradually it has become worse. It has been back today and I have been told that they 'did not switch on' all of the software last time and it was their error, so has been rectified!! I feel fobbed off, is this the real reason?, only time will tell. Read more
Williams have a good reputation (as does the one series). If you're unhappy get a second opinion from another dealer.
Please help my usually Reliable BMW 530d e39 2003 has developed diesel smoke on acceleration (much more than normal) also wierdlt found what looks like diesel spaying up the n/s of the engine bay (but i cant see where from),tonight the eng warning light has come on .
The mpg has dropped and i do have loss of power .
It still drives but im not because of it smoking !
Bmw want an arm and leg to even open the bonnet anyone help !
Read more
UA
A code-read is the way to go; doesn't have to be at the dealer.
A split in the intercooler, or in one of the boost ducts would fit the symptoms - if that is engine oil?
BBC Reports
Up to 30,000 brand new Volkswagen cars have been damaged by a storm of hail stones reported to be the size of ping-pong balls.
The cars were parked outside the Volkswagen plant at Emden on Germany's North Sea coast.
A spokesman for the carmaker said that each of the 30,000 vehicles would have to be examined for damage so they could be repaired before being sold.
The spokesman stressed that Volkswagen is insured against hailstorm damage.
There has been speculation that the damage could cost as much as 100m euros ($157m; £79m), but Volkswagen stressed that there could not yet be any cost figures because they had not yet examined all the cars.
The storm happened on Sunday, 22 June.
Buying a new VW in the near future requires extra vigilance - perhaps
moved from a srandalone posting into here
Browse
Sure yeah, I was hoping that someone alive today would have known him or atleast of him. Was just curious as I have many newspaper clippings about him but my nans memories of him are somewhat patchy these days!