June 2008
My Dec 98 626SE 2.0 petrol is now approaching 99k miles and according to my 'Lloyds TSB autolease vehicle history printout' which I was given upon purchase last October, last had a belt change at 54k miles in Sept 2002. I only cover 5k miles pa so was going to wait until this December and have the belt changed then, along with its annual MOT, fluid changes etc. at my local independent.
IF the belt snaps before then, would it ruin the engine?If so, would anyone recommend a precautionary early belt change. The car is in lovely condition and I cannot envisage buying anything similar for what I paid...£995. I plan to keep the car for a further 3 or 4 years (unless I get lucky with my Premium Bonds!)
Read more
Hi all
Quick question:
Can someone confirm (or deny) that when buying a new car the dealer must offer GAP insurance by law? (My dealer has asked me twice if I want it. And I don't.)
Regards
Paul Read more
I can't see anything on the FSA site that backs this up. Where do you
get your information from Kanberlingoo?
Google "Martins Money Tips" then GAP ins. I tried to copy & post the link to the relevant item, but couldn't get it to transfer, only the home page pasted. It's a fairly long discussion, but a lot of relevant points are raised.
i think it may drive shaft or cv joint but it comes and then goes silent for weeks any ideas Read more
Has anyone seen any (genuine) figures for the numbers of motorists prosecuted for exceeding 50 mph by these cameras? Most drivers stick to the limit but a few still blithely sail past everyone else at 70 mph or more, despite the fact that the limit has been in force for months and is well known.
Are they as stupid as they appear or do they know something that the rest of us don't? Read more
In the Honest John suplement in the Saturday Telegraph some weeks ago there was a small article about these cameras, it said if you change lane then they are unable to work. Dont think I would want to try that out.
Richard Price
I have recently been tasked with the job a buying a first car for a newly qualified driver. The budget, circa £1k, is the same as the insurance is going to cost, but I was pretty confident I could source something half decent from a private seller. (My own car cost me £995 last Oct and is brilliant).
After looking at 4 cars, all the sellers blatantly lied during my preliminary phone questions. These were just basic questions as to length of Tax,Mot, service history, warranted mileage, condition of tyres, number of owners. Cars 'with service history' had, at best, patchy service books and no receipts. One car, despite being advertised with history, had no service stamps after the year 2000 and 8k miles. It now had 104k miles. MOT certificates were mysteriously lost or mislaid, to be posted on after purchase! Most cars had not had a decent clean, either inside or out, for several weeks. On another vehicle, the advertised two previous owners actually showed 6 on the VRD. Just who are these muppets? Maybe in their muppet world they expect to sell to fellow muppets and I am just sooo annoyed at them for wasting my time.
Anything in excess of group 3 insurance is out of the question, otherwise I'd pick up an old Primera or Mazda 626 like mine.
What am I doing wrong? Maybe I should chance the auctions.
In the meantime I'll take a deep breath and start again next weekend.
Read more
Can't Autotrader have a mileage from field to stop this?
They welcome your input:
www.autotrader.co.uk/common/mytrader/contact_us.jsp
"You can send us comments, suggestions or problems via our Online Feedback Form.
ecustomeropinions.com/popup/survey.php?sid=2116889...7 "
Does anyone know how to access the side indicator bulb located in the door mirror? Thanks Read more
Pop the mirror out and access from inside the mirror housing. Care is needed not to damage the mirror so if in doubt drop into a garage and let them do it for you for a fiver or so.
hi ya just bought a automatic clio rxe 99 and seems fine apart from a couple of times when u put yer foot down it makes a clonk noise, then the injection light comes on and car looses power a bit, if u turn ignition off and restart its fine again? have i bought a bucket? Read more
took it to be checked , said it had toooo much gearbox oil in it? and if it happens again its got to be the Hydraulic Distributor ...? anyone no how much these r and where to get it?
I've just been looking at my 'What Car' magazine (August 2008) and there is a section about reducing fuel consumption. They've done some tests on cars to show how the speed in top gear effects the consumption, and the results for the Aygo are rather shocking IMHO.
The Aygo gets 61mpg on the combined cycle, so I would expect 70+mpg at motorway speeds. At 70mph the Aygo gets less than 50mpg though, and at 60mph it is still less than 60mpg. My car is about 8 years old, and gets just 46mpg on the combined cycle, but doing 70mph on a motorway journey (with slower roads too) I can get over 55mpg. So dispite having higher fuel consumption, and paying more tax, my car seems to be much greener!
What have other people found? I've heard of people getting over 80mpg in an Aygo, but looking at this test you would need to be cruising at less than 40mph to get that. Read more
I had a car on hire yesterday, to take me from Heathrow back home in the East Midlands. It was a new (mk2.5) Focus 1.6. I was a little heavier with my right foot on the accelerator, and cruised at a faster speed than I would usually, but even so I was shocked by how poor the fuel efficiency reported by the trip computer was. Averaged 33mpg (according to trip computer - which I guess was likely to be overreading) over around 150 miles, mostly on the motorway. The car had done 7800 miles.
In contrast, my mk1 Focus (which I believe has the same engine? Certainly the same headline figures, i.e. 1.6 litres and ~100BHP) has done an average of 40mpg since I took ownership of it 60,000 miles ago. This is a calculated figure.
I know the new car is heavier. Interestingly, it also seemed to be geared somewhat lower. 70mph was reached at 3200rpm in 5th, compared to about 2800 or 2900 in my older car. Reaffirmed my plans not to replace my car until I have no choice!
Pondering a change and for 10k you get a huge amount of nippy diesel luxury for the money from a Cadillac BLS.
Low miles, from main dealers, 18-24mnths old, reliable mechanicals, SAAB/Alfa/GM engine and underpinnings, leather, cruise, good space blah blah
There are a few reviews out there, a good one from HonestJohn and a few mediocre when compared against C class and 3 series but is there anyone who owns one and gives an opinion which involves using the car regularly and not just on a road test drive.
They seem a lot of car for 10 grand.
Read more
It it is basically a 93 diesel and the same good and bad points apply. I actually quite like the 93 - good honest fwd chassis which is fun to drive and the 150bhp 1.9 diesel is powerful, very economical (50mpg+ easily) and low on emissions if a little rough in the lower rev range.
Shame about the low rent interior quality (which I guess is the same on the BLS) and overall lack of any "premium" feel.
The 93 struggles on retained value and I'd suspect the BLS will be even worse so be careful what you pay.
From "The Daily Telegraph":
"A German town has scrapped all traffic lights and road signs in a bid to make the streets safer. (...) The scheme, which is based on a Dutch traffic expert's idea of "shared space," will soon be implemented in Britain. London's Exhibition Road is set to become a "naked road" next year."
tinyurl.com/5pcr7g
How exciting! What will happen when this is done here? Read more
Exhibition Rd!!! Will anyone notice? It's used mainly as a car-park-both sides and middle of the road.
Browse
The non interferenceengines - Mazda Xedos 2 / 2.5 & MX6 2.5