July 2008
I ask because of Westpig's post on the delivery van driver's stolen van thread:
you lend your car to a friend put him on your insurance and whilst he
has the car in his care he leaves the keys in the ignition when he
bought a paper in the morning car gets stolen.
If either one of them blew the car up then the friend may or may
not offer to contribute to the repair (i think they should) whereas the employee wouldn't....but
leaving the thing for an easy steal is fairly negligent and shows sod all respect
for the owner
If I lent my car to somebody who left the keys in and it was stolen, yes, I would expect them to cough up. If they have a puncture, then yes, I expect them to buy a new tyre, although I would contribute depending on how old it was.
But if the car "blew up" then that is not their fault. A broken exhaust; a destroyed alternator; a bust cambelt. How could that be their fault?
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Hi,
Have not bought a car in years so a bit rusty with all of this stuff... I put down a deposit on a second-hand car at the weekend at a dealer and on their invoice there is an item entitled 'Admin Fee HPI' for £75. They insist they wont sell the car without me paying for this.
I rang to ask them about this, and they said it was to indemnify me and themselves against any future problems with HPI - or words to that effect.
Is this sharp practise or is it common for dealers to insist on such payments?
Many thanks
Paul Read more
If Evans Halshaw, or any other dealer, sells you a car you do not need an indemnity - they are the ones who are on the hook if it turns out to be the property of a finance company, not you.
Unless it's included within the price you were expecting, tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine, tell all your friends and Trading Standards too.
If it is included in the price, chances are it's 'value shifting' to minimise (avoid) VAT. The traditional way of doing this was with a 'warranty'. It was once common for some dealers to put all the profit margin into their warranty pot to avoid the VAT on the profit on a used car - C&E got quite upset about it IIRC.
Hi
Looks like the Air Con unit could do with a Recharge
It's working but not what i'd call Ice Cold.
As their seems to be no prospect of a Summer at least in Glasgow.
I was wondering if it would be cheaper to leave it till the Winter and see if any place were doing a special on Air Con Recharging. Any thoughts on this
Ian.H Read more
I think the only things that the operator of kwikfits machine can screw up is to select the wrong car, or put the two different lub oils in the wrong dispensers.
Been reading some previews of the new Focus RS. Looks fantastic, but reading its gargantuan power and torque outputs, I was shocked to see its staying with front wheel drive.
I note it has a very trick Quaife torque biasing limited slip diff to help quell torque steer, but I wonder how successfully it can overcome the inherent problems of slinging 300 bhp (and 410 Nm) through the front wheels when far lesser powered front drivers have been near unmanageable in certain conditions?
Will it work? Anyone have any views (or bets) how this one is going to turn out?
Cheers
DP
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I see no reason why it shouldn't work.
My 3 MPS puts 380 Nm through the front wheels with almost zero drama bar the odd flash of the DSC light, and Ford will employ many of the same solutions Mazda did; equal length driveshafts, LSD, power and torque restrictions in 1st and 2nd gear etc.
The old (and oft-quoted) power limit for front-drivers no longer applies IMO.
RENAULT KANGOO 1.9 DIESEL CODED STOP SOLANOID
hello, i have just fitted a diesel pump to my renault kangoo and it didnt pump any fuel through to the injectors , fuel got to the pump but no further . the kangoo is fitted with an imobiliser and i think this stops the fuel stop valve salanoid from oppening using a code. now could i have a new code added , or the old 1 changed , or do i have to take the old solanoid off and fit to the new pump? its a lucas pump and the kangoo is a 1999 model f8q engine non turbo with a mechanical pump (not commo nrail) any ideas please
cheers carl Read more
It's been done; your insurer might object.
60K on clock, the car tends to lurch a bit in slow traffic. The error code p0400 came up at the service last month, thr mechanic said it could be the EGR valve, and it would cost about £80 for a replacement
Are there any physical checks I can do on this device, as it's dead easy to remove, but all I see is a slightly blackened hemisphere standing about 3mm proud which I assume it the valve .Should this move up and down at all or is it stuck in an open position? I think another post in this forum said you could just block this valve off as it's not critical. Any advice on this most welcome. thanks
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experienced this a couple of years ago on the 2L Diesel. The internet gave me the answer - The EGR valve. It costs £40 NOT £80. I'm not sure if it's easy to do as the car was just a few days out of warranty they did it on warranty. Initially they changed the air flow meter, although I consulted vauxhall direct and they confirmed the diagnosis I read on the internet. No problems since. Look around for the cost though.
Hi All,
I've got a 52 plate mondeo with a duratec 2.0 petrol engine that has just started idling erratically and stalling. Started suddenly the other day. Instead of idlling normally at about 900 rpm the revs oscillate. Sometimes they will oscillate by just 1 or 2 hundred revs about the normal idle speed, with an oscillation frequency of a couple of seconds but often the revs will drop very low and then oscillate between about 250 (nearly stalled) and about 750 rpm, oscillation frequency 2 or 3 seconds. The car struggles a bit to pull away and sometimes stalls but once it is moving and reving a bit higher it runs fine, no odd noises or vibration as far as I can see.
The problem started immediately after I'd accelerated the car hard from rest and rev'ed it to about 4500 or 5000 in first and second ....next time I came to idle the problem was there. it ws also a wet day but I didn't go through any big puddles. The engine was already warm from a 5 or 6 mile run and I don't think it is a damp electrical system....car has been in my garage for 3 days since so it should all be dry and the problem is still there.
So far I've checked the air filter (spotless) and the plugs (all fine, clean and gapped spot on) and checked the hoses on the air inlet and vacuum side of of the throttle body, all appear to be in place and I can't see or feel any splits where air could be getting in. Now wondering if it might be a partially blocked fuel filter, or trouble with the TPS (throttle position sensor) or idle control valve or....well I'm hjust guessing really :o(
Before I take the car to Ford for them to fix can anybody here help me please?
Many thanks,
Neil Read more
Neil
Might also be worth checking for an air leak into the inlet side. Split breather hoses are common - particularly under the coilpack.
I remember seeing a site that can tell you if a vehicle number plate is still used on a car but I cannot find it. I have found the details of some of my old cars and would love to know if they are still on the road or at least if the number is still in use.
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Very cheeky:
"We have further important information about R**CWO, a Honda (Motorcycle)."
No, you certainly don't.
Hi,
Wonder if anyone has seen this before ...
The first symptom was that the digital aircon panel appear to die electrically. I replaced the panel and that was not the problem.
After lots of sniffing around with a voltmeter, I found that the entire circuit (fed by fuse F21) is unpowered. The book lists this circuit as Air Conditioning and Ventilation.
Does anyone know what would cause this (assuming no wiring fault)?
Maybe a compressor problem or blower control?
Please help Read more
Baz
Any standard 4-pin mini-cube 40amp relay will do. [About a fiver.] Both circuits fed off BM1 anyway. BM2 feeds AA1.
Fitting a new switch isn't hard - just a bit fiddly; a Haynes would be a boon.
Depending on the make of the lock and switch assy; [Neiman?] you might have key-chip issues. Some keys have a detatchable head [tiny, hidden, screw] and you swap them on to the replacement lock's key-blades - some locks need their solid keys' chips re-matching to the immobilizer by a dealer.
Dual carriageway. Roadworks in say 800 yards, where one lane closes. What do we get? One long queue and one long, empty lane. In the USA you get "Merge in turn" signs and everyone is happy. I've never seen one here.
Lately this happened on the A580 East Lancs. Long Q, empty lane as above. Some old dude kept his place in the queue BUT moved over to block the empty lane.
The highway code, as HJ has confirmed, tells us to use both lanes and merge.
I squeezed past and told the O.D. exactly that. OOH the look on his face! (outrage) then zipped to the front and merged - just like the highway code says, before anyone tells me I should have queued!!!!!!
anyway, this blocking of empty lanes is something I have seen a lot lately. As usual, check the other guy isn't bigger than you before enlightening him.
I also re-iterate that I am immune from road-rage,
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Westpig and Norwich are getting very close to the holy grail of roadworks ettiquette.
It takes a couple of giant signs, possibly in "janet and john" font so even some of our more recalcitrant posters can understand, that say:
USE BOTH LANES
and
MERGE IN TURN
Gentlemen... problem solved!
As I proposed at the start! Waiter, more brandy!
Browse
lent my f-i-l my car in Jan and it broke down on him, throttle sensor went. I've owned it over 6 years without one hitch, lent it to someone for a week and it rebelled.
was driving my mates' wife's car (Suzuki Jeep) a few years back in a field in Devon (having a barbecue at the bottom of the farm and needed to return to the house for more provisions). Reversed it into a gate, pushing in the rear bumper slighly and broke the light lens. I took it to my brother's garage and between us we manipulated the bumper back to the right shape and I coughed up for a new lens.
few years back i offfered to lend my car to a good mate for him and his girlfriend to have a weekend away, he'd have been fully comp on my insurance. He declined, didn't want the responsibility...(car was fairly new then). With mate's like that you wouldn't mind lending stuff. There are others I wouldn't lend my wheelbarrow to.