July 2008
GM has lost $51Bn in 3 years.
Share price now $11 (£5.50) - last time it was so low was in 1954 when Eisenhower was President.
$11 in 1954 = £4.00 - enough to feed a familyof 4 for a week
$11 today = £5.50 enough for a fish supper + bag of chips if you are lucky.
What prospects of GM surviving? medium to longer term! Read more
I was using this push-mower about 2 weeks ago and accidentally ran over some rocks.. the mower continued to work for several minutes but then sputtered out and cut off. When I pulled the cord to start the mower, it doesn't turn over. I'm not real technical but I hear something spinning and it seems like it's not even trying to turn over at all. I pull, something spins... not even attempting to turn over. Any idea what's going on?! Thanks in advance for any assistance! Read more
No offense taken, because you're exactly right lol... I called a local shop and he said something about some part I already forgot what it's called. ("something.... Dogs") anyway I might try that he said they just cost a couple bucks and there's either 1 or 2. We'll see... thx for your reply.
The Volvo's interior is generally wearing its 130,000 miles very well, but there are a couple of areas where a bit of tidying might be appropriate.
The black plastic door cappings are marked in a couple of places, particularly where they disappear behind the interior door handles. I was wondering how practical it would be to take them off, rub them down and paint them with the special paints you can buy for interior plastics. If I was going to do this, I would probably paint them silver to match the later / facelift interior. The dash of my car is pretty unrelenting grey/black in colour save for the spaceball gearlever which is silver. I think this same silver highlighting would look good along the door cappings, and maybe even on the strip of trim running along the top of the glovebox lid. As I said, this is not my own design - Volvo themselves did it on later models.
The paints seem to be readily available with a primer, the colour, and then a clearcoat sealant. Has anyone had any experience with this paint, and does it work? The door cards are in otherwise perfect condition, and it seems a shame to replace the whole lot, assuming I could even find an S60 in a breakers - they seem to be rarer than hen's teeth. The reason I thought this paint might be suitable is that the areas concerned are small (about 2" wide strips) and are not subject to wear and tear or flex.
Any experience / advice welcome.
Cheers
DP
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2-litre Mondeo petrol
Car overheating when stationary in traffic on motorway
Thought changing thermostat would be a good idea
On refilling, constant stream of bubbles through header tank
Is this the dreaded "curse of the Mondeo" ie hg gone?
If I can find the compression tester in the shed I might have a go with that
I was told 170 was the figure to aim for: can anyone confirm?
Thanks mw Read more
Been there, had that done......!
Sounds very much like HG. Might be worth trying K-Seal for a few quid off eBay.
Could last a few weeks, could last for ever.
Hi guys,
I am currently looking for a used convertible which is reliable and within the £3000 - £5000 range. Can anyone recommend any to have a look at. I am looking at older MX-5's at present
Cheers
Tommy K Read more
Right,
I am about to by an XC90 D5. I was going to purchase the 2005 model as it's a little cheaper. However I understand that from '06 onwards a better D5 engine was used (185bhp). I hear that this got rid of the delay through the engine/transmission that can sometimes develop under harsh acceleration.
I asked Volvo if this problem could be overcome by a reprogramme (as I have read this somewhere) and they told me no, I need to buy the newer car. Is it true, or are they just trying to make me spend more money on a newr model?
I was also going to superchip the car as it's now out of warrant so I am potentially looking at more power / economy than the later model anyway, but obviously it is wasted money of the car hesitates under acceleration?
Any info greatly appreciated Read more
o OB, are you now saying that the 05 cars don't have the "slip into neutral " function
Heres an interesting poser
my car officially died yesterday on the M4 (see my other post)
For reasons 'unknown' the engine decided to go to that great service centre in the sky
the damage will cost around the same price if not more than the cars current resale value.
I thinking whats the best way to sell it ? sounds silly really as I suppose all your answers will be ?scrap it?
But???..
It did have everything on it extras wise and, after just paying £200 (part only) for 1 single window motor mechanism on Friday, surely the sum of the parts will be greater than the whole?
So the details are as follows:-
2001 x type jag 2.5 SE silver colour with leather / walnut interior
alloy wheels
Pirelli powergy tyres (2 less than 5k miles on them)
Emergency wheel (used once)
Voice activation on everything
Steering wheel with voice control function enabled
Touch sensitive system (larger single 6inch screen as featured on the XK) / AND VOICE CONTROL for
Telephone (enabled)
Radio/cassette/cd
Climate control
Sat navigation
Menu (clock time zones preferences etc)
Sat nav system including jag brand disk (Germanic woman with husky voice ? ideally for those chilly mornings) in boot
5 Cd autochanger in boot
In car telephone in armrest sunken/hidden housing
Leather seats (heated)
Heated headlamp wash
2 x electric ?plip? car keys
Full leather drivers ?handbook? in racing green leather containing manuals for
Drivers Handbook
Quick reference guide
Voice activation
Sat nav system
Log book
Telephone.
Is this time to renew my former past time on ebay or just consign my memories to the scrap heap?
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New to this thread, but having just read through, I'm beginning to see why the OP's engine gave out....
Having problems with local main dealer.
Could anyone with access to a parts list, please advise the part number for the outer half of the mirror case for the N/S ( electric ) door mirror on a 2002 Agila. This is the piece which would normally be painted to match the car. Seeking number for part in plain black plastic if available or failing this, for the part primed prior to painting.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, pauline10@uwclub.net Read more
Many thanks again. Appreciate your assistance.
Regards.
I have a 15 year old Peugeot 405TD estate, my 2nd one, with 160,000 on the clock, and I love it! I've done so much to it that I want to hang on to it if I can. I think the head gasket is going as it loses coolant with no obvious leaks and also pressurises the cooling system - fluid sometimes pours out under pressure AFTER the engine has cooled when I remove the radiator cap. The oil and coolant are both clean and I have just done a 330 mile round trip running like a bird. Engine temperature is fine but it was problematical before until I fitted a new thermostat (the old one didn't have a bleed hole in it so I could not bleed it properly). I expect overheating did the damage.
I have twice used K-Seal but this has made no difference. I am very reluctant to spend the £600 odd I've been quoted but I have seen "Steel Seal" advertised at www.steelseal.co.uk/. The only alternative is to do the job myself. I have done a few in the past many years ago, including an old Astra diesel, but this looks much more complicated
Question 1 - do you agree my diagnosis?
Question 2 - What do you think of Steel Seal, how effective, safe, permanent?
Question 3 - How difficult is this likely to be (especially with the turbo)?
Many thanks
John (Also quite honest!)
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I wouldn't panic if I were you. A similar thing happened to my 405 non-turbo about 70,000 miles ago. It lost a bit of coolant and pressurised the system and the pressure could stay in the system for days. This "bodge" is still in place and the problem's no worse. It might be worth you trying it if the gasket isn't too far gone.
I drilled a the side of a 28mm copper fitting to take an automatic air bleed valve (as used on central heating systems) and grafted it into the top hose with a couple of jubilee clips. The idea is that the valve releases any air forced into the system without it letting any coolant pass. Since then it's had a new radiator and it doesn't lose any coolant at all.
Hope that helps
Richard
I have just read the honest john guide on how to buy a new car but just wanted to be 100% on how cheap I can really get this car!
I have a 56 plate A3 from september 2006. It now has 27053 miles to be exact on the clock.
I am interested in a Mini cooper D for september on the 58 plate. List price is £14,420 for the mini. I will be addding the pepper pack and MFSW as extras. Total cost on the mini website is £15,690.
Dealer 1 yesterday offered a lowish £12k for my A3 but after a bit more convincing offered £13k.
I still think they may be a better deal but what is the best way to do it? Please help, I have never bought a new car before and I now want something reliable!!! Read more
Sorry, sony, but having driven an A3 2.0 TDI and a new Cooper D, the cost to change wouldn't be in any equation - I would keep the A3!
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GM, as with Ford, is trying to respond to a changing world by re-structuring.
It knows the future is with smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Maybe these will use new technology like the 'Volt' system.
It also knows that it either re-structures itself, or the re-structuring is enforced on it by becoming insolvent. Insolvency is the end of the road for the shareholders, but isn't the end for the company.
When the manufacturing company I worked for went into receivership four years ago, half the employees were made redundant. But we came through that, and still sell our traditional range of products (plus some new ones).
I also see that the Ford share price is around $4.65 a share, and its the lowest its been since 1985.