September 2008
I've washed the wife's car, allowed it several hours to dry and then polished it, with Autoglym. The polish is a devil to get off and seems to be sticking to the water marks left by the dried water. I did "leather off" with a microfibre cloth. By rubbing really hard I can get rid of the marks and get a decent shine but if I put that much effort into the roof it'll dent and anyway I'll probably die of exhaustion first.
Any ideas? I don't think it needs claying. I learnt that from you last year and now my car's paint is like glass.
Thanks,
JH Read more
I'm having a problem with my Elantra as it is hesitating or "bogging down" under acceleration. It seems to mainly happen at low revs (under 2,000 rpm), and usually when I'm trying to pull out of a junction etc.
I took the car to my local dealer and they checked the management system which logged a fault with the oxygen sensor. This was changed but the problem has continued - does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem could be - I don't really want my local garage to keep changing parts until they find the right one!
Thanks
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Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor - actually measures vacuum. The most significant mixture sensor.
Dear Honest John and friends. I have a 2003 TDi A4 Avant. I have had it from new and it has not done 50k miles yet. I got a letter from my local Audi dealer a few days ago advising that I should have my main cam belt replaced as it could result in a costly bill if it broke and damaged the engine. When I asked them how much this would cost they quoted a few pounds shy of £650! This sounds like a mad price to me. Please could you advise a more cost effective alternative for me to consider to do the job who is reputable and based in the Basingstoke area.
Many thanks
Dashing Read more
I paid £600 including a longlife service (usually £180) and a replacement altenator tensioner (£90) at a local independant VW garage.
At the age of your car I don t see any need to get Audi to do it
Hi All
I am looking for a new (used) car and have seen this car.
My synopsis
1.7 DTI envoy 2004 04 plate
From main dealer
AC included
93k miles
Timing belt required at 100,000 (Anyone estimate how much?)
3 owners and it appears done 20k miles a year (spread evenly)
FSH with last done by main dealer in March of this year.
What do you think? What should I look out for/ be wary of?
Thanks in advance for all your help and any comments
Andrew Read more
Vauxhall's own website gives trade-in values of £1500-£1960. Depending on which end of the range they paid the last owner, the mark-up they are asking is up to 100%. Seems very high. However if its an excellent example and covered by Network Q, it might be worth it. As is often said on cars like this, there are plenty out there so no need to rush in. If you are going to buy at least get the cambelt and associated work (water pump etc) thrown in.
The manual for my Mazda 323TD advises the following procedure for using jump leads:
Connect a lead from the positive terminal on the discharged battery to the positive terminal on the booster battery; then a lead from the negative terminal on the booster battery to the 'engine hanger' in the discharged car's engine bay.
My FiL followed this method to jump start his petrol Corsa C. As soon as he put the lead on the engine hanger of the Corsa it sparked. The car then started okay with the jump but it later transpired that the ECU was fried! It's possible that on trying to use a battery charger before jump starting he connected the charger to the wrong terminals (he remembered there was no voltage reading from the charger's meter).
It's many years since I last used jump leads but distinctly remember negative to negative terminals. What has changed and is it safer just to call out a breakdown company to do the jump starting?
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you can get anti spike jump leads to protect car electrics from power spikes or surges or also the surge protection can be bought on its own to fit to existing jump leads
takes the risk away
Hi All,
I'm after some advice. 2 weeks ago we did a deal to buy an S-Max on a 56 plate. The car was at another site so we were not able to inspect it. We agreed a price and left a £250 deposit which we were told was refundable. The paperwork however says that it is not refundable.
Having now seen the car it's the most tatty one we have ever seen. Huge stain on the seat, ripped carpet, broken trim, missing parts, scratches etc. The dealer has said they will sort out all of the issues but I really don't want to buy a car that has been so badly cared for.
I want to back out and get my deposit back. I would be happy to buy another car from the dealer. Before I speak to them does anyone have any advice or thoughts?
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At the end of the day I'm happy that we paid a fair price - i.e we didn't get a bargain but then we were not ripped off either. >>
Wise and sensible words, Moonshine, if I may say so.
It is very possible the dealer lost a few quid.
When I sold Renaults, we over-priced the odd part-exchange.
Put it on the front at a bit more than it should be, and it sticks.
You hope to get a mug, but most punters know what price the car should be and can spot one that's too much.
In the end, the bitter pill has to be swallowed, but as you rightly say, no one gets a bargain.
All that happens is the car is sold at the right price.
Back to your S-Max - best of luck with it.
They're well thought of, so it should do the job.
Stopped in a layby to make a phone call the other day.
Guy parked further up approached my car and asked for assistance because his had broken down.
Turns out he was an Englishman living in Holland, travelling back there with his Dutch girlfriend in a tired left hooker Fiat.
Had a quick look and it had certainly lost its fan belt, but didn't appear to have overheated.
Now, I thought about suggesting his girlfriend whip off her tights/stockings and we'd fix it with those.
In the event, I gave him a lift to a garden centre which had a cafe/local knowledge of breakdown services/hotels etc.
My question is can a fan belt be replaced, even temporarily, with stockings or tights?
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The nylons trick did work - but, as always - there are rules.
The knot had to be really neat and the "belt" had to be made slightly small so that it was a seriously tight fit between crank and water pump only. [Although I once did manage to get an XJ6 alternator to charge surprisingly well on August Bank Holiday '76.]
Nearly everything back then had a fixed fan and it was quite possible, on in-line engines, for the windmill effect to drive the waterpump once the speed got up a bit. I recall once driving a York 6-pot diesel all day without a belt. On that one it seemed to work right down to about 20.
£7k to spend; up to 100,000 miles; approx 4 years old; diesel. Can't decide which. Decisions decisions. You seem to get a newer Honda than an A4 for this budget though. Read more
Neither - get the A6 Avant if you want a usable 4/5 seater, slightly cheaper than an A4 Avant as well... The nice 130bhp 1.9 might not be the most refined, powerful or quick, but it has proven reliability, at least upto 250K...
But service history is critical, and the quality of the history is important to ensure the correct oil has been used.
I speak as the owner of a 4.7 year old Golf 150bhp (mk4) with 145K on the clock now (38K since I bought it last August)
Anyone tried one yet or maybe even bought one ?
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I dunno what you've been doing with your Vectra Adam but in all the years
I and other members of the family have owned Vauxhalls the rear view mirror has
never detached itself from the windscreen.
We've had two and it's happened on both of them (a Cav and a Nova). No other car has done this.
No big deal -- a good dose of Araldite sorts it.
But do they? and what else is going on?
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But surely has a shorter life expectancy?
Yes, but like an invertebrate Lancelot it will have had a short but courageous life.
Never let the water dry!!! Prolly realised that by now! lol
Suggest as others said, wash and leather off, then use SRP again. Its a polish meaning its got mild abrasives and you need to work it in, its filler heavy so hides swirls and scratches. Its good stuff! Use small amounts and don't let it bake on, like others said, does'nt need long to cure.
SRP is not very durable, so top it off with a thin layer of EGP, then buff and reapply the EGP. Should last you a good 3 or 4 months. If you cannot get rid of the water marks, a dedicated polish or paint cleaner might be needed.