October 2008
I keep an old Merc in a garage and take it out on occasion. This year , it's not been out at all, on account of poor weather ( it's a drop top ) and , annoyingly, when it was due for a run, it wouldn't start
Now , I bought an ' Accumate ' type slow trickle charger about 2 years ago that I keep plugged in, meaning the battery ( about 3 years old ) is always topped up. Lately though, the charger doesn't go into the ' charge complete ' cycle showing a green light, whenever I check, it's always ' on charge ' and not enough juice is stored to crank the engine. On the contrary, the alarm starts wailing which is a huge din . There is always enough power to bring on the interior lights , but the dash lights are much weaker than usual .
Is the battery faulty ? is there a drain ? ( all doors are kept locked ) am desperate to take it out before something seizes .. Read more
There are some nice low mileage (10 to 12K) 07 & 57 plate Legacy Spec B's available for just around the £15K mark!
I wonder how much cheaper they will get, because I'm tempted? I should really be looking at the diesels, but life's very short......... Read more
>>I am thinking of selling my Legacy 2.0R and have toured a few dealers with it. No >>one wants to take it off my hands, not even Subaru in p/x for a new Legacy Diesel!! >>I have been advised to try selling it privately, but I guess that will be extremely >>difficult. I shudder to think what the reaction to trying to p/x a Spec B would be!
I went through this in March/April with my 3.0R Spec B and was appalled by the lack of courtesy let alone offers extended to me by a number of Subaru main dealers. I bought a Legacy diesel off a friendly, helpful and very professional Subaru specialist in Wiltshire who imported mine to full UK spec via Malta at a discounted price. They bought my Spec B for about what I was expecting (advice - set your expectations realistic and low) kept back an amount for the deposit and wrote me a cheque for the balance and kept the car. I had to wait two months for the car to arrive. When I couldn't borrow a car I hired one (never pay the advertised price) but if I had kept the Spec B it would have dropped by another huge amount so it was the right thing to do.
Selling privately is usually the right advice but with things the way they are now, you could struggle and end up knocking it down in a month or two at a lower price than you could get tomorrow with the trade. Then I'd buy a £500 runabout and wait six to nine months when things will be worse and the stonking deals we're talking about now will look expensive. IMO.
Just getting rid of my Citroen Picasso baked bean can I am on the look out for a new car.
I like the "high up" cars and would love a 4x4 but am a bit dubious about the tax increases on these cars.
It must be economical and reliable but I want something a tad more solid than the Picasso. That said, I need enough space in the boot to house a dog cage.
Quite like the look of the Santa Fe and X-trail but on the down side (and to my husbands disgust) I quite like the Kangoo!!
Opinions please on whether my desire for a 4x4 type car thats economical is unreasonable and suggestions for other makes/models
£5k to spend...
Many Thanks.....
subject line changed and volume turned down ! Read more
I've got a Passat with doors that shut with a satisfying thud. The problem is that a bit too much time was spent designing the door catches/seals and not enough designing the suspension, electrics or assorted hidden ancillary elements (pollen filter, MAF sensor, ABS module, heater matrix, mirror switch, boot lock.......) The dash also creaks and rattles.
My wife has a mark 1 Zafira. Shutting the doors isn't as nice but everything else is far better than the Passat. I prefer the Zafira 100bhp diesel to my 150bhp petrol turbo. The dash doesn't creak either. It's been far more reliable over 4 years and still drives perfectly.
Be very careful about perceived "solidity" or "quality".
Am I the only one with this problem ??
I'm looking for a normal 5 door hatchback. But I want one with a heating system which enables me to have nice warm air on my feet and - AT THE SAME TIME - cool air at face level.
It doesn't seem that long ago that all ventilation systems could do this for you, but I can't find anything available now. That is except a BMW, 3 series and bigger; the 1 series can't do it.
Most staff in sale-rooms look at me as if I'm really eccentric (maybe I am) when I ask for this heating option and it has even been suggested that I drive with an open window. But that's uneconomical, draughty, noisy - altogether a step backwards.
It's no wonder that a number of drivers seem to doze off on long boring motorway trips. Fresh air in the face could help to prevent this.
Anyway, enough ranting. Anyone any suggestions - apart from buying a car made 10 to 20 years ago ?? Read more
>>Rover (80's and 90's)>>
I had a '90 Montego, it had some great features, elec s/r was novel then and the wiper system remains unsurpassed however the Cav ventilation system was better.
I have a problem, my 51 reg car does not seem to have much power, the turbo spins but doesn't seem to work.
Cam belt timing has been checked, tried an airflow meter, a visual meter check of all the turbo and vacuum pipes has been done.
The car has 58k, engine code is RHY with no intercooler. No warning lights showing.
Head gasket was recently done but the problem was there before this.
Read more
AS
That would have been a rare privilege; to leave a legacy of such importance - even prematurely - must have been a source of great satisfaction to him.
Now if people would only recognize the contribution of Tommy Flowers too....
Judging by that report, seems a new smart is a better place to put your money than most other new cars ;) Read more
On the other side of the fence, the VW Golf Mk 4 150bhp diesel (2002) with 79K on went for £3,575. Not bad for a £17K car new at 6 years old? My Golf might still be worth something, being a 2004 150bhp, but with 147K on... Anybody want one?
A change of jobs and a company car (a delightful Vectra CDTI SRI Estate) that happens in 4 weeks means I can't decide whether to keep the Golf and make SWMBO learn to drive!
Had an absolutely disgusting experience yesterday. Had been at a friends daughters party Saturday, went to their house, and got back late. Yesterday had my youngests third birthday party, and nipped out in the morning to get wrapping paper for the pass the parcel.
Driving back into the courtyard where our garage is (and those for other houses nearby) my neighbour was strutting across the car park in front of me. As I got out of the car I went to say hello, and exchange pleasantries as normal, when he barges over to me, foaming at the mouth and accusing me of scraping his car with mine as we reverse out.
Basically, having seen damage on his car (only had a couple of months and bought new) he's looked at mine and seen a mark on my front n/s bumper that has been there for 2 years. At this point he's clearly become quite deranged, and failed to notice the damage to his car is a pencil than gouge mark that looks for all the world like a supermarket trolley (his wife parks the car in a supermarket car park whilst at work every morning for a few hours).
Next thing he's pushing his chest out and pushing into me with threatening to punch my lights out and damage my property. I told him my car has not moved in a week as I have just realised the MOT has expired and during the week I cycle everywhere. This made him completely lose the plot, saying I was lucky he didnt kick the pfd out of me and I am procreating slang term for a part of the female anatomy., and a lying slang term for a part of the female anatomy (apologies for including that, but am trying to express how far this little maniac was out of control).
As a parting shot he raised his arm, clipping me on the cheek, causing minor pain.
I don't know if I have led a sheltered life, but have never experienced anything like this. I tried explaining the damage on my car was there when I bought it, but I had made it worse when I clipped a car at nursery. I said I would get the details as had left a note for the woman, and her car was repaired through my insurer, but he was not listening. I tried to no avail to explain I would not do that. He eventually strutted off, so went into my house and called the Police. I told them I would be at the party, and wouldn't be in till 5.30. At 5.40 2 WPCs turned up, listened to what I had to say, which was I wanted it kept off the record until I could try and speak rationally to him to avoid a pathetic neighbours dispute. They had a good look at both cars, and went round to speak to him.
What is so unbelievable to me is that the damage was quite patently not caused by a car. The scratch itself is quite deep, and caused by a very thin protruding object. It also starts on the corner of the bumper, and goes round the corner. How he could think a car could do that without denting the body work (he works in the trade at a car import site), astounds me- although in the current climate may explain his stress levels.
From my point of view, whilst I dont really want anything more to do with someone so unhinged, am above getting into a petty neighbourhood row. Looks like the cars gone to the body shop today- just hope they make him see sense that no car could have done that to his beloved).
Apologies for long post, but wondered if anyone had ever had anything similar. Read more
Post removed pending some editing at the request of the OP.
Hello all,
This is my first time on a internet forum so sorry if i make any mistakes.
I have a Mondeo on a 98 with a V6 duratec and up untill last week i have had no problems, then out of no where she starts to over heat, not a rapid rise in temp but a slow increase untill the fan kicks in, which has no effect. I thought head gasket, which i have changed (Needed a de-coke anyway) still overheating, checked thermosat which is fine. I have read that water pumps are poor on these engines any ideas anyone as i am out. Read more
Not uncommon; that was why I asked about the heater.
Over the weekend I noticed that Fiat are beta testing something called eco:Drive with the Fiat 500.
Apparently on some models you can plug a USB stick into the car and the ECU will record data to it.
You then transfer the stick to your PC and an application will analyse the data and highlight any areas where you could be driving more economically.
Has anyone seen it in action?
Kevin... Read more
I saw some adverts for it (on the Internet). It seems to encourage you to always drive in the highest gear to improve your fuel consumption.
One advert said that you get better fuel consumption and it's better for the engine if you go up hills in top gear with full throttle! It may give better consumption, but surely it's going to kill the engine if you labour it like that all the time? I would recommend driving relatively normal, but use a bit of common sense. If you crash because you were trying to drive safely then you'll loose far more (both environmentally and financially) than you saved by driving economically, so I always try to choose a flexible gear.
As i'd enquired about the new Vauxhall Insignia before its launch, the nice people at Vauxhall sent an invite to test the Insignia at a "top secret test site" aka Millbrook Proving Ground, just off the M1 north of Luton.
We arrived just in time, were escorted across to the central area where a large display of Insignia (Insignias?) were parked to one side, and escorted into the pavillion to check in and then avail ourselves of (very nice) food.
We were called in to the briefing and a couple of Vauxhall Bigwigs were there, enthusing about the Insignia. They teased us with a look at the Sport Wagon Tourer version on the podium, but sadly didnt get to look around that one - prototype and very much off limits.
We were then split off into smaller groups where Emma enthusiastically showed us around an Elite hatch in Pannacota. Goodies like adaptive headlights, flexride, 4x4 - all very interesting (not). We were then briefed on the rules when driving the cars - and we were off.
We got outside and they ran through the specs of the different cars. Silver cars were the 1.8 petrols, pale met blue 130 diesels, dark met blue 160 diesels, black cars were SRi Turbos and there were a few grey cars which were 2.8 Turbo 4x4 Elites. Sadly didnt get to drive a grey car though.
My first impressions - nice car, rear space is limited though, ingress and egress is compromised due to the aerodynamic styling. The rest of the interior is good, the dash is clear and its easy to get comfortable behind the wheel. Oh, and it has proper indicators at last. The first car I drove was the poverty spec 1.8 model - no idea what spec as it didnt have a badge! Ride and handling are good, but goodness its slow - around Millbrooks Hill Route it struggled, had to use 1st gear at one point. On the banked circuit it was nice and smooth, just a bit of wind noise - possibly from the rear windows spoiling it.
Next car we grabbed was a 160 diesel auto - much better on the performance front but it seemed to hunt through the gears on the hill route. Road noise and windnoise was better than the 1.8, but maybe the SE spec gets more insulation.
When we got back with this car, all the decent stuff (SRIs and Elites) were out, so out in one of the competitor cars that they'd laid on. Audi A4, BMW 3, Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, VW Passat - all there for you to compare to the Insignia. Chose a Mondeo petrol for giggles as we'd never driven one before. Very small mirrors, the annoying heated windscreen but a lot more driveable than the Insignia petrol.
So, a good day, topped off by some offroading in an Antara SUV - very capable vehicle!
Would I buy an Insignia - yes, nice car, but it'd have to be an estate. Oops sorry Sport Tourer ;)
Tony Read more
If any of you have been watching Top Gear, Millbrook is where they've been playing with the trucks.
Browse
What type of trickle charger are you using? Some won't work if the battery voltage has dropped too low. eg if it's an Airflow battery Condition/Charger:
"It will charge a battery from a minimum of 9 volts to 13.8 volts and then turn off."
www.airflow-uk.com/shop_accessories_battery-condit...l
Maybe other trickle chargers are the same?
Also see other posts in the thread:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=54431
I suspect though that the battery is well past its sell by date. As you've had to top it up (quite substantially by the sounds of it) then it's probably got more distilled water than sulphuric acid in the cells.