November 2008
Hello all,
1.8 Golf - 66KW - ABS engine.
Car has just been serviced by VW (120k) and at my request had a VW Geometry check (a super duper set all bits up job). Seems worse since that was done.
The car has been odd/difficult to drive for a bit - very bumpy over rough surfaces / small holes, occasionally feels loose (like the steering is not quite connected?), feels inconsitent when cornering and recovering from corners.
Its also lumpy comming off the clutch - a shudder there.
Difficult to describe but you just seem to have to fight to drive it anywhere near smoothly.
Any thoughts as to the cause(s)? New shocks needed?
many thanks,
James Read more
having starting problems with this car.This is the third time i,ve had this happen. the car won,t start, until i tow start it, and then runs perfect.The last time this happened was about 8 months ago.Any help very welcome.Cheers. Read more
At a proper scrap metal merchant (not breaker) - was £100 (beginning of August) - now £20. Read more
A couple of weeks ago, we were offered between £120 and £140 (scrap) for a P reg Corsa in Suffolk. We accepted the £130 as it was significantly closer to our abode.
I have done nearly 200 miles in my Fiesta now and used it a lot this week. It does however need some work which i think can't wait till the MOT in May, however this work will probably cost me around £200.
Good bits:-
Engine seems great, no smoke at all, even in this weather just checked with the engine warm and not even a puff out the back.
Dosn't appear to be burning any oil
Not loosing any anti freeze
Gearbox seems fine
Clutch seems ok although its hard tot ell as I am not the smoothest driver yet.
Dosn't overheat
Seems to get around 40mpg which is very close to Fords official figures.
No noise from the suspension strusts
Four good tyres
66k showing on the clock, the alst MOTs state the car has done 2000 miles a year so this is probably genuine.
Bad bits:-
Plugs slightly rusty though I think a bit of WD40/vinigar will sort this out.
Brakes a little noisy (pads)
Arch brake pipes will need doing.
I think from the sound the bushes on the rear roll bar will eventually need doing.
Drivers door does not open from outside
Sometimes makes a buzzing noise coming from a pump.
Had new sills in May.
Now since Fiestas are very easy to sell in this part of town and mine appears to be mechanicaly in good order I am thinking of spending £200 getting the bad bits fixed, but I still think in my head this is a 13 year old Ford.
The car is very easy to drive despite not having PAS. Once I get the above done I feel commited to keeping the car for a good year.
Thanks for any advice. If there was any more serious faults I would have thought I would have noticed by now?
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And that is the general idea here. I am actually looking forward to having a car with the luxery of a drivers door now :D.
I want to point out that the brakes are currently perfect, very sharp etc but its best to get them fixed before become not perfect which will be very soon if the pads fail.
I've seen some of my mates bangers, and they just leave servicing till MOT time and there are so many safety faults with them it is scary.
With the current down turn in the economy (reading the Credit Crisis thread) is it possible to order a LHD car through a UK dealership at the prices we are seeing posted here and elsewhere on the web ?
They are significantly cheaper than those in some European markets and I'm wondering if this is a missed opportunity by the main dealers ?
OK, they probably won't see the cars again for aftermarket sales/servicing but it could still help hit sales targets ? Read more
There are some signs that in France the market is starting to follow the UK trends, ie larger cars and sports cars (especially petrol-driven) are dropping in price quite quickly as people downsize. Markets are slower to react here, and dealers are still 'holding-out', but that will change.......
Forecast for Saturday here in the East says 'heavy snow showers' - how many of us will be good citizens and do as we're told by putting a shovel, blanket, thermos of hot coffee etc in the car and making a journey "only if it's absolutely necessary"???
And what do little old ladies mean when they say it's "too cold for snow?" Does this also apply in Siberia where it is very cold and there's lots of snow? Read more
Durham reporting in.
Less than an inch. Pretty much all gone, though slowly in the dark corners.
Space walker looses toolbag
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7736996.stm
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A car I was in as a passenger was hit by a dropped tool. It was one of those sort of handle things used for winding artic trailers up and down. Heavy thing. I saw it bouncing down the road towards us but the driver was unable to avoid it. The damage to the car was substantial but could have been much worse if it had decided to bounce towards the windscreen.
I can't help but extrapolate that damage which probably involved a closing speed of 50 or so mph with the effect of such an object hitting a space shuttle or similar at thousands of mph. I know you don't find too many HGVs in space but I'm sure you see what I mean.......
Houston.....we have a problem......
Edit - sorry Zookeeper, bit behind the game as usual am I not.......
Coming out of the council's tip (AKA recycling depot) I noticed some shiny new woodscrews ahead on the short spur off the main road. Hah! thought I, I'll stop and remove them. So, after a few people had overtaken (thereby driving through the puddle of screws on the road) I did. There were quite a number!
Quite an interesting road surface, there. There are bits of old pipe, wire, nails, screws and so forth, all pressed into the surface of the tarmac, so many indeed that it looks like an agglomerate of sharp bits of metal and tar.
I wonder how many punctures result from trips to tips? Read more
A very good point(groan), never considered that. I'll save my ventures to the tip for when I get a courtesy car ;-)
Has this been on telly yet? An old article but I've just stumbled across it.
snipurl.com/5wdyv [www_radicalsportscars_com]
0-60 in 3.5 seconds running on Bruichladdich malt whisky. But at £26 a litre its not a viable alternative.
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What`s wrong with meths ;)
The ifithelps Focus is paying its annual visit to the Ford garage today.
Would any forum members like to guess what I'll be paying later on.
Car is a 2002 1.8 Tdci with 79k on the clock.
Booked in for sixth annual service, which I think is a major one, plus MoT.
Nothing wrong with it as far as I know.
So, what would be a reasonable bill?
I'll post the actual sum later today. Read more
And the winner is.....
Me, I reckon, because the bill was £274 - pretty good for a no holds barred main dealer service including brake fluid change and MoT.
Other than tyres, I've not spent anything on servicing since this time last year.
I do about 13k a year and if I can again get away with not visiting the garage until the next scheduled service, I'll be quite happy.
Browse
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The black smoke shows it was only flooded; avoid ultra-short running periods and it should be fine. This is normal for these engines.