January 2009
1.6 Zetec Petrol. First turn of the ignition it starts then stalls. Second attempt it runs fine.
Anyway I thought I would give the Idle Control Valve a check and clean. BUT what does it look like and where can I find it?
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I drive a Merc CLK, my wife is second named driver on
I had a prang in another car in May 07, which wiped out a bit of NCD, at last renewal i was granted 4 years NCD
My wife drives a Mitsubishi Grandis, with me as second name driver on it, she has 9 years NCD
We do reasonably well at shopping around each year for our car insurance, tend to get good deals, and tend to get cashback via Quidco, as opposed to simply renewing existing policy.
Eldest child is now about to start learning, neither car is suitable for teaching/learning, so thinking of buying a mates VW Polo, 11 years old, well maintained, manual 1.6... but rusty but has jsut passed its MOT, bangernomics and all that, probably worth about £300 (still talking to him about it).
trying to get a car insurance quote for Mrs G to be owner, me to be additional driver no 1,. and daughter (on provisional license) to be additional driver no 2.
So far the only quote I got was £1350., WOW! thats alot
never before having insured for a learner (shes my eldest of 4).. I have no ideas if that is reasonable or no. the Merc and Mitsu each cost about £350 per year to insure and they are big powerful autos, but then again not going to be driven by a learner.
Guy.
Amended thread title to make it a little less vague, Rob Read more
Which ever way you go, main driver or named driver also ask the insurance company what happens to the premium when you advise them your daughter has passed her test. Often premium increases a fair amount, logic being she will use the car more and not be accompanied by instructor or parent.
Two years ago we used Liv Vic for my 17 yr old daughter prov license on old 1.4 polo they did not increase premium. This year after hrs of research ended up with Diamond.
These guys have been recommended on HJ before for young learners with old cars.
www.gsi-insurance.com/youngdrivers.html I think it's best to phone them
I've had my V40 from new and have been the sole driver. I've never hit a pot hole that I thought could cause damage, yet my car has just failed its MoT because of a fractured offside rear coil spring! And I thought a Volvo was well made and more robust than most cars. I've never experienced such a failure in 45 years driving. Could it be poor manufacture? I will be recovering the part to examine it. Read more
>>the springs aren't chamfered at the ends which over-stresses them and they crack.
It's not that common to find springs with flattened ends on modern cars - it's an expensive process. If the spring seat is well designed, then the stress can be kept within reasonable levels.
It's not just Ford vehicles by any means!
I think that with the perhaps laudible aims of decreasing mass, and in particular *unsprung mass, vehicle manufacturers have gone just a bit too far.
* Depending upon exactly how you choose to view the unsprung mass, between about 1/3 and 1/2 of the mass of the spring can be considered to be unsprung.
I have a Fiat Idea Active with no alarm, the indicators do not flash when the key fob is used to lock or unlock it. I have been on the Fiat Forum site which says it is possible to activate this feature when the car is plugged into the diagnostic computer.
My question is... does any one here know where the flasher setting is in the diagnostic menu system?
John R
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After removeing and replacing the Head and the associated jobs I find that the engine shows no sign of firing. Before attempting to start I ran a fault check on the engine and no faults were displayed. I have checked that fuel is returning from the tandem pump (about 25 ml for 2 - 4 sec cranking). The live data appears reasonable but is obviously limited as the engine can only be cranked. I have discussed the problem with the man on the vag-com helpline and we are faily sure that the problem is not electrical. That said I have not yet run a full fault check or looked at the engine immobilizer module. Does anyone have experience of this kind of problem? any help would be greatly appreciated. Read more
Same on modern Fords;fuel needs to be sucked thro';there is also a cut-out in the fuel system which should stop the engine before the tank runs dry to stop these priming problems.
never buy a new car--wait 1/2/3 year on model u like
learnt my lesson
depreciation is awesome
even for a golf gti Read more
It took me a nanosecond to get that. :-)
My W (2000) plate Audi had covered 155k miles and has been written off by the insurance company and with the settlement, i am considering to replace it with a newer Rover 75 Cdti (2003) connisseur model with 80k miles, 1 company director since new with leather and all the equipment with it with FSH for £2700.00
Can anyone give me any information as to the general reliability of the 75 compared to an Audi A4. Shall i stick to another A4 or go with the 75.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me urgently. Read more
For wider ownership experiences also check out the owners club at www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum
This amused me rather alot, no offense to any Ford lovers.
One of my customers, a long time Fiesta owner, rang me up yesterday thanking me for some recent advice. I just said that as she was thinking of replacing her 03 Fiesta with a brand new one, have a look at the Daihatsu while shes looking over the Ford ( in same showroom ).
Now I didnt think much of it at the time, but when she rang me up and said she had changed her car I thought she meant for a Sirion. But no.
She had a look at the new Fiesta. Hated the styling, found it very claustrophobic and terrible visability, not to mention expensive and a bit tight inside. She even gave it a good test drive but just couldnt get on with it.
She then spied a Terios and liking the initial look of it, asked to take it for a spin.
Her exact comments were ' it felt just like my car as soon as I pulled away'. She said that it cost the same as the Fiesta but was much bigger, excellent visability and the clincher apparently was the 5 year warranty, 5 year roadside assistance and 5 year free servicing.
It just amused me that someone could go in for a Fiesta and come out with a Terios thinking it is the better car and yet, read press reports and you would think the Fiesta was the best car in the world. Apparently you cant make a universally liked car and can even alienate your existing customers. Read more
Sat around they shouldnt develop problems though.
My dads car sits around for week sat a time and barely managed 1500 miles last year and yet it always starts.
Look at how long some of these new cars sit in fields before they get delivered - if that is so bad for cars, they wouldnt do it would they?
Her Fiesta didnt have battery issues but some obscure electrical gremilin which they apparently fixed in the end. I certainly dont think a car with 9k on the clock with full Ford history should be unreliable, it should still feel and behave fresh out the box.
Hi, my engine management light has been on for some time now, initially it was very sluggish on starting but has gradually got worse, would think there was kangaroo petrol in it, but the fuel is fine and has recentle been serviced just before this recent problem arose, its now hard to get over seventy and can nearly come to a halt as the power somes just isnt there, on starting there is a whining noise which gradually goes away. Finally the tempature guauge is always at zero unless i am siting stationery when it will gradually rise thus giving good heat. Could it be this airflow meter causing these problems
{Shouting amended. Some of us are trying to have a lunchtime nap!!} Read more
GET THE CODES READ
sorry mods...
Just had a spark plug ejected from my Espace! I thought there was a problem with the manifold/exhaust due to the noise but garage found spark plug had come out.
Engine is longitudinally mounted so plugs run front to back making good access to rear two plugs nigh on impossible.
Waiting for mechanics verdict, but looks like he won't be able to rethread the hole in situ.
I assume the only alternative will be to remove the head and have the hole rethreaded, and that this would mean new head gasket, head skimming, possibly new timing belt etc at same time?
Can anyone advise rough cost of this or any alternative remedies?
Not sure whether cost will outway value of car.
Any advice appreciated.
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Update.
Garage just called and apparently the plug somehow 'un-wound' itself on it's threads! No damage - new plugs fitted and drives fine.
Sounds crazy to me, but not complaining!
Maceman
Browse
Thanks. Will give it a coat of looking at in daylight tomorrow.