January 2009
I have seen a Ford Focus 1.6 LX which is an ex motability vehicle with 18000 miles and is a 2005 model (the last reg of the 1998-2004 shape Ford Focus) priced at £4999.
I noticed on the registration plate when I looked at the car at the Ford garage that it said GB
I wondered if you can give me some advice about whether this car, from what I have told you, seems a genuine buy remembering that the garage the car is at is a Ford main dealer with 3 months warranty.
Also the saleman said it had serivce history
Thanks.
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Has anyone had any experience of using LED bulbs for the sidelights etc.
I did buy some LED bulbs for my kitchen lights and was very dissapointed with the light output.
I saw these: tinyurl.com/9ztyvo
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Got a couple for my BMW (bike) number plate. There are several designs available and some issue more light along the longitidinal axis rather than sideways. So be careful in your choice. If you have a CANBUS(?) system you may need to get bulbs with a built in resistor to avoid confusing the electronic brain, apparently.
Went to buy a Jaguar touch up stick for my xtype and Halfords stock NO Jaguar touchups at all? Is this just my branch? I asked the assistant in there but he had no idea.
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For what its worth, I have bought touch up sticks or similar from ebay from chaps who make them up to order. Very cheap and colour match was spot on. I too found Halfords range lousy, went to Jag to get one (cheap too!) however, imagine my frustration when the brush part came away from the lid and disintegrated. Therefore, I've tried my luck and been impressed with flea bay ever since!
My 2005 TDCI 115 wont go into first or reverse when stationary, it feels as if there is something physically stopping it. with theclutch held in if i slip it into any other gear first then it will then go in and out of 1st/reverse easily UNTIL i release the clutch then it happens again. If I start the car with the clutch in its never a problem as long as I remember to go into first while rolling to a stop, although it has been getting worse and ive noticed sometimes its stiff to get into other gears first as well.
I understand this car has a hydraulic slave clylinder release system so it cant be adjusted to rectify the drag (im assuming this is what it is) so the question is am i really looking at a whole new clutch kit and possible dual mass flywheel (it does clatter a bit when starting and a vibration can be felt through the pedal, and has done 91,000)
Im told if the starter motor is removed and its full of metal dust the DMF needs replacing as it disintergrates and collects in the starter.
Ive been quoted £600 all in for the clutch, slave cylinder and DMF by my local clutch specialist, which seems very cheap.
would it be worth the extra £300 odd to replace the DMF while the clutch is out?
I see mechanics like dentists.....I dont know them and they are making money out of me so I just have to trust them if they say i need work doing without knowing if its true or not, for all I know they could just chuck the car on the ramp adjust a few nuts and bolts, tell me theyve replaced everything and charge my for it!!!
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On balance it probably is Seagal. You must be doing what, 45k a year ? If you buy something else it will take a massive hit on depreciation in a short time. What's more the new one may suffer a problem or two anyway. If you keep your current car maintained it has not got a lot left in it to lose in terms of depreciation and your total investment in it is little more than the cost of any repairs.
I'd fix it and keep it. Or move house!
Good luck.
I see there are a couple of posts on this model I have a related problem. Car starts & idles OK runs well when cold but soon has poor throttle response. Flat spot when pulling away (flooring throttle can help) half throttle acceleration feels 'strangled' & variable pulls OK at times. Gentle steady throttle runs much better. Take it for a motorway run 70 - 80 runs fine after 15 miles or so injection warning light shows sometimes slight stagger in running often no obvious effect warning light comes & goes.
So far I have replaced: lambda sensor. throttle body complete, MAP sensor & vac hose all had no effect except the MAP sensor which briefly seemed to improve running but soon reverted!
Passed recent MOT with difficulty all readings were all over the shop disconnecting the lambda sensor & reconnecting it gave us a brief window & it passed.
I don,t have a scanner(well actually I have an Autel VAG305 for VW) but when checked by a local mechanic recently no fault codes & fuel pressure was steady at tickover & full throttle.
ECU is IAW 6F 58 no immobiliser ecu - very early '94 model not fitted.
Sorry it's a bit long winded but I tried to describe all symptoms & what has been tried to cure problem.
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Valve clearances are most suspect from your list Lambda sensor is Fiat exhaust is fairly new from end to end including the Cat - the old cat was clear I will check the engine, tappets etc, but standing outside for any time in present temperatures is not on my favoured options list!
www.parkers.co.uk/News/News/Cheap-Breathalysers/
Quite an interesting article, I wonder how many people have used them and thought it was safe? I think the only real sure way is if you drink a lot the night before don't drive the next day.
{link to rival site made non clickable} Read more
I do feel for the "next morning" cases after a friend of mine blew over
the limit at 8am after a moderate night on the wine. She had been drunk
but not paraletic. Got up next morning felt fine drove to work pulled and banned.
That DP is exactly why I said the 'ONLY way... be tea-total.'
Im not saying that all drivers should be tea-total, I at this moment have a bottle of caribbean twist rum on the go...and Ill be driving at 6 in the morning - I should be OK... but!
In my mind, it is a risk and one Im willing to take, after all its not a huge amount of alcohol...
IF i get pulled, and banned Ill be well gutted.. but whose fault will it be?
There is also parallel development going on of supercapacitor technology - these are even better for rapid charging, they last for more charge/discharge cycles and would be ideal for hybrids.
I found a link to this unusual motoring challenge methinks.
I havent found anything that the kiddies shouldn't see, if anyone does then i apologise
The links at the bottom for the other motoring perilous journeys are worth a look too
Its a very short url so i didn't use the minimizer, hope the mods are ok with that
www.ssqq.com/ARCHIVE/vinlin27c.htm
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tinyurl.com/87b6tj
That's one of the funniest cars I've seen unmodified. Today you wouldn't want to drive one so much as scrunch it up like a big coke can and start again. Easy to see how its occupants might feel vulnerable perched next to an abyss. Not that much would be better than a parachute anyway in that event!
My daughter's '98 megane scenic 1.6 (8v) has blown it's head gasket for the third time in 20 months. Is this a record?
I know they are prone to it, but it's getting a bit much.
The first time it was caused by water pump failure, (at about 115k miles) the cambelt was done at the same time, by our local garage who are excellent, used them for years and they are V reasonable. Head was skimmed and pressure tested. Don't know why it went again 7 months later (her partner had been driving it at the time and he's a bit of a jinx). The garage fixed it again (at reduced price). It runs fine in between times.
This time there was no big blow up, just just started chugging when hot, occasional bubble in the expansion tank, no big water loss, but evidence of escape round filler cap, runs OK when cold, presumably when pressure builds, water is forced past the gasket into the cyl.
I tried Kalimex K seal which I've used with great success in the past, but no joy.
As they can't afford to get it fixed, I was wondering about doing it myself. I've done gaskets before (a long time ago), lots of minis, couple of 6 pot BMWs, Ford essex V6, WV etc,
I was wondering if any special tools were needed, is it a complex job, how do those weird french ignition coil pack things work? etc. How hard is it to get the inlet manifold off, it looks really inaccessible. Are there timing marks on the camshft pulley?
Or should we just scrap it?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
A
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Pretty gruesome tale this but maybe you know someone who might have seen something at about 13.15 on Tuesday
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/...m
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To avoid any discussion (Nsar posted to let people know in case they can help) I have made this read only.
Rob
Browse
My point was if they were giving the bare mimimum is because they suspect something will go wrong in 6 months time?
I had an argument with a garage a few months back as they told me their car dosn't come with any warranty, I said well what if my HG goes the next day he says they will look at it but won't get taken for a ride. I might actually see what trading standards have to say about that.
So I ignored what seemed to be a really good car because the seller would not trust it enough to offer a proper warranty, their main business was repairing cars too, so if anything did go wrong it costs their time and labour to repair, its not like they will have to pay another garage to repair it.
3 months later the same car is on the forcourt still unsold and its only a £750 Corsa!