February 2009
Just been along to a well known car supermarket in west London, near to a certain public service broadcaster's headquarters, to view a nice looking 2006 Mazda 6 2.0 TS auto they had up on their website. 28k on the clock, verified. So far so good.
Gave the car the once over and test drove it, all seemed to be in excellent order, but the sticker price still seemed good, even for this particular dealership.
I then asked the salesman about the car's service history, and he said there was none. Oh, said I. Don't like the sound of that. Sales bloke said they'd be asking 500 quid more if it has the service book. Then I noticed the original supplying dealer's plates were still on the car, so I noted their number (in Worcester), went off for a cuppa and gave them a quick bell. Sure enough, the car was a motability car they had supplied new, and it has full and correct service history with them, it's just that the book has gone missing.
So, I went for it. Deposit put down, and will collect next week. Well pleased at £6.5k for the car. Seemed a really lovely driver on the test and I'm looking forward to getting used to it. Should be able to get the original dealer to print me out a history and send it on, or supply a replacement service book I hope.
This will be my 26th car (I think), and it's the very first non-European (branded or manufactured) car I'll have owned. I think I'm turning Japanese in my impending middle age! Read more
hello just got a mondeo tdci 130 05 plate problem is car starts great in a morning when cold and runs great but when its warm sometimes hard to start any ideas read a few things about updating the firmware any one done this and did it work it is showing no fault codes done the crank shaft sensor not that when car is running goes like a dream any help would be grateful Read more
yep had the update done to day and great starts no problem when warm
just started to notice that my steering is feeling loose and not quit right . i have checked the tyres and the car has recently passed a mot . has any one experinced the same problems? Read more
Take your car to your local Toyota dealer, your car should be under warranty ok. There are a few issues that may be applicable to your vehicle.
Regards
Dave
Now established that my oil pressure problem is due to a build up of carbon which is clogging up the oil pick-up.
Is there an engine flush on the market that will loosen AND BREAK DOWN any traces of carbon in the engine?
Thanks,
Stuart Read more
Flushing oil with a blocked strainer = more blocked strainer. It shifts the carbon and other gunk rather than putting it into solution. I know of no substance which will do this, which would be safe to put into an engine.
659.
I've had my 05 reg 130tdci Zetec compression tested at a dealers and got a report giving the compression as 4,5,7,8. Now I am not sure what this represents, I am led to believe this is derived from a laptop? Can anyboby enlighten me on this? what reading should I expect to get if I have it tested mechanically through a glow plug hole ( psi or bar)?
Cheers,
Regards Rich. Read more
I've had trouble with starting, starts ok but struggles to tickover smooth on occassion.
Rich.
I have seen a 53 reg Astra with FSH and on the website the car looks brand new, on the pics I cannot even see a single scratch or mark on it. There are no holes on the dash or roof so I imagine it might have been a civilian car rather than a panda car. The inteiror also looks spotless.
It comes with full police service history, 6 months warranty, four new tyres, 12 months MOT and its £1900 so in my budget. It is the 1.4 16v so cheap tax and insurance.
It has 103,000 miles could this be a problem but I only do a maximum of 3000 miles a year so it in many ways it is better for me to get a newer body which will take longer to rot than an older car with lower milleage where the engine has another 5 years life but the body doesn't.
I am planning of going in about an hour so need some advice before then :). I will be able to read any replies on the bus but can't really reply as its just too much hassle on a keypad.
I realise if it is a panda car it is going to be heavily abused so I am going to view it with an open mind, and there is another garage very close by so its not going to be a complete waste of time. If the pedals all feel loose and the gearchange feels really vague it is probably obvious the car is knackered.
Thanks. Read more
I am forever amazed at people who come up asking how to buy an ex panda. You would have to be mad no one abuses a car like police and cid are no better than response. Smashed bashed and beaten fixed at great expense and bashed again.
According to today's online Autocar (autocar.co.uk):
"Renault is poised to scrap the next generation Laguna and could virtually pull out of the large car market altogether, senior company sources have revealed."
"Production of the current Laguna model is set to end in late 2010 and the factory that builds it will switch to building commercial vehicles in 2011, the sources told Autocar."
Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn said, "We will have to adapt to new market conditions, rethink individual mobility and adapt to the new trends."
"However, Renault has not prospered in the large car market in recent years and sales of the newly facelifted Laguna have been much slower than Renault predicted."
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HJ praised the latest Laguna model when he tested it recently and gave it a four star rating.
If Renault does drop the Laguna next year then won't it mean a disastrous drop in residual values for the existing model(s) ?
Read more
They must have nicked the design bloke from Subaru
Hello,
I am currently writing an article for a local county council road safety group magazine on Sat Nav survival, with some tips for using Sat Navs safely etc etc.
I would like to include a few funny 'real life' stories in the article from people who have had bad/amusing experiences with sat-navs. So if anyone has anything they would like to share I would appreciate that. If you could leave your first name and city/town if you dont mind that being published in our magazine that would be great.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you... :) Read more
well done for getting the thread back on track.
A good story too PDA.
Well... you know how it is - you keep putting it off waiting for a warmer day...
Put on two pairs of socks 6 fleeces (yes six, could hardly move) the usual fleece cap and latex gloves.
All went well until i was refilling the sump when it started to snow and I had to hunch over the filler cap with my body to stop snow flakes going in with the oil. (ok )
Pic 1, shows the extractor I use - the old oil has just been poured back into the Mobil container ready for disposal.
www.forumpics.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/oilchange1.jpg/
Pic 2, the filter and sealing ring.
www.forumpics.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/oilchange2.jpg/
If you look closely at the sealing ring - you can see the snow `particles`
This oil change is at only 4,000 miles - last changed in August 08.
Images on my own site - valid for 1 week - Photo`s taken with a G600 phone Read more
Many thanks, purchased one from the ebay link as suggested
matt
I notice over on technical that a 4 year old MB needed a new front brake caliper.
Don't know about you lot, but apart from when a bleed screw has broken off in the caliper body i've never had to replace a front caliper yet.
I've overhauled and resealed a few, and had to clean up plenty of grunge and lubricate many, especially the sliding parts of single piston calipers.
Even rears, the only ones that were problematic were those swinging calipers fitted outboard on Ford mk4 Zodiacs (did they follow onto Granada?) where they got all the weather but the same caliper was trouble free on the Rover P6 where they were inboard (thanks goodness, it was a pita just changing the pads)
Why would a 4 year old good quality car need such parts?
Is it shoddy or too long interval servicing where such things are never cleaned or lubricated, or are these parts not as well made as years ago? Read more
Labour rates at a main dealer can make a replacement much cheaper than a rebuild.
When we home fiddlers fix things like this we never seem to price in the time taken and blood spilt.
Browse
It seems to me that as you found the 'fault' so soon after
Yes, you are right AT. When I was informed of the fault, my inital reaction was: "Fine, I'll make a warranty claim", as the purchase of the warranty was fresh in my mind. I had purchased the warranty as I had thought that the selling dealer provided no cover at all. With hindsight, I should have contacted the selling dealer first, and once I had done so it became clear that they would cover me.
Car is now repaired and flying again.