March 2009
Are there any members of the forum that are also in the Shell Drivers Club?
If so, can anyone confirm what the situation is with the bonus points vouchers please?
I have used three now, totally 900 bonus points, but none have been allocated to my account despite purchasing the required volume of fuel in the timespan against each voucher.
The first voucher was used on 15 October 2008 and I then had five fills between 10/10/08 & 10/11/08 which was the total required.
Any assistance appreciated Read more
Why do so many dealers insist on using only double-sided tape to attach number plates? Daughter arrived home yesterday with her rear plate in pieces after she unwittingly reversed over it - it has dropped off in a car park. Plod then pulled her over for failing to show registration plates and she was fortunate to escape with just a warning. Now it looks like the front plate is also loose. Read more
Mine were dropping off with tape when I got it in October 2007. Cannot have been put on properly. Or at least the front one was half off - maybe an attempt had been made?
My previous car was cloned and the police told me to report to them any speeding/parking tickets if not down to me.... there never were any thankfully.
I took my Egr valve of to clean last night and was totally amazed at the amount of crud that had built up it had probably reduced the diameter by a third after intensive cleaning I replaced it and blocked of the vacuum pipe so that it now only runs on clean air, what a difference it has made may I suggest that anybody with a Mondeo or Jaguar diesel does the same before it totals their engine. Its hard to imagine that contaminated air being forced into the inlet manifold the damage it must cause over time does not bear thinking about. Read more
"Can't say I noticed any difference in performance, economy, warm-up times etc. "
Mine still runs fine, no change to performance.
Suspect it give slightly beter MPG as it's running on air rather than on part exhaust gas.
Just have to put up with the alarm beep every now and then.
"Beware late models that have a feedback signal from the valve to the ECU"
I can't see any electrical sensor on the EGR valve that could feed back to the ECU though, so thought there must be a sensor in the exhaust somewhere.
But heho.
i need to price up and post some car tyres but i cant find out of royal mail would accept them ?? they are new tyres and with no wheels. have you peeps ever had to post tyres ??? Read more
I recently got an old engine delivered to my home. Once they realised they need a powered lift and a pallet trolley, it was safely deposited in my garage. They needed a different truck, so delevered a day later.
Well done DHL.
I'm interested in what MPG other peoples PUG 307 HDI's are returning. I've got a 2.0 (90) SW and think I'm probably only averaging 45mpg in what I would consider to be quite fuel efficient driving and journeys. I was expecting 50mpg ! Is this normal? Read more
Y2000 2l HDI90
I get 42-45 in the winter, 52-55 in the summer with misxed driving cycle and frugal driving
Changed everything to try and improve the winter mileage except EGR and MAF
Should I fork out for these??
Nick
:-)
Hello, Does anyone know what are the qualification to be a car trader and how to obtain a motor trade licence ? Can I be a car trader if i work from my home address or do i have to have premise ? In addition, what are the procedure i have to do to register to be a car trader? Read more
craig1108 you can still do most things in this country but some councils do require you to register with them if you sell s/h goods
look at your local council website for details if you have to be so registered
ive got to say you are mighty brave to start in the motor trade at this time,was your other idea a deep sea firshermans life from grimsby ;-)
i dont recommend you work from home as punters turn up at all hours
hi,
Can anyone tell me if buying an ex police car is good value for money, or they all thrashed and abused.
I was not thinking of the usual squad cars you see everyday on the high street, but more the volvo size cars.
I would like to think they are regularly serviced, but might also be regularly abused!
has anyone bought one in the past? What was your experience?
Many thanks Read more
www.mod-sales.com/
Look here. Ex MOD cars n stuff. In fact everything for big kids to play with. Wheeeee!
Just thought I'd post some initial impressions of the Golf after doing 120 miles or so in it yesterday, plus some odd running around over the weekend.
What we ended up buying was an apparently well cared for, 52 plate GT TDI 130 5dr in reflex silver. A two owner car, with 85,000 miles, and the rare combination of climate control and an electric tilt / slide sunroof. It's by no means in perfect condition, but it's had its big (80k) service with the timing belt, and the alternator pulley replacement, plus some other bits. It's well cared for, and clean overall. reflected in a steep £4100 purchase price. Pretty much spot on according to Parkers, albeit for a 70,000 mile car. Whatever - if you want one of these, it seems you have to pay for it, and the interest in every car we looked at was very strong.
You can kind of see why, too. It's a good looking, understated car which has aged very gracefully, and will probably still look good in ten years time. Inside too it's very pleasant, with good quality materials and a level of fit and finish which is a step up from the Renault. It does not however have the same "hewn from rock" feel as the Volvo, with some of the buttons being a little creaky in use. Somewhere in between the two, then. The overall design is very attractive, although the location of the slightly fiddly Climatronic system right at the base of the centre console is less than ideal. The big, clear instruments have an expensive look to them, and the lovely violet and red glow of their illumination is soothing and easy on the eye. The standard fit "Gamma" radio / cassette with separate CD player is still present, sounds good, and is fairly easy to use. The driving position is excellent, too.
Being a later mkIV (2003 model year), the car benefits from some upgrades over earlier models. This includes more heavily bolstered front seats which are firm, but very comfy. It also, according to HJ, involves some handling improvements, and I have to say this has surprised me. I've heard various criticisms thrown at Golfs including "wallowy" and "soggy", but this car handles very nicely. OK, not the same level of composure and balance as the mk1 Focus I had, but a lot closer that I'd ever have hoped. It steers quite sharply, doesn't roll much, understeers very progressively, and tucks in nicely in response to a lift mid corner. I had quite good fun with it round some Oxfordshire lanes yesterday, with that muscular PD engine catapulting it out of corners in what really should have been a gear too high, with its trademark gutteral growl.
Ah yes, the engine. I've wanted a car powered by the 130PD VAG engine since I first experienced it in the brother-in-law's Passat a few years back. This has since been repeated in the Fabia vRS and my father in law's mk4 Golf SE estate we were running around in last week. After the beautifully smooth Renault dCi unit, the VAG's uncouth rumbling came as quite a shock. In NVH terms, it's back in a bygone era, with a vibe through the wheel at idle, and various minor resonances as it goes through the rev range. It also constantly reminds you of its presence with a deep chested, although not entirely unpleasant growl that is either background noise, or dominating the experience depending on what you're doing.
But what it delivers is astonishing on first acquaintance. I have never experienced an engine which delivers so much for so little effort. As long as it has 1500 RPM on the dial, a squeeze of the pedal delivers a beautifully muscular shove in the back which sends the speedo needle clockwise at an grin inducing rate. It's not a fast car against the stopwatch, but it actually makes my 180 bhp Volvo feel lifeless at "ordinary" revs. It's also giving some silly computer readouts. With a mixture of motorway, fast B road, a 4 mile motorway tailback, and a little urban driving yesterday, I allegedly averaged 52.8 mpg, and I certainly wasn't sparing with the horses. I know VW computers are optimistic, but even if it worked out to a genuine 45 mpg, I think that's incredible for the way it was driven. £120pa RFL is a pleasant surprise too.
First impressions are positive. It's a good looking car which drives well, and is stupidly quick in real world driving conditions. The build quality is a step up from the Renault, but not as good as the reputation suggests, and the handling better than expected. It's also frugal, and for us will be cheap to maintain unless something expensive goes wrong. Yes, it's two years older than the Scenic, and yes it's done 20,000 more miles, but it's had the big cambelt service that was going to set us back £600 on the Renault, and it feels more "together" and actually newer.
Will post an update as we do more miles and get to know it better.
Read more
I have a 2003 Golf GT TDI 130, I bought last year with 140,000 on clock, Now at just over 155,000 and had no issues driving it in that time. I've had a very minor oil leak from the intercooler which was due to pipe becoming loose but it sounds like I also need to check the air filter has been changed.
I think the Mk4 Golf PD130 is probably one of the best cars of its type. My other car is a Passat 140PD and the Golf is still far more fun to drive and use. It may not be the smoothest engine but it seems pretty reliable and great economy for the performance you get....
My wife drives a Y Reg 1.3 Ka with 60,000 miles on the clock. It has just past the M.O.T. with no problem. The only thing is the engine tappets are quite noisey and need some adjustment. Can anyone of you experts out there give me the basic procedjure for doing this job It would help me if you can give me the Feeler Gauge gap size, tools required to do the job, will I need to replace the rocker box gasket and finally do you adjust the tappets when the engine is hot or cold.
Many thanks in advance.
{typo in header corrected} Read more
Just one little point, Check for a sticker on the fanbelt end of the rocker cover. Some variants had a smaller clearance than others, the sticker denotes the wider gap.
It was in a busy crowded hospital car park...There was a 10" long scratch on right side of his back bumper, right behind the back tyre. It is a very narrow scratch. But you can see my car's paint left on the 56 reg silver BMW. There was absolutely no dent or anything like that.
The owner said he could give me a quote from a garage before claiming from my insurance. I couldn't decide whether to pay the bill or to let him claim from my insurance.
Has anyone experienced this before? Any suggestions? Roughly how much this would cost?
Any help will be appreciated!
Read more
I don't really have anything against BMW as a whole, although the Z4 always reminds me of a Z3 that's run into the back of a van at 15 mph and also been rolled!
Browse
Used to buy Shell 90% time, used Shell CC - amassed lots of points.
Citi card withdrawn, many local Shell stations are now Jet, Murco............so I have to go out of my way to find a Shell garage. They also mucked up my points, sent emails, letters and was ignored - so I voted with my feet and use BP....