March 2009
The Golf 2.0 TDI estate is 19 months and 30,000 miles old - still going as well as ever. Absolutely no need to change .....but -
I've heard from several sources quite high up in the accountancy and business world that there's every likelihood that the pound will drop below the euro in the coming months. Some even think tha a euro could be worth £1.50 though that seems extreme.
Also HJ is of the view that car prices will rise sharply this year, largely I think for the same reasons.
So it's worth a thought at least. My needs are the same as last time, and the front-runners are another Golf estate or an Octavia estate, probably the vRS diesel as this is the only Octavia to have the new CR engine. The Golf is still the Mark V but does have the CR engine, albeit only in the 140 bhp version (the Octavia vRS has 170 bhp).
If anyone says 'Mondeo TDCI' - yes, good car but bigger than I need.
There seem to be some good deals around which will compensate for the negative equity still in the Golf. If I leave it for another 6 to 9 months, as I was intending to, the negative equity will be less but will the price of a new car have risen too far?
Someone tell me I'm a idiot.
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Last year I bought a T-Spec X-trail which was supplied with its first MOT by the garage. I have just taken it to a Nissan main dealer for major service and 2nd MOT. It has failed due to the wrong headlamps being fitted, i.e left hand drive headlamps therefore ?adversely affecting the beam image?. The car was obviously fitted with the wrong headlamps when I bought it but the first MOT did not pick this up. Does anyone know of any other incidences of this nature with T-Spec X Trails as I may have a fight on my hands and wonder if I will have a leg to stand on with Nissan. Help please !!! Read more
Late model Scorpio.
I live in a village complete with a village school. I tend to leave for work just as the morning school run is dropping off. You can imagine the dreadful and inconsiderate parking that goes on.
On top of that, it's recently been well publised that our blanket 20 mph speed limit is unenforceable and we must be revert to a 30 limit. So bad and dangerous parking is suddenly more important than it has been.
I really struggled to exit onto the main road this morning as a result of the worst example of parking I've seen for a very long while. The car was parked across the mouth of the junction, more less at right angles to the pavement. The only wheel that came near to the kerb was on a double yellow line and the car was obstructing a dropped kerb. It was a largish car, a freelander I think so it was also obstructing the view down the main road making it extremely difficult to make sure the road was clear and that it was safe to exit.
... oh, and did I mention that this was a police vehicle?
I have a photograph of the car and the number of the wpc driver. Do you think I should lodge an official complaint? Read more
...so get real....
Seconded.
Policemen, like the rest of us, have a sense of right and wrong, so if your complaint is reasonable and done in a reasonable way, you'll have no bother.
There's no polis going to put his career at risk by hassling you for the sake of a colleague who has let the side down.
A youngish relation's very tidy Mondeo III, around 100k miles I think, has failed catastrophically on emissions. The testing station apparently said its smoke had filled the garage and emissions were 'off the scale'.
The engine runs silently and allegedly drives well. Started from cold yesterday and idled until warm, it let out a bit of steam and perhaps later a small haze of blue oil smoke, nothing much. The exhaust smelt very faint and very clean.
The garage was talking piston rings and a s/h engine. But could there be a problem with valve stem oil seals? and would a bit - it only is a bit - of oil smoke make a car fail disastrously on emissions? There is no guarantee that the car hasn't been abused, run dry of oil or something, in the past, but it runs very well.
If anyone has experience of this engine I would be grateful for information. Read more
when warm .what it like when keep it reving at about 4000 does it smoke ????
A local Ford dealer is offering a "new" Mondeo Edge with a 1.6 petrol engine (125ps) for £10,995. They assure me it is a current model with the exception that there is no Bluetooth facility and it is the colour Deep Navy which is not current. The problem is it came out of the factory on 31st May 2007 so is in reality almost 2 years old. Is it worth buying or should I pay more for a later manufacture date? Read more
It's an obsolete model in a dull colour that the trade themselves call "doom blue" with little resale appeal. If neither of these factors bother you then it could be a cheap bargain... Loads of card are left standing around in fields etc these days for months - that need not necessarily put you off.
Hi. Everyone.
My car Honda Accord Executive 2.4 has Auto Climate Control System. the strange thing is that when I drove a car without A/C (I pressed OFF button) for an hour and when I opend a bonnet, I realized that some of pipes was freezed. it seems like AC was working.
Is FAN's working related to AC? coz beofre start engine the fan is always working (when climate control OFF). As soon as press the auto button then FAN stop working. I do not understand why the fan is working in cold weather for the first time before start engine.
Please help and advice me.
Thanks Read more
As you told if the AC is automatically turn on then it should be light on
as well but nothing come out.
Not neccessarily - different car, but my daughter's Mitsubishi Colt turns the a/c on if the air is aimed at the windscreen, but the a/c light doesn't come on. We only realised it was turning the a/c on when condensation formed on the outside of the windscreen.
I am semi seriously looking at a Kuga and the diesel option is definately the one to go for as I do 24k miles per year. I would, however, like to get an auto as I'm just plain tired now of pressing a pedal and pushing a gear lever (call it middle age approaching!).
Does nayone (HJ?) know if Ford plan to release an auto version of this in the future? I don't know Ford cars that well these days - do they do auto diesels at all?
On a separate point - the new XF Jag engines look nice - who designed them - Ford or was it the new owners of Jag? Read more
The X-Trail is also available with an auto.
For a recent trip I rented a VW Passat TDI from a large multi-national rental company. During the rental period it ran low on oil (as TDI's do) so I received permission to buy oil to top it up. The rental company was a bit shocked at the price when I showed them the receipt (I brought the proper 507.00 stuff) . Apparently they shove any old SAE multigrade in their cars as "the proper stuff is far too expensive".
Remind me never to buy an ex rental VW TDI if they can't be bothered to service them correctly! I know they are on long life so they probably never need to service them, but all TDI's use more than a sump full of oil in their first year.
Joe Read more
The VAG PD oil situation is starting to happening again with widespread use of DPFs in diesels.
These demand the use of special low-ash engine oils otherwise the DPF can become blocked very quickly.
My Ford manual is very firm on which spec. oils should be used, and there are several posts on here about issues with Mazda diesels and oil-related DPF problems.
Hi ladies and gents.
I need a bit of advice.
My 2006 Ford Focus 1,6 Zetec Climate (58,000 miles) is 1 month out of manurfacturers warranty and this morning the power steering pump failed. Ford have offered to pay 25% of the bill (before VAT).
My 2nd problem is that during the vehicles 1st MOT last month I was advised there was a "very very minor weep of oil coming from the sump" (testers words). The advice was to keep an eye on it, shouldn't be a problem. Well this has now turned into quite a major oil leak.
The total bill I am looking at is just under £1000 on a car that is 1 month out of warranty, full service history etc etc.
Any advice on where I stand legally on this would be much appreciated.
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1/ If the PAS has just failed - unlucky. Ford are being good enough to pay 25%.
2/ Was the oil "weep" noticed & reported to a Ford dealer within the 3 year warranty period? In which case this fault should be coverd under warranty.
Good luck
Hi I've recently bought an ax 11 tre. (I Love this litlle car)! but somtimes when I unlock the door it instantly locks again. you can hear the central locking working. If I quickly undo the door handle whilst unlocking I can open the door but the central locking continues to switch on and off a few times afterwards until I guess it gives up. but the passenger door remains locked. This is an intermitant problem. I should also mention the passenger door has been replaced but all lock parts are original. Please help! Read more
Just an update and future reference fo anyone else with this problem.
After stripping the drivers door and finding nothing wrong, I found that the problem was in the passanger door latch. When the door latch was open everything work perfectly but when the door was closed the problem existed. Rather than stripping door I sprayed the door latch in every place I could get to with wd40.... Problem solved. Maybe only temporary but now I know where to look in future.
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If you can wait until September, that is when the Golf VI estate version is supposed to be launched.