May 2009
How long would it usually take to fit a near side front wheel bearing and front wheel ball joint ?
And how much would the two parts cost ?
{No need to SHOUT! Post amended}
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Hi All
The missus currently has a 2001 Saxo 1.1 Desire, 41K on the clock and needs a new headgasket which will cost like £250 to get done. The mechanic we use has offered to buy her car for like £1000 and flog it on. Other than that the car is fine.
Missus does like 5000 miles a year but does need a reliable car to get to work and back and look after the kids. She though does have access to my new shape zafira when its at home as I walk to work 2 days a week.
Options we have:
1. She can have her Dads 55 Plate Citroen C3 desire for £3K. Its got 30k on the clock.
2. Buy her a new Panda Active 1.2 /1.2 from ay fiatsupersaver if I cannot get a dealer to price match them.
3. ger her saxo repaired.
I am at a bit of a quandry on best options. She dont really care as long as she has a reliable car that and does what she needs it to do.
Any advice appreciated.
Scott Read more
>>Both look a fair exchange for the wife!
Depends on the model - there are some good ones about which are longer lasting than a car, and more fun too....
Running costs can be a problem though.
Hi. I recently bought this car and it didn't over rev very much at the beginning but it gradually got a lot worse. For example, on ignition it would rev up to 3000 without touching the accelerator, and it would then over rev throughout the journey to a max of 3000. I took it back to the trader who said that he would get it fixed.
When I picked it up, it seemed fine again. However, I've started to notice that it revs up to 2000 on ignition again. I've just found out that the garage he took it to just reset the base settings rather than replace any parts.
Is this something that is normal for a Daewoo and not something to worry about? I'm worried it will get progressively worse and I'll end up having to shell out a lot of money to get it fixed. Read more
hi TG, try the deawoo forums on tinternet.. you wont get much response here as the deawoo is an unknown quantity, ive had some helpful responses on HJ as i consider it the best motoring forum available but if it aint a ford or a pug go elsewhere
Hi All
Missus is interested in a Fiat panda 1.2 ECo and fiatsupersaver sites seems to offer the best price.
I though was wondering if anyone has any experience of them adn whether fiat dealers will price match them?
Many Thanks
Scott Read more
I bought a New 1.3 MJ Panda ( but 2008 MY) from a local dealer in Jan 2009 at marginally less than the FSS price. Be aware that some of the FSS prices are for prereg examples.
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The government is under pressure to re-think its new motorcycle test following a series of crashes in the first few weeks of its use.
Some instructors blame a new manoeuvre known as the "swerve test" which they say is dangerous and ill-thought out.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8067672.stm Read more
Prior to passing through the swerve candidates have to reach 31mph - if they don't, they fail (I don't know how many goes they have at this).
This means the candidate's focus is on getting to 31mph and no more - because if they overshoot the target speed they'll then be going to fast for the swerve - and could panic brake.
With space to get to 31mph and then settle at that speed the swerve would be less intimidating I think.
The actual circumstances of these crashes could be different, I'm no expert, but it looks to me like it's the combination of accelerate - speed gun - swerve in a very short distance that's likely to be the problem.
(...and I can't see what this has got to do with the Sunday morning lunatics who spoil every sunny weekend for those of us who just like to get on and ride without putting ourselves or anyone else in danger. Not all of us are quite so casual about risk.)
We all know it clogs are roads, causes congestion and is producing a nation of fat, unfit kids.
" CAR commuters will get to work 12 minutes quicker on average this week, as they will not have to compete with the school run.
For Londoners driving to work, the journey should be almost 16 minutes faster, a survey by car insurance company elephant.co.uk found.
Around 10% of motorists expect to save between 30 minutes and an hour a day during school holidays.
After Londoners, the drivers gaining the most by half-term and full school holidays are those in Northern Ireland, who save an average of 13 minutes and 30 seconds each morning.
In the North West, drivers will have 10 minutes and 40 seconds shaved off their daily commute to work.
But the schools being shut will have the least effect on south west England drivers, who have just nine minutes 28 seconds shaved off their morning commutes.
The survey was based on responses from 3,000 motorists. "
tinyurl.com/qpya9t Read more
Sorry, Chris, the HRA thing wasn't serious. More a comment on the fact that people seem to behave as though a right of some sort or another is in the background.
I drove past a first school the other day. Cars were parked on both sides of the road for about three quarters of a mile including just off a zebra crossing. Road is a main artery in and out of town. Traffic was piling up in both directions. It was a sunny afternoon and parents were enjoying the sun and the conversation, completely oblivious to the chaos they were causing: presumably because they caused and were oblivious to the chaos every day.
Having said all of that I mentioned the HRA because it's been used to justify some quite strange behaviours!
Just after the thoughts of people here really.
Interested in a new Gold VI. Went to dealer Saturday and managed to get 11% off the price with no real effort. Salesman was not pushy to close the deal and let me walk away and call back this week. After thinking about it all and discussing it with a few people I am wondering if I might have been able to get more. It all seemed to easy really.
So, is 11% good on a new Golf or is something higher easily achievable?
TIA
Neil.
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Yes I used Carfile they are a good straight forward company to deal with and have been about many years
I bought a Toyota not a VW but would have no hesitation to use them again
Perhaps because you are dealing with a major motor dealership they may have unsold orders in the order system and are able to get it in a shorter time period
... OK not bust perhaps but who screwed who?
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailand...l
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If VW does absorb Porsche, then handle the independence issue properly (as FIAT has done for many years with its subsidiary, Ferrari) Porsche might have a bright future after all.
hi
my transporter has been with the local dealer for the past couple of weeks as re wrangle about the repairs / costs / goodwill contribution.
very briefly, its 9 months outside of its 3 year warranty period and has only done 35,000 easy miles and has developed major faults - new flywheel, drive and stubshaft and so on.
as i voice my displeasure, a minimal contribution is offered from vw uk of £200 which i manage to get up to £450, but since then the costs keep escalating.
they tell me they cant road test the vehicle as it has an illegal tyre, which i ask them to change - this very soon changed to 3 tyres. next they say the alarm is constantly going off and cant be silenced / disabled and i would need to pay a technician to repair it. i raised the point that it was fine when i left it with them. but they seem to be ducking this by saying the battery was flat when i left it there, which it wasnt.
i also went to see the vehicle on saturday, connected the battery and started the engine and engaged the central locking on the key fob and there was no alarm sound as alleged by the service manager.
can anyone guide me through this or suggest how i might deal with them tomorrow as i am not very experienced in this area. the dealer has a bad reputation and i feel is 'creating' repairs / faults. is the dealer responsible for faults arising whilst in their possession?
any help would be gratefully received.
many thanks. Read more
Is it a official VW dealer that's giving you the trouble?
Getting to the stepbrother's wedding was eventful for some of the guests. The London contingent headed off for Bridlington instead of Harrogate; the Australian contingent (including his daughter) had problems with flights, hospitals and Customs, and when they finally got where they were going, one of them smashed his mother's car on the way to collect his daughter; stepbrother's intended was hopelessly late to pick up I forget whom because his (stepbrother's) '97 Renault Laguna boiled over; when stepbrother and intended finally landed at the hotel where the ceremony was, there was no record of his booking a room for the night of his own wedding. Are you following this ? Do you care ? If you don't, click on by; it's only a Hawkeye ramble.
At breakfast this Bank Holiday Monday morning, having listened to stepbro' optimistically plan an extensive itinerary to various significant places with members of his scattered family, I found myself the only person among the guests knowledgeable enough to reluctantly look under the Laguna's bonnet and guess the reason for overheating. The new Mrs stepbro' was adamant that the cooling fan hadn't cut in before the over temp. warning light had come on and, once the fan was fixed, everything would be fine. I wasn't so sure.
Once the bonnet had been popped, I spun the rad. fan to show it wasn't seized and disconnected the temp. sender and shorted it with a paper clip. The fan whirred even though the keys weren't in the ignition. Leaving the fan running all day seemed like a cue for another breakdown so I replaced the plug. The expansion tank was barely damp so I topped it up and started the engine. A steady stream of bubbles came down the thin pipe from the cylinder head. Speeding up the engine produced a blast of foam from this pipe into the expansion tank. There was no evidence of any colour to the coolant. I was satisfied that I was looking at HGF but 1) did I spill the beans to the stepbro' and recommend that he didn't travel with his car in that state? 2) not wanting to be the bearer of more bad news, did I keep quiet and hope that the RAC would pick up the pieces later in the day?, or 3) was my diagnosis faulty in the first place and some well-meaning member of the wedding party glanced over my shoulder and reassured everyone that it was just an airlock and it would sort itself out in a couple of miles.
Your turn. Read more
Sell it me I need a car to maon and make threads about.
LOL! Trust me you dont want one ;-)
I had one and the best thing i ever did was get rid of it !
For the front lower balljoint, it is far easier and quicker to change the complete suspension arm, which comes with a new balljoint pre-installed. No more than an hour's work, assuming nothing is seized or stuck, and probably £25-£30 for a good quality aftermarket arm.
Wheel bearing - maybe £20 for the part and a couple of hours work if you don't have a press. They are a very tight fit!
In a garage with the right tools and experience, I would say a couple of hours labour to do both (much of the work overlaps), and say £60 in parts. £160 or so all in at an indie.