May 2009
Hi i have a vauxall astra estate turbo diesel on an N plate.Yesterday the oil light came on and the car stopped.There was no noise,plenty of oil and the car would not restart.Any suggestions please? Read more
Paul, my daughter's boyfriend, took delivery of his brand new, red Civic Type R yesterday and we went for a run.
Now, last year I had the good fortune to drive one of these for a good while in the lanes of County Durham, courtesy of Honda, and found it to be one of the best hot hatches ever, though the suspension was very stiff (I mean, call an osteopath stiff).
Anyhow, last night, I sat in the back of this go-kart and felt really comfortable.
I was also impressed by how, after zilch miles, my daughter and her boyfriend drove the car like they had owned it for years. Especially impressed as it has a 6 speed box.
Maybe I'm getting old but I can see how this car sells so well in the UK, well, anywhere but Lytham St. Annes. Read more
The Integra Type R is widely regarded as one of the best front wheel drive performance cars ever built. If you're going to have a relatively torque deficient, high revving engine, you need a low kerbweight, and this had it. They even shaved weight from the windscreen glass! Amazing bit of kit.
Never driven an NSX, but I would like to. :-)
hi room , i was advised to wire brush and grease the brake line at the MOT last week, what would be the correct or appropriate grease for the job ? some one down the pub suggested painting them with black hammerite , cheers zoo
{thank goodness for the forum search feature. Found out that your car is 97 and not 19!} Read more
Castrol CL waterproof grease - that`s my choice. It`s still on the brake lines from an application 4 years ago. (Halfords)
It`s a grease designed to specifically repel water - unlike HMP grease
Anything is better than nothing though - as they say ;-0. The test is where the wheel is, all that water cascading down.. It`s very satisfying after that to brush the whole of the subframes and underbody seams too. (3 tubs)
The four year report on that is that its still there in a thick coat and an oil film has crept out around 6 inches from the application on the subframe seams - so its reasonable to assume its creeping inside too.
Can post you some pics on this if you are really keen - but you would have to wait a while as i`m fighting a virus currently and grease and oil even as a concept - are just phantoms leaping from neurone to neurone and taunting me in my fever at having clean hands.
Regards
.
I thought id just jot down a few notes as I was given one as a loan car when I dropped my mums Coupe in for some remedial work.
Firstly, these last of the line models are somewhat different looking to our 2005 car - less butch but sharper and I think much better looking - it looks lighter on its feet.
The interior feels like a small step up in quality, not much, but choice of materials is improved and the option of red leather that the loan car had, brightens up against the black-on-black of earlier cars. The centre console is tidier, the leather on the steering wheel is softer and everything looks fresher.
Biggest difference though is the drive. I dont like mums V6 - steering is over-heavy, the gearbox is notchy and it just doesnt feel chuckable - yes theres grip, loads of it, but its like trying to hustle a van - you can but it becomes tiresome and no fun at all.
The 2.0 is a totally different beast, its feels like a different model alltogether, I was to say the least, rather shocked.
I suspect they have changed the steering because not only is it much lighter, but it felt sharper too. This may have something to do with the smaller engine of course.
Its not quite as fast as the V6, but its not in real-world driving much slower and pick-up is actually much smoother low-down the rev range, whereas the V6 seems happier past 3500 rpm.
The gearstick is shorter and the change itself is light and fast, totally the opposite of the V6. These aspects make it feel far sportier and chuckable in a way that the V6 never comes near.
What is brilliant is that somehow, someone really smart, made updates that answer nearly every issue we could find with the previous model - heated seats now, mum always said she wished it had them for instance, just little things that as an owner you realise over time. Lots of little tweaks here and there that seem to have been done by someone who lived with the old model.
It does seem very good value too - £12995 for a 2000 mile demo car on an 09 plate - I suspect mum may actually be tempted by this - she is driving it on a 70 mile round trip this evening, so it will be interesting to hear what she thinks, but she was grinning like a child when I dropped it off to her.
I was rather smitten myself.
Read more
I've had a zero delivery miles pre reg SIII 2 litre for the past 16 months and really have little to complain about. Interior and exterior styling make me smile every time. It is really practical unless you need adult sized rear seats and the luggage boot is enormous with the seats folded. Went camping in Spain/France last year for 3 weeks. Rear visibility is poor when parking as my minor bodywork scars show. Getting over 35mpg at present. Just replaced the front tyres at 17,500miles.
When will insurance companies get into the 21st century.
I can buy car tax online or over the phone, almost immediately. Insurance certificate, I have to wait 2-5 days.
Last Monday I bought a car at midday. I phoned a well known insurance company (the high ranking naval officer one) and had the car insured from then. Its now Thursday and no certificate. I cannot tax the thing, so I cannot drive it yet. If the cert. does not arrive tomorrow, and with the BH, Tuesday could be the earliest I can tax and make road legal. Over a week without this vehicle is rediculous.
The DVLA won't accept a fax or e-mail, it has to be the original. So I am reliant on the PO. Today I was told that I could have paid £7.50ish to get it out quicker, which was not mentioned on Monday. But no guarantee of jumping a 2-5 day wait anyway.
How come the police can tie up the Tax, MOT and Insurance at the roadside almost instantly yet the insurance companies and the DVLA can't work out a computer system to show a vehicle has insurance when taken out.
It should be a case of I phone insurance company, they despatch a certificate hard copy, and inform DVLA via computer that the car is insured so that I can take my V10 in to tax on the same day. Not rocket science.
Anyone else find this system frustrating? Read more
Because we are stuck half-way in a stupid intermediate system between full paper and full electronic.
In the old days the bit of paper was the "original" and valuable in itself, like a £5 note. If you lost it, it was gone, no use hoping a photocopy would do.
In the modern age, the bits of paper are either redundant or valueless in themselves. They merely give an indication of something that may or may not be the true position, which is recorded securely and electronically.
What's needed to sort out these "getting legal" problems is a way of buying road tax by the day, for any specified day, the price to include basic insurance. Day stickers could be sold anywhere, like stamps.
Story of man who drove his roller into tesco's front window.
check out the number plate on the rolls.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8061014.stm
{typo in header corrected} Read more
For his porridge ;-)
The radio on my E39 2001Y Touring has not been working for about two years - it hisses and crackles and you only rarely get anys sort of reception and then only for local radio. I took it to the local specialist, who could not see anything wrong and advised me to go to a BMW dealer. I did this and they could not see anything wrong but advised that it might be the amplifier (apparently replacing this cures about 90% of these sort of problems). Had a new one fitted (cost £132 for labour parts and VAT) and it made no difference. It now appears it is the wiring that it is at fault and there are metres of wiring and it will be hard to find.
Any ideas on resolving this. The car is now so old, that it clearly makes no sense to invest a lot of money sorting it out, but I would like to have radio on occassion. The car does have a cassette and a 6CD stack, which both seem to functioning normally.
Any ideas gratefully received Read more
I had exactly same problem, but I have a new radio/cd fitted...radio just started hissing a few months ago after about 30 mins of driving...took radio/car back to sound dealer and tested radio with an external aerial...it was fine...he suggested that i try replacing teh aerial amplifier in the nearside rear window pillar...so gonna buy one on ebay and try it....although dubious cos it does work for 30 mins then starts...unless it is a hot day then it doesnt work at all....he suggested it might be a hairline fracture in teh circuit which expands after warms up...
will post back findings
Hi, Had maf sensor replaced and air filter 4000 miles ago. Ever since, have had film of black smoke causing traffic to back off.
Nothing at all wrong with performance of car, mpg very good, no unusual noises, slightly smokier if kickdown is used for quick acceleration.(2 or 3 seconds)
Fine when not moving. Any words of wisdom,please. Read more
It's a diesel so replace the fuel filter try that.
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2441034....e
{link made non clickable due to other content on the website that employers *may* disapprove of} Read more
...and that's enough of that, thanks
smokie, moderator
tinyurl.com/p58hp8
Bugatti for sale. One year old. Less than 700 miles and just had its first annual service. Huge saving on new!
Anyone want to chip in for it???
Assuming this is a British car, do you think this has been someone who has suffered credit crunch? What would otherwise be logic of buying in 2008, doing very little mileage, paying for its annual service and then seeling at a discount?
Would it be easy to do more than 621 miles in one of these in Britain? Surely if you bought one of these you would have at least taken it on a right good run, say a London to Edinburgh and back?
Wonder if there are any owners who actually use it as their day to day transport? Read more
>>Wonder if there are any owners who actually use it as their day to day transport? >>
There's one owned about seven miles from where I live which is out and about on a daily basis - the younger offspring and I have assumed, at the very least, it is used for going to and from the owner's place of work.
Is the engine turning over faster and quieter than usual when you try to start it? If so, as already suggested, broken or slipped cam belt