July 2009
Just about to order a 500 for the wife & on reading Honestjohns review noticed that the 2010 model is being updated with ESP, Anti roll bar etc.
Does any one know when the 2010 model will be available to order Read more
To realise value from an old car I am considering buying a Fiat 500 under the scrappage scheme, which may then be re-sold quickly. Does anyone have any advice as to the best spec. (from the thousands possible !) and colours to assist in onward sales appeal ? It will probably be the 1.2 Pop or Lounge versions.
There have been a few mentions in the press that dealers are willing to buy back these cars due to a shortage of them. Does anyone have any knowledge of this happening ?
Thanks for any input Read more
A friend is currently in need of a large MPV to replace what has turned out to be a money pit of a Chrysler Grand Voyager. His wife now refuses to drive it (has been left stranded with kids many times) so he has to find something to replace it with before they go on holiday in 2 weeks time.
Budget is limited to 5-6K so I sugested Hyundai Trajet. Found a local one - 2006 with 68K and a full History so still has balance of 5 year warranty til Aug 2011. Its a 2.0 CRDi Auto. Has leather and DVD screen to keep kids happy. Its up at 6.5K.
Given their run of bad luck they are keen on the balance of warranty, but are very dissinterested in cars so have asked me to assist. Is this a reasonable buy? When is cambelt change due - thinking of haggling oportunities here.
Is there anything else I could suggest as a suitable replacement for a grand voyager?
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FWIW I think 6.5k is quite a lot given that in 2004 you could buy the manual diesel for just over 13k brand new from Drive the Deal.
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ANYTHING, cars or otherwise, that are advertised are too dear, given the current climate. I have acquaintances now trying to convince me that things have turned for the better re:- housing and I have other contacts, who like me, think that there is a further slide to come.
just a view.............MD
Does any one do a 2-bike rack? Read more
There is plenty universal that will fit at carboot sales mine like new £2.00 can't go wrong!
Query on behalf of son who drives this vehicle in manual form in USA. Has discovered sound as described above which is evident on acceleration & deceleration but not when cruising. Sound changes pitch with speed of car. Revving in neutral does not produce the sound. Any ideas anyone? Son is student and not likely to afford large repair bill. Read more
Hi all
I wonder if GM negotiations will lead to the safeguarding of all the jobs at Vauxhall or if tons will be lost still?
The Business Secretary promises these people he will fight for their jobs, but will it be enough?
I truly hope so because loosing a workforce of 5000 is downright horrid!!!
Surely that is part of the deal (do continue with old staff). If I were into manufacturing in the automotive industry I would try and get skills training for green vehicles. But will their really be a low carbon economic area in the North East?
Sorry for the 20-question?I find it extremely interesting.
Cheers
Danny
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This clearly shows that the government doesn't want to support any form of manufacturing in the UK any more.
Maybe that's how the UK can fall in line with the kyoto protocol by 2020 !
No manufacturing, no large emissions !
roll on, roll on. the UK will just be a services based country with no manufacturing at all
Hi,
In Aug 2006 I purchased a 130 TDI Avant from a used dealer. As the car had done circa. 59K miles I asked him to get the cambelt changed by the local Audi specialist mechanic he used before handing the car over. This he duly did and charged me around £250 which was itemised on his final sales invoice.
Around a year later however I got my car serviced by the same independent mechanic and he called to let me know the cambelt was due a change. I had only done a further 9,000 miles at that point and pointed out to him that the belt had been changed, by him in 2006. He sounded a little surprised and said he would contact the dealer. I heard nothing more and (probably inadvisedly) didn't follow it up.
The car has now done 82,000 miles and it is playing on my mind somewhat that the change was not actually done. Does anyone have a view on what the dealer's liability would actually be now if the belt snapped? I am obviously loathe to spend a further £250 if is not required but am very much aware that this is cheaper than a new engine or rebuild
Thanks Read more
well honestly SJ, clearly you have not been worrying about it for the last two years, its a bit late to start kicking up the dust now.
I have had my escort van for 2 months now. it works fine ish . Untill i come to a hill sometimes i have had to drop down to first gear Which I know is not right . I was wondering if anyone knew what this problem could be . Also i have a weird knocking noise on 1 of the back leaf springs . I solve this by spraying wax oyl on the problem and it lasts for a couple of days . is this a big problem and does it need sorting .. many thanks Oliver Read more
year 2000 sorry W reg
{cheers - now edited}
Every 3 months SWMBO travels to the IOM for 36 hours on business. I offered to look at reducing her car hire costs, but cannot find anything cheaper than £78! By the same token, I have just arranged 9 days rental in the States for £242 with a nice 4 x 4, including all taxes and comp insurance.
Is all UK car rental so expensive, or is it because of the limited IOM market? Read more
That sounds about right for a 48 hour hire. I go to Germany, for a daytrip/24 hour hire, once in a while and I pay £45 for a Corsa size car. I went last month and got a 1 series BMW which was a bonus at that price. There are plenty of pop-ups on the net offering car hire @ £12 a day but this is only for 14 day hire of a Smart car with NO extras CDW or anything!
I think the location may have something to do with it; I paid a shed load of money a few years ago for a few days rental in Fort William
Hi,
I have a Mondeo III 04 (53 plate) 2.0 TDCi 130 with approx 116,500 mileage and owned it for about 2 years.
I had it serviced at an independant garage last year at 104k but I guess it was not a major one as the pollen filter was not changed. The service history is up-to-date until last year.
The mondeo is now due for a service and I cannot decide whether it's worth doing it at a garage to keep up with the service history _or_ whether I should do the servicing myself from now on.
As the car is probably worth £2,500 - £3,000 max. Is there any benefit for me to keep up with the service history?
If it is worth it, when is a good time to start servicing it myself?
what factors should I consider?
how much value does a car lose with limited service history?
any ideas how much a major service would cost in the south?
Thanks.
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Hi again,
I got some quotes for a major service for the Mondeo at garages and they are all between £150-250. I thought the mobile engineers would be cheaper but they weren't, I got a few quotes.
Anyway, I've been quoted £130 inc VAT for a full service all-in and will probably go for that one. I've used that garage before so hopefully there should be no problems.
Regards.
Browse
October I think for availability and list price is going up to cover the increase in specification. Might be too late to get one without this additional equipment - and probably worth having it all too.