Hi folks,

I bought my 2005 Ford Mondeo 1.8 Zetec from Cargiant a couple of weeks ago and I seem to be having some problems with it.

These are two separate issues that I've noticed, though they may well be linked.

1) First, sometimes the car doesn't start properly. I turn the key, the electrics come on perfectly, I turn the key further, and (forgive my lack of technical knowledge!) the engine turns over but it doesn't start. I think it's that classic noise of a starter motor turning an engine but the engine not getting going. (Does that make sense?) It doesn't always do this. Sometimes it starts perfectly. It can happen when the engine is up to temperature as well as when it's cold.

2) I've only noticed this once. The car had been parked outside and not driven last week (it's been fairly cold - but not freezing - in the North of England). When I came to use it, I put the car into reverse to drive out of my parking bay and I heard a whirring/whining noise. The noise got louder when I revved. I got out of the bay, and put it into 1st. Within 5 seconds or so, the noise was gone and it hasn't been back since. In total, it can't have been there for much more than 20 seconds. Does anyone know what it might have been? Could it be linked to my first issue?

Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help! :) Read more

Anyone driven one? Does the turbo make it feel nice and flexible?

Any experiences?


Thanks. Read more

My car has trouble starting usually in mornings or when it hasnt been used for over 12hours.
The engine turns over, but slower than usual then speeds up to start after about 20seconds. it also kicks out a cloud of white smoke while doing this.
any idea what the problem is or how it can be fixed? thanks! Read more

I now live in France and need to re-register my RHD S class and have it comply to French specification. There is no information to show that the existing lights can be adjusted so I have been quoted £540 for new lights or £106 for new lenses but MB Technical Department, UK, will not commit that just changing the lenses would be sufficient.
Anyone have information on any of this query Read more

I just wondered what mad modifications people had come across over the years.

For me, it was almost 20 years ago when a neighbour of mine decided to buy a landrover. For the benefit of mankind, I'm going to call him "Dave".

The vehicle in question was a defender type thing, that looked like it had just been dragged off a farmyard kicking and screaming that very morning... "Dave" then set to with the 'cunning plan'. Over the next couple of weeks, he removed the weedy diesel engine, and neatly inserted a shiny Rover V8 in its place. Job done!

Of course, he *could* have carried on and upgraded, uprated or at least serviced other, less important parts of the vehicle. Examples might include items like the suspension, the brakes, the steering, and tyres. Perhaps "Dave" felt that the car was best enjoyed in its 'natural', 'raw' state. Perhaps "Dave" was an idiot?

Sure enough, after a few practise runs, the day came when he invited me for a ride in the passenger seat...

"Raw power" probably doesn't quite do justice to what had just been created. Yes - it had plenty of "go" - but there seemed to be so much play in the transmission that there was a detectable amount of time between hearing the revs rise and the power reaching the tarmac. I guess astronauts get that same feeling at T-1 seconds - you know what's about to happen and you're just sat there clunching your bottom cheeks waiting for it all to be over.

But aside from the "go" it also had very little in the way of "stop". What felt like all-round drum brakes had obviously seen better days - that was before the extra horsepower had been added in. Below 30 mph, the brakes seemed to do nothing but make noise - at one point I was wondering whether we should deploy a small sail to improve retardation.

Ride and handling were also compromised. A good sports car feels 'connected' to the road - you can just feel every bump in the road through the steering wheel and the seat as you fight for grip in the corners.

"Dave" had somewhat uniquely managed to sever the all important link between driver and road, and in this case sandwiched an inflatable bouncy castle in its place.

The car wasn't so much riding on wheels as on rountree's fruit jelly. Turn the wheel to the left with the right foot anywhere near the loud pedal, and the landrover would (after all the play in the steering rack had been taken up) reward the driver with what felt like up to 45 degrees of body roll to the right. If the power and the steering had some relationship with the controls in the cabin, the shift between "no steer" and "wildly optimistic oversteer" would have been at least predictable. As it was, the only true indication that something was terribly wrong was best observed by keeping a very close eye on nearby objects outside.

Sadly, after remembering to tell his insurance company what he'd done, "Dave" was finally forced by his wife to sell the vehicle on. He continued to tinker with other cars, but never produced anything so grand, or stupid as his landrover V8. Read more