November 2009
Well. I am shortly to have what my company calls a "life event". I am to retire early in the next two months. I currently run a company (lease) car which will have to be returned.
I have just purchased a new (second hand) car. Your task is to guess what car I have purchased.
The brief I had for purchase was
3-5 years old, under 40k miles. Petrol, estate, 5 doors, manual, ins group 9 or less, alloys, metalic, aircon, not outstanding ugly, known reliability, budget £5-6k pounds.
Guesses on a post card please, prize is 10 pounds to the charity of your choice,
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The alloy wheels on our car deflate at a rate of 5psi per week due to alloy corrosion / lacquering breaking down. We have had the tyres removed, rims ground and the tyres refitted with 'sealant' to no avail.
Does anyone have any thoughts / experience of using Tyreweld for rim problems.
Thank you, Vinnie. Read more
No - there is the usual space in the boot for a fullsize spare wheel - Ford just choose to supply the car without one! S-Max comes without a spare wheel AND has no space for one either
Hi,
I have a Rover 214, 1997. Basically it wont start. I've changed the fuel filter, spark plugs, ht leads, crank sensor and nothing makes any difference. it varies from not starting at all to starting then cutting out after a few seconds. I've had 3 different people look at it. one suggested the ecu, we got a second hand one but made no difference. someone from the garage said a new ecu is no good unless you have immobiliser box and key fob to match.
They have suggested getting an auto elecy to try and bypass the immoboliser. any suggestions?
i live in the middle of nowhere and not having a car is a nightmare! thanks :D Read more
If it occasionally starts I doubt its the ecu at fault, I would be looking at crank sensor followed by distributor + associated components then the coil.
As above though, if you can verify a good spark on cranking it eliminates most the above, not crank sesnor though as that controls fueling. Loosening the fuel line in on the rail will prove if pump is working, you should get a good squirt when cranking. If it just trickles out the fuel line then the pump is lazy. If it doesnt do anything then either the cut off switch or the pump is the most likely suspect.
PS, the immobiliser issue is an easily over come one with a replacement ECU. Get an auto elec to do it for you. I wont disclose details as I dont know who you are.
Dear all,
I may have a problem with a garage that I've used. I took my car to them last year for a new clutch and replacement for the Dual-Mass Flywheel. It's turned into a bit of a nightmare. They changed the clutch etc and then the pedal started sticking down, which they diagnosed as knackered master-cylinder. I coughed up another £300ish to replace that, which fixed the problem. However, after a while, I got an intermittent problem with the clutch slipping after being stuck in traffic for a while. The chap who runs the garage couldn't get it to slip and even borrowed the car for a week to use it to try and provoke it.
Anyway, eventually I managed to demonstrate the problem to one of his colleagues, and they took the car back and did some work - don't really know what they did though. This seemed to help. But then in June it started slipping again. I emailed him, but got no response. Then it didn't slip until a couple of weeks ago when it started doing it really badly on the way into and out of London. I took the car back to the garage and they said they would just change the clutch. I disagreed with them and said, "please investigate it before you just change the clutch". They called me a few days later to say they had found the problem - an oil leak from the rocker cover gasket dripping tiny amounts of oil onto the clutch. They said that as this wasn't their fault, they would have to charge me. They fixed the leak, and charged my £550 for another new clutch.
I went to pick it up and within 10 miles, the clutch was slipping again. They ummed and aahed and took the car back. They then changed the master cylinder again. This final bit of work SEEMS to fixed the problem for now.
Question is - should they refund me the work for the latest replacement clutch? I'm happy to pay for the oil leak, but it seems that was not causing the problem. They've sent me photos of my old clutch while it was still attached to the car and there are no signs of any oil on it. The car could have been fixed by putting a new master cylinder on and the clutch change was unnecessary....
Please - any advice very welcome!
Many thanks Read more
Not neccessarily. THe clutch on my GTA is heavy, and has been since it was new (to me @6k miles). Its now nearing 90k and its the same stiffness. The bite point is higher but thats the only difference. I also had a GTA from new before this one and the clutch on that was heavy aswell.
can any body tell me where the heater matrix is a nova, the only thing is its had a phase 2 interior, exterior and gsi engine converte. just incase it will have bean moved moved..
also my heaters are rubbish hardly any warm air coming out and the passanger side car is saoking is this related to the matrix??
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Sort of a guide here www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1...8
Strange noise coming from direction of fanbelt and pulleys at low speed and when reversing.. Local garage investigated and noted that noise disappeared when drive belt removed and they have fitted newcrankshaft pulley and drive belt. Unfortunately the noise is still there, any suggestions please
{Post amended to lose the SHOUTING, and to give the header a less vague title} Read more
I didn't think there was a 2.1?
Anyhow I would guess that it would be something associated with the aux belt so that would mean -
Tensioner, alternator, hydraulic pump and if fitted AC compressor.
Just to be sure I would paint a line right across the crankshaft pulley and watch for it becoming misaligned due to a faulty though new pulley.
Steve.
my dad hired out a ford sierra when i was younger,
the passanger window fell out when my mam tried to wind down the window, as soon as she moved the handle it dropped out and somehow managed to grab hold before it hit the tarmac (serously!) Read more
I quite liked the Rover 213 (Honda 12V engine I think) my company hired for me in the late 80s, but then I was a new grad and anything was better than my Metro.
The Maestro 1.3L was pretty dire, Ford Escorts of the day were fairly ropey as were Astras from memory but it was the Ford Orion which defined the (lowest) standard.
I recall the Sierra as being very comfortable for a long trip but a Montego Estate 1.6 from Kenning (now defunct I think) had clearly been broken into so the door frame didn't seal at the top - right by my ear - awful car. 1990-1993 Rover 214/216s seemed 'premium' in their day.
In the US the Hertz franchises always saw Brits coming 'would you like to upgrade to a Mustang for $1 a day Sir?' I did, instead of a capable Mondeo-related Contour, the 3.0V6 had about 75BHP and a sluggish auto, there was no boot so when SWMBO came out to join me for a holiday (I was out for a month working) we couldn't fit the suitcase in. I rented Taurus/Sable or Contours thereafter....
Since then, Ford Focuses always remind me of just how good they are, Seat Ibizas have been fun (apart from one SDi) and even a Peugeot 207 was OK as was a Hyundai I10 in Greece this year - perhaps cars have improved somewhat ?
BBC 2 at 8 tonight, James May builds a scale replica of the Brooklands circuit from stock Scalextric track.
Should be of great interest to those of us who never grew up (ie everyone who posts on this forum).
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Getting back on topic, just watched the Scalextric episode that I recorded on the Sky+ box.
Thoroughly enjoyed it. But what idiot let the learner drivers on the course hours before the event and wrecking some of the Scalextric tracks.
After reading a few posts about rental cars in the USA, I thought it would be fun to post the best rental car you have had in the UK.
Lets keep it to renting from normal companies and not exotic rental companies.
So here's mine
Guy Salmon (Marble Arch pre-Eurodollar/Alamo/National takeovers)
Year: 1991
Ford Sierra Cosworth, Toyota MR2, Ford Fiesta XR2
Budget:
Year 1993
Ford Mondeo 24v
Hertz
Year: Various
Ford Scorpio 24v
Alamo
Year: 1990s
Vauxhall Senator 24v
Hertz
Year: 2008
VW Eos 2.0 TSi
Avis:
Year: Early 1990s
Vauxhall Calibra 2.0 Turbo
I'll add more as they come to mind.
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Went through loads in the early 90s - company said I needed a car but HR would not authorise company car. Sometimes had two in a day!
Used to hire 1.6 Sierra/Cavalier/Mondeo and usually got a 1.8.
One day they turned up with a 2.0 Carlton Diplomat auto. At 1.6 Mondeo rate!
tinyurl.com/yc9x499
Well at least it stops you talking on your phone while you're driving!
JH Read more
"So that's how you run yourself over."
Speak to Brian Harvey ;-)
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Both Mrs RB and I retired early two years ago. Best thing we ever did...
As so many of my retired friends say... ?How on earth did I ever find time to go to work??
Our retirement car? The MX-5 of course :-)