November 2009
Hi.
The central locking and indicators on my c-max have stopped working. I can only lock the drivers door with the key and the rest won't lock at all apart from the boot which only unlocks when i press the dedicated button on the key fob.
Also the handbrake light on the dash is on permanantly.
It would appear that my wife drove through some standing water on Friday night. :o(
I've checked the normal fuses and all seem ok.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance. Read more
Unusual one this my rich and slightly loopy friend has his heart set on a Ford Crown Victoria. That right one of those huge boats used by practically every policeman in America.
Nowt on Autotrader. Anybody have any idea where we could get a new/used one from? Read more
As an earlier poster said, the specialist American mags are a good start.
At the recent Bollington Transport Extravaganza there was a fully-liveried and kitted Crown Vic, complete with the screen behind the front seats, lights, radio etc.
I believe it also had cop tyres, cop suspension, cop shocks, a cop motor .... and I presume it runs good on regular gas :-D
I think the V8 in the police-spec models is rated about 250bhp and 300lb-ft, it's a far cry from the early 70s days of Dodge Polaras with the 440ci max wedge engine ...
I stay near to Edinburgh and a car I'm looking at has come up for sale privately in Cardiff.
Despite being 2nd hand - it's the very colour & spec I looking for, also the price is quite good £1000 less than what's available local.
Basically its exactly what I'm after - only problem being distance.
I won't be able to view the car until purchase.
Question being - these pre-purchase checks - are they any good?
I'm not wanting to end up with a piece of cack.
Are RAC/AA inspections worth their claims?
What about VIN checks - any good?
I'm looking at spending approx £10k on the car.
Cheers for any advice.
Rob Read more
>>> or three-day grizzled beard you might think I was a toerag <<<
Don't tell me about it Lud - I do live in Cornwall ya know!
Can you please recommend the best wheel size and tyres for this car. I'm looking for good roadholding
Thanks Read more
The driver's manual will tell what sizes are recommended for the car.
Now I know that to leave the key in the car is a stupid and unfortunate thing to do but we all have stupid moments and do unfortunate things.
That's why we have insurance, right?
Not if you insure with LV where a general exclusion is:
Loss of or damage to your car by theft or attempted theft if your car has
been left unlocked, left with the keys in it or left with a window or roof open.
Is this common practice?
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"To clarify: I was asking was it common practice to have the exclusion clause in the policy T&C's."
It has been on every policy I have had since I started driving 17 years ago.
Hi all,
Wasn't really looking for a new/change of car but one of my mates has just given me first refusal on the following:
2003, 03 Rover 45 1.6 Impression 5 door. 39K miles demo+1 owner in silver. Excellent condition FSH etc. Mate dabbles in car trading and bought this via a probate deal. He's looking for £1700 from me (£2000 to anyone else after me!). Given he's pretty flexible as to when he gets his cash (allowing me to sell mine first and then pay the balance in 3 interest free instalments) it sounds like a reasonable way to get a newer car cheaply.
Not bothered about image (I'm a double glazing rep so image is zero anyway!!), but have always liked the 400/45 look and size - being a bit bigger than Focus but smaller than Mondeo suits me perfectly.
This is the model with a revised interior BEFORE the 2004 model changes so dual tone dash, satin wood finish rather than the shiny stuff etc. Anyone know whether Rover cost cutting came into play on this model?
Anyway, any thoughts from the backroom? Basically going to cost me about £500 to change. Current Megane will need major service/brakes all round/suspension bushes soon which I imagine will cost much the same, so unless there is anything (apart from HGF) I should look for on a Rover 45 I can't really see anything against the deal.
Over to you all...
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spot on pd
im finally getting the message through to people i meet too
as for the car 2 years is too long and the OP was wise to walk away
I bought a used 2005 VW Golf TDI on 20th Oct from an independent dealer. The car did not have any service history, and hence was priced well. The car was described to have had a previous lady owner who could not park well, and hence had a couple of dinks in the body work. I checked out HPI and whether Cat C/D and this was all clear. Because it had only 50k on the clock and was through a dealer, I thought safe to purchase.. also, the dealer gave me a 4 week warranty, and I understand that dealers are legally obliged to warranty cars for 6 months anyway. The dealer also had serviced through his own back garage and stamped the otherwise empty VW service log. I instantly got the cambelt done aswell for peace of mind, at £290 by VW a week later.
Within a few days I had loss of power from the turbo... this has finally been resolved by VW, and the dealer honoured his warranty and met the costs for this at c£450. Good experience so far, I thought.
However, VW also said the car was due for a recall by VW to replace the fywheel FOC. I had this carried out on Friday, and the dealer called to say clutch was completely worn/imminent to go, so should be replaced at just cost of parts. They also indicated that the car had been in a crash at the front and hadnt been repaired properly or if at all, other than the bodywork. They have itemised out all the damaged items and are sending through a full report on Monday with costs. Read more
What about the one that wants to pay the price for the car as described by the dealer
I suspect many traders buy at auction on the basis of a quick look-over, put the car up for sale after a minimal valet, and protect themselves against costly work demanded by the buyer with a rather threadbare 'warranty' policy. I'm still not clear whether you think the sticker price indicated an 'immaculate' car, or one with the dings you mention?
I would expect a dealer to give a fair and honest description of a vehicle
So would I. But as I said in another current thread, dealers peddle metal for a living, and only very rarely know anything about the history of the cars they sell. It is alleged that some histories go missing because they give too much away. It certainly seems that your car has been unfairly mis-described IMHO. Unfortunately you have to try and detect as many discrepancies as possible before deciding to buy.
Hi all
The motor has packed up on the passenger side door mirror which is used to fold the mirror inwards when locking the car. At the moment it makes a loud groaning noise but doesn't actually move. How do I replace the motor and where can I get one from, other than a dealer? Have looked on the net but can only find complete mirror heads and not the motor on its own. By the way, is this car a mark 6 or 7? It is a 55 plate. Many thanks. Read more
Surely we should be able to trust the manufacturers figures?
Or do they assume that the average caravan owner not a competent driver?
ducks
Since they were advocating that one would require a Toyato Land Crusier, or similar
to tow a 1800kg Hymer caravan, which actually only weighed some 1500 odd kg empty
When if I recall correctly a Subaru Forrester will legally ( and i would have to presume safely) tow 2000kg
Hey even the TDI Galaxy will legally tow 1600kg, so she should be fit for it.
It would be a whole lot greener to use the minimum sized car, yes
jat
M
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Copyright of The Caravan Club 2009
Outfit/weight ratio
Q What does The Club recommend as a safe outfit weight ratio for towing a
caravan?
A The principle must be to have the heaviest possible towcar for a given caravan, otherwise the chances of a swaying trailer becoming uncontrollable and snaking are very real. Aim for a towed load 85% of the car?s kerb weight (KW), or the vehicle manufacturer?s towing limit, if lower. The nearer the caravan laden weight approaches the one-to-one ratio, the more careful the driver must be. Remember that the towed weight is the actual laden weight (ALW) that the car is asked to pull (empty weight of caravan plus what you add), not the theoretical Maximum Authorised Weight (MAW) or (from 1999 production models) Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM).
Noseweight
Q What is noseweight, and how important is it?
A Car manufacturers quote a maximum permitted noseweight for each car model, which is the maximum caravan hitch weight permitted on the car towball. It is important that this is not exceeded; however, it is equally important for stability that the caravan noseweight is heavy enough, and it is recommended that the optimum for stability of the outfit when towing is generally found to be approximately 7% of the caravan?s ALW (generally between 50 and 90kg). You can appreciate that those car manufacturers quoting a maximum noseweight of 50kg or less will restrict the choice of caravan quite considerably. Caravan manufacturers often quote a noseweight limit too - check this is compatible with the 7% recommendation.
Hi,
Thanks everyone who helped with my least queery youre oviously all ver knowledgable,
I gues this is sometning that evey expirienced mechanic will know but i want to heat it from you guys.
i have completed a few small jobs on my 306 (working my way towards the timing belts)
I wanted to drain and replace the cooling system this weekend but was thwarted but the Torx head T30 bolt that holds the Air cleaner housing/intake being coroded and basically imovable i flet the underside where the corrisponding bolt is located but there is no way i could get a spaner in there. on inspection i found that the Torx T30 bolt just to the right holding the headlight to the front of the car is also in similar condition though i could get at the bold on this one the head of the bolt quickly rounded leaving me stumped. I want to replace all of this stuff and just need a little help.
what should i do. try and knock the offending head off with a chizel? grind it off?
the one on the Air cleaner housing is surrounded by the housing itself making either of these solutions imposible.
can i drill it out if so how and what are the risks/safty precautions i should take. I really dont want to make any mistakes as they always just cost time and money
Can somebody with some skills let me know what the propper thing to do here is, as i guess this kind of thing will keep comming up given the age of the car and my intention to nurse her back to full health.
also i had a similar problem with one of the philips head Screws that holds the brake disk to the hub it was clearly rounded by somebody previous to myself as it was damn near imposible to get off and on i changed out the pads and disks and i had to put it back on because i didnt have the appropreate screw to replace it (i learnded a lesson here) i want to replace it but cant get it off now
again what do you do with rounded nuts and bolts of vairing types.
cheers everone
Mae it a non-specific question in respect of make/model.
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What I do with most of my rounded or undo-able nuts and bolts is to slide a bigger nut over it and weld it on, gives you something to grip and a much larger surface.
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My Daughters 09 CMax has just developed exactly the same problem. Were you able to sort it out please, and if so, how?