December 2009
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/item.htm?id=35559
Active 1.4 8v with Start&Stop 3 door £10,995.00
Eleganza 1.3 MultiJet (95 hp) Dualogic with Start&Stop 5 door £15,595.00
Maybe i'm out of touch, but £11k for a base model Punto sounds a bit steep to me. Especially when the new Polo is the same or a bit cheaper, model for model. (not sure which is better specced of course) Read more
Does anyone know if the manufacturers have different grades of finish, I assume they have specialist bodywork people.
Something like:-
1. Car show.
2. Press fleet.
3. Showroom.
4. Joe public.
These grades are my invention. Read more
Having a family member that works at one of our mass produced Japanese companies - I asked the question and I am informed that the cars are identified as press fleet cars on the logistics and configuration labelling and it is made clear for all to see but he did think they followed exactly the same process as all the others (maybe with a bit more care - although that would be completely the wrong thing to suggest for a Japanese Factory)
Is it true that cars 57 and onwards cannot be jump started, and if they are you risk a very large bill for a new ecu. I have heard stories of upto £5k. I don't know how true this is. What technical reason could there be for a jump start blowing the ecu? Read more
Most important warning that DD left out !( just forgot to add) ENSURE the keys for the car with the flat battery are removed from the ignition & away from the vehicle whilst connecting.
This is because on some cars when the key for the vehicle is in the vehicle some of the electronics are active & if the battery is dead flat & a donar vehicle is coupled up the vehicle can be spiked before the ignition is turned on!!!!!!!!
Moral of the story is use a ni-cad battery pack or call an experienced operator. On my service calls this week with the frost I have come across 3 vehicles that have been connected up wrongly in just one week. Blown ECU's dashes,sat navs autos boxes & alternators ABS modules etc etc. loads of dosh
Is there anything about that does have the 1.9 150 engine, but does not have the DMF?
Not necessarily a Vectra. Read more
Dont think so....
hi the glowplug light on the dash has stopped working (the bulb is ok) can anyone please give me ideas about possible solution
the glow plugs are working
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Hi,
I have noticed recently that the clutch pedal is stiffer than usual and doesn't retract as quickly after pressing on it. I can still change gear okay.
Is there anything I can check - can't afford to take it to a garage. I put it down to the cold damp weather but could it be something more sinister ?
Advice appreciated.
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Recently purchased this car, would like to be able to start it in under 5 minutes - if anyone can help or has any ideas what could be causing this I would love to hear from you !
History so far :
Purchased car , drove home , parked up , went to bed .
Got up , tried to start car , eventually started after repeated cranking over , sounded like the battery going flat . Looked at battery , identified it as a fiesta petrol car battery !
Bought new battery , attempted to start car , cranked over and over repeatedly but no start.
Garage tow started car , took it in and tested glow plugs , found 3 were dead ,so replaced all four . Collected car and drove home .
Car started after 2 attempts next morning , drove to work. Parked outside in very cold weather all day, car would not start to go home . Garage came over to start car and tried several things including hand pumping the little fuel reservoir under the bonnet, mechanic said something about "fuel backdrain" . After 5 repeats of this procedure the car eventually started.
Took it back to garage overnight , in the morning they discovered a loose jubilee clip on the fuel pipe , which has now been tightened . Car will start but I have to crank it over for what seems like ages before it starts .
There is a little bit of grey/white smoke once it does start but this disperses in seconds and the car runs and drives lovely once it is started.
When I first got the car a relay was clicking all time ,but since the glow plugs were replaced it has stopped clicking , however when the key is turned to initiate the glow plugs there is a slight faint buzzing sound until the light goes out , sounds a bit like the radio is on but not tuned in .
Next thing to try we think maybe the glow plug relay - but these seem to be quite dear , if anyone has any other ideas please let me know
thanks in advance
Jill Read more
shouldnt really cost 500+ that is pretty expensive to be honest, as ive had to replace my cylinder head and block after bad overheating and that along with a custom head gasket and reconditioned cylinder head and block cleaned up new rings and built up for just less than 500. and year before had engine replaced for £600
but you can usually find these work horses in the autotrader for around these prices in pretty good condition these days
I have just had to replace both my rear tyres on my 05 Mondeo Ghia X estate as they were bald on the inside edges after 25,000 miles (4 mm left on middle and outer edges). The original OEM tyres went for 47,000 miles and the wear was very even when they were changed !
When looking at the rear wheel /tyres with the car on a ramp today there is a pronounced camber - they certainly don't look right to my ignorant eyes ?
After searching around I have found some references to this sort of issue with Ford Mondy estates- can anyone provide more info on why this has happened and advise of a good garage in the Keighley/Bradford/Leeds area who can re-set the tracking - camber etc.
Many thanks.
Matt
{Correct year entered into header} Read more
AFAIK the camber is not adjustable but the toe is. I suspect that it's probably down to worn suspension rubber bushes in the bottom arms.
.
Keith
Afternoon all,
read a little article somewhere a fewdays ago about various Automotive systems.
One in particular stood out from the rest in the fact that since it`s conception
and introduction, it has never had a single failure of any kind!
so, a little guessing game for you.... can you name it?
Billy
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Thanks Billy, the virtual pint went down a treat!
Is there an assumption that a driver is always in the wrong if he or she hits or damages someone or thing with no witnesses. I am a firm believer that cars don't skid, mount the pavement, or hit the scenery, the driver looses control. But what if someone with a music player with volume that would drown out Concord wanders into the road and gets flattened, or a cyclist suddenly changes direction, is it the drivers fault for not anticipating the situation? Read more
I'm not bothered who is to blame. I pay my insurance premium and in exchange
for which my insurer sorts everything.
>>
Until the plods charge you with something unpleasant, does your insurance fix that too?
Browse
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We certainly found VW dealers unwilling to give any discount from list on a new Golf recently despite waving DtD and What Car target prices in front of them, we did find one who gave us about £1K off in the end. By comparison Ford immediately got to £4K off a Focus, transaction cost for each was then within £1K so it became a question of whole life costs and perceived image which Ford lost.
I too think that Ford etc are playing a risky game in increasing their prices, in this oligopolistic market they'll be hoping that other manufacturers follow suit to sustain generally higher prices.
HJ comments in another thread that average transaction costs have risen by £1K this year already and you have to understand that the UKP / EUR exchange rate makes profitably a big problem for anyone who manufactures on the mainland and wants to sell in the UK.
The risk is that Ford / Fiat etc lose sales if UK buyers consider their products to be overpriced, on the upside this might keep second hand values buoyant ?