January 2010
Wife's Fiesta went in for first service yesterday, initially thought to be very convenient as they offered to collect and return.
They didn't collect until 11:15 despite being told she must have the car for 16:30 and returned the car at 17:00 - OK she does not finish work til 5pm.
When they rang her to collect payment they said they would put a litre of oil in the car for top ups, she believed from what was said that it ws FOC.
When car was delivered the oil is shown on the invoice as £8. . . She is not happy.
When I looked at the invoice I see they claim to have put 5l in the engine, am somewhat surprices and ask the wife when she got the V8 put in. It is a 1.4 which according to Ford's book takes 3.5L, so where did they put the other 1.5l - it is not in the sump as the level shows in between the full/top up bends.
Also their invoice does not add up - in our favour by a couple of pounds.
Will be an interesting discussion with the service manager this morning but it, and daughter's previous model Fiesta, won't be going back there again! Read more
Hello all,
Me and the good lady wife are looking for a used car. Its not proving simple. We had 'crossed words' tonight, and i see it happening again soon.
Our budget is 2700 max. Our mechanical knowledge is limited.
Looking for astra 2.2sri
vectra petrol (1.8 or 2.0T)
Astra diesel, previous shape, NOT CDTI
ford mondeo
in no particular order of preference, only stipulations are low mileage <100k, service history , 52 reg onwards.
I find the whole thing daunting, I know what I want, I know what I want to pay, but its all so bloomin difficult.
made three appointments this morning, first for a astra sri, 04 reg, at a large dealer some 10 miles away. Upon arrival, they did not have the car, but offered to show me other vehicles in a similar price range, after making me wait 45 mins. I politely moved on to the next.
Again I called the garage this morning, and asked if I could view the car in the afternoon, this time a vectra 1.8 elegance, on a 03. It was advertised as one owner, full service history, and 40 miles from home. It was advertised in auto trader at 2700. On arrival the screen price was 3295. Swiss tony explained he had had a lot of interest in the car........It was small-ish indy garage on a main road. On arrival, the car was blocked in by loads of vehicles and I knew straight away i would not get a test drive. The car was sporting carcraft numberplates, and swiss tony could not explain why. The back seat was not attatched to anything. I walked away without starting the engine, and moved onto the next appointment after swiss tony said he had no history, just old MOT's. Why would a one owner ex lease car have carcraft number plates? that put me off. I have had carcraft issues before. Best forgotton.
My third appointment was a small-ish garage on a main road, some 5 miles from home. The vehicle was advertised as a 2004(53) astra 1.7dti saloon, at 2895, with 47k on the clock. On arrival the screen price was 3495. A common trick I realise now.
I HPI'd the astra on my phone, but it was described as a 5 door estate, first registered in nov 08? but the car was a 53? You guessed it, I walked away.
Please help, is what I want do-able on my budget? and how do I deal with traders!!!!!!!!
Cheers Read more
Blue Bell is on Bury Rochdale Old Road near the Bird in Hand
the key on my bmw wont go all the way into the barrel. has about 5mm left. we cant get the lock off. any ideas please Read more
What does it feel like is blocking it? Something seized or something solid in the way / stuffed in the keyhole?
I'd try dipping the key in a tin of 3-in-1 oil then putting it in and out the lock, re-dipping & repeating a few times to see if any joy loosening it up.
There's some kind of mechanism to prevent removing the key while in gear on at least the automatics. If this is an automatic, might be worth rowing the gear selector all the way down to drive then back up to park.
Failing that i'd probably be removing the steering column shell / plastic surround to see about removing the ignition barrel.
Hope this helps but im just stabbing in the dark unfortunately, i don't know enough / have enough experience yet.
For anyone considering buying tyres online I've just used Camskill and service was excellent. Ordered at lunchtime yesterday and they arrived 24 hours later.
They were over £10 a tyre cheaper than anyone else I tried.
Read more
The cost of tyres are a trivial motoring cost. A full set every (say) 3 years will cost £200-400 for most cars - £70-130 pa. Not much different to a basic car wash once or twice a month.
Fuel is about £1500 pa, depreciation on a new/newish vehicle is £1500 - 4000 pa, servicing and minor replacements £250-500 pa....
Hi All,
Wondering if any techie guys can help?
My daughters TDCI 1.4 seems to be ready for a clutch; this is not slipping at the moment but is biting at the very top of pedal, the car seems to stall without too much coaxing when in reverse mainly but will obviously stall also in forward motion as well.
Does this indicate a problem with the dual mass flywheel (if fitted) and how would i be able to tell which type? - (DMF or solid version.)
many thanks in anticipation. Read more
Hi all,
My M-I-L has an aging Honda Accord, 2000 on an X-plate, 2.0S, showing about 115k.
With recent house moves, both she and we have a little money at the mo, and there is a debate as to whether she should hang onto her Honda or if now is a good time to change.
Honda's in very good condition, all working and good bodywork (red paint a little faded). I reckon we cold get maybe £1200 privately, maybe £1500 trade in.
Option to change- I'm looking at Nissan Notes about 56- 07 plate, 20k, for about £6500. The CBCB says very nice things, and they seem to be very good value both in purchase price and running cost.
Some of her colleagues are saying she should hang onto the Honda as it probably has another 5 years in it. This may be true, but there may be a big bill quite soon. I also think that a more modern vehicle will have better passive safety features particularly for when my son is traveling with her. Finally, in 5 years when the Honda finally dies, there may not be cash around to replace it!
She's not really a bangernomics person, and would hang onto the Honda for the sake of not spending out the cash. I'm suggesting that the change would save her several hundred pa in tax, insurance and petrol (she's on a limited monthly budget).
Thoughts, oh learned backroomers?
Thanks in advance,
Alex.
Read more
Alex
If you need any more proof as to how good Honda Accords are, go to Hondabeat.com and click on 'high mileage stories'. :-)
Hi All,
My vehicle has recently develped a lumpy tickover. Despite a full service by a local {not renault} reputable garage the problem still persists. The mechanic stated its probably one of the many onboard sensors but unsure which one. Hooked up to the computer reported ''no faults found''. Starting the engine at home from cold the engine misses slightly on the quarter mile steep incline. Once warm the engine runs reasonably well but at idle it deviates by around 200rpm. The stepper motor and map sensor have both been replaced with s/h but working units.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance. Read more
I have the same problem, what is the procedure ?
Thanks in advance
Another problem I've had for a while now is that the tailgate no longer opens using the remote. The doors open and double lock etc on the remote but tailgate won't. A while back it was working sometimes but just before it finally died it was making noises as if it was struggling to operate. Any ideas what the problem could be? Read more
In answer to both replies the rear wiper is working fine at the moment. However it has given problems in the past namely not operating one day and operating the next. A crack with a hammer sound like it might be worth a try as it's quick and easy! Failing that I'll check out connections.
Had the car up for the annual mot test and it failed on account of the rear nearside coil spring being fractured. Its a super little car and well worth the repair. Ive had a quick look and the job seems pretty straight forward but any hints/tips would be appreciated. Am i right in thinking a spring compressor is gonna be needed? Read more
Drop the rear shockers off and be carefull with the brake flexi the spring should come out ok, then you will need to jack up the axle to fit the shockers back on.
My son is going on a climbing course in the Cairgorms next month and included in the kit list is snow chains.
With our recent weather there must be quite a few who have used these recently.
Any advice on make, model, type etc., would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Alan. Read more
The general consensus was that a set of cold weather tyres all round was a better bet, unless clearance was an issue, in which case it's a jeep not snow chains needed ;-)
Nokian WR2's have been recommended *a lot*.
I now have experience of 2 (small) cars on Blizzak LM-18s and they're marginally better grip than the WR2s on snow / ice / slush.
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I do the same, check 3/4 Franchise dealers (when car is under warranty) and then mention price when handing car keys over.
Last time the 10-40 oil was put in instead of fully synthetic!
On querying this the Service manager explained 20% voucher off service price the "well known chain of Scottish Garages" has a policy of downgrading the oil!!
After discussing matters for 30 mins the oil was replaced by 5-30 synthetic.
Last time that garage gets any of my money - service or new car