January 2010
first of all i would like to say thanks for the helpful replies i have recieved over the past couple of months regarding cars ( almera and astra) i was looking to buy , cheers backroomers.
my dad has offered me his x reg 1.4 5 door civic , its done about 70k , timing belt has been done , the car is in really good condition apart from the heater only blows on speed 3 and 4 does anyone know if this is expensive to fix also what is it worth , it has service history till 59k when he bought it
thanks mark Read more
Does anyone know anything about sumps as we have gone over a rock in the road and smashed a hole in it the size of your fist in the bottom of it. It looks like there are bolts on the bottom of the sump, maybe it has a bottom plate but i don't know anything about it. If i can just take off the bottom plate can i buy this seperately and can it just be sealed and replaced. Where is the best place to buy one. Any suggestions gratefully recieved!!!! Read more
is it made of alloy?
if it is then you unfortunately cant get to all the bolts without splitting the gearbox from the engine (so i seem to remember and been told)
if its a steel sump then they are fairly easy to take off
im pretty sure yours is alloy though so either a scrapyard part or main dealer
have you considered claiming on your car insurance if you can ?
hi
i bought a used Ford Focus recently (couple of weeks ago), 2001 reg, 70k, and it has been back to the garage twice to fix issues. I have had the car in my possension for 3 days at the most.
I first took the car back because I noticed the carpets smelled really bad after collecting the car. When I viewed it, the cleaning products they had used covered the smell. The water level was also very low. I took the car back and left it with them for a week. They cleaned the carpet and replaced the water pump.
After picking the car up the following weekend, the car broke down. I got the RAC to tow the car back to the dealer. I told the dealer it still smelt and the RAC said the thermostat had failed. I left the car for the week. They fixed the thermostat and cleaned the car again.
After another week, I picked the car up. When driving the car home, I noticed three other issues:
- the accelerator pedal feels sticky and is not smooth
- sometimes when changing gear, as I clutch in, and foot off accelerator, the revs to not always drop to idle immediately - this is an intermittent fault
- there is a creaking / knocking sound as I turn corners, particularly at low speed and hardish lock when pulling off
The car also still smells.
I want to return the car for a full refund so would like to get an inspection to properly diagnose the issues with the car and provide a report for the dealer.
Does ayone know the best place to get this done? Would a Ford dealer be best, or the AA/RAC? Or another insepction firm?
The AA/RAC inspections are only visual so I worry they may not pick up more serious issues such as head gasket failure which could be tested for with proper equipment. Also they do not get the car on a ramp.
Any advide would be appreciated.
Cheers! Read more
thanks. or maybe water damaged (as bathtub tom suggested). would be consistent with the smelly
carpet as well since this is only in the driver area
Yes, the leak could corrode the tracks in the pedal sensor.
was fine when I test drove the car - maybe it had been lubricated and
now that is wearing off. Could water damage also cause issues here?
Not really. More likely that you didn't notice it during the test drive; easily done as the symptoms only appear at certain circumstances.
I have been looking for a family hatchback for my wife for a while and spotted an 09/09 Ipreza 5dr hatchback on the forecourt of Bristol Street Motors this morning. Took it for a test drive this afternoon. It's a 1.5 R base model but comes with A/C, electric windows all round, AWD and seems would do the job. Cheap plastics and noisy engine with 5 speed manual gearbox that would appear to be difficult to get above 70, but the right amount of space, doors and a bit different from the obvious alternatives.
I've left a £250 refundable deposit on it and arranged for my wife to test drive tomorrow first thing. I'm paying £7,500 for it with tax until April. Three questions...
1) Is this a sensible purchase, particularly in this price range;
2) Is this the latest model (registered May 2009)? Why is it £3k less than the cheapest equivalent showing on Autotrader?; and
3) Will I suffer any problems/unforeseen costs servicing, running and reselling this car at a later date?
Thanks in advance
bazomis Read more
Not if it's the 1.5 petrol! I struggled to get to 70 and found myself revving to 4,000rpm in every gear to get there.
had been considering focus or jazz and majority of advice left me favouring the focus. Like the look of the estate zetec. We have one toddler and another due any day. My wife had been checking out MPVs like scenics and Picassos as we've been driving about, attracted by the high up driver position.
Which would be a better purchase (got about £6K, looking for a 2006 with 30-35000M on clock)
All advice/experience appreciated Read more
Thanks for replies.
Would be looking to hang onto the car for a good few years, so not overly concerned with depreciation, more running costs and reliability. Main difference I can see would be comfort and ease of use - sat in a focus estate, liked boot but felt low down infront of wheel. Haven't sat in a Cmax yet
Searches so far today have indicated more Foci on market, but similar price/milage on offer for both.
In the handbook that came with the car, it says to simply remove the car battery, removing the NEGATIVE wire before the POSITIVE wire.
The wires are slightly oiley and do not simply "remove"
The battery is flat and I want to take it out to charge it.
The clamp has been removed, I just don't know how to take the wires off.
Any help would be much appreciated.
(I can't take it to the local garage because it wont start, so don't suggest that.)
Read more
Most batteries have a 10 or 12mm nut on the terminals, simply unscrew and wiggle them off.
However some french cars of the ZX's era had wee screw terminals that looked like a water tap, once again, undo and pull off, except no tools are required!
I have to open the passenger door from the inside and it is driving me insane. The keyfob doesn't work so I have to use the key from the drivers side which unlocks all of the doors except for the passenger front door.
Can anyone suggest anything please.
Many thanks
Ian Read more
Hi Ian,
I had the exact same problem with my Xsara, the problem was a broken wire just as it enters the multi plug on the door, just pull back the rubber sheathing to expose the wires going in to connector to see if you have the same problem, could also be a bad connection on the plug it's self, these are a push and screw type connector.
Hope this helps
Steve.
Has anyone experience of fitting a parking sensor to a Nissan Note? I like the look of the Meta SR2 Targa, but this fits behind the number plate and thus poses a particular problem for the Note, where the plate is glued rather than screwed or bolted to the body. Perhaps someone can recommend another model? Read more
I used parking-sensor.co.uk/ for sensors fitted to my Accord and have used them again for my wife?s Note. Excellent product and expertly fitted. They are bumper fitted and work fine in just about all situations.
Got a problemm with the wipers or the 306, they have stopped working totally, both front and back and wash wipe are all dead. Fuses are ok, I'm stumped! Help! Read more
Had a look at the linkage, it was as dry as a bone, gave it a good lubing and we now have wipers, they just won't work intermittently, whick I can live with!
Agree it would be a doddle to change the motor, I thought it might be the old 405 blocked drain problem, but it was dry!
Might be worth getting one just in case though!
I am about to part exchange my car however I have water stains on the seats. What is the best way to remove the stains ?
Read more
Can of Groom from Halfords, damp cloth and a little elbow grease tinyurl.com/yduqtbw
When using the damp cloth work "dampness" out to a seam in the seat upholstery otherwise you will just move the tidemark.
Browse
thanks Lygonos help very much appreciated looks like this is my next car