January 2010
the cat on my recently bought '04 1.6fsi has just gone and ive been quoted about £420 for a new one. is this a fair price? ive only had the car 3 months and it flew through its MOT in november. is there any way i could get it done cheaper? Read more
Another blow to UK Jobs - Hungary benefits while Wales suffers.
Plant is 20 years old and is deemed uncompetitive in the market. Read more
I also forgot to say how sorry i feel for all the Bosch employees at the plant who will lose their jobs.
Just had confirmation my Mondeo has sold through a contact without advertising.
Almost two years ago I bought the 2001 Ghia X Estate 2.0 petrol on a whim from friends who'd changed to a people carrier. It's been a bit of a time out from my usual Citroen diesels but what an excellent used car for anyone in the £1k - £7k range.
The only real motivation for selling it were the fuel bills at 30mpg average. A smaller factor was the over sharp ride on its 17" alloys with 50 profile tyres.
Apart from that it has been pretty well all good. Good refinement, comfortable seats (elec leather) with loads of space in the rear too. We've used it to move twice.. the rear loadspace in the estate is huge. For me just about every control was in the right place and easy to operate without distraction from the road.
Lots of toys on the Ghia X that actually increase driving comfort and efficiency.
No reliability issues. Just servicing, aircon re-gass/adjust, tyres, a wheel bearing and track rod end.... all routine stuff as I took it from around 85k to 110k. The 6-CD changed did fail as they often do but I never bothered to replace it.
A very strong engine that never missed a beat. Very effective auto climate control.
Depreciated just £400 in 2yrs.
Wouldn't hesitate to say get one if they suit your needs. Read more
BTW I didn't even have to sell the Mondeo as such. Called into the local garage who've always serviced it to get some plates made up to take off its reg no and the guys found a buyer in hours as they knew it to be a straight car.
Or let Granny too near the mangle eh Ted!!
M
Many years ago I spent some time working in Ziare. As you can imagine the roads were pretty poor so most of the company cars were LRs. A few of the guys decided to have a day out and drive into some of the more remote areas. On journeys like this two LRs would be taken an driven in convoy. Driving along a stretch of road they suddenly came across a large crater in the road, the lead LR drove over the crater, while the following driver decided to try and swerve around.
Unfortunately, he swerved too hard and too fast, and on clipping the edge of the crater the LR rolled over. A guy in the back was not wearing his seatbelt and suffered a large gash to his leg. Being many miles from a doctor, this was a serious situation.
Following this incident the company made everyone complete an off road driving course.
As 4x4s are generally large, heavy, specialised vehicles, should they be in a class of their own that requires a special licence to drive like HGVs? Read more
Eh? So we agree then?
I think maybe it would have been better posted in the 4x4 bashing thread.
What you and the missus get up to with wet celery is no concern of mine, but hope you enjoy it none the less :)
How much do you want for yer 4x4?
Very recently, like yesterday, heard a strange feint whirring/rumbling from, I think, somewhere in the transmission. It is there for a while then disappears. The frequency of the sound is not affected by depressing the clutch and it diminishes with road speed - not engine speed.
Any offers regarding the source and cause? Thanks. Read more
I wouldn't worry about it, on of my XMs makes a noise like a tram at certain speeds but not generally in motorway driving, its done nearly 200,000 miles and I expect it will do at least another 100k.
I,m wanting to know about the scenic 1.4 and how good or bad as i hhave noticed on ebay that a lot have had new head gaskets fitted does anyone know if this is a common fault please and has it got any more reliability problems?? Read more
I've had two 1.4 petrols. I won't have a third.
Both had an appetitie for coil packs. Normally these fail over several days, so you have enough warning to replace them. One, however, failed completely in a day, leaving my wife and daughter stranded. Gear change in both (2001 build, 90000 miles and 2004, 69000 miles) very notchy. Both were nose heavy under braking, and grip from the factory fit Michelin Energy tyres was poor.
They really feel as if they were designed for the 1.9 diesel and fitting the small petrol engine was an afterthought. The 1.4 petrol is chronically underpowered with more than two passengers on board; fuel economy suffers as a result.
The design is very practical - there's a surprising amount of useful space, the height is good for easy access, and there are plenty storage spaces. Safety is good in these, too. Unfortunately, I had three accidents in them (both were written off) but nobody on board ever harmed.
Build quality was terrible. Both cars full of rattling trim, the 2004 worse. Panel fit was poor. I managed to close the boot on the dog's tail once - all she did was wag her tail through the gap between the boot and the body! Rear sunroofs either fail completely or work intermittently. Beware: they can open, then refuse to close again! Both cars were riddled with annoying electrical faults.
If you're still tempted, read the CBCB carefully to pinpoint when Renault quality was at its worst and avoid those cars at all costs. My suspicion is that a basic spec diesel is the safest bet, as these are the cars the domestic French market buys, but I won't be testing my theory with my own money again!
Edit: for those wondering why I was silly enough to buy a second Scenic, the first was my wife's car. The second replaced it after it was written off , as the settlement was only enough to buy a like-for-like replacement. The second one was written off and replaced with a Subaru Forester, with which I'm every bit pleased as I was displeased with the Renaults...
Please does anyone no anything about two microswicthes on a mark 3 Fiesta. One is attached to the lock barrel and the other one is on the tailgate latch. The car has central double locking. Normally with the alarm activated you can still open and shut the tailgate without the alarm going off. But one of these must temporary de -activate the alarm whilst the boot is opened. Does anyone have any ideas. Many thanks. Read more
Bump... moved to technical.
Previously very reliable 92 Eunos has just started to idle poorly and occassionally cut out without warning. AA said it was the Idler Air Control first time and then the mixture second time. Any ideas? Phil Read more
Hard to say without the benefit of inspecting it.
Idle air control valves do fail on these and poor idle/cut is a symptom. Be warned they are staggeringly expensive from dealer (like £700+ !!) did one late last year and fitted a s/hand one I got for £45, owner very grateful. Check out one of the MX5 forums for leads on cheaper replacement parts.
Help please, anyone know of good sunroof repairer in the Bournemouth area? Read more
Browse
I assume there is some mechanical fault with it (rattling or been bashed). Unusual for them to fail otherwise at this age. If it is just a bit of a rattle I would be inclined to leave it.