February 2010
I've noticed one or two filling stations have large surface tanks labelled Ad blue.
A quick search on the net tells me it's some additive for diesel engines, but seems to be suitable only for HGVs.
The Wiki entry - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdBlue - is a bit hard to fathom.
Could one of our resident truckers tell me what this stuff is meant to do?
And more importantly, does it work?
Read more
Hi All,
Im new to this forum so hope this is the right place!
Im wanting to sell my focus 1.6 tdci and buy something larger, more comftable and with a bit more get up and go.
I have seen 4 cars that I am interesed in but am unsure which would be best, They all have motorway miles which is another thing that does worry me slightly, although I have driven some high mile stuff at work ive never had one personally.
BMW 330d estate (manual) - New shape with leather done 102,000 - Full BMW history
BMW 520d estate (auto) - New Shape with leather and sat nav etc done 105,000 - Full BMW History
Volvo V70 D5 (auto) - Circa 100k - with Full Volvo History
Audi Allroad - Circa (auto) 100k - Full Audi History.
All these are between 9000 and 11700 pounds.
Would these be ok with continued mileage I do between 16k to 20k a year.
All advice, help etc with which is best and probs woould be appreciated.
Regards
Pullers
Read more
Pullers. I think most folks positive experience about high mileage cars, as is ours, does seem to be at the lower end of the price scale. Often at £2 -3k and rarely above £4k.
Moving up from a Focus your needs at your price would seem to be easily met by new shape Mondeo, C5, Legacy, Octavia, Volvo etc .... delivery mileage, ex-demo or up to 18mths old with a max of 15k with a solid main dealer prep/warranty. You'll get all the toys too with many of these makes if the right model is chosen.
Just a comment on the type of dealer you mention. Do you really want to spend in the region of £12k with a guy out in the wilds who pictures all his cars on a Fen track and is only available by appointment?? This guy might be the most honest seller in the world but such setups can make it very hard to chase down any warranty isues.
My Berlingo has just gone through its MOT, and I was studying the emissions test data, trying to make sense of them.
I can understand the CO and HC ppm levels (though am interested that while the CO levels are the same as last year, the HC level has jumped from 5 ppm to 9 ppm, and am not quite sure what to make of this.)
However, I don't know what the lambda figure means. As last year, the figure is 1.01, which is within the limits of 0.97 and 1.03. But what should I make of the fact that it is 1.01 rather than 1.0? And what would I make of it if it was 0.99?
{Probably more suited to Tech Matters ------> kick } Read more
Thanks for that very full answer, NC.
I'll see what happens at the next service. And I'll have to try to remember to report back at the next MOT!
Just seen a car I might like like to buy on Ebay. However it has Irish plates...
I'm wondering what would be involved in changing to UK plates... Costs? And would it be legal to drive before plate change has occurred? Anyone know or able to point me to appropriate website?
Thanks :) Read more
Dump it in a lake and wait 60 years.
Hi All,
Simply put my car insurance was renewed 7th Jan 2010 (have been with the same company many yrs, up till now i had been happy), im 28 yr old with 7 yrs no claims, and no points, until now...
On Dec 29th 2009, I was caught speeding by a fixed camera, and only found out mid Jan that I was to be fined, when I got the letter in the post. They offered me a Speed awareness course or 3 pts, the course was far away from me, would have involved taking a day off work, etc. so I called the company up to ask how either would affect my premium, I was told that in this yrs premium there will be no change, but next yrs there may be some impact, and it would work out the same whether I attended the course or took the points, so I chose the points.
I called up today, and was told that my premium would be increased for this yr by £115 because of these points, when I had already done a few online searches of the scenarios of having 3 pts vs not having, and my premium was up just £45.
Am I now stuck with them for this full yr? and have to pay this additional £115, cos obviously at the time of renewal I didnt know I was getting points, and would have accounted for the points when I shopped around.
Any help would be greatly welcomed.
Thanks
IAXGLS Read more
Using the regular comparison websites included in endorsements/penalties there are 2 options, one for attendance on a drivers awareness course, and one for speeding points, both have the same effect on the end policy quote.
I am writing this to warn other BMW drivers. I own a 06 2.0d X3 with 43k miles that has a full BMW service history. The car is supposedly covered by extended BMW Comprehensive Component Cover warranty (their most expensive top level cover). Shortly after its last major service the car developed a Turbo fault. The dealer told me that the turbo had failed due to a build up of carbon and this wasn?t covered under the warranty. The estimate for the repair was £4000. I asked how this could have happened the reason given was lots of short drives!!!! or possibly bad fuel. . After much deliberation under goodwill they reduced the cost to £1200. I have information suggesting that the local BMW dealer has seen this problem on at least 10 BMW X3 and their technical department does not know why this is happening! Has anyone else reported this fault? I know under the 3 year warranty this problem is fixed free of cost. If anyone has any other suggestions to help me on this matter it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Read more
Hi - I have a 07 X3i deisel. It started losing power and has been back to the dealer 4 times in the last 2 months. Not under extended warranty but after the third attempt at not fixing the problem, they stripped the car down and told me that the engine was clogged up by carbon. They told me this was due to the manner in which I had been driving (in a built up area and the engine was not getting sufficient revs!!). The bill was £3.000. The car has been back with me one week and this weekend, I have been on a recovery truck twice. Lost power and completely broken down. Both recovering mechanics from Westbourne motors (40 years in the trade) have told me that BMW have a known problem with this engine leaking from the turbo. Absolutely nothing to do with the way its driven!!!!! They were both disgusted that BMW refuse to admit the problem. The engines should have been recalled. They advised me to take legal action.
Hope this has helped and we should all club together to recover our money (let alone all the time and inconvenience)....
Looking at options for insuring my 18 year-old son whilst he has a provisional licence.
Among the options is the afore-mentioned insurance company, which provides short-term cover for supervised driving in (usually) their parent's car. Seems a good idea, bearing in mind that the 'lessons' may be a bit sporadic but in 'clusters'.
Has anyone used them - or anything similar - as opposed to a full year's policy? Read more
Perhaps you should have read the policy document.
Page 21 makes it very clear that the policy is automatically cancelled once the driver passes their test and that no refund will be given. You would have also seen that you had the right, without having to give a reason, to cancel the policy within 14 days of inception and been given a pro-rata refund less charges. That's what you should have done.
Would appreciate any views on this please.
Had my 64,000 mile 2.0 tdi Audi serviced and the morning after the service my wife was driving to work and heard a loud bang and car lost power.
She limped the 1 mile to the garage and after investigating they have advised that the chain drive to the oil pump has snapped and so they will need to replace. Having looked at Car by Car breakdown, this appears to be a known issue for this engine - but it strikes as being far too coincidental for this to snap immediately after the service. The car was running completely fine before the service. The garage have said that the chain snapping is unrelated to the service and just one of those things - what should I say when I collect it tomorrow if the garage try and charge for the remedial work? Read more
Although Audi says this chain is not available it is and at £22 it is far cheaper than £6-700 for a gear kit.
Perhaps this belongs in "Technical"? Perhaps not.
I see, in various threads about head gaskets, that continual reference is made to "skimming" (or grinding) cylinder heads when gaskets are replaced. Why? This is hardly often necessary. Has it become simply "the routine"? Read more
When I had a Morris Minor MM 1952 side valve for 11 years in Zambia the head gasket failed about once every nine months. I usually found out in town when I tried the starter and there was thump as the piston hit the water in the affected cylinder. I always managed to start the engine by leaning on the starting handle until all of the water was pushed into the sump and then turning the handle like an idiot. The compressions were quite low and it wasn't too difficult. Eventually the engine would begin to fire on one cylinder, and then two, and I could start home. Three and then four cylinders cut in soon afterwards and we were sailing. Once home I parked up, and then next morning I would loosen the sump plug until all of the water had run out and then tighten it back up. Engine oil was then in very short supply and about £45.00 per gallon, so we didn't waste it. I always kept a spare gasket, so I was always quickly back on the road.
I did have the head skimmed once, but it didn't make much difference.
Can anyone point in the right direction for the cheapest car insurance for my 17 year old boy. Read more
Browse
.jpg)
>> This product ...................... was developed by NASA and is used in their space program.
Next time I need to drive a diesel to the moon, I'll have to get some.