March 2010
Hi,
Pls does anyone know if you can use incorrect size wiper blades as we found some massively reduced but one inch out from what we think we need. They are the flat type blades with universal fitting.
One website says our car (Polo) needs a 21" (drivers side) and a 18" (passenger side) whilst another website says we need 21" and 19".
We're guessing that they're still work fine if only an inch out and still clean the main part of the window - will this be okay?
The cheapest we found online was around £25 for two but these bargain ones we're only £7 odd a pair so a good saving and as we've done nothing but pay out huge sums of money for fixing the car lately we'd like to save what we can. Read more
Just had to put my '07 120i into dealership for second time within 3 months, for ignition coil failure. They've informed me there are no replacement parts available in UK - does this signify a recurring problem with this model and should I be requesting the other 2 coils be replaced, before warranty expires end of June? Read more
My 116i had this problem 6 days out if warranty. BMW fixed it as a gesture of goodwill and now 3 months later the same thing has occured. I was offered (and accepted) a hire car which to me signifies that the problem is much bigger than they are letting on particularly as I was informed, as you were, that there were no replacement parts in the UK. The latest bill is £350. They have told me that part has been redesigned so why have they not done a recall?
Hope someone can help. My 2002 BMW 3 series has a strange fault- as soon as reverse is engaged the reversing sensors scream loudly no matter what is behind, if anything.
Can these be re-set or fixed?... Read more
I had this on my E46 2002 320d, my local Independent BMW specialist plugged in his diagnostic kit and diagnosed a faulty sensor. He had to remove the rear bumper, change the sensor and refit the bumper. Cost me £52+vat for the sensor and about 45 minutes labour so about £95 all in. I think a dealer would be at least double that.
Obviously it may not be a sensor but they tend to go....
Recently after starting my my 2001 1.6 Focus, the battery warning light came on briefly, then all the dash illumination went out, then it all went back to normal, but the dash illumination was dimming and the headlights were slightly flickering.
The next day whilst driving, the battery light went on and off a few times, then the speedo and rev counter shot up past the max, then the front, rear and side indicators all came on (constantly on, not flashing), meaning i couldn't signal. Then the speedo went to about 150mph and stayed there. Also the fuel/temp gauge will drop to 0, the radio will cut out, and the door open lights on beep will sound.... Read more
Hi, Thanks for the reply. The problem doesn't seem to be there with just the ignition on, so I'll start with the alternator. Thanks for your help.
I have an 08 Doblo 1.3 multijet but am having problems with the DPF, mainly because I do lots of short journeys. Otherwise it is great!
Should I trade in for a new petrol Doblo whilst my current one has some value or stick with my 1.3 diesel?... Read more
I decided in the end to go for the new Doblo. I've ordered a 1.4 petrol eleganza in burgundy with 0% finance. I had to tell the salesman that 0% was being offered on the Fiat website because he wasnt about to offer it!
Got a deal tho, 6k for ours and 13k for the new one, which seemed reasonable for a brand new model. Am now awaiting delivery, last time I spoke to the dealer he said delivery would be the second week in May, so I am still waiting......
I moved to Austria last September. My car is in the process of being re-registered in Austria but is still UK-registered as of this instant. Due to circumstances beyond my control, the local registration hasn't happened yet. I am still driving on UK insurance, based on my UK address and with a 12-month green card. Unfortunately.....my UK tax expiresat the end of March, and the MOT on 28th March. There's an outside chance I could retax it (I have the paperwork, but no valid MOT on the 1st April which would be the first day of the validity if the tax), but the MOT is a no-no!
I'm hoping it will sort itself out tomorrow, if the manufacturer's paperwork arrives in the post, but if not, I may be driving without tax or MOT. The insurance is valid until September so at least that isn't a problem - except that the car will technically not be UK road legal. I'm thinking that this is all going so wrong! I don't really want to open this up to the insurance company, but I believe I'm right in saying that, from the insurance point of view, as long as the car is roadworthy (whether or not it has an MOT), it shouldn't be an issue from their pespective (after all, you are insured when you drive your car to get an MOT if there is gap between the old one expiring and the appointment for the test to get a new one).... Read more
If the car is in the UK you are correct if its abroad then no.
I've been considering either a Honda Civic or a VW Golf - about an 01 reg. mainly because they both offer a reputation for reliability and very economical diesels. I'm fairly certain I want another diesel after my current 1.9D Xantia which has been great (in terms of fuel) considering it cost 400 quid.
I usually drive alone but often carry quite a bit of stuff so I don't want to go any smaller. I am 6'3" though so I need headroom - and the more upright the driving position the better as I do get back trouble sometimes.
The A1 priority for me is reliability and running costs. I've been spending an average of about a grand a year on repairs alone whilst my Dad spends about a hundred on his (cramped) Nissan Almera.
So my question is - Civic or Golf or ……..? Is there another model I should be considering like maybe the Skoda Octavia? Read more
@primeradriver:
Well, thanks for the advice - it has certainly made me think a bit about the question of age over presumed reliability and fuel economy. Obviously the Total Cost of Ownership is what is important, and as I do less than 10K miles a year maybe obsessing over MPG is a little misguided....
Hi
I have a Nissan Almera N16 (2003 revised) with a somewhat annoying sound on occasions but has recently been getting progressively worse and more frequent.... Read more
Bearings would result in a whine on overrun (when you take the foot off the gas when slowing down), usually in 2nd and 3rd gear. However this issue was common to older Nissan boxes; newer ones don't usually suffer the problem.
If it is this fault, it's usually nothing to worry about -- my dad had a Nissan whose box started whining at 25K; it was still whining at 140K when he sold it on.
As in I thought that the 2.0 was a replacment for the 1.9 lump.
I am aware that in Italy? there is/was a tax advantage somewhere about the 1.9 or sub 2.0 litre point, but even the 2.0 is only 1986cc or whatever.... Read more
I agree with DP. The 130bhp 1.9 diesel is a gem. I don't know what I will do when mine finally needs replacing, got one of the last ones around. Might go back to Ford, although as the 140 cracks on they are hopefully ironing out the faults. My daughter has an 08 140 Passat with 60K hard miles and no trouble, but she is fireproof with a company car. The jury is still out on this one. Concrete
A few months ago I wrote a post about the launch of a car donation service called www.Giveacar.co.uk. You can find the story here. The premise of the service is that we take away any car, whether roadworthy or not, and either sell it or scrap it – donating the proceeds of the cars sale/scrap metal value to charity.
I thought I’d tell you how it’s going so far because at the time quite a few people commented on the story. In three months we’ve gone up to around 10-15 cars per week, and the service has raised almost £10,000 for various charities. Thank you for all your initial comments, I took them all on board and have tried to address them. Now the service is becoming ever more successful and I think we are not far off doing many more cars. It will be interesting to see how much the closure of the scrappage scheme affects our demand. I’m hoping that the new swappage scheme does not become too prominent. ... Read more
As at least some of the money is going to charity I'll let this stand.
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I've also had the misfortune to buy cheap flat wipers from ebay & I agree a complete waste of money mainly sold by people just looking to make a fast buck. Can recommend these retrofit flat wiper blades http://www.wiperblades.co.uk/our-brand.php which I bought 4 months ago and performed really well during the very cold winter. Look the same as the ones off eBay, but use far superior materials and were only a few pounds more.