May 2010
I need a car. I don't have a car currently and though I know it has faults, the Ford Fiesta seems a decent motor in Econetic TDCi DPF specification. Sub 110 CO2 emissions means I can put it through a company and claim 100% in year one (still not sure I will do this though and might keep it private) and no car tax. The DPF does worry me a little but from my albeit limited research, I have real evidence of people using it without problems and internet forum warnings of problems due to various undocumented driving patterns.
The attraction of something like the Kia's 7 year warranty is very attractive to someone like me. I need 5 doors, reliability and practicality. Safety needs are high as I have a 3 year old child, though she will not be doing major miles. I guess I'd keep it for quite a while even though residuals might be strong.... Read more
hello drivers,
I just want to do a survey for the 1.8L petrol on focus mark 2, i own such a car. It will be best that everybody provides their average speed from the trip computer of their vehicle in order to have a better understanding of the type of driving the said vehicle is subjected to.
I live in south london, I work nearer to the city and i drive there.
I am getting an average speed of 12mph with an mpg of 28mpg.
What is the reading on everybody else's trip computer. I would very much appreciate the input of other 1.8L petrol of other makes as well. Please give as much detail as possible such as average speed, etc. Read more
Well, when I had my Mk 1 Focus 1.8 manual petrol it did 38mpg. This would be mainly mixed urban driving, hope this helps.
Evening.
I bought a second hand car from a main dealer last week, paid cash and took delivery a few days ago - now running fully insured and taxed.... Read more
I was relating this to Mrs Johnny - she said words to the effect -"Lucky you know about these things, I'd have just said yes to everything.."
Any idea what the percentage take up of extras like GAP / Autoglym etc. are? It must underpin our entire economy....
Honest John's car-by-car guide states:
BY 2010, FAILURES OF CVTs WITH 1.6TDCIS HAD REACHED EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS and the cost of replacement at around £5,000 is greater than the value of the car. For that reason DO NOT BUY A C-MAX 1,6TDCI CVT AUTO. If you already own one, it seems that one reason for failure may be overfilling of the special automatic transmission fluid, so check this carefully and if necessary have some drained from it.... Read more
Chris,
I've been struggling for the last six months to get my C-Max CVT fixed and all that seems to be wrong with it is a speed sensor or a motronic unit. See http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=81143...
Hi,
My 306 HDi Meridian '99 (X Reg) has recently started to occaisionally cut out whilst driving.... Read more
Hi,
Thanks for your reply, appreciate it its very helpful. I'll speak to the guy at the garage and see what he thinks and hopefully get it sorted....
Hi,
we have a Civic Type S GT 2.2 Diesal, less than 2 years old with 34,000 miles on the clock and full Honda Service history. Last service was September 2009 when there were no issues.... Read more
I think 'better' would be more appropriate than 'adequate'. The front brakes do 90% of the braking because of weight transfer. You don't want the rear wheels to lock because of the instability problem. This means rear brake discs don't get hot enough.
Try applying the handbrake (when moving) with 2 fingers of pressure-you don't have to pull very hard to lock the rear wheels. Now try to brake with the foot brakes but with the vacuum servo exhausted. Even with hydraulics you have to push the pedal very hard to get any retarding force....
Today's gripe:
That tedious bit of the M1 seems to be finished but the 50 mph limits are still in place. This is deeply annoying particularly as the regular HGV boys come boring up it at 60 mph, bullying and tail-gating. Read more
What often happens on road jobs is that the safety fencing is taken down or is not finished at the end of a working shift.
In this wonderful age when someone has to be to blame for everything - the speed limit is left on because below 50mph no safety fence has to be provided.
500 miles after having my timing belt changed at 40K I had to call out the AA as had engine noise and vibration. Turns out that the engine had dropped on the timing belt side as the mounting bolts had loosened (one had sheared off). Could anyone confirm that it was necessary to remove these bolts for changing the belt as it seems that the garage are at fault. This only happened today but I would like to have info before I see the garage tomorrow. Read more
When this mounting is incorrectly assembled, considerable stress is placed on the other components and mountings. In particular, I think the remaining fixing holes in the block which relate to the affected mounting are liable to be damaged. I can only suggest a very thorough inspection by someone other than the garage who did the original work.
A good VW independent will have seen this before - and will know what other parts are damaged by this assembly error. I know that in extreme cases, the engine flops downwards and the belt and cover are also damaged....
I have a 2002 Jeep Cherokee 2.5 diesel with 83000 miles. Last October my garage replaced fuel injectors 1 and 2 and the copper seals. 2 weeks later the EGR pipe came loose. In January a bolt sheared and fuel injector 3 dropped onto the road (literally). In April injector 4 blew its rubber O-ring twice in 3 days. Finally yesterday whilst driving back from Bristol one of the rear injectors blew suddenly 20 miles from home (big bang, lots of smoke).
The car drives normally in between these episodes - no loss of power, timing issues, stalling or change in engine noise. There are no warning lights or signs of engine malfunction (normal running temp, fuel economy etc).... Read more
Sounds like a good first step would be NEW retaining bolts.
Do you mean the bolt holding the fuel injectors in place? Its had a new one of those and the bolt holding the EGR pipe in place has also been replaced recently.
The good points about the car are:-
1) Its got a complete service history, mostly all but one from Hyundai dealers.
2) Cam belt has been changed at 70,000 miles.
The bad points about the car:-
1) Much above average mileage for its age. 6 year old car, run 109,000 miles. Though I would be more comfortable buying a diesel car with higher than average mileage rather than very low mileage.
2) A couple of paint chips on the body and a small dent on the door. Since the elantra comes with only 6 years anti-perforation warranty, I am not sure if the body has been electro-galvanized.
Hence if the previous owner has not taken good care of the coach work, the car may be prone to rust (i think). Also this car was owned and used in Brighton (on the coast). So the sea air could acclerate corrosion, if the body is not well looked after.... Read more
See I actually think the reverse, as I favour buying Korean for the seond car, and I will happily buy at five years old when one comes along cheaply.
Because these cars aren't that respected in some quarters the used values can be quite volatile. They are starting to become more stable though, but you can still get things like Daewoo Lacettis for £1500 at 5 years old on occasion. At this price they are disposable cars, but in my experience no less likely to reach a good age than anything else if looked after....
Good points.
Hyundai are undoubtedly offering the £1500-3000 allowance for a 7-10 year old banger because the sc***page scheme has ended. On the i10 this works out to be £1700. As list is £8850 then that brings a net of £7150 which already undercuts the £7777 I have found from elsewhere....