July 2010
I'm shortly to part-ex my vehicle for a nearly new vehicle from a main dealer. I am unsure if the dealer will tax the car for 6 or 12 months. My past experience's have been that it has been just 6 months tax. My part-ex has 7 months tax left, so should I claim it back leaving the dealer with no tax on the vehicle? My car also has 2/3's of a tank of petrol. Read more
According to the Sunday TImes, speed cameras are likely to be axed, starting with Oxfordshire. That sounds good as long as they retain ones in accident black spots. The fact that they will no longer be subsided means they will have to think harder about whether or not they are needed. Read more
"I'm not sure what you mean by that."
The reason why cameras are being de-commisioned is because the authorities feel they can no longer afford the necessary subsidy. If they were generating money they'd be installing more of them....
A friends X-Trail has a blower problem. A/C system blows cold air but very little power from the fan. Could this be the ballast resistor?. If so where can it be found?
Thanks Read more
A friends X-Trail has a blower problem. A/C system blows cold air but very little power from the fan. Could this be the ballast resistor?. If so where can it be found?
Thanks...
Hi,
We have pretty much made the decision to by a new S-Max as our old Galaxy has given up the ghost and although I have always been wary of financing cars, I am willing to do it for the peice of mind of a new, warrantied car.... Read more
I bought 2 mondeos earlier this year and am cosodering another one now, they were really helpfull , ive asked my local dealer to match the figure and he's 1k more expensive so quess what where im buying from ?
The market is hardly flooded with new fords if you need a specific model its a factory order with a 10 weeks waiting list , I think you'll find the market is flooded with overpriced cramped audi A 4 's
My less than 1 year old 12,000 mile 318d Touring has now had 2 failures (one on each side) of the rear LED indicators.
Is this a known or common fault? Is there likely to be an underlying fault that is causing them to fail? Read more
Had my tourer in today for its oil service,was told the service would include an inspection of the rear lights as per BMW request.Upon picking the car up was told two new lamps were required.Both units appear to be working fine at the moment.Car goes back in next week for the work.
I have a 2007 X-Type Jaguar Estate. I paired and used a Motorola mobile phone with the Jaguar in-car-phone in 2007 and have been making and receiving calls through the Jaguar in-car-phone ever since.
... Read more
I had the same problem with my X type estate gave up in the end the whole unit was replaced under warranry it lasted 3 months ended up using a Parrot that worked perfectly.I had so many problems with the car I got rid .
Due to my Roomster being off the road due to someone driving into the side of it I have had a '59 reg Meriva Design 1.8 petrol for the past week and a half. Looking at many "multi car" tests its clear that the Journos don't know quite where to place the Roomie, but tend to compare it mainly with the small MPVs which is as near as they are going to get... so I though a summary of the two might be useful to someone! I did just under 400 miles in the Meriva, some motorway, some local work and the rest my usual commute...
To start with the Roomster is about 6" longer than the Meriva but 1" narrower... this is reflected inside where the Roomster makes good use of the extra space. Height wise they are about the same, but the rear seats in the Roomster are 1 1/2" higher than the front, with the Meriva seats all on the same level... Though the driving position is slightly higher in the Meriva it makes no difference on the road.
So, interior first... as I said the extra length makes all the difference, with rear legroom in the Roomster miles better than the Meriva, as is boot space. The seating is fairly similar in comfort, though the middle "seat" in the Meriva is pretty much useless other than an armrest (rather surprising as it's an inch wider over the body), the Roomster has a 3/4 seat so can be used occassionally. The Roomster seems to have more storage in the front, though the Meriva scores with fold down picnic tables in the back. The Meriva's boot space is a lot smaller, though it has a false floor with under floor storage which is good. The Roomster has no false floor and so has a large drop to the boot floor. Both have cubby holes in the boot, though only the Roomster has a 12v plug.
In the Meriva the rear seats fold and then slide forward leaving a flatish floor but they don't come out but they do slide forward and backward. In the Roomster all seats are individually adjustable, all three can be removed individually or folded forward as per most hatch/estate cars.
Driving experience... from the driving position in the Roomster you have a thick A pillar which restricts the view when looking right, the Meriva uses the "small window" type of front, but if anything this makes matters worse as the window is pretty useless making the blind spot even bigger in the Meriva. Other than that they drive fairly similarly, though the Meriva is subject to more buffeting than the Roomster which seems more "planted" on the road.
Engine wise its a petrol vs diesel comparison as my Roomster is the 1.9TDi version... The petrol is faster off the mark and seems very high geared for a petrol in 5th 3000rpm at 70... That has advantages and disadvantages, it makes ecconomy better but I found on steep hills it just wouldn't pull, even at 70 on the big hill on the M42 it struggled to hold speed... Whereas in the Roomster anything over 40 and you just leave it in 5th! The petrol is far quieter than the diesel though! Economy... I got just under 40mpg in the Meriva which I thought was pretty good (the average is 38) and I get 55 in the Roomster.
So, is the Meriva a "clever little family car" as Vauxhall say? Well it has its good points, but in direct comparison with the Roomster it isn't... If you have a 2+2 family and the kids are not toddlers then the Meriva is a useful car with enough space... but add buggies (or in our case a wheelchair) and its sadly lacking in space and its just not versatile enough...
If anything it's the Roomster thats the "clever little family car".... and if you can live with its looks, its the better of the two cars for a family by a long shot... It will be interesting to see if the new Meriva has addressed any of the older ones shortcomings, though Read more
Currently there are "old model" Merivas on sale - del mileage for about £8K - roughly 60% of the list price - cannot be a bad buy at that price for a useful runabout.
Hi forgive me if this is not comprehensive enough its my first post! I recently Bought a 2006 Facelift CDTI 1.9 Life - I love the ride of the car and how quick it is but one thing has become slightly irratating! Sometimes at low speed the car does like a Very slight judder almost like putting your foot of the accelerator then back on again! thats the best i can explain it! I was told to put some Redex Diesel into it which to be honest reduces the amount it does it ( Granted it only does it every now and again) but the fact is it still does it! Could this be an injector problem?? Probably worst at doing it when im going round a roundabout! Other then this the car does 600+ a tank which is great but this problem does annoy me a little if im honest! The trader who i bought the car from said that he had Cleaned what had been a relatively clean EGR valve as i know there prowne to getting blocked! Could this be an injector problem???? Thoughts please!???? Read more
Wow I could have writtne this message myself!
I have a 54 plate, vectra sri 150bhp diesel cdti. Exactly the same problem. Low speed occassional judder, noticed after roundabouts and corners....
Hello All,... Read more
Hello Bassrock,
I am having very likely the same problem. Could you repair it for me, as you have the experience with it already? ...
A friend has just received a PCN notice after parking for 3 hours in a M4 motorway services whilst taking a rest and eating a meal inside the said services. She did not notice any signs but when I visited the services there are signs all over the place stating that you can only stay there for a maximum of 2 hours.
Does she have to pay this fine or will it go away if she ignores all the demands? It does seem a bit unfair when she was actually spending time and money in the services.... Read more
Presumably if one overstayed the 2 hour limit for free parking in a supermarket there would be no financial loss and no loss of revenue for which to sue? This would just leave the apparently unenforeceable "Penalty charge"
Browse
.jpg)
