November 2010
I have a 54 reg VW Passat (bought new) that has done 60,000 miles. In the last month selection of 2nd gear (either up or down) has been greeted with a fairly loud 'crunch' and associated difficulty in locating the gear. After road testing I have been advised by both a VW main dealer and VW specialist that the synchro is likely to have gone. The likely bill for repair is likely to be well over £1200 (for a vehicle whose Guide price is about £4000).
I do not believe such a condition should arise after such a relatively low mileage. I have driven for over 40 years and never encountered any similar problems in a wide range of cars at similar mileages or greater. ... Read more
Hi all, I have been with my insurance company for years without making any claim. Twice I was convicted and fined with points for using my car as taxi. My recent encounter with the police did not involved any car at all. I was charged for taxi `touting`, which I vehemently denied, but nonetheless, got convicted and fined. No point on licence. On the court day for this recent alleged offence, I noticed two officers in the court room earlier. I did not think anything of it. As I was about leaving the court premises, these two officers said they were arresting me for `fraud`, `insurance fraud` That I failed to tell my insurance that I had previous motoring convictions. The officers made it known to me that they obtained their information from my current and previous insurers. Even though, I have not tried to make any claim at all. Is it right for the police to request for my insurance information from my insurance company, even though, that these two officers were not involved with the alleged touting charges and Moreso, as no car was involved... Read more
You need legal representation not forum help with this. Please send your contact details and a phone number to asklucy@honestjohn.co.uk
Went over to the local garage to buy some engine antifreeze for just in case reasons after our first snow and was confronted with not only different colours but semi organic and full organic I have heard of organic potatoes etc but have the green wellies moved into the antifreeze market.. Read more
Dutchie,sent HJ an email but request has to be done through forum,so I`m giving the nod for my email address to be passed on to you.Thanks.
My wife was driving her 1.4 petrol Fusion (2004 with 23,000 miles on clock) when 1 mile from home when setting off from traffic lights the car would not accelerate. EAD FAIL also illuminated on the display where the clock time normally shows.
She managed to slowly get the car onto a nearby carpark and phoned me.I started the car normally and there was no indication of EAD FAIL or anything else. The weather had been very wet with storm force rain previously. However the car is always outside and such conditions are not uncommon in Bolton ( it has not happened previously in 3 yrs of ownership.)... Read more
I have a Hatchback Rover 400, year: 1999. So far it has done 89000 Miles. I bought it last June and never had problem with since apart from recently. Whenever I drive over a paddle of water, the accelerator stops responding and starts dropping until the whole engine die off. I leave it for 10 minutes, then I start the engine again and it will start immediately. I really don’t know what is the problem. However, I presume it is to do with the water getting into the engine as the problem occurs only when I go over a paddle. I asked few people. They thought that there is an electrical problem. They believed that the water gets in the engine and goes to either the alternator or the Cap which cause the engine to stop. One of them actually suggested spraying WD40 on electrical components and wires, which I did. But, unfortunately, nothing changed.
I will be really grateful if you could lighten me with some solution regarding this issue before winter gets in, then I would be having a real problem with it.... Read more
I would get someone to check the distributor cap and leads, if they are tracking out WD40 won't fix it
Had some welding done and when the garage reconnected the battery, the electrics went haywire - dashboard lights came on, warning lights came on, alarm went off etc. They have no idea what's happened and our beautiful car is still sitting in the garage 2 weeks after the welding was finished. Any ideas? Read more
One looks at the welds will quickly show how it was welded. Plus when did Jag start using aluminum ?
EDU should be disconnect if it turners out that it was not gas!...
hello
i was sold a car last week by a local dealer, i traded my car in as part exchange and bought a car from them. i was told by salesman that he had put six months road tax on my car, and i would recive the disc in the post 3-4day later and i drove the car away. i have since found out by the DVLA that no application had been made and that i had infact been driving around un taxed..the tax expired on this veichle on the 31/08/2010..has any body else ever had this done to them? and if so what action did you take against the dealer??... Read more
If a dealer sold it to you it cannot be "sold as seen".
New car recently bought makes a nuisance noise in the wet. Dealer disputes the noise. I would be grateful if anyone could recommend an independent tester who can test car in the wet and assess if noise is acceptable or not. Read more
It may be that the door aperture seal(s) is not fully contacting the door. Try rubbing chalk on the seal, closing the door then reopening. Any gap in the chalk witness mark will show where the door is not sealing.
Looking for an affordable van and was considering a Fiat Ducato. Poss around 2004/5. What should i be looking for in a used model? Read more
Hi all I have recently posted regarding a swap with a rover 45 for my 1999 1.8 vectra in which all your advice was great and stopped me making an obvious mistake.
Now I would like to ask if a swap with a 1997 Audi a4 1.8 would be worthwhile. I would like to know if the mpg would be any better with the Audi than the vectra even though they are both the same engine size.
Both cars are roughly the same milage and both have mot. Not sure regarding service history but again trying to get some general advice before contacting he seller again and arranging to meet.
Cheers Read more
At that age a relaible car is key. If it's nots broken then i would keep it. To answer your question the motorway i guess the Vectra might use less fuel while the Audi.
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there are plenty of VW specialists out there who would gladly repair a gearbox for a lot less than £1200 but you would need to consider that if they only replace the 2nd gear hub, ( if its a fault) then they will only warrant that part!
It may be worth having the gearbox oil changed first, I suspect its mechanical fault but on the odd occasion I have had success with changing the oil, making all the difference. FWD's in particular