June 2012
Hi folks,
I am after some advice /recommendation for a small car for my wife to use for work which involves a lot of short trips in traffic/town, so after a reliable car with low mileage.
From a budget perspective, my absolute maximum is £6000 and I have looked at used cars in this price range and Kia Rios seem good value for money as I can get 2010 reg cars for less than £6000 and the 7 year warranty seems good. A Kio rio seems okay space wise (for car seats) for picking up and dropping my kids (infant and toddler at nursery etc).
Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris,Ford Fiesta and VW Polo are more expensive for a 2010 reg and Hyundai I20 is slightly more expensive than the Kia Rio.
Are there any other cars you can recommend for my price range and requirements? Any reasons to not go for a Kia rio? Read more
Need to replace the battery on my T reg (1999) Mondeo, looks like it's the original battery in there at the moment, a Motorcraft Superstart.
I've searched the internet and RAC say this is compatible - ... Read more
http://www.carbatteriesonline.co.uk
Is a good place to get Bosch ones from. Far cheaper than RAC....
Hi all,
Have seen some useful replies on the site, and hoping you can help me with this one...... Read more
Sorry Tom but I think you have to take this one on ther chin. London Councils are empowered to tow away; they could do it immediately.
Brent has Wembley in it's patch as well as the universal mid/outer London problem of tightwads who'd park on street foc everyday to get the tube. If they don't enforce resident's parking with near zero tolerance the residents, quite reasonably, complain bitterly.
I have a Mondeo 2001 2.0 Ghia with 120K on the clock, due an MOT in 2 weeks. Car has been pretty reliable for last 70K with shocks/springs and thermostat (would never attempt that job again) being replaced. Unfortunately gearbox has now failed and I have been quoted £550 to supply and fit a secondhand gearbox. Being as this vehicle is on its original clutch, it would probably make sense to change this at the same time, bumping up the price by a couple of hundred extra. So I find myself in a dilemna: -
1) Pay £800 to get the gearbox and clutch done and pray nothing else fails.... Read more
This age of petrol MKIII Mondeo also has the dreaded "swirl flaps" or "swirl plates" or "tumble flaps" which are susceptible to falling apart and getting ingested by the engine. Sometimes this is preceded by an audible rattle, or failure is rather sudden - either way failure is usually catastrophic. Can be cheaply fixed by removing inlet manifold then extract the flaps and fill the holes (Araldite?). Other than that its a good engine with a "Cam chain".
Better the devil you know?
Now i've found a cure for the engine management,thanks to craig,my car has now developed over 3 days a gradually getting worse enging problem.
The car ticks over and runs very roughly,like its missfiring,struggeld to get up a hill and now can't drive smoothly above 2nd gear or the car shakes badly and then stalls..... Read more
If replacing the HT leads has "almost" fixed the rough running then I would suggest the coil pack. When failing then new leads (old ones leak a bit) seem to help but not fix the problem.
When you have leads on this engine then you have a wasted spark coil pack (one coil per two cylinders). - change this next whatever the diagnostics say (can show wierd results). Don't drive too far without doing this otherwise you may damage the catalyst as it can be damaged by unburnt fuel.
Hi there,
Following a little crisis at home, left the keys in it and flattened the battery.... Read more
No expert on pugs or for that matter modern car ECUs but i know that the Ford Orion 1.6 used to run like a bag of !!! after the battery had been removed until the ECU had re learnt the engine. I would have thought that this data was now battery backed or on a flash prom these days but it could be that
My daughter in law finds the brakes on her new VW Up quite heavy. Are they all like that? Read more
From experience VW brakes grab early and firmly and can surprise some people. You get used to it though and then after that all other cars don't brake hard enough for your liking :D
Can you please tell me the valve clearance specifications for a 1994 Citroen zx 1.9D Aura Read more
If its the same engine as the Xantia its .15 for the inllets and .30 for the exhaust cold. Its not a job for the faint hearted though as it entails removing the camshaft, measuring the shims as they are not marked then working out and obtaining the correct thickness replacement shims.
Unless it has low compression I would be inclined to leave it alone.
Was telling a friend that I avoided driving my old V8 Diesel yank in London since the LEZ (London Emission zone ) came in Jan this year, banning all diesel powered vehicles over 1205 kg and older than 2002 from driving in London, upon threats of £200 daily fines.
He maintains that this is in fact not enforced, citing an old van that he flogged ( belonged to a business I have an interest in ) to a mate in the Midlands that had been driven regularly in London since, with no prosecutions / issues... Read more
We need a thumbs up button on this forum!
Does anyone know which companies offer one-way truck hire, we need a truck from the Fife area in Scotland, we could feasibly pick up from Edinburgh or surrounding areas.
We are looking for either a 7.5 tonne box or a removals type truck, maximum 7.5 tonne.... Read more
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The petrol versions are Toyota engined - hence Japanese reliability. It is the same 1 litre unit as used in the Yaris, and Daihatsu Sirion.As the diesel versions are no longer imported, these cars are more Toyota than PSA.