July 2012
I ask the question because Suresell don't allow a reserve on a car over eight years old and their charges seem disproportionately high on a £2k car.
I've had wife's one owner car advertised at a very reasonable price for three weeks with no response. Naturally I assume that the price is too high but TBH I could not go out and get a similar 2/H vehicle for the money so we might as well keep it as a spare for me to use. Bicycles can get a little tricky in winter!... Read more
Can anyone let me know the correct front wheel alignment/tracking setting for my Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI Ghia 07/2007 please? I had it set up when I last replaced the tyres but I'm still getting some inside-edge wear on the front tyres. I've now got a set of gauges so I can check it myself but can't find the correct setting. Read more
I am about to return to eduction down near Falmouth, 450 miles from my home in the North East of England - mostly motorways (390miles). Now when I decided to do this I was simply going to live there because of the distance. Things have changed, as they invariably do, and my aprtner is due to give birth in January. Add in moving house the next few weeks - things are not ideal but are very exciting!
I want to buy a car so I can make the long trek North as often as possible to help her out, move, be there when the baby is born. Originally I was gonna get a sub-£1000 as this is what I have always done. I have the money to spend more and am thinking it may be worth it for the comfort - so I can enjoy my time at home more. Rather than being tired. So, opinions on a sub £4000 car for a long (hopefully weekly) jaunt. I am thinking diesel will be sensible as I will be looking at around 20k miles in the year. My mate (mechanic) keeps touting VW PAssats as something to look into. I have seen Forcus 1.6 TDCi Zetec which claim 70mpg extra urban...myth or reality? And how are they for a long time on the motorway? Read more
The CR engine was available in the Passat from mid 2008. You can pick up high milers with one owner & FSH sub £5k. I made a point of avoiding the 2l PD. Inj Doc has been lucky ( & being Co cars, probably wasn't worried ), but early ones suffered with oil pump drive failure, which if not caught straight away, results in a new engine & no help from VW. Some go on for ever while others fail sub 40k miles. Coupled with the Siemens injectors that go short circuit, i'd rather forgoe the sleepless nights. I drove down to my sons near Watford yesterday in my 2008 CR Passat with 160k on the clock, 160 miles down the M6/ M1 with the cruise set to 68mph (apart from a few miles of 50mph roadworks ), 5 miles of A roads at each end & returned 68.4mpg on the confuser. A relaxing & quiet drive. If you can't run to the CR go for the 1.9PD engine which was used up to 2005.
In September 2012, I will get the above new car. I understand that the running-in process can affect the life and oil consumption of the engine. Naturally, I am keen to look after it as carefully as possible.
1. How should I drive it for the first 200 miles, then the next 500, and so on.... Read more
Rental cars have a very hard life from day one. No-one babys them, but they seem to cope with different drivers each day or week quite well and people who have bought ex-rental cars seem to think that they drive very well.
The moral is......Don't baby the car!...
I have owned this 55 plate car for a year and it has 40k on the clock.
Was running fine, til Fri when power steering was jumpy. Got it towed to Citroen dealer for diagnostics and they called thar evening to say ECU and steering rack need replacing at a cost of 2800, which is only slightly less than car is worth.
Is it worth asking Citroen to contribute?
Could I get it done elsewhere with cheaper parts.
Any advice welcome
Thanks Read more
Can anyoe recommend a satnav that comes with free lifetime map updates. I'm fedup with my old Garmin Street Pilot getting confused with new road layouts. Read more
I've recently bought, from Amazon for £169.95, a Garmin 2595 LMT with lifetime maps and traffic and a 5" screen. It is now £154.90. Speed camera updates are £16 a year on top. Seems OK. Traffic broadcast works most of the time (depends on reception a bit). Camera warnings work OK. Tells you the speed limit and your own speed and warns if you go over. Easy to use. Has bluetooth which works fine with my very old Nokia. Plus there is a £30 cashback on it too. Worth looking at ?
Hi.
I've just driven to the South of France. Since getting off the motorway i noticed a vibration when cornering to the left and accelerating. It seemed to be worst in 4th gear though can now feel it in 5th too and slightly in 4th on the straight. I took it to a garage and after a thorough look he said the engine block was loose and this was the reason. He said it should be fine be will need changing when we got back (in 3000km time!) I'm sure it is getting worse though still seems to be absolutely fine in the lower gears.... Read more
I don't think he means the engine block as that is the bulk of the engine, I think he may mean an engine mounting which will allow the engine 'block' to move with centrifugal forge when cornering. Just try not to accelerate hard or corner fast and it should be OK until you get home.
No problems at all at lower speeds, but after about 15 minutes on the motorway at high speeds, the engine jolts suddenly. If you reduce speed it improves, if you accelerate it's not long before it does it again. I rarely drive on motorways, but first noticed it 6 months ago, and it has been getting increasingly worse. Last weekend, on a long journey it jolted frequently, especially if you went a smidge over 70mph.
Had a diagnostic done today, nothing obvious wrong.... Read more
I had this problem on my Pug. It was the diesel temperature sensor. A diagnostic brought up fault code on the part, but reading the live data it was reading the diesel at being -50'c.
Changed it and not a problem since.
i have a mondeo 2005 zetec, the front passenger side is about an inch lower than drivers side, i have replaced the spring but its exacly the same, garage cant find any other problems that could cause this, looking at car from the front its lob sided to the pasenger side, any ideas what can be causing car to be lower on one side. Read more
Needn't even be an uprated one. Springs settle with age and if the driver's side one was replaced on it's own at some point, a 1" height difference could well be the result.
Just one of the many reasons why springs should always be replaced in pairs.
Could this be arelay problem if so wear is it Read more
Check under the drivers seat for a plug and socket, could be loose.
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Were those for little cars? They sell within days. Something like a Mazda6 will be a much harder sell