April 2013
Hi all. I am sure I am fussing about nothing but here goes.
I am in the process of making a private purchase of an MG Zt-T. Car looks fine, seller genuine, happy to furnish me with details for an HPI check etc.
I know the V5 form isn't - to some people - the clearest thing to read. So anyway...first I had a correct VIN, a wrong serial number (vendor had not read it off the right bit of the form, it wasn't in the right format so HPI rejected it) and a V5 registration date.
When I got the right serial number, only THEN did the HPI decide the V5 registration date (June 2011) was wrong. I guessed the vendor had given me his date of acquisition of the car which might differ from the V5 registration because you have to post it off etc.
Got the correct date from him but it's 13 months later. Aside from the fact that I'd expect a vendor to know whether he'd had a car for 2 years or 1 year, how can there be such a gap (the HPI is retaining the June 2011 date for "Current Keeper Acquired on...")
I don't understand how there can be a record that seems to show that the current keeper did not register a V5 until having the car for over a year. Hopefully I am just missing something simple here?
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help.where is the engine number located on the vw polo 2007 Read more
I live in France and have an old two-wheeled sheep trailer maximum weight 490kg which has size 155-400 tyres. The trailer is in good condition so I would like to keep it.
This is an old size tyre and now hard to find and expensive to buy. So I think it maybe better to replace the wheels which a similar sized modern one and buy them second-hand.... Read more
Thread now closed.
Update - I went to the local garage and the only tyres they could find that would fit the trailer were special michelin ones. They were very expensive! Not to mention the inner-tubes on top! So as I had only just bought that trailer off an old farmer I took it back to him and got my money back....
the smell of petrol has changed over the last few years.The smell of exhaust is notably different.
Is the addition of alcohol the cause of this? In complete combustion will give aldehydes which so far as I know are not tested for in emissions testing.Aldehydes are carcinogens.Has anyone come across hard information about this? Read more
Catalytic converters have been (effectively) mandatory on new cars since 1992. You can remember what petrol smelt like twenty years' ago??
Twenty years? How about 40 years? I can remember what it tasted like as well... I haven't tried that since. Surprising what sticks in your mind whilst you forget other things in your past..That was working on Minis and not being able to afford the correct tools....
Hello,
over the past couple of months the dash light & subsequently the power steering has failed; only operating intermitantly. l've had a look at past threads & l'm aware that this is a common problem with Punto's, with the culprit seems to be the power steering motor, with potentially associated problems of alternator overload etc.... Read more
My 2007 1.8 TDCI Edge Ford mondeo (96,000miles)cut out on me while taking off from some traffic lights the other day. The car had been running fine and then as I accelerated from the lights the car revs seemed to go way up and then I heard a whining noise, the car lost power and then died on me. I have been unable to start it since. When I turn the key the radio and windows etc still come on but the ignition just makes a clicking sound. Previously there have been a couple of times when the car would not start but as these were random incidents split by months I put it down to the frosty weather and a low battery. I also noticed a few times where I have went to change gear and it seemed like it was sticking but on second attempt worked fine. Not sure if these are be related. Does anyone have any ideas what could be the problem?
I have been told that it could be the flywheel but I've also been told by others that it could be the started / drive belt... Read more
Thanks for the advice guys I will have a chat with my mechanic again, if I can get more information from him I'll post it up and if I can't I'll maybe have to take it someone else.
Thanks again
Hi
I have a Toyota Avensis 2.0 vvt-i 2003. It is a T25 model and has covered 78,000 miles. I have owned the car for 2 months now and have noticed there is usually white smoke from the exhaust. It sometimes gets a little better as the car has been driven for about 30 minutes.
At first I thought it could have been due to the cold but the weather has got better over the last few days and I could still see smoke this morning even though it was 13C. It is worst when pulling away and sometimes when sitting idle but it isn’t thick smoke.
The funny thing is the car does not overheat at all. I have sat for hours in traffic without any issues. The coolant level hasn’t dropped at all as I have marked this on the expansion tank and the colour is nice and blue. The oil was changed by my mechanic about 1000 miles ago and looked fine as is the replacement oil. Dipstick looks good, oil filler cap looks good. I have driven it about 2000 miles now and none of the fluid levels have dropped at all not even half an inch. It starts first key, has plenty of power in every gear. No misfiring from what I can tell.
The only problem I have had was that it was showing the EML which I checked was the lower Lambda sensor. This is the one after the cat. I checked the resistance on this and it was 0 so I have had this replaced yesterday and cleared the fault codes and the light hasn’t popped back. But the smoke is still there, any ideas on what else I should look for?
I have a block test kit arriving in a few days and will check the coolant with this but nothing seems to point at the head gasket other then the smoke. I would appreciate any help I could get with this.
Mo
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I'm not getting a problem with mine now but you could have water laying in the exhaust.
Do all 4wd cars need regular suspension realignment ?
For nearly 4 decades, firstly on Fords then Vauxhalls, none of my 2wd cars needed regular suspension realignment - most got the front toe setting done accurately just after purchase but never touched after that - all tyres wore evenly indicating no issues - if it makes a difference, all the Fords had live rear axles and the Vauxhalls all had torsion beam rear axles.... Read more
I'm beginning to conclude there's no issue with live rear axle 4x4s - so maybe it's just those with IRS.
3 door manual for me please. Read more
Real pity they still have 6 speed DSG for this car, 7 or 8 auto gears is nearly the standard these days, still sligjhtly tempted all the same
The remote locking on my car has failed. The engine wont start but turns over.
I want to bypass the central and remote locking and need to find the control unit.... Read more
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I never realised until now that you had a sense of humour!