February 2014
Used car dealers are often pilloried on HJ for selling dodgy overpriced and faulty used cars .
What doesn't appear very often on HJ are the overpriced parts costs by main dealers .
I've just called into a local main agent to buy a replacement gear knob and a steel cable that allows the seat back to move forward to allow access to the rear .The cable is similar to a bicycle brake cable .
The gear knob was £75 ,and the cable £45 ,unbelievable ,so it's down to the local scrap yard for me .Probable cost £5 each and a bit of time spent scrabbling around a dirty old car .
How do renault and perhaps other manufacturers justify prices like these ? Read more
Can anyone recommend
(a) a small, low emission car for city motoring around Cork. My son lives there and pays ridiculously high tax on the VW Golf he imported (1200 euros a year!) as it has high emissions. He would like something with the lowest possible emissions... Read more
Looks as though ie went over to emmissions based tax in around 2008 with an engine size system in place for vehicles first registered before that date. The current rates are here the page has a link to the old capacity bands.
My BIL lives in Cork County but way out west towards Bantry so I don't think he'll have much idea dealers in Cork city. ...
Odd problem this. Drive car around - get home. Go out to move it after 15min won't start. Checked the ECU nothing showing up. Am considering changing the 4pin temperature sensor. Cleaning up any manky plugs & sockets with Maplin Servisol Super 10 and suchlike. Anyone had this before? is there a ploblem with the pump cutoff? Baffled Read more
Don't know much about VW engines but when I had this problem on a Citroen I suspected it was a worn HP diesel pump which I changed and it cured it but it subsequently turned out that it was not the pump but the pressure regulator on the pump that was causing the problem.
Don't know if yours is a common rail engine, the Citroen one was, if it has an injection pump that could be the problem as the fuel being less viscous when hot may fail to reach the required pressure, but it could as you say be a sensor causing the problem.
Hi everyone I'm new to the forum but I've been enjoying the site recently. This is quite a long post so thanks in advance for reading it!
I bought a car last week that has turned into a complete waste of time, money and energy. I bought it off a guy who buys and sells cars and he said this one was a part ex. In the advert it is stated that everything is working 100% on the car. I phoned and had a chat with the guy and he assured me that everything is working with the engine and gearbox. So I made my arrangements to go and collect the car. On the way he phoned me to say that the engine management light had just come on and that he had just taken it to a garage. He said the garage had confirmed that it was only a glow plug issue. I asked him again are you sure that it is just a glow plug? He said yes and that he will try and get it fixed before I arrived. When I arrived the engine was running and the car was driving ok. He was driving, we went to a car park and I looked the car over checked the VIN numbers and did a HPI check. One of the doors didn’t open and there was a crack in the front grille. He seemed to be in a rush to get to a meeting and put me under pressure. He said " let’s stop dancing around how much do you want to pay?" I offered him 1500 and he accepted 1550. I gave him the cash and he wrote out a receipt. ... Read more
There seems some confusion as to what Trading Standards does. Trading Standards are concerned with criminal offences - not civil.
It is illegal to sell a misdescribed (e.g. wrong model), clocked where the mileage has been stated as correct, unroadworthy car or use unfair trading terms. In these cases, TS may be interested or may take a closer look at the dealer....
Supposed to fit between an Octavia and a Superb. Not much room between those two! Really need a stylish car to replace the ageing, dull, not at all Rapid!
www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/geneva-motor-show/skoda...d Read more
Cheers Avant!
Taken from Saabsunited website
NEVS 9-3 is up for testing!I certainly hope so! I'd like to think I can replace my current 2007 9-3 Aero with a newer one when I've finished with it in a decade or so.
It would be interesting to know what they've done to the chassis. Thanks to broken springs at the front of mine, I fitted a set of Maptun lowering springs a fortnight ago. The car is much improved. The secondary ride 'jiggle' has gone and it corners much flatter. It is a little stiffer, but is still comfortable and handles the tricky tarmac round our way (rural SW Leicestershire) with aplomb. Mines also got a Maptun tune, but it is a very capable car....
It seems that with some newer models, the new replacement battery needs registering to the car. Also, if it not replaced correctly, it can spike the electrical system.
Does this mean that you cannot order a battery from your friendly suppliers and fit it yourself?... Read more
I know what ABS is but the others.....? Just imagine that lot going wrong.So it would seem that GB with his 1990s Mercedes is the one who's got it right.
And thats been trouble too, though in fairness it was a known problem of degrading in the engine wiring loom, which despite periodic checks by indy and myself, still managed to catch us out....
I have just booked my car in for a routine service (22000) miles on a prepaid service plan and been persuaded to pay an extra £15 for 'biocleanse' of the engine which I am told is recommended by VW. However I can't find any reference to it on their website. Does anyone know anything? Read more
Thank you Skidpan & Bathtub Bob. I have since spoken to VW head office who confirm your advice and I have cancelled the service offered.
The front strut towers, however, are made from cast aluminum, which improves the stiffness of the mounting for the double-wishbone front suspension. These towers are glued and riveted to the steel bulkhead and inner wings.
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So guys here is probably a post that has been debated many times in bars, canteens, livingrooms, barbecues or indeed anywhere people gather and socialise. The burning question is does allegiance lie in Luton or Dagenham? , Bedfordshire or Essex? Is it with the Griffin or the Blue Oval? Are you VIctorious in your Vauxhall or Fabulous in your Ford? Find vigour in your Viva or fun in your Fiesta? Cool in your Cavalier or ecstatic in your Escort, we could go on and on unlike most of the cars of the 60's & 70's. It would seem the loyalty shown to both brands was indeed very strong and where car making no longer occurs at Dagenham loyalty to the blue oval carries on and if course as a centre of excellence in diesel engine technology Dagenham lives on in the current diesel range of cars. Over in Luton we have the Vivaro van and in Ellesmere Port the evergreen Astra flying the flag for The Griffin. The glory days for both makes may have gone along with the Cresta, the Cortina , the Wyvern , the Zephyr, the Victor and the Granada but where does your loyalty lie? Consul or Chevette? Carlton or Capri? Who is the winner going to be? Me myself I am very true, to the iconic oval thats royal blue!!!! Its Ford for me I have to say Essex trounces Luton any day!!!!
Over to you guys...... Read more
Ford have never been British, they were a UK subsidiary of an American company and Vauxhall have been on GM hands since I think the 1920s, although it is has been said when the once mighty Dagenham plant was at its peak it put more money into the British economy per square foot of land than any other industrial plant in Britain and even though the strike happy workers never realised it , they were a good employer as was Vauxhall for that matter, GM was well regarded as a good firm to work for, close to where I live they had a factory producing dump trucks & earthmoving equipment, Terex GM ( Terex being Latin for earth king) , it was dead mans shoes to get a job there and their employees were well looked after, unfortunately the US equivalent to the monopolies commission insisted GM off loaded Terex then it went pearshaped however the factory is still there!!!
Browse
I couldn't pay that much for a cable:
www.wilko.com/bike-accessories/wilko-universal-bra...e...