January 2017
What's happening to those loyal Volvo owners in their home country.
The VW ousts Volvo for the first time in the company's history! Read more
Hi Im in a bit of a sticky situatioin and wondered what your advice would be . I was pulling out of a garage just before xmas when a bus stopped to let me out ,the other lane of traffic also stopped to let me out . As i pulled out another driver overtook the bus that had stopped and we glanced each other . We then exchanged details and when I got home i found out that I had canceled the wrong insurance ! Yes i was an idiot !
Now the other driver is blaming me for the crash and their insurance company are requesting I pay for the damage . ... Read more
To be fair to the OP it is a set of rather unfortunate circumstances that probably could've caught any of us out but in the eyes of the insurance industry, the Highway Code and the law he was mistaken. The lack of valid insurance is the final nail in the coffin.
If the OP had been properly insured, the details of the incident might have been worth discussing. As he wasn't, they are almost irrelevant and all he can do is keep his head down and limit the damage.
Looking for a mid size hatchback for my wife that is reasonably quick and frugal and stylish. She likes the Leon and the Mazda3
We have around £3k so for that money I guess it would be probably around 06-08 reg and 80k+ miles on the clock.... Read more
If you're on a limited budget I'd advise against a turbo diesel, there's just too much to go wrong and at this age, mileage and price it almost certainly will. Do you really need a diesel? What sort of mileage are you doing in a year and is it mostly distance or local driving?
The VAG 2.0 of this vintage has a poor reputation (and not to be mistaken with the tough earlier 1.9 PD unit) and the 1.6 PSA in 99% of diesel 3's is a nightmare worth avoiding. The 2.0 (also a PSA motor) is often mistaken for the Ford 2.0 in the Mk I Mazda 6 but is a vastly better engine. It does suffer from the same old maladies all modern diesels do particularly DPF problems but it's a nice thing to drive since it shares most of its suspension components and floorpan with the MK II Ford Focus.
I really wouldn't recommend buying anything with a DPF and would suggest sticking with a far less complex and vastly more dependable petrol engine. The 3 is a great wee car to drive, I've bought and sold a few of them without problems and currently have one as a runabout I took as a part ex with 117k that drives great. Not fast but handles brilliantly and has one of the nicest gearchanges.
If you're doing less than 10k a year the difference between a petrol and a diesel will only be £250-£300 a year and not worth the extra risk or initial outlay. You can get a good tidy petrol 3 for £1,000 and if the 1.6 isn't quick enough then look for a 2.0 Sport which isn't much worse on fuel and is no dearer to buy.
There is always the 2.3 MPS which is a monster but again very complex. Rust is the biggest enemy with these and seized brake callipers are common on lightly used cars. If you were near me I'd offer you mine for £600 (it has a bit of rust on the rear arches) and I'd happily drive it round Europe tomorrow. I sold it to the last owner 7yrs ago and it's never went wrong. I'd certainly recommend one to anybody, but not the diesel.
I want to convert the headlamp dip from right to left hand drive on my car to register it in France and noticed that Volvo XC70 appears on the list of cars that have switchable lights. I cannot see where they adjust and wondered if this facility was removed for the 2007 model. Can anyone throw some light on this please - pun unintended! Read more
I would guess the adjustment is in the back of the headlight.You may need to remove black plastic dust covers at the back of the light for access.
Hi, I want to buy a used car is Fiat Panda 1.2 4x4, on used car sale website, I have found one but it is fitting a LPG. I have never had LPG before so how good it is? MPG, Range on a 32 litre tank of gas? Is the owner must to have a certified of LPG to sell the car? and the lifetime how long is due before it need to service?
Are this dangerous cause risk of explosion when they are old? as I have see on Youtube that a car blow up with a fault LPG... Read more
I like the roof box that comes with it - reminds me of the Dads army episode where they converted Jones's van to gas with a bag on the roof !
Is it possible to replace the cable running from the battery to the car? Our black lead has totally corroded half way down (looks like a long standing battery leak which went unnoticed) The car works but the battery needs manually charging once a week
Thanks in advance Read more
Can't see that being a problem.May be cheaper to get a new lead made up or get s/hand, rather than replace from Main dealer.
Whilst driving engine cut out with injection fault and red stop light on dash. Unable to restart. Found that by pumping fuel primer bulb engine started but stopped when priming stopped. Checked forums, many people had same fault. Most popular solution was to change fuel filter. Changed fuel filter, condition same. There is no external inline electrical pump, "lift pump", on this modle car. Researched and found that this function is done by a pump bolted onto the diesel pump, its a finned alluminium block held on by 4 bolts and the suggestion was that the drive shaft had sheared. Removed this block, which is a pump, and sure enough the drive shaft end which locates into a drive slot had broken thus there was no drive to the pump so fuel was not getting to the diesel pump. The main diesel pump thus requires replacement and were I to buy a new pump it would not be economical to do so. Second hand from a scrapper maybe. My question to the forum is:-
I propose to clean out debris from pump and refit pump to diesel pump. Then try to fit an electrical inline fuel pump pre or post the fuel filter to present fuel to diesle pump. Has anybody else done this and if so what pump was used, where fitted etc? There are many on ebay fo £20-£30. ... Read more
An outboard electric pump is used by people repairing and modifying the 1.5 dCis fitted with the Delphi injection system. With this modification the lift pump rollers are removed to stop them disintegrating and contaminating the whole fuel system.
In your position I'd find out what pressure the pump uses internally in it's low pressure side and buy something that generates around that pressure. It will be a cheap simple thing to try out but you probably would need to power it in such a way that if the engine stalls the pump cuts out....
Hello everyone,
On the evening of the Sunday 13 th November 2016, at the approximate position of Junction 10 heading north-bound clockwise on the M25, my vehicle was struck by a large metal yellow sign from a moving Highways Agency contractor vehicle. I was travelling in the second lane at 70 mph, and I noticed a large yellow metal sign be lifted out the back of a Mercedes drop-sided van ahead of me in the first lane by the wind. This van was also travelling at 60 to 70 mph. The sign was lifted 15 feet into the air and struck a vehicle to the left of me on the windscreen. The sign then came spinning towards my vehicle. I tried to pick up speed to avoid the sign, but it struck my vehicle on the left-hand side diagonally. I managed to keep my vehicle within my lane, and not swerve into the third and fourth lanes, thereby preventing any further damage to myself, and any other vehicles nearby. The situation only lasted a few seconds, but the resulting damage done to my car caused by the sign, ended up being written off by my insurance company. Luckily my partner and I were not injured as well. I then had to take a day off work to sort the situation out.... Read more
I believe Honest John himself recently advocated contacting Tim Kelly (aka Motor Claim Guru) about these sort of issues.
Our 2003 V6 Frontera 3.2L (owned from new) is now coming up to 55,000.
The book says the belt is due for replacement at 80,000 miles however, I suspect it should be replaced sooner due to age of the car.... Read more
There is not one single manufacturer that recomends or even suggests cam belt dressing. If they did exist their use would be made warranty/service requirement and a suitable fee to the annual service added.
They are simply snake oil and should be avoided. The could well do more harm that good if they contaminate bearings....
I saw last night an HGV lit up like Blackpool illuminations at the front. One of the striking things was the lighting display behind the driver. This one wasn't as striking as some I've seen, like indian chiefs with feathered headdress. Can any of the BRs tell me whether the display reflects into the eyes of the driver or is the display not visible to the driver because of the slope of the windscreen ? Read more
Re:blue lights - We're in the opposite situation in Spain, where a lot of foot-dragging over implementation of an EU directive on "blue lights for all" has led to confusion and chaos as some newer ambulances and fire engines have blue lights fitted in anticipation of a sudden changeover, but the rest have amber. A new light bar can cost up to €2000, apparently, so a wrong choice could dent the local budget. (Decisions, decisions....)
There was one time when a jobsworth local cop in San Sebastian actually pulled over an ambulance on a "shout" and threatened to run him in for a lighting violation. Someone should have sat him down and made him watch "The Liver Run" from start to finish.
Of course, from a distance, a set of flashing ambers may or may not be on a life-saving mission and many are the times I have pulled over for what turned out to be a tow truck or street sweeper! (God knows how they managed to get an Armada together, etc...)
That didn't work properly either! It did give us Fair Isle jumpers though.
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With the exception of the old XC90, the Volvos have been Ford-based for a considerable time - with many of their diesels coming from the PSA side of the Ford-PSA engine alliance