April 2017
Dinner with some of my ex-evening class (mature) students, conversation turned to my car fixing, which Taiwanese find bizarre since DIY maintenance is unheard of here.
Upshot was that, since I was "an expert" (you can achieve this status in Taiwan by, say, checking your oil, or being able to open the bonnet/hood.), they insisted I "have a look at" and test drive one of their cars, which had "some problem". ... Read more
Surely it would be better to teach learners to reverse into a parking bay.It's much easier and safer to drive out than reverse out.It might also be an idea to teach the art of parallel parking as it seems to be out of reach to a lot of current drivers.
Satnav's only encourage drivers to look at a screen instead of the road and what is so wrong with the ability to read,and in some cases actually observe road signage.Another seemingly lost art.That's enough for now I've had my rant. Read more
I agree with john fordham. I would also make it illegal for any driver to look at a satnav screen when driving. The satnav I use is out of my sight and I navigate successfully listening to the verbal instructions.
My old 2002 Corsa has served me very well since I got it, but it's coming up to 140k on the clock, and I can't justify sinking more money in the service costs and such, so it's time to upgrade.
- Budget is £5-7k (would be nice if i could find something closer to £5-6k)
- Number 1 priority is reliability and cost of repair
- 5dr required, but prefer it to be on the smaller side overall (think Golf)
- I'd like it to feel responsive and nippy
I've been trying to put together a shortlist to have a look. Everywhere I've seen, Japanese makes are said to be one of the most reliable, so I've mainly been looking at those. I mentioned the Golf earlier, but I hear they're quite expensive to repair? I am open to non-Japanese cars if they're just as reliable/cheap to run.... Read more
There are Kia Ceed's on Autotrader with a year or two warranty left from £5000 - Hyundai i30's are almost identical (but 5 years unlimited mileage compared with Kia's 7 years/100,000 miles).
Hi all
I had a quick gander underneath our cars today, and in & around the engine compartments. I noticed a bit of rust on the undersides of both and also quite a lot on some of the static components under the engine. The main (visible) bodywork of both is fine with no visible rust (I did manage to rip off some of that faux chrome on the kia's grille through over zealous jet washing!). ... Read more
It just looks to be the front subframe predominantly but I'll get it sorted asap.
As a subframe is a solid load-bearing structure it will need a serious degree of rust penetration to cause any problems. Rust in the surronding parts of the bodyshell are another matter.
I noticed a slight whirring sound from under the bonnet a few hours after getting home. any ideas? Read more
Or the radiator fan running after a dpf regen cycle.
Difficult one this to put it in basic terms but 70% time the car will start first time, that said the rest of the 30% it wont.
What i get is when you turn the ignition nothing happens, you can hear the fuel pump and all the lights come on as expected on start up but the immobilizer stops the car from starting.... Read more
I am fairly sure this will be an instrument pod fault.Very common on this age Focus.When the fault occurs,thump the top of the dashboard ,just above the dash pod ,to see if this restores the start function.The immobiliser runs through the dash pod.If this is the situation with your car ,then the pod will need repairing.A new unit will cost in excess of £600.
Does anyone else think this car looks brilliant? Nicely styled, good price, and Swifts tend to hold their value well. Nice choice of petrol engines as well. Read more
i had a chat to a bloke today who has a 16 plate Suzuki Baleno.
He raves about it, went from an Audi A3 to a Baleno and said he would never go back....
Hi, when my wife's car was in for its MOT last week they had to change the battery as it was leaking. Obviously this kicked the radio out which now requests a 4 digit code. It has a 6000 CD radio in it with the serial number V012696. Just wondering if anyone would know the code as my wife has also misplaced the manual. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Read more
Apologies, but you need one of the paid services for 'V' serial number radio codes.
Ebay is usually a good bet.
gordonbennett recently touched on this with Toyota, normally manufacturer of simple, inoffensively designed vehicles. Now the Avenis is ugly as sin, previous one looked awful enough, best was the first, the revised Carina version.
Infiniti, hope they are not around that long. www.wheelsmag.com.au/news/1704/infiniti-qx80-conce...k Read more
Me too, and i love the fact that it is extremely light!
Just got my car serviced and am being told that my discs are in need of urgently being replaced.
I'm being told that they are heavily corroded and there is a lip starting to form.... Read more
If it wasn't brakes I'd probably give it a go, I guess 50 quid at my local might be worth the peice of mind, but I'm sure I could do it.
Garage the family uses near where they live quoted £200, cos daughter wasn't too sure whether she could fit in getting up here to have them done, that quote and my free labour price means i've got the job..:-)...
Browse
.jpg)
A worn steering damper is very common on these models. Very cheap to buy and 5 mins to replace on a ramp.