November 2018
I think I posted in another thread that my car's been limping along with squirts of contact cleaner.into the steering column switch.at intervals
I'd been in the UK and Europe over the summer so the car had been standing in torrential Taiwan rain for a few months and the headlights had stopped working.... Read more
Hi all,
I have a 2006 (Mk2) Ford Focus (1.6 LX petrol with 87k mileage) that has the transmission light appearing (lighting up) on the dashboard intermittently.
When you turn the ignition on all the dashboards lights appear for a second and then disappear, this is usual practice I know, however I don't recall the Transmission light (gear/cog icon with an exclamation mark) appearing and then disappearing along with the other lights before two months back. Maybe it is my paranoia to what I'm about to describe.... Read more
Hi all,
I have a 2006 (Mk2) Ford Focus (1.6 LX petrol with 87k mileage) that has the transmission light appearing (lighting up) on the dashboard intermittently.When you turn the ignition on all the dashboards lights appear for a second and then disappear, this is usual practice I know, however I don't recall the Transmission light (gear/cog icon with an exclamation mark) ...
Purchased via them previously.
Over the past 9 months asked for various quotes on 4 different models and not once they came close to other broker or dealer prices.
Today’s email from them regarding ‘Black Friday deals’ are not deals at all, far bigger discounts elsewhere.
Which begs the question? What went wrong? Did they put up the fees they charge dealers? Too much focus on the website content and not actual deals?
I know when I purchased via them in 2016 their fee was £300 to a dealer, I think autoebid charge dealers £200.
Read more
autoebid trusted?
Sorry but this is aimed only to convert us to using electric cars to suit Governments only. No engine can run well without gas and rubbish outlet or not run well. Can we humans be tested be tested too. Laugh but soon in this mad rush to get rid on millions of good cars will they be testing us for emissions too. Nothing can run if gas cannot be released engines are oil burning so to be best at running smooth. Horses f*** like hell at work.Stand behind a farm ploughing team and see and hear emissions. Space race tore out protective layer to shreads but it must be us you pay for it in the end. If all the cars ran in UK for 200 years it would not reach one cup full of emission next to the chimneys and factory smokes of 1950s They in power cant prove Im wrong as i know before I said this research facts will prove in court this is insane lies from State Control.Governments who cut down rain forest should be shot not blame cars for doing all the damage. Read more
I have a gas car which is far more emission efficient, but LPG seems to be loosing it's popularity with gas stations stopping selling Autogas - why?
My car has exceeded 300,000 without any real major repair and gas keeps the engine clean.
Vauxhall were smart in utilising an old 8 valve engine for their Duelfuel. The valves don't wear out. I have had a new injection front end installed at 170,000. Thats all!!
There I was this morning, crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing and a member of the "fairer" section of the species of homo sapiens stopped ON the crossing in front of me and was upset when i said politely "you are parked on the crossing"
"I'm dropping my kids off" was the reply.... Read more
I was thinking more " Amused to Death", but agree it was also as per your answer...
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My Zafira tourer 1.6 cdti is giving the engine management warning with the code p11cc. It is suggested that this could me caused by intake or exhaust system leaks and faulty Nox sensor 1. Has anyone had experience of this fault ? Read more
I had this error few times back and this blog really helped to identify the real cause. I would suggest you to read this https://xenons4u.co.uk/blog/p229f62-p229e-and-p2202-nox-sensor-error-codes-explained/
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I really could do with some impartial advice on the above car.
Purchased it in April 2018, the car from the start had a bit of a noise on acceleration (small noise) which I assumed to be the exhaust.
Ahead of long journey (2 months later) I took it into local garage thinking it may need a new exhaust who diagnosed that turbo needed replacing and fuel injectors faulty ??
After much back and forth between myself and trader, I took the car into a dealership for 'impartial' diagnosis.
Dealership informed me they had to try 4 different diagnostic machines and call in the master technician to finally get the machine to talk to it. The machine was saying that the EGR valve and glow plugs needed replacing.
This work was done, car good to go. Was advised that the car may smoke for a few days, but this was just all the crap getting out the car.
That evening car seemed to be running fine, next morning car started up ok no problems. Drove to local shop, 2 mins later tried to re-start car for it to be engulfed in clouds of exhaust fumes and juddering.
In between deciding next course of action, tried car again - it started up and again seemed run ok. Just put it down to 'car getting crap out of system'.
Next day did exactly same thing - drove to local shops (2 mins away) stopped car. Got out for a few mins and tried tore start car for the same thing - exhaust fumes, juddering, but this time car did not correct itself and so had to get towed to dealership.
Dealership are now telling me that the alternator needs to be replaced before they can do any further diagnostics on the vehicle.
I have been informed that this is nonsense and they can charge the battery up temporarily to diagnose, but what I want to ask is
Does this sound normal -
EGR valve, glow plugs and now alternator ?
or are they taking the proverbial.
What else could be causing the problem ?
Much thanks to anyone that has managed to read all this and takes the time to respond. Read more
Update.
Have had alternator sorted and fuel injectors where sent off for diagnosis, they came back fine.Main dealer told me car was running fine. ...
As many of you know, I’ve been running a 2012 VW Polo 1.2 TDi Match as our second car for over 3yrs now and despite the occasional minor problem I’ve been very happy with it. I like the nimble handling but surprisingly supple ride and the 3cyl diesel motor is flexible and has character. It has now done 75,000 miles.
Recently however it has started to show signs of wear with a boot lock that has now failed four times and most of the door rubbers are frayed plus there’s a few rattles and knocks meaning a few quid is overdue spending on the suspension. The rear brakes require stripping and cleaning every 6mths too. I’m also acutely aware of the potential DPF and EGR worries on these engines especially now that it’s doing mostly local running.
It has been good value with an approximate part-ex value of £4K or nearer £4.5k if I can be bothered to sell it myself it has lost just over £3k in 3 years and averaged 55mpg. Repairs, aside from that annoying boot lock have to date been low thanks to VW’s willingness to shell out well beyond the warranty expiration date.
I have spotted a 16 plate Toyota Yaris 1.33 with 31,000 miles at our local Toyta dealer at £7,500 which pretty much matches it for size and running costs but eliminates the diesel reliability worries. Potentially bought for an additional £3.5k. I’m tempted to go all Toyota but the miserly Scot in me hates to spend money.
Thoughts? Read more
“So presumably the corollary to that is that any good-quality vehicles that turn up are snapped up before very long?”
Yup, the Civic I bought for Bro in law the other week was a fine example. A now rare privately owned car that was bought outright then traded in at 6yrs old for another Honda. It had seen no paint and was faultless bar one small stone chip. It was bought by me before the pictures had been added to the online advert.
My f2007 Avensis never even made it to an ad. when I sold it to the dealer - they obviously had someone already in mind for it when they bought it. (it's still on the road too going by MOT checker). My 2012 didn't sit around for long either.
There is a huge premium for using BMW approved parts. Full set of pads and discs is £779 by main dealer and £423 by independent using Delphi parts. Preference is always to use BMW approved parts but this is a very big difference. Is it worth it? Read more
Nothing wrong with Delphi, or Brembo, or ATE, or Textar amongst others. Changed the front discs/pads on a 3 series recently, the pads I removed were BMW genuine ones but worn out with BMW and Textar logos on them, the ones I fitted were identical Textar ones from a motor factors, half the price but without the BMW logo on them, you get the idea.
So I have a 1.4L peugeot 206 on 75,000k miles from 2005 that failed an MOT. I can't decide if I should get it fixed or invest in a new (very old) car. Here is a list on my car's MOT failures - pastebin.com/i3xs64sT
I've been considering a 2005 1.4l C3 Desire (100,000 miles) for about £600 or various Yaris's from 2001-2003 (generally 100,000 - 120K miles). -- from £400-£900... Read more
Apparently it will cost £235, though that included a new MOT and some petrol. It's higher than the original price quoted over the phone, £120. But I'm guessing it's pretty standard for work to cost more than expected?
In my experience it is not at all unusual to have a quote rise quite a bit once you have the final bill. One of the things which will no doubt catch out the unwary is VAT. If you are not aware of it, and (again, this is from my own experience) the garage does not mention "that will be plus VAT" at the time of the quote, then all of a sudden that is an extra 20% right there. So that £120 becomes £144, then your MOT, probably £50-60, plus the petrol(?), plus a couple of other bits and bobs.......!....
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GF nagged me into very reluctantly handing it over to a Taiwan mechanic, since I'm short of time ATM, writing her Masters thesis among other things.
They scored a second hand switch, GF scored another one independently through guanxchi, , and I kept the old one, so now I have three....