October 2019
Hello everyone,,
I'm in the market for a used Fabia. For various reasons I've had to reject the few I've seen to date. I thought I'd finally found 'the one', that was until I looked underneath at the front and saw some oil on the underside. See the following pic:
oi66.tinypic.com/25inczn.jpg
I'd be grateful if someone in the know could give an opinion as to what the source of this oil might be and if i'd be best to reject the car because of it. Other than this issue the car ticks every box. Thanks... Read more
2.1 was not the best diesel. Whether the engine was in a MB or some other car such as Infiniti models it was criticised as being rough & noisy.
New MBs have a 2.0 l diesel which is receiving better reviews (assuming any diesel can get good reviews).... Read more
My brother had several E class Mercs and loved them until their disastrous into 'value engineering' which cost them their reputation. His last Merc had three new turbos and injectors at less than two years old. He gave up and now drives Audi, the big one A8. They are very nice and the petrol engines on the larger ones are very smooth along with the auto box. Have a look.
Cheers Concrete
Hi all
A few months ago, I came here looking for user opinions about the Kia Venga. It was very useful to me. I finally bought one, and after a few months of ownership I would like to leave my review and I hope it could be useful for someone in the future.... Read more
I work at a Kia dealership... just keep ALL the receipts , and details of the servicing done..in any event..any part NOT affected by servicing will carry its 7 year warranty regardless of service history...
We're are the filters located on my Koltec LPG system can anyone help. Read more
hello
the middle rear seat belt in my peugeot partner has had the strap cut (before i bought it) - can i get a universal car seat belt instead - do I need to look for anything in particular - or are they truly universal?? (we don't even use the seat - would take it out if we could but it is the double one )... Read more
So advice needed- not a car expert at all. So yesterday I had my car in the garage thinking it was a wheel bearing issue (ticking and grinding noises when braking- brakes done last year and do about 12-15000 miles a year). Told by garage that no I’m in luck- it’s deposits on the brakes that need chipped away and cleaned up. Also put full set of good quality new all season tyres on to keep Wee one and myself safe as xmas approaches. This morning my partner is driving and he says the car started to slide and when he braked- they locked and he ended up in a ditch. He was going so slow on the bend there’s no damage to the car at all. And the car was on its side when I got there! Steering column completely b*****ed though so called back garage and they said bring it back up. Now on picking it up- they advise what they have done and they mention ‘brakes are done’. I said is that why the wheels locked and the mechanic just changed topic and said I’m only going to charge you an hours labour despite steering column alone taking two hours. Driving home and thinking did they mess up? I have no idea what could have caused the wheels to lock- partner said when he braked the car almost ‘jumped ’ and no control with steering. It’s a 2015 model so not old. Should I query more with the garage? Why did he do the brakes today but not yesterday when I took it in with those specific problems? Any thoughts much appreciated- have always trusted this garage and like them so hoping it’s explainable ! Read more
My thoughts are spilled fuel or other slippery substance.....
see we have the same initial thoughts here BBD....
Following on from my earlier post, for which your replies were appreciated, could the immobiliser cause the car to cut out suddenly, to then restart as if nothing had happened when car is locked and unlocked? Or is it just a coincidence?
Am trying to narrow down latest fault as diagnostics are showing different faults. Read more
Does it have a priming bulb? If so, does the bulb fail to get (or stay) firm?
This van has given no end of problems since it was bought last April via a dealer.
Won't go into all glory details but latest is that after driving for a week or so the anti pollution warning lights comes on and engine starts to misfire. This is cured temporarily, believe it or not, by turning engine off, locking the car waiting and then unlocking. The engine then starts and will go merry on it's way for a period of time. At a loss to know what's going on now. Garage has said car does not have a dpf and various bits have been changed including egr. Key is not original.... Read more
Thanks for the reply. Like I said earlier the van has been back and fore to the garage its ridiculous.
The reason I mentioned the immobiliser that twice now power has suddenly cut out, but by getting out of the van, locking it, then getting back in and starting again it goes as sweet as a nut.This has happened twice after a week. Just about everything has been changed or checked and both myself and the garage are at a loss. The EML eventually goes out.
I bought am 8 year old Fiesta 1.25 zetec in August for SWMBO. Paid 3.5k for it, so pretty much top dollar.
Subsequently, in the 500 miles of driving it, we have had a few problems.
The water system has run completely dry and the water temperature light has come on. The car has no temperature gauge. Now, no water is leaking out, though the exhaust is spitting, which tells me water is getting into the engine and coming out through the exhaust, though checking the oil shows no emulsifying.
The water reservoir is full of K-Seal or similar, and there is a leak around the gasket. My conclusion is that someone knows the gasket is on the way out and has tried to seal it so it will hold up for a few months before the whole engine wrecks itself. The car has 98k miles and a FSH.
The rear cross-member behind the rear bumper is completely bent too, showing it's had a rear-end shunt at some point, but hasn't been repaired.
I had the car inspected by ClickMechanic - their most in-depth inspection, and the following catalogue of woe showed up:
1. The water system has completely run dry within 500 miles of driving. The water has NOT leaked anywhere, but is evident at the exhaust pipe, which indicates that water is getting through the water jacket into the engine somewhere. The water reservoir has copious amounts of K Seal (or similar) present, indicating that someone has identified a gasket leak and effected a temporary repair. This may hold out for a few months, but will eventually result in serious engine damage.
2. The rear cross-member is badly bent, indicating that the car has been involved in an accident, probably a rear-end shunt, and whoever has attempted repair has decided not to replace this.
3. Both rear wheels will not move without being driven. Either the brake shoes are stuck, or there is a problem with the wheel bearings.
4. Knocking noise is evident in the car, intermittently. Inspection reveals a badly deteriorating gearbox engine mount
5. The air conditioning condenser is leaking badly. Although the air conditioning works currently, this will not continue for very long
6. There is a fault code evident upon plugging in an engine diagnostic code reader indicating ‘Steering wheel position sensor’
7. There is an oil leak from the bottom of the car.
8. Both front tyres have legal tread on the middle of the tyres, but have cracks around the edges
9. One of the rear tyres is on the limit at 1.7mm tread – I did point this out when I saw the car originally, but it wasn’t replaced.
The most disappointing aspect of this is that I was assured the car would have an extensive safety check before being released, something which was instantly kicked into touch when I stopped 15 miles after collecting the car to check the tyre pressures and found one of the front tyres had 9psi in it.
I have sent the inpection report, supporting photographic evidence and a letter saying I want a full refund. I have also said I do not want them to try and repair the car, or swap it for something else on their forecourt.
I guess I'll need to give them a chance to inspect it, but I am not prepared to drive it (30 miles) to their garage given the rear cross-member issue.
Am I justified in this or should I let them attempt to repair all this and return the car to me?
Thanks all. Read more
Having been in the trade for many years both as salesman for a large dealer and as a home trader I fully understand the issues in this case. The dealer is supposed to be the professional, any car he sells at retail money should be checked and prepared properly and things like a failed head gasket would be glaringly obvious if the car was looked over. This car was overpriced for the mileage and clearly (if the OP is being honest) hasn’t been near a workshop for a once over. Being overpriced isn’t something you can complain about after buying however is it?
Yes punters are almost always completely dishonest when it comes to their trade in and we’ve only got the OP’s word that they did inform the dealer of the faults on their own car (be honest who does this?) but again it’s down to the professional to vet the part exchange properly and value it accordingly.
The chap did redeem himself by fully refunding rather than messing the buyer about but there’s no denying (again if the OP is being accurate) that this car shouldn’t have been sold in this condition and that the trade in having faults is hardly a defence. I would never have put a car like this out the door and I certainly wouldn’t be in tears if the part exchange turned out to be a pup. An old BMW isn’t something anyone with an eye to their reputation would retail anyway, it would be a trade bucket sale for what it cost or near or off to auction.
Long and low
You've been driving a SUV for too long. Read more
My Mondeo HEV Experience.
First of all I was replacing my Passat SE Business class, but the new face lifted car was not available for a few months.
My main driver was to lower my benefit in kind tax, have a comfortable drive and room for two adults two teenagers and a dog.
BIK saving equals £150 per month.
I have now covered 12500 miles in this car since the 19th of July so I am ready to give you an honest review.
Not one rattle
Not one visit to the Ford dealer
Purchased one Ltr of engine oil
Average mileage to date 51.6 miles to the gallon
DAB radio does not constantly cut out
The leather seats are like arm chairs equally as good as the Passat
Heated seats a saviour when you hit 300 miles in a day
Extremely quiet driving experience
Very pleased, now the honest downsides
Now the nights are drawing in I have discovered the lights are appalling.
Fuel tank too small could do with a 60 ltr
The Ford Pass app
I cover in my role the North of England and Scotland, so up and down the A1 is not exactly a race track, Scotland has more sneaky speed cameras than anywhere else in the U.K so on an average my speed returning from Aberdeen to Doncaster yesterday was 42mph and I was rather relaxed after the long road trip.
So to the best bit, company cars are like an engineers spanner they are a tool for your job, like the Mondeo HEV estate is for me. (I had on my car list Jaguar, Landrover, Ford and VW) But this work tool has saved me in BIK around £150 and this enabled my wife to upgrade her Evoque to a new Velar on PCP. So I drive around in a very quiet and comfortable car through the week, and the family are happy in our new personal car.
Would I order again, yes because it has worked for us nicely but the lights would have to be LED. Sadly it probably will not be around in 3 years time.
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Hello everyone,,
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