May 2020
As I suspect is the case for lots of people, I hadn't used my 2012 Ford Focus 1.6 petrol much for quite a while - maybe three very short trips to the supermarket totalling at most 10 miles since early March. Not that the car gets a lot of use (2500 miles a year more or less)
A couple of days I took it out and found that the A/C has stopped working - just getting normal air, not even cold-ish. I checked and the compressor's clutch is engaging, the compressor is spinning and the system seems to be running but no cool air.
I had re-gassed the system a couple of years ago, not because of any fault but because I was told it was probably best.
Is it that the lack of use of the A/C over winter plus the lockdown led to the refrigerant leaking out? If so, does that mean there is a leak that needs to be repaired or will re-gassing the system be sufficient? Or am I looking at a more complicated problem? Read more
Battery died on the car. Now recharged and put back but radio has locked. Can anyone tell me the code for the radio? Serial No. M107922. Thanks Read more
Thank you for coming back to us. I assume the code is correct.
Hi
Need some advice !!
I’m just out of hospital after having a health scare with pneumonia, etc - no fun!
Thankfully I am on the mend and feel truely fortunate.
I’m in my late 50’s now and always promised myself a convertible as a second car.
I’m must confess that I’m not a petrol head hence the ask - but looking for a 4 seater convertible - I’m planning on spending 10-12k. I doubt I’ll do more than 6k a year in it.
So my 1st question is do I just lease a new one or buy something older ?
Make and models - I live in Scotland so I’m hoping the get the roof off for a few hours a year.
I saw these bmw hats top and quite liked them but a series 4 is a bit of a stretch.
Also, should I look at a car that has a large panoramic sunroof?
Thoughts and comments pls !!
Cheers Read more
Note that cars with panaramic sunroofs must use far more fuel to keep the car cool (with the roof closed - like a greenhouse) in warmer weather using the AC or to overcome the extra drag when it's open on the move.
Not so. If you look at a car from above you will see that the surface area of the windows admitting sunlight is far greater than that of a panoramic roof. Anyway, the better ones, e.g.my A8, are tinted and have an integrated solar panel which automatically powers a fan when the sun shines to cool the interior if parked outside. It also has a floating lip to combat fuel-sapping air turbulence, but if going that fast it gets closed....
I recently bought a Lexus RX300 2006 with 62k mileage for £4500
MOT was 10th Feb 2020, bought it on 10th May 2020.
Test drive fine and everything seemed to run ok. 10 days later took for a full service and the garage told me the bad news about it having massive corrosion underneath with corroded pipes, major oil leak, parking brake broken, tyre down to the rim. OSR & NSR bushes starting to separate, OSR & NSR brake pipes corroded, rear brake discs corroded, especially OSR rear. OSR brake bed plods missing (corroded off x 3, one wheel bearing gone, rev diff input shaft major oil loss, fuel filter pipes corroded, underside corroded, jacking points corroded and folded up, broken off. My garage says they are surprised some things didn’t come up in MOT
In short 2-3k at least of work needed and the garage couldn’t do a service due to these faults. They have declared the vehicle not fit for purpose in their write up.
I want to reject vehicle under the 30 day consumer protection laws but dealer says this is wear and tear. I’ve only had it 10 days and nothing’s happened to it in that time. This car seems to be unviable to my mind but I can tell this dealer might not do the right thing.
Can anyone advise my next actions as dealer wants me to drive it down to his garage 20 miles away whereas I’ve read on thecarexpert site that the dealer should pick up as there is no clause in invoice that says I have to do this. I’d rather he picked it up of course.
He wants to inspect the vehicle at his own mechanics but I feel he should just refund me fully...
Any help appreciated, thank you in advance... Read more
Was there any update? And did you end up getting the money back? I'm in the exact same situation except I found out on day two of having the car
Has anyone heard from him lately?
I knew he was poorly and hope he is recovering. Read more
I think I too would be a little embarrassed to have a thread whose title was me. So I'll close it but in doing so wish both ORB and John F a full recovery.
Hey all,
... Read more
If you wanted more stable/longer term rust protection that was still reliably reversible, I'd suggest combining the aluminium with the type of bituminous paint sold for cast-iron drain pipes, though that's probably less available than vaseline and you would probably have to buy a lot more of it than you are likely to need.
The bituminous paint dries matt-black (so of course NOT a cosmetic repair either) but remains soluable, so it should be removable fairly easily with solvent (white spirit, brake cleaner, petrol. etc.) and paper towels/rags,...
Sorry I did not post this in the classic car section but that is just dead!
A long time ago I was told that classic car insurance was really cheep. I was wondering if this is still the case and if anyone can give me any info on this please Read more
Classic Line were 25% cheaper than Pete Best. Expect to get an even better quote now I have space to put the car in the garage. One of the upsides of lock down is at last I managed to make time to sort the garage out.
I do hardly any fettling to my own car. Choose wisely and you won't have to worry too much about maintenance or rust.
Can anyone see a pattern emerging here . Lots of repeat posts by spurious authors . Read more
During service - no. During MoT - probably-possibly. Expensive - no.
I'm slightly at my wit's end with an irritating fault with my car - that's getting worse. It's a 2011 Mk2 Outlander with the 2.2, 156Bhp PSA Diesel engine, and the SST 6 Speed Dual Clutch Gearbox. It has done 106000mls, and has a a full service history, mixture of indies and Mitsubishi. I had the gearbox oil changed at as a precaution ~90k as I couldn't find any evidence of a change.This was done by the nearest Mitsubishi dealer, which has since gone out of business.
Recently when the car is warm, it develops the following symptom:-... Read more
I'm slightly at my wit's end with an irritating fault with my car - that's getting worse. It's a 2011 Mk2 Outlander with the 2.2, 156Bhp PSA Diesel engine, and the SST 6 Speed Dual Clutch Gearbox. It has done 106000mls, and has a a full service history, mixture of indies and Mitsubishi. I had the gearbox oil changed at as a precaution ~90k as I couldn't find any evidence of a change.This was done by the nearest Mitsubishi dealer, which has since gone out of business.
Recently when the car is warm, it develops the following symptom:-...
Commented last week that all this additional exercise allowed was dangerous since I had slipped/tripped but other tha a sprain had got away with it.
Wrong.... Read more
This driver didn't laugh after being sentenced to 15 years with no parole.
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The compressor bearing seals used to leak especially if the aircon wasn't used in the winter, don't know if that still happens but you are usually advised to run it occasionally in the winter.
Strangely enough my C5 had non working aircon when I bought it last year, went out in it few days ago and it worked a treat - never had that happen before!