August 2020
garage has just replaced my clutch on my S/H Golf after 48,000 miles, (3000 approx mine) however they have commented on invoice that Dual Mass flywheel has slight play and when quizzed about this comment said "had it been a diesel they would have had to have changed the flywheel as well, but it should be fine" the garage advised me that as there are no aftermarket parts available yet for this engine so they had to purchase the clutch unit, lever and bearing from VW spares at a cost in excess of £300 + VAT!.
.Yes the clutch has been repaired but you have to treat it with kid gloves or it goes in with a "bump" and.mentally having to drive with the fear of lumps of metal and plastic at the best whirring around within the bell housing or at worst spewing out on to the road in the middle of some dark and distant glen at dark o'clock hardly reassuring! My immediate reaction would have normally been, go buy one and I'll pay for it and we can do a deal on the labour but with the VW Dual Mass Flywheel part costing more than the original job makes it really hard to swallow especially as VW claim these flywheels should be good for 125,000 miles.... Read more
Just bought a 2014 Golf mk6 petrol. Neither of the two buttons next to the gear stick work , “Mode” and “Start/Stop cancel”. Any ideas on how to get them working? Read more
Hi, can somebody give me some technical advice please?
I have a 2005 Ford Fiesta, 1242cc, 3-door, petrol. Great car but the radiator fan is not working and the car is overheating especially in traffic jams.... Read more
thanks to you also ... I have just been advised of a 'Charge n Start' specialist in my area, I think I'll take it to them for testing.
Thanks, the diverse answers I've got for this indicates the problem might not be simple....
At the time of renewal of my insurance I noticed in the Statement of Facts (yes I read the small print) that the vehicle valuation was shown at £33k which is what it cost including the adaptations back in 2013. I raised this with the insurers and suggested that they might like to use a more realistic figure. They said OK, give us one.
Being an OAP with no knowledge of the motor trade I was a bit stumped. The insurers then said we have this scheme. Its called Agreed Value. You send us all the details of the vehicle, current photos, etc. and we will agree a value. The fee was a bit steep, but I thought a more realistic valuation might lead to somewhat lower premiums in the future.... Read more
Diesels always cost significantly more to insure 3PFT than petrol models of higher horsepower, probably because the cubic capacity was higher.
I tried to get them to think about that, and the best they could do was higher repair costs, though they couldnt explain why this was relevent on a 3PFT policy....
So, my 90 year old mate had a fall in the garden, not hurt badly, but intimations of a stroke, so Docs suggested that stopping driving for a while might be a sensible option.
He was considering if to keep it or not and then got his insurance quote for renewal.... Read more
<< it's not just south of the border. Having lived here for over two decades, I can honestly say that car prices in East Anglia are amongst the highest anywhere, with Norfolk being the worst value. >>
That's interesting. When my daughter sold her Golf Plus a few years ago, I was surprised that someone from Kings Lynn came to south Manchester to buy, who said exactly that....
I've got a 2003 X350 Jaguar Super V8 which I used to drive but has been SORNed for about a year now.
The car runs fine, but it needs both front door locking mechnisms replacing and it looks a bit of a mess as I removed the driver's door card to work on the locking mechanism.... Read more
Not sure what you mean by "inherently unbalanced V8s" though. It's a very smooth car to drive with virtually no vibration..
Take too long to explain here - I assume it's a cross plane rather than a flat plane crank. V8s need balancing to make them smooth. Also, because of the uneven firing -exhilarating at the race track but intrusive in normal use - the exhaust muffler has to do so much muffling to silence the burbling racket that it absorbs considerable power. The smoothness comes at a price of reduced power and economy, which in places where petrol has always cost peanuts is not an issue. It was a long time before the luxury marques of Europe adopted the V8 in any great quantity and to my mind their continued manufacture is irrational, especially in the age of the reliable turbocharger.
I have a fairly old Garmin Nuvi 40 sat nav but it works fine and I am used to it so would like to keep it. I have just changed my car and the accessory socket is between the front seats although it has a couple of USB sockets at the front of the centre console. My question is will the sat nav work if I used a USB port rather than the 12v socket? This would be preferable to having a longer power lead trailing along the console to the 12v power socket. Read more
First of all I was incorrect in my original post - my device is a Nuvi 57 not a 40. Having said that I have tried using a USB cable on the device but all it does is go into charging mode - I can't actually use the sat nav with the USB connection.
On the DVLA site medically restricted licences state that the licences is extended BUT NOT RENEWED for 7 months if it expired between April and August 2020.
Mine was allowed to expire bu the DVLA.... Read more
MEDICALLY RESTRICTED IS NOT THE SAME AS SUSPENDED
I started injecting insulin in 2014 and that triggered an automatic 3 year licence restriction which means having my eyes tested every 3 years before they renew my licence....
All new models and mid life upgrades have lots in common.
THE RRP rockets.
It might make sense to the manufacturer / import agent but to the man in the street it looks like a great reason to hold on to the car you own and have paid for.
When sales start to dry up the manufacturers might regret being too greedy..
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These huge ICE / Hybrid car price rises are part of the great EV conspiracy.
EVs were introduced at huge prices despite demanding compromises (limited range, charging times, battery longevity etc.).
ICE car prices are being greatly increased regularly to close the price gap with EVs. Everyone's expectation is that as EVs become more mainstream and batteries are cheaper to manufacture, EV prices will drop. They won't - ICE car prices just keep increasing to make the EVs look 'cheaper'.
Finance deals replace out-right purchases as gullible people look at monthly costs rather than huge list prices - they start treating a monthly car payment as 'just something you have to do like paying your mortgage'.
Energy companies get on the bandwagon, offering home energy tariff incentives for leasing an EV from them.
End result - everyone is conned into paying tens of thousands more for 'cheap to run' EVs than what a pre-price-fixing ICE car would have cost to buy and run.
Looking through the pages of old car mags I’m finding myself reminiscing over the glamour from the Motor Shows which were common throughout the country in the 80’s and 90’s and the UK national show which died in 2008. My dad bought several cars off stand at the local car show in Ayr, the pinnacle being a new Audi 80 16v Sport in metallic grey. It was a pleasure watching as the salesman put the sold sticker on it in front of the crowd.
Every major town seemed to have one back in the day and I worked the Glasgow show a few times on the flashy stand of Proton or the rather more glamorous Mitsubishi offering. It was full of the latest cars before they became white goods and good looking women before the PC brigade took their jobs. I just loved the event whether working or as a punter. There was a magic to buying a new car back then that’s sadly missing in today’s contract lease/PCP world. No one takes pleasure in buying a car in the same way now, where’s the fun when you’ll never own it and it’s dated quickly by the twice yearly plate change I was so vocally against back in 1999.
I loved new registration day on the 1st of August. Yes as a salesman it was a busy day but it was an event for buyers both of new and used cars. I left the trade shortly after as I could see the way it was heading. White goods bought on never-ending finance then thrown away at the end with no equity retained. I was never good at selling something I didn’t believe in.
I wish the car show would return but it’s been sadly killed by the PCP/Contract lease and the never-ending above inflation rise in costs these events attracted. I can’t remember the exact figure the last time I went to London but I was pretty appalled by it, especially when you consider that they were overcharging potential customers.
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Thank you Avant.
The thing is retail price of my car is around £40k. Not bragging, it’s what it is.
I guess I could have negotiated a small discount for cash if I had that much hanging around. If I did I probably wouldn’t blow it all on a car. This way I can budget and still own it at the end.
Anyone who has their own business will know cash is king. That’s why so many new small businesses fail - they run out of cash even though trading profitably.
In my business I need new equipment I lease/purchase it and keep the cash in the bank.
Ultimately with PCP I can afford my dream car. What possibly can be wrong with that. Cars are my thing.
Other folk pay a fortune for a years’ golf club membership or spend thousands a year cruising the seas. Far more than I pay a year for my car.
I know a lot of you guys on here buy others cast offs and run them on a shoe string. My dad did the same, rolling around under his cars at weekends though probably not by choice. He was mechanically very able, I know the basics of how things work which is enough for me.
I hope in years to come someone will enjoy bangernomics with my Alfa.
Hard to imagine I know but strangers things do happen!
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Perhaps somebody previously has disconnected the panel ?