November 2020
See below but 20 days later the red DPF light is back on and in limp home mode again.
Also after they took the car it came back with small chip in the windscreen.... Read more
My front washers appear blocked. Checked for leaks etc could see anything. BMW forum suggests Milton baby fluid to clear and flush out any blockages? Is this a good/safe idea?? Read more
Having tried Milton today it worked! Left in tank for 2 hrs with some water and it cleared it!
What is the best depreciation calculator tool out there for the UK market?
Looking for something similar to the depreciation calculator tool on CarEdge.com ... Read more
So a £20000 new car will be worth:
- £16000 when it has left the showroom and driven a few hundred miles
- £12000 at a year old
- £9000 at 2 years old
- £6750 at 3 years old
All those figures (except perhaps the first one - See below) are total nonsense....
Just watching a car show, Motor Pickers' and the chap said the
rear parcel shelf in a Volvo estate was also a safety item in an even of a crash, IE... Read more
I had never considered a rear parcel shelf/cover in terms of safety, other than restraining movement of heavy boot contents (which way back in the days of zero in-car safety would often include small children!) in the event of heavy braking. Some parcel covers are frankly pathetic and offer little function beyond superficial "privacy" of boot contents (the sliding "roll-up" of the Honda Civic and Volvo C30 come into this category).
The thought of big, heavy horizontal objects in the back of a car always fill me with morbid dread of nasty things happening to someone behind the car. That scene in "The Omen" involving the journalist and the runaway truck has haunted me for years...
Hi
Due to changes in legislation like many others living in London I'm having to replace my 04 Sharan TDI. I'm considering an Estima 2.4 Auto imported from Japan. Budget is around £6k.... Read more
Possible changes to the way that road use is charged for is under consideration right now. A vehicle that emits a lot of CO2 is going to be an obvious target for high charges. I posted on the proposals on this subject this morning.
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Hi Im looking for some advice as I will shortly be in the market for a 2015 or later Vitara auto. I am lead to believe the early auto units are the twin clutch breed, I would like to know if these are reliable and do not have the cultch trouble of some other makes. I was considering a ford Kuga until I searched for info on this site and thought otherwise
As I currently average around 15,000 miles per annum prior to lock down and it looks as if I'll be doing around 8,000, the diesel option would be out.... Read more
If it helps, I bought a new SX4 1.6 Allgrip with CVT in 2015. Had it 4 years and was well pleased with it. The CVT does require a different driving style, don’t just keep your foot to the floorboards when accelerating, progressively ease off is the best way. In sport mode it is very quick and always returned 42 to 44 mpg which included some spirited driving. Exchanged it after 4 years and only had normal servicing and a set of tyres.
Now have a 1.4t Torque converter Auto Vitara with 2 wheel drive now 18months old. Gives same mpg and is also a superb drive. Test drove the 1.0 SX4 auto which was adequate but preferred the extra power of the 1.4t. Even the base models are well equipped. Would definitely buy another, may not seem quite as refined as some of the German counterparts but far better value for money especially when comparing the extras that come as standard.
The New Vitara (2020 update) is not currently available as an Auto. They are concentrating on the Hybrids now and only have the manual box. Hoping this will change in a couple of years as will probably buy one.
My car has a single reversing light and it's about as bright as a birthday cake candle.
I looked into fitting a proper man-sized floodlight but it wasn't as straightforward as I hoped.... Read more
For some years Australian construction and use regs were quite strict regarding US imports, which were always converted to right hand drive, but it was often difficult to adapt rear indicators to amber, since they were combined with brake lights, a stupid idea which persists to this day in federal lighting regs.
A solution was found by rewiring the brake lights to work only for braking and to double up the reversing lights as rear indicators by rewiring and refitting them with amber bulbs.
The idea isn't without its merits: steady amber lights for a vehicle in reverse would warn of danger, and wouldn't be mistaken for the headlights or DRLs of a car (or a taxi!) going forward; if reversing whilst indicating there is a steady amber and one flashing, and hazard lights would warn of hazards as now. Sn extra bonus is that there would be two lights to the rear instead of one which is often not visible from the opposite corner.
Is there extremely reliable used car under 10k gbp, i want to have distronic,
the things i want - i dont want car to be stolen so audi,bmw ,mercedess are automatically removed,... Read more
<< The gas thing, OTOH, is official. >>
I don't think there is anything 'official' about that either, it's just a shortening of Gasoline. They also talk about Kerosene when they mean paraffin or aircraft fuel. And always remember the invitation to Eat and Get Gas, a common sight beside the freeway in the old days - maybe still is ?
We all know they've been going for a long time and are generally regarded on this site as reliable and, speaking just for myself, would use them having had a good experience with them in the past (but, admittedly, a long time ago).
I just looked, having not visited for a while, and was struck by the limited number of manufacturers they now deal with. I counted just nine. And under the Ford listing there are just two models, Kuga and Puma - no Fiesta! Another small change is they used to ask just for a name and an email address - they now also want a postal address. I can see that putting a few potential enquirers off unless Mickey Mouse is brought out of the cupboard.... Read more
A few years ago Drivethedeal didn't deal with part-exchanges: they may do now but it'll be worth checking.
Two other reputable brokers are sales@coast2coastcars.co.uk and carfile.net....
I have bought one of these recently ex lease with full sevice history and am doing a few service items.
have changed brakes and discs all round 2 new rear tyres as it had a bearing type noise but turned out to be distorted rear tyre .... Read more
Petrol or diesel ? whatever it is , fault codes are only a rough guide, they can be the result of a different problem. I don't think a generic fault code reader is going to give you enough information to accurately diagnose the problem.
Hmm...so we have more information than we can interpret from the generic scan tool (no one has told the OP what his existing message means), so the solution is to get a scan tool that gives us more information?...
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As others have said your mileage is completely unsuitable for a modern diesel. I had the same issues with a diesel Jaguar when my mileage dropped from 15,000+ a year to less than 10,000.
This as still early days for DPFs, so issues were not as widely known, but I had regular DPF regens reducing oil change milesge due to short hops, engine oil dilution, EGR problems etc.
After understanding it would always be an issue I traded the car and bought a petrol and that is how it has been for the last 12 years.