January 2021
My dad went ahead and bought a 5 ton van not knowing it was 5 ton as he put the plate into insurance and it said it was a 3.5 ton van. He got MOT done at a regular garage where they also thought it was a 3.5 ton van and did it.
The van in question is a VW crafter CR50 MWB. How do i go about fixing this without the MOT garage getting in trouble as the fella there is my dads mate and he would be devastated if he caused him some kind of fine or ban from the MOT board.... Read more
l love the idea of bangernomics. Getting hold of a car for 1k, or thereabouts & running it for as as long as is possible on minimal outlay.
l've always bought cars (not particularly bangers) with functionality in mind, not just in terms of reliability, but doing the job they were built for. So when the four kids were small we had a people carrier, when l needed a car for work l also had a lease car & latterly, now there's just my wife & l (plus two dogs) to consider, l have an SUV. l've also always serviced the vehicles we've had & hence they've repaid us with good reliability. ... Read more
ln terms of old bangers & the safety issue.............l see it in terms of your view on insurance policies. l know someone who chooses to only pay for compulsory car insurance. He's willing to take the risk of his house falling down, flooded or a theft, pet insurance or any other insurance you care to mention.
It's the same with bangers & those cars laden with safety technology. You pay a premium just in case....
Good to see something sensible winning. Read more
Alan1302
Spot on, this was also the opinion of the sales manager I spoke with today.
His opinion which I share is that interest rates will soon raise substantially over the next 24 months and as such Dacia should pick up a greater share of sales as rival PCPs will be considerably more expensive and more difficult to obtain on lesser credit ratings.
Hi all, will be getting another car as soon as we are able to go out and buy one. I currently have an 18 plate crossland x. We will be getting a small caravan (900kg max) and the crossland will never tow it, hence getting rid. Have looked at the Dacia Duster but not sure as they seem cheap so I'm guessing there's a reason why they're cheap. Just wondered if anyone had one and what they're like or whether to avoid.
Thanks Read more
Agree,
I would take ‘hard’ plastics with a pinch of salt.
I read a review recently criticising the latest shape Octavia due to ‘large swathes of hard plastics’; later on in the article it mentioned the plastics again but added they where mainly out of sight.
Very rare to see a bad or crude interior in the UK new car market, the only one I can think off is the MG3 which is dated despite the rather good stereo touch screen.
Suzuki Ignis is a brilliant little car and you could possibly argue it’s interior is slightly crude and flimsy but not to the point it’s unusable or unreliable.
Some reviewers only want a Mercedes E class interior!
One who used to write for Auto Express would review vans and criticise them for having bland hard wearing interiors and not having plush interiors - vans are designed for commercial use, longevity plus a decent drive is what counts not Jaguar saloon levels of plushness,
Then again, honest John used to employ a terrible Geordie bloke to review cars, possibly the worst reviewer ever.
I have see a few cars at main dealers, but they are charging about £2k to £4k then similar cars elsewhere (yes theirs are lower mileage). Condition seems to various. They are selling cars with heavy wear in places (suggests to me having being clocked).
How much negotiation room have I got? ... Read more
All these arguments are great-but surely it must all start with a customers own research.
What kind /model of car do i want? Whats the new on the road price? Whats a 2 year old model £averaging at? Am i happy with a base model or do i want a top spec example? Does it come with a makers guarantee? Some other kind of guarantee? Whats my budget? Have i got room for £manoeuvre? Do I want the add ons eg gap insurance, 3 years servicing, full tank of petrol? some tax off? what am i going to get for current car on trade in? Is the dealership one i would use regularly/ Is it nearby? What similar models are available and at what price on Autotrader?...
Hi all, I have a 2018 1.2 crossland x & when I drive forward or reverse out of parking space on full lock it feels like the wheels jump and it makes a banging noise ( just one bang) its quite scary when this happens. I'm just going to pick it up as its in vauxhall at the moment but they are telling me they have raised a tbs and it says that its the summer tyres slipping. When I took it in Friday for them to see the technician drove it and said he thought the gearbox had gone. I'm concerned there is something wrong with the steering. Has anyone else had this problem? Many thanks Read more
And the result of larger and larger wheels with wider tyres having less 'give' in the side walls. Don't worry about it
Hi guys, hoping someone can help a man tearing his hair out.
A year ago I bought a Fiat Doblo for work. The van starts every time and runs very well, but when at cold and idle it produces a lot of white smoke (and a strong smell) and ‘hunts’ a bit at idle- smoke starts about 30-45 seconds after starting motor. When driving or when it’s up to temp no smoking at all (although there is still a slight smell which a friend of mine also has with his Doblo).
With lockdown coming a couple weeks after purchase the garage I bought the van from hasn’t been helpful at all and simply referred to my 12 month warranty that isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, especially with no obvious sign as to a faulty part. I have taken it to several different mechanics and had several areas looked at. There are no fault codes showing.
- Gasket heard tested and fine
- EGR valve cleaned thoroughly after it was running at above suggested pressure % on mechanics computer.
- Full service done including changing the fuel filter.
- Went to a diesel specialist who told me all the injectors where fine at the time and lots of Doblos do that.
- The latest guy (deals in cleaning of EGRs etc) suggested an injector could well need changed (as when running he had his computer on it and one of the cylinders was running at 2.8-3.2ish whilst the others at small deficits of around -0.1 (I’m not mechanically minded so not sure what that measures.)
He changed the injector last night only for the problem to still be exactly the same.
I’m starting to get stressed with it now. MOT due in a couple days and worried it will fail on emissions/smoke unless they test it when warm obviously.
Anyone had similar issues or any suggestions what so ever? Read more
Hi I have similar problem? Did you ever get it fixed?
Gordonbennet - a regular contributor, seems to have disappeared all of a sudden. Hope he's safe and well, I miss reading about the Prado, Subaru and moneypit Mercedes, those were some very well-maintained cars! Read more
good advice Avant.
It takes me back to a debate between Anthony Wedgewood Benn and Roy Jenkins. A technical and complex issue but the arguments were so well put and the facts marshalled correctly it was eminently possible to make a sound judgement for yourself the way it was presented. Such a courteous and informative debate I have never witnessed since....
Hi,
I recently purchased my VW Golf Mk6 2010 which has the 7-Speed DQ200 DSG gearbox. I've done some research and have read many forums on this particular DSG gearbox and learnt it appears to be very problematic, with serious and very expensive mechanical issues being inevitable.
The gearbox is also "sealed for life", therefore gearbox oil changes at 40,000 mile intervals cannot be carried out.... Read more
Dealers are highly wary of DSG and Powershift gearboxes and they’ll typically underbid them as part exchanges and generally will avoid them at auction unless very cheap simply because most of them have been stung badly by them. While it’s true many owners will have no trouble the failure rates on these gearboxes are still appalling compared to conventional torque converter boxes. I know dealers and private individuals who’ve suffered crippling repair bills on there and I’m not prepared to recommend one to anyone. Some firms do make mistakes and all too often they don’t learn quickly from them. Mazda’s Skyactiv diesels, Fords Powershift and VW’s DSG gearboxes, Renaults 1200 TCe motors, Rovers K series HGF etc etc. There’s loads of times when firms get it wrong but don’t fix the issue when it becomes common knowledge which serves only to ruin reputations and customer bank balances.
First post on the site, although i've often used it for the great info. So, Hello to all ...
My K12 Micra has developed a Cold Start Problem that has me stumped !! Over Xmas, I noticed it was struggling to start first thing in the morning ... but would start eventually and run fine. But about a week ago, it just refused to start. Thinking it was probably the Engine Temp Sensor, I replaced that - but it has made no difference. Still no start when cold.... Read more
Update :
I've ruled out the Cam Chain as a possible problem....
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A mate of mine bought an ex RAC or AA Transit to tow his large (very large actually) car transporter. He needed the Heavy Duty Transit because of the weights involved but unusually for an HD one it only had single rear wheels. He was frequently pulled up by the Police at checkpoints since they suspected he was over the weight limit, once they ahd checked the facts he was never fined.
His MOT's were done at the local Councils depot.