July 2021
You were all so helpful when I asked about getting a car on finance for my daughter that she has decided to pay up to £5k which she saved for a used car rather than any sort of finance so thanks to everyone
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Story in the Telegraph about a 70 year old having a forty minute ordeal when she tried to withdraw £3500 to buy a car.
Hats off to the Bank ?... Read more
Quite apart from all the connotations of him possibly fiddling his business tax by dealing solely in cash, the big advantage to him in not taking credit cards is he avoids Section 75 liability comebacks entirely!
Or possibly it's because none of the card merchant companies will have anything to do with him!
I have recently put some mintex m1144 pads on my car with new discs and did the bed in procedure. After this the pedal felt solid and the brakes came on almost instantly when pressing the pedal. Now after a couple of weeks, the pedal feels softer. There is no air or anything in the lines because the pedal too begin with was solid so could this be something too do with the pads needing to properly bed in or? The brakes work brilliantly and stop me really quickly but I feel I need too press the pedal a bit further than when I first put the pads in.
Cheers for any help Read more
Brakes feel a lot better now, pedal feels harder and they are biting really well. I will go and do the proper bedding in procedure again at some point when the roads are quiet but I'm happy it's all good now. Thank you for all of the help, really appreciate it
Hi all
Our 406 hdi with a terrible nocking noise engine immediately turned off.
After the engine was turned off the engine cannot turn in clockwise position (normal direction). Its stuck.
However, when the engine is turned anti-clockwise it turns smoothly and through the 4 stages there is compression. Cambelt in order, tdc on crank aligned with mark of cambelt.
Could it be a bearing or the oil pump chain jamming the engine turning normally.
Not overfilled with oil and oil has done only 75000 kms.
I am at wits end.
Regards
Riaan Read more
Sorry, that should read "left hand end" right hand end facing it from the front.
Got a Fiesta 2004 and the car is locked. I've held down 1 and 6 at the same time and it says the serial was M125385
Any help would be appreciated! Read more
You say the car is locked. I assume you mean the radio is locked....
I have a 2011 insignia 2.0 d 160 bhp saloon there's a cracking noise coming from the front left wheel when turning going forward and reverse. I have changed the wheel bearing and full drive shaft. The noise is still there can anyone help I only have the car 6 months there's 170000 miles = 280000 kms grand car apart from that any help would be much appreciated Read more
There's nothing wrong in the alloy, is there ?
I'm not sure about the wheel itself but it is that area. It sounds like the drive shaft is cracking but new Full shaft installed noise still the same...
Hi All
Pretty much out of ideas with a problem I have with my van. There was a power steering pipe that was leaking so I replaced it. That's when it all started. Everything seems fine for a few miles than steering become very difficult to turn. After a while it suddenly frees up then it happens again. I tried draining and refilling fluid, dispelled all air locks but no different. So, replaced pump. No different. Has to be rack I thought. Replaced rack! No different. So what now? I'm sure you guy will have the answer. Thank you!
Just to add that the belt on pump is 100k original but seems tight. The pump does get hot but its right next to engine. I dont think the fluid gets too hot but not entirely sure. I used the fluid recommended by Halford but have been unable to find details on the correct fluid elsewhere.
Barry Read more
I would check all the steering and suspension joints for partial seizures, also universal joint from column to rack . Also there may be a problem with the torsional crankshaft pulley slipping.
Hi all,
I am currently driving an Alfa Romeo Giulietta and am looking for something more reliable as I have had quite a few problems with it... Read more
TBH, I wouldn't go with the Merc myself, too much question marks over its reliability. And while i like the Leon well enough, I'm not sure I'd get an FR due to the overly stiff suspension.
You have not said what kind of budget you are working on, but a look at prices for the Merc suggests circa £15k. And a subsequent look on Autotrader shows that I could get a Lexus IS300H of around 2017/2018 for that kind of money. So if you are liking the thought of a sporty executive saloon rather than a hot (ish) hatch (and assuming you could live with that face!) that's where I'd put my money.
HI All,
I have a friend changing my oil and filter for me. He is experienced but I didn't want to bother him too much beforehand.. or look like a numpty by asking dumb questions regarding suitable oil. ;)... Read more
There was a close relationship between Ford and Mazda for a while, with lots of Mazda derived Fords (Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute, for example) so shared specifications are unsurprising, but they aren't especially surprising in unrelated vehicles either. Just means the product meets both sets of manufacturer-specific criteria.
Fair to say the Citroen DS is an icon of car design and it also probably wouldn't surprise many people to learn that such a complex car (for its time) had some teething problems. But after reading an article (Classic & Sports Car, June edition) on one of the oldest surviving DS's, I learned that these teething troubles went far beyond what I was aware of!.
Apparently Citroen, at the time, were obsessed with secrecy, so while engineers were familiar with their own 'aspect' of the car, very few had any understanding of the whole car. Dealers knew nothing whatsoever about it, and in most cases, refused to do anything with a broken down car. Citroen had a team of trouble shooters who would be dispatched to deal with DS problems. Cars they were unable to fix were, if possible, towed away under cover of darkness save anyone seeing the new flagship as unreliable. ... Read more
I remember learning in school that the French would pronounce DS as déesse - which seems very appropriate for such an amazing car.
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I think they are very similar but what about a used kia picanto, hyundai i10 as cheap used hatchbacks but also decent motorway runners ?
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