January 2024
I parked somewhere and a large van parked 5 inch next to the driver side door. I could not open the door, when I got back to my car.
The obvious solution was to get into my car, via the the passenger side door and then climb over the centre console. I had my heavy coat on and it all seemed too much for me and I did n't want to accidently put shoe marks all over the dashboard. ... Read more
Hello folks. What's your experience of ex HomeServe fleet vans?. They seem clean with FSH, but i presume they're doing short run, city driving all day. Thanks Read more
Today's Times tells me that Ha1fords have done research connected with the need to use dealer servicing during a warranty, saying that the law states otherwise, and that independent garages offer an equal service much more cheaply - about 80% less in the case of a Nissan exhaust, one of their examples. We all know this on here, plus the fact that Ha1fords are clearly not disinterested. No harm in spreading the message though. They claim that a large minority of owners believe the obligation continues after expiry, which I am not sure about ... Read more
I had the headlamps replaced FOC on a car during a routine service whilst under warranty. A known fault caused the reflectors to melt! I suspect this wouldn't have been picked up outside the dealer network. It wasn't a recall. I hate to think what a complete front light unit would've cost.
Been quoted £900 + labour to fix and replace the oil pump drive chain. Does this seem right?
car has a history of a small leek, too expensive to repair, so kept oil levels topped up and its been fine for years.... Read more
I think there are two chains in this engine. 1) the cam chain 2) a separate chain operating the oil pump which must have failed - red light and beeping means no oil pressure.
Running for some time afterwards with no oil pressure not great re engine bearings and timing chain tensioner. Ie engine probably still toast....
Browsing YT this morning, I came upon a short clip about the 1994 Porsche C88, a model I was completely oblivious to.
The C88 (which doesn't feature any Porsche badging!) was a compact 4 door saloon, it appears to be of a similar size to the type of supermini based saloons popular in various countries like China and Russia.... Read more
First impression, the love child of a Nissan Sunny and Vauxhall Corsa MK1.
Possibly, though I get more of a mini-me Ford Orion feel to it, at least on the outside, and something akin to the Nissan Micra K12 on the inside....
Hi,
The Renault financing agreement states that there is a £100 collection fee in case the customer cannot return to one of their UK auction sites (location to be advised later) at the end of the PCP term.
Is it typical amount charged by lenders? Anyone who has ever returned a Renault bought on PCP know where are these sites in England and how was the experience? Read more
It’ll probably be a BCA location - www.bca.co.uk/locations
I don't know if it's brand-wide, but my local Seat dealer is selling brand new (not pre-reg) Ibizas at £4,350 off list price (cash or finance) Read more
Certainly useful info to know. I quite like the Fabia and have only read positive things about it on this forum. I wonder if any residuals might follow the same pattern as SAAB? Not a problem if keeping it until it dies, which as many will know is my method.
i just bought an i30 at an auction but it has a clutch issue very hard to get into first and its foot to the floor biting point i have been to a good mechanic ho said he swapped a clutch out on a i30 which didnt fix the problem said it was the damper valve? anyone else experience this?
only purchased as needed a car fast as my car was driven into and written off Read more
Funny thing - modern cars don't seem to have 'problems' any more ... :-)
I am now 8 months in to the ownership of a VW T Cross SE (95) 1.0 Tsi, It is a 71 reg with 13k on the clock - I bought it from a VW dealer with 9k on the clock, it does a number of things very well, but a number of issues which have arisen mean that I have yet to 'bond' with the car.
Recently, from dead cold for the first mile or two, the engine 'flutters' in the good old days, it's the sort of missing you'd get from pushing in the manual choke too early. Once the engine warms up, there is no problem, the engine runs quietly, smoothly and pulls well. As a simple old soul, I reason this fluttering/missing shouldn't be happening at all in todays engine and none of my previous small engine turbo cars have done this. Before I ask the dealer for a 'from cold' drive and get the no fault found reply, I'd be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks Read more
Our 2018 Fabia with the 110 PS version of the same TSi engine (they are all built by Skoda regardless of which VAG car they are fitted to) runs perfectly from cold. The 95 PS Fabia we had on a 2 day test drive in February 2018 (that had 1 cold start) was also perfect. Yours should not be performing as it does.
Is it best to keep a battery on smart charge when the car is not in use to prolong the life, or is it better to just use the vehicle and cycle the normal charge/run down process?
In other words, do lead-acid batteries benefit from being worked? Read more
The Marinelli battery on my Fiat Mirafiori was 10 years old when I sc***ped it in the 80s. If only Fiat could make cars like Marinelli made batteries. Apologies for any typos!
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Should release just with the ignition on, but may need the brake pedal pressed or the driver’s seat belt fastened.