April 2024
Bought a old Peugot 207 a few months ago. It's showing the low oil light when I start it. Had a check using the dipstick and the level looks OK, but the dipstick isn't 'holding' very much oil when I pull it out, so might not be accurate. Simple solution is to ust top up the oil to be safe.
Problem is I don't know what oil the previous owner used. No indications of the correct oil to use in the car manual or on the service record!!! A check online suggests all 207's from that era use OW-30, and some can use 5W-30 as well.... Read more
Son's Astra (90,000 miles) went into the garage after loss of power, suspecting head gasket.
Investigation shows camshaft deeply grooved, suspect other key parts also FUBAR and a fresh engine is required. (Ebay has one for about £1280).... Read more
The second hand engine trade are notoriously shady. I’d take the Ka and bin the Astra too. The Ka uses the final version of the old Yamaha designed Zetec SE motor which has a very good rep for reliability so it’ll make a very decent little commuter.
SLO and elekie, with my opinion backed up by your advice, the lad has now bought the Ka from his brother and the Astra is to be disposed of for best price he can get. Many thanks!
Hello. I have recently noticed wet footwells on the drivers side of my car, particularly the rear footwell. The boot is dry, an area often found to be wet by other drivers.
Is there an obvious area to be looked at which might be causing the issue? I realise now that the condensation I've noticed for some months is linked to the water ingress.... Read more
Common problem on Focus. Vents behind the rear bumper let water in and it makes its way through body box sections to rear and front footwells. Remove rear bumper and reseal vents with body sealant.
Hi
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Pleased you got t sorted. Thanks for updating the thread, as you say it might help someone else if they hit upon this thread when researching the same problem.
Currently looking for a replacement car and want to be able to view given the plethora of options (and Covid spec cars) - when I search on Autotrader the first couple of pages are cars from Cinch available with a mile which leaves me trawling for the non-Cinch cars that are physically available to view.
Any suggestions on how to exclude/block these ? Read more
I’m finding Autotrader has become very annoying in putting up non search area results for most searches. Cinch is definitely appearing for virtually any search, but I seem to get random car dealers up to 180 miles away with cars in a up to 25 mile search radius.
I wish Autotrader would have a tick box for physical stock within 25 miles as a search option.
I couldn’t bring myself to buy a £15k car unseen and undriven....
Looking for advice on a smallish hybrid car second hand with some good longevity etc.
Thoughts? Read more
How about a Hyundai i10. We bought one 7 years ago on advice on this forum and other places. Easy to drive, easy to get in and out of, best of all no hybrid. Personally I would steer clear of the Yaris. They have tiny 12v starter batteries that go flat if the car isn't regularly driven. We can leave the i10 for 3 or 4 weeks when we go on holiday and it still starts straight away. A friend with a Yaris has had issues when not driving his for a week.
PS. If you can find an older non-hybrid Yaris then that will be fine....
I am considering buying a second car, a fun car if you like, for weekends and just enjoying when I can. Naturally I know that these come with an element of risk which I'd like to try and mitigate a bit in terms of not buying anything that is notorious for problems or costly repairs.
I have always wanted a Mini and have seen a number of 2019 onwards Cooper S models that I am very tempted by as they are a riot to drive. All FSH with auto boxes (I want auto) and main dealer supplied - would these be a decent or a risky buy in terms of reliability? I have an excellent BMW/Mini independent garage very close to me if I had any issues or for servicing at reasonable cost.... Read more
Nobody can ever accuse me of rushing into this as am still pondering. I have looked at a few options and pretty much settled on the Mini.
I have identified a John Cooper Works which I like a lot and it would be an absolute blast, but I don't know much of the reliability of those particular variants. It's 3 years old, full Mini history with about 25k miles and looks the part. The running costs would be higher as the wheels are bigger and the brakes huge, so I need to look at the costs of those....
This has been much discussed before but it seems that quotes for my son are particularly high at the moment. He is taking his test next week so in a spirit of optimism I am tentatively exploring options for insurance.
Last summer we bought a project car for him on his 17th, a 2002 Fiat Seicento and since January I’ve been taking him out for practise in addition to his lessons. Insuring him as a learner was through Adrian Flux for £257 for 4 months (I’m also insured to drive it on a cheap classic policy).... Read more
Money savings expert link - usually decent quality advice:
Bought a car from a dealership around 70 miles from where I live at the end of October, around 33k miles on the clock. After only ten days I got a dashboard light start to come on each time I turn the ignition on with an exclamation mark in a triangle saying engine fault: repair needed followed by airbag(s) or pretensioner seat belt(s) faulty then ‘risk of particle filter clogging: see handbook’
Contacted them straight away about it and they booked it in for an initial diagnostic in their workshop for two weeks later. I then noticed a creaking type noise driving at low speeds under the driver footwell and mentioned this also prior to diagnostic. Verdict from the initial diagnostic was that shock absorbers needed doing and that the dashboard lights were an electrical fault and they would need their subcontracted electrical specialist to have more of a look at it. I was informed that when they had a date of availability back from said electrics specialist that I could bring it to them, have the shock absorbers done then the car be taken to the electrics specialists garage same day.... Read more
Even if you won a court case against them they’d simply bankrupt themselves and reestablish under a different name so you can’t claim anything from them. They’ll be experts at this sort of thing, they’ll have done it before. A Quick Look at companies house (assuming they’re a limited company - most are) will no doubt show virtually no assets to claim from. It’s a painful and unfair lesson in life, and honest dealers selling sub £5k motors are few and far between. Warranties mean nothing on decade old cars and modern emissions strangled diesels aren’t worth considering at this money, or much more.
In fairness to the dealer concerned (and we haven't heard their side) the car has covered 9000 miles so has hardly blown up out the door.
There seem to be two faults: the DPF fluid and pump and maybe an airbag light. The airbag light if it came up soon after purchase the seller should have rectified. The DPF fluid depends on how soon after I guess but fluid is really a service item and the pumps do often need doing at the same time. It isn't the end of the world, £150 for a pump, £30 for the fluid and about an hour's labour. It is not unreasonable that doing a high mileage a purchaser might have to do this. This is really basic car maintenance stuff these days....
Hi all, a couple months back i noticed specs appearing all over my Red A class, 2016, i since found out that this is a common problem with 2 or 3 specific shades of red used on merc vehicles. I contacted the Merc dealership & there workshop assessed it and said they would make a case for repair to Merc UK, they admitted they had seen this before on other cars. Merc come back with a 50% goodwill saying the car come with 3 years warranty which is now obviously passed. Ive heard there is a separate warranty or cover on paintwork but im finding it difficult to get a confirmed timescale for that, does anyone else know if there is such a thing? Or have they experienced this with their own Merc? I dont see why i should fork out a couple thousand for the respray of my car just because the paint used by the manufacturer clearly isnt up to the standard i would expect from a premium car brand, even more so the fact had i a car the same age in any other colour this wouldnt have happend. Any feedback appreciated please Read more
I do see a lot of old French cars in the supermarket car park with lacquer peel paint problems, and a lot of them are red.
A guide to DIY repairing clear coat damage, but remember, it has to be warm when you spray, so as you feel warm in a tee shirt in the shade, and don't use the dupli-colour type cans. Get some quality two-pack aerosols, where you trigger a valve in the bottom of the can to release the catalyst into the paint before shaking the can....
Browse
My late lamented Skywing had very little carbon on the piston crowns and in the ring and oil control grooves, despite being ancient, and running a bit rich by the plug appearance....