November 2024
Sister in law came into some money and basically gave me her car. It’s an Astra estate , 1.7 Diesel. A 62 plate so over 12 years old. Theres £158k on the clock so high mileage
She brought the car privately in 2021, it had been serviced quite a bit by garages, including Vauxhall. She got a friend to do oil changes , basic maintenance but also spent quite a bit of money getting bits done to get it through its MOT.
I just took it for an MOT- it passed. But is it worth spending money on a service ? Vauxhall dealership want anything from £250 - £400 for a service depending on what type.
Yet the independents are also around £250-£300 for a service also.
There’s not much lot in it unless I get a major service. Local independent garage ( with good reviews ) say online it’s £270 for a major service.
Sister in law said it needs an oil change and has never changed the anti freeze or brake fluid in three years. The levels look ok to me though.
I do a 58 mile trip to work each day to work. Shall I get a service or just get the oil changed?
Is it worth changing the anti freeze and brake fluid too? Read more
Oh yes-health check!
That’s just a quick look under the bonnet at brake fluid level, coolant and oil isn’t it?
Some garages charge £20 for that. £5 extra for a tyre pressure test if that takes your fancy.
Every driver should do this themselves-but they don’t do they?
Hi everyone
My 2010 Golf Mk6 1.6 TDI has done 100,000 miles. During that time the temperature gauge has remained rock steady, with the needle pointing straight up at 90 degrees.... Read more
Was passing Halfords and thought I'd see if they had suitable oil for it, (15W40),though I suspected it'd all be far too skinny.
They were soon closing, so I got a can-I-help-you-sir intercept....
Just noting this morning that Jaguar has removed the F-Pace from sale, meaning that, apart from a few unsold cars, they don’t have anything to sell in the UK market until 2026.
They’re having a ‘Brand Reinvention’ later this year, followed by by an all-EV Porsche Taycan type Coupé and a Bentley Bentayga sized SUV.
Other markets will continue with the existing range in the interim. Read more
It is odd, maybe disgruntled owners are more vocal which they are entitled to be given the price of the things.
They have to be, to cover the cost of all that warranty work !!
The excellent local Honda Dealership staff have recommended that I always drive in 'sport' gear mode for an overall efficient performance, rather than 'normal' or 'eco'. The exception is in town traffic. They say that technically this makes sense.
I would welcome informative comments from Tech people in the know. Thanks... Read more
As Honda is today - I wouldn't take a blind bit of notice of what they say about any facet of cars or driving.
Test drove a 2017 auto Yeti Outdoor this morning and liked it, aside from a sticky parking brake and a slight rattle at high speeds. Dealership noted this and said it'd be looked at with a fresh MOT and 6 month warranty.
It has done 97,000 miles, so is it a mistake to purchase considering it's a DSG?... Read more
Vitara is a functional no frills vehicle. 1.6 or 1.4 booster jet (petrol) in automatic in either 2 or 4 wheel drive.
We've had an issue with the big Skoda as it took over 2 days to fully charge last weekend, having done some fault finding, plugging in the car to another wall box when the ambient temperatures were above 10c it had the same slow charging issue.
Back to the dealer today to diagnose the issue and a faulty high voltage charger was diagnosed and ordered under warranty.... Read more
by the fact it came overnight from the wharehouse and fitted before lunch makes me think the part is on the shelf or at another dealer in the network as there should be some commonality for all VW parts
All VAG brands use pretty much all the same mechanical parts. Body panels are unique to each brand these days but in the past there was some cross over there as well.
If you are of a certain age and interested in all sorts of cars, including kit cars, you may well be familiar with the William Towns designed Hustler. Most were four wheeled and most were steel/grp, but a few were made out of wood and a few had six wheels.
Here is a HubNut video review (YouTube) of a six wheeled wooden version, currently for sale at Stone Cold Classics (there is a link to their website in description). ... Read more
IIRC (and I might not) they weren't actually a plywood monocoque (which would be nice from an engineering POV but rather expensive assuming good marine ply) but simply ply body over a steel frame.
I suppose still nicer than fibreglass but more maintenance required.
Stupidly I left the rear window open last night and woke up to a wet interior. I know the carpets will dry out but what about the window switch. Is there anything I can do to dry it out or is it a sealed unit? Read more
Back seat was that wet I ended up putting a small electric oil filled radiator in the car overnight together with the dehumidifier on full. Obviously did a risk assessment first. Seems to have done the job despite it being -5 overnight.
My car windows all four not operating
Checked fuse.okay is their any relay if so were located or any other advice Read more
i30 windows are a weak point of an otherwise great car. With our 2009 i30 we have had the little plastic runners inside the door card failing which results in the glass dropping. That doesn't sound like your problem which is just as well seeing that a new door card with electric window winder is about 200 pounds. You used to be able to get new runners on ebay from a guy in Turkey of all places for a trivial amount but restringing the wire inside the door card was very difficult. We are now on our third window winder failure! I will be very interested to find out what the solution to your problem is in case our car does the same.
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