Showing results in Forum [Show all channels]
Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first
-
New car needed for a friend - advice ple 31 Oct 2005 (Forum)
The one that he's most interested in though is a Saab 9000 2.0 Turbo CSE. It's a 1993 model with supposedly a full history, new brakes, and a recent Turbo. It's got 8 months test but no tax and is up for £500 no offers. Obviously we're aware that the tax takes the car up to nearly £600. I've read the CBC breakdown and it seems reasonably favourable, but there wasn't much mention of the 2.0 Turbo model, which I suppose is a good thing in a way! -
Peugeot 205 2 Jun 2005 (Forum)
Normally I would take my Mégane dCi but it's got a slow puncture at the moment and I didn't want to risk it on the motorway. SWMBO was using her Toyota and the VW is in the barn on axle stands having some new brake disks fitted. I had no choice but to use the old 205. I was amazed at how good these old 205's still are. By modern standards the 1.8 engine is modest in power output, there being no turbo on this model. -
Buying mk4 VW Golf 30 Apr 2005 (Forum)
So, my questions are: How comfy is the Golf for a six foot tall (Maybe just over) person? (My knees touch the steering wheel in Fiesta when I brake. How adjustable is the seat? How much is a T reg 1.6, with 100,000 miles worth? Apparently it's still on the original timing belt, so that'll be due up. Are there any other horrendous costs? I don't have a spec for it unfortunately, but I know it has air con - would it have r/c/l and other toys? -
Coy parts websites 23 Jan 2005 (Forum)
Just what is it about the motor trade that makes everyone so coy about their prices, is it just historical or are they all really that worried that someone might undercut them by a pound or so on a gearbox or brake disc? It really is about time some of them were a little more up-front about this, after all this internet thing has been around for a while now and people like to shop using it. Is it just some great plot to try and stop us shopping around, because if it is I've got news for the motor trade, it doesn't. -
Kerbing damage - a pity really 2 Nov 2004 (Forum)
(Word of warning, don't do this at 50mph - especially if the person loves their car - I could swear I saw a tear drop) Anyway - because we were on a straight, we decided to do a cursory test which basically was taking it up to about 65 - no wheel shake or anything like that. Braking hard, nothing. Even took a country road back and he said there were no problems whatsoever. My question is, if all of those checks turned out alright, has he been lucky and gotten away with just kerbing the alloy (I've pointed him to a place which did a cracking job on mine for 30 quid)? -
Insurance for test drives 31 Oct 2004 (Forum)
I'm particularly paranoid about this, because it's a very nice car (4 yr old 5 series) that might attract, how shall I put it, interest of the wrong kind. Also it's an automatic, and I've read all the warnings about left foot braking and accidents resulting from people being unfamilar with autos. But I don't want to put off serious punters. Any constructive suggestions greatly appreciated! -
Wrong place, wrong time! 23 Oct 2004 (Forum)
Sadly the MGF driver wasn't watching straight ahead otherwise he would have seen the Range-Rover waiting to join the main road at the next junction, sees it too late a ploughs straight into the side of the R-R with a squeal of brakes and a lot of blue smoke. Policeman in front shakes his head quite a bit more, puts on his blue lights a pulls over, probably already licking his pencil. I've seen the MGF do this little trick several times before, today he choose exactly the wrong time to get it badly wrong, or from my point of view exactly the right time and with exactly the right witness! -
Accident (again) 2 Feb 2004 (Forum)
Three Asian got out and immediately accused me I lurked back towards them. I know I cannot lurk backwards because my car is an auto in D and I was sitting on the brakes to stop is it rolling forward. They did not want to give me details, they were aggressive and one of them sworn and verbally assaulted me. I called 999 as I was scared and locked myself and my friend in the car. -
How to reduce motoring stress... 24 Dec 2003 (Forum)
You don't need to sit in the outside or middle lane if lanes 2 and/or 1 are empty. 2.Lights - if its dark or raining , then use them.Check ALL of them each week (including your brake lights)to see that they actually work! Fog lights are only to be used when visibility is very poor i.e. in fog. Switch them off when its clear again.Also,that little blue light on your dash means your lights are on main beam - are you in traffic? -
The Expected Life of a Punto 1 Dec 2003 (Forum)
So an additional collar was required and they had to get one of those. We never got our old exhaust back - I wonder why? We now need rear brake shoes for the forth coming MOT, where do we get these from and will they fit? Bearing in mind the inevitable head gasket or cracked cylinder head which will happen any time from now or the multitude of other things that plague Puntos, when is the best time to get rid of it and get a good make of car. -
Q Car 2 Nov 2003 (Forum)
Three cars, all with drivers behaving themselves, gently running up to a roundabout on an NSL A road. Nice, shiny, 03 reg BMW Coupe 330i, leading a filthy dirty, knocked and banged about, brake-dust-blackened alloys, apparently povert spec, SAAB 9000 on a G plate, and then me. The other side of the roundabout, the road opens up in to what is effectively a runway. What happens next? The BMW squats down at the rear, and takes off like a missile. -
Renault 19 Problem 13 Sep 2003 (Forum)
The situation 3 weeks later is this, lets say I\'m on the motor way doing 70 mph, if I dip the clutch the engine dies, (the rev counter drops like a stone), rengage the clutch and were up and running straight away. Normal commuting requires braking and very precise throttle control with the same foot, at the same time. First off I tried blowing air through all the jets in the carb, no effect. Second attempt was fitting a new in line fuel filter, no effect, (there was no dirt visible in the old filter). -
Xantia Problems and Servicing 4 Sep 2003 (Forum)
As a side issue I took it for its 40,000mile service in March this year and it cost me a whopping £650 and that was after the Bristol Street Motor 12 month warranty deducted £500 and gave me a 10% discount on everything else. All sorts of things had to be replaced - front brakes, spheres, tracking you name it - it had to be done and it is only 6 years old! Can I expect future servicing to be this expensive? It had a complete service history as well! (Which Citroen have now lost!) -
Should I replace shocks or not.... 13 Apr 2003 (Forum)
Even if the answer is YES, the car has done 98K on the original set of shocks and I'm sure would benefit from a new set of shocks and bushes. My dilemma is - The car feels very secure under heavy acceleration and braking and is "OK" under cornering - I've had the car less than 10K so don't know any better and I haven't driven any other Omegas so it's difficult to compare. All 4 tyres are new and seem to be wearing evenly, though I've done less than 5K on them and again it's early days to check for wear. -
Turning a British Car into a French Car 10 Apr 2003 (Forum)
I have just had a Controle Technique (MOT) on my VW Passat CDTDI (which is British) in order to get new French licence plates as I now live in France full time. However, at the MOT the passat failed on hand brake (not serious), but also because the head lights point the wrong way (the lens is for British cars which drive on the left). The MOT chap told me to get new lenses (made in Europe, set for driving on the right) or new lights in total. -
Bang! 24 Mar 2003 (Forum)
And my forward visibility disappeared. The bonnet had flipped up and smashed into the windscreen. Braked hard, hazards on, located verge by looking out of side window. Aren't I lucky that: 1. It was a straight, wide piece of road. 2. There was nothing immediately behind me. 3. It didn't happen ten seconds later when I would have been alongside a 38 tonne artic. 4. -
New Mondeo Front Fogs and other bits 16 Mar 2003 (Forum)
On another note, i was pleasantly surprised to find that the wiring and bulb holders are already in place for the front footwell lights which just needed a 5W wedge bulb each - sorted! Finally anyone else got a new shape with a distorted high level brake light surround? I am told it is standard for the plastic to warp out of shape and it's not covered on Ford Direct warranty. It causes the high level to light up the whole rear window and parcel shelf at night and is a nuisance on unlit roads especially. -
This weeks IAM training. 2 Mar 2003 (Forum)
. - I do this 'cos life's too short to change gears all the time - I try and leave it in a high gear all the way round - this often means going in too fast and therefore sometimes braking mid corner if something unexpected occurs. Laziness really. After a few hours in the saddle constantly keeping the bike in it's power band is too tiring. (In fact the real problem here is gear work not cornering.) 3) Forward observation. -
Ford servicing question 1 Dec 2002 (Forum)
I have new Ford Ka and it is very nice. After 3 months it was recalled due to a potential brake failure problem. I booked it in for a recall service, and come the day duly took the car in. The bloke at the desk in the garage denied any knowledge of my having booked the car in for a recall service and told me they could not do it. -
Evil automobile 12 Aug 2002 (Forum)
The car is a 1966 Dodge Charger 383, formerly a well known drag racer and still fitted with all the tuning bits (although the nitrous injection system is long gone). 425 bhp at the flywheel, left hand drive, sloppy power steering, leaf rear springs and drum brakes. Also incredibly valuable and my boss's pride and joy. When I collected it I was told it was 'a bit tricky to start when hot', which turned out to be an understatement. I had to stop for petrol twice (it only does 10-12 mpg) and both times I almost ran the battery flat trying to get the old bitch to fire up again.