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• BMW 5 series 1990 E34 3 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  Bearing in mind I don't drive a great deal of miles, high mileage and low miles per gallon aren't a great concern. One of things that has appeared on the radar in recent weeks is a couple of old 520's. These seem nice enough (for the age - 1990, 125K miles). My only concern is the cost of parts. I realise that if I was crazy and took it to a BMW garage it would cost an arm and a leg, and that it is likely to cost more than a ford fiesta to run.
• Intriguing Longbridge observation 26 Jul 2005 (Forum)
  However, there's an old saying about no smoke without fire... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
• Triumph Stag - difficult to start hot 12 May 2005 (Forum)
  However, I had it serviced a while back and asked for the carbs to be tuned/balanced. This car has a pair of Zenith Stromberg 175 CD-2's. Since then, it's been difficult to restart when hot. The car smells gassy at those times too. Only way to get it going is to hold the throttle wide open when cranking. I don't trust the crowd that serviced it, so rather than bring the car back to them I took it to a pro - while he knows carbs, he was unable to get the CO2 etc down, they were very high.
• Fiesta MK4 trade in for 323ci 20 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  Hi, Some of you may remember my tales of woe regarding my mark 4 X-reg (2000) Fiesta with 57k and a noisy engine - it now uses about a litre of oil every 4-500 miles! I have had it from new and it has full S/H although was starved of oil once and is consequently now in need of new engine. It has a 2-3 minor dents. Having recently got a pay rise I am considering treating myself to a 4-5 year old BMW 323ci coupe which I have yearned after for many years, and was wondering if you guys had any tips (hopefully not too sarcastic!)
• Good old days? 24 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  I'm just leafing through some old booklets of Autocar road tests from the early 1970's. The test data make an interesting comparison to present day figures. Ford Escort 1300 2-door. 96 mph max, 28 mpg. Hillman Avenger 1500 91 mph max, 28 mpg. Renault 6-1100 79 mph max, 34 mpg.
• Morons. 16 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  We've all seen video clips of drivers doing stupid things haven't we - well yesterday on the nearby bypass we came across a guy driving along with what looked like the best part of a 3m length of timber (approx. 2x2) protruding diagonally from his front o/s window. The car's tailgate was wide open and unsecured and inside the boot space were a number of sheets of what looked like plywood or mdf precariously resting on the top of the rear seats and partially sticking out of the back.
• X5 Depreciation 27 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  My wife has set her heart of on a used X5, dealer cars are heading into low 20's for petrol 2001 model (not loaded with satnav stuff), are there any view of whether depreciation from this point on is going to be better or worse than say an equivalent 5 series estate, will it retain its image and be a vehicle that people reach for and hence keep prices firm or are the petrols unwanted by used buyers who pay the extra for a 3.0d.
• 1997 Fiesta LX Diesel 1.8 Endura 3 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  Guys, I bought a 1.8 Fiesta LX Diesel in the summer, 55k on the clock which appears genuine given S/H & MOT's. I have noticed a few things crop up and wondered if you could shed some light on it for me and advise the best course of action etc... 1. Carpet in the driver side appears damp/wet. - How/Where do I look to get this sorted, probably a common fault. 2.
• Bizarre speeding excuses 3 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  id=25 1 I had passed out after seeing flashing lights, which I believed to be UFOs in the distance. The flash of the camera brought me round from my trance. 2 I was in the airport?s flight path and I believe the camera was triggered by a jet overhead, not my car 3 I had a severe bout of diarrhoea and had to speed to a public toilet 4 There was a strong wind behind my car which pushed me over the limit 5 My friend had just chopped his fingers off and I was rushing the fingers to hospital 6 The vibrations from the surfboard I had on the roof rack set off the camera 7 I had to rush my dying hamster to the vets 8 A violent sneeze caused a chain reaction where my foot pushed down harder on the accelerator 9 There was a suspected case of foot and mouth and I had to rush to see the cow concerned 10 The only way I could demonstrate my faulty clutch was to accelerate madly.
• Too Porky to Park 26 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  Interesting article in today`s Sunday Times highlighting the fact that 33% of all car models are too wide to fit into some on-street parking bays. The minimum legal width as set out in the Traffic Signs Regulations Act 2003 is 180 cms.
• New Headlights 6 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  What are your opinions on the bulbs I should use? I don't want the car looking like a boy racer's mode of transport (i.e. blue l.e.d.'s in the headlights) but having read some things, white (or at least brighter bulbs) seem to be great at night. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should it matter, the car is a '99 Focus. -- Adam
• low/zero depreciation 1 Aug 2004 (Forum)
  It's difficult to work out from book/forecourt prices as most models discussed have huge (and expensive) options lists, so actual price paid is difficult to assess. Ultimate goal (as is everyone?s) would be to change car every 6 months (9,000 miles) with zero depreciation. Common sense says it's impossible, but with 2 year waiting lists on some cars it may be possible in certain cases. Interesting that there seems to be a familiar theme with these cars - German convertibles.
• Bleeding brakes on a Classic Mini 22 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Further pipe was replaced by someone else and brakes supposedly bleed again but 5 months of sitting in the garage they seem to be spongy again. It?s a 1980 Mini with drums at the rear and disks at the front.
• Passat 2001 Creaking Steering 26 May 2004 (Forum)
  Does this seem like the problems you had or typical of wishbone/balljoint wear? What should I be looking at replacing? just the wishbone(s)or balljoints as well? Where can I get the bits Eurocarpart and GSF dont list them on their sites, any ideas and cost? Would a worn drive belt for the PAS cause this? Should I stop driving it? What will happen worst case if say I drive 500 miles this weekend?
• Seethe...! Parking Extortion.. 27 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  He phoned the number on the notice, and went to the pound, where he had to pay £200 for the release of the car (more than two days income) He?s writing to complain to the council about the lack of visible warnings, and will probably send a copy of the letter to Ken Livingstone. Has anyone in the BR had a similar experience, if so, what are his chances of a result?
• Great News - end to rip off services! 20 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  Therefore, if you buy as VW, you can have it serviced outside the VW network and still keep the warranty. This could save motorists £'s.. and is surely good for the industry. However, I guess owners will have to take a few garages to court to get any joy. Any thoughts on this and future impacts of the legislation. Or has anyone encountered any problems ?
• Rover KV6 2.5 29 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  It has now done 84,500 on tghe new engine, reasonably without fault. It seems that there are still KV6's in the current 75, and having seen recently a TV programme highlighting the KV engine problems that Rover are still encountering makes me wonder whether Rover have resolved the KV6 problems. It seems impossible to get a definitive answer from my local Rover dealers.
• astra brake light problem 23 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  Can anyone suggest a solution to my problem with the brake lights on my son's 1.6 P reg Astra premier, Im minding the car for him whilst he's working away, It,s not getting a lot of running coupled with me being away on holiday, when I came back and tried to start It the battery was'nt up to the job, now normally I would just put the jump leads on it but I'd had this gadget in the boot for ages unused that works by transfering power via the cigar lighter sockets, the Idea is to just plug in and wait for enough power to flow into the duff battery, anyway It did'nt work and so resorted to the trusty jump leads, the problem now is that the brake lights won't go out as soon as the ignition is turned on, my own theory is that it may have blown a diode allowing power to flow from another source and feed the brake lights, but where are they located and what do they look like?
• Spurious VW leak 9 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  Could it be an AC coolant leak? I'm quite unaware of the possibilities so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx. S. PS My temp gauge has not been working for a while now, still waiting for VW to check it out and let me know what the problem is. I don't know if this relates to the wet patch either.
• New XType Diesel Has Broken Down 29 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  I received my New XType SE Diesel on the 6th September 2003(Earlier than the launch date of 10th September) The engine is the same as that fitted to my Ford Mondeo TDCI Zetec S.(Part Exchanged for the Jaguar) The timing cover even has a Ford Stamp on it. The car has just Broken Down after 8 Days and 297 miles. The fault is the same as what happens with the Mondeo TDCI and my own Mondeo TDCI.