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• Volvo Owners Insurance - beware 8 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Despite the sales pitch of 'Total peace of mind' and 'Superior service', the insurance company that Volvo use who run the scheme offer only delays, frustration and worry. When my XC70 was stolen recently it took TEN days for them to decide they wouldn't cover the loss. TEN days of worry, no car, no replacement vehicle - their derisory offer of £100 in total for car rental was not taken up.
• Cheap car hire in Ireland Xmas/New Year 3 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  At home, I find the best deals come from small independents -- there are several businesses around here which buy ex-fleet cars at 3 years old and run them for a few years, but I dunno of nay such businesses in Ireland. Anyone else know any? Any suggestions welcome!
• How long to deliver a new car? 30 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  Ultimately, the deal offered is very good (being a no fee, no deposit, maintenance included lease type deal which runs out much cheaper than my previous company car) so I suppose, apart from moaning, I can't do much about it. I'm going to do plenty of moaning! Will advise you how this progresses. In the meantime the family car is a 99T Micra!
• What car should I buy 9 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  I'n convinced its jinxed so its got to go. I'm currently back to driving my old Cavalier td whilst the Audi is in the bodyshop. I'll keep running that until I find soemthing suitable to replace it with. Main requirements are that it must do >45mpg. I do 30k miles a year and need teh economy. I don't want anythign much bigger than the cavalier.
• Philips DC012 CD Changer problems 5 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  Replace the complete system with a new head unit and changer or even just a CD/MP3 head unit. Option may be cheaper and hassle free in the long run...... ironically my '94MY Omega has the same Philips DC012 changer as standard and I've never had any problems with it over the years. TIA.
• 96 Escort Zetec 1.8LX Air Leak? 10 Jul 2005 (Forum)
  As well as the idle problem the car seems to be very hesistant when you boot it which gets worse when the car is at running temp, like its holding back a bit, i don't think its a flat spot so what i wondered was could the idle problem and the hesitation be related if there is an air leak round the inlet manifold area?
• Galant 2.0 16v engine seized 10 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  I got it recovered to a garage who were later able to start it but said that it sounded very rough. To cut to the point. If the engine has been seized once and now runs roughly is it more likely than not that the engine has been badly damaged and a replacement would be needed? I presume a replacement engine could work out rather costly so I have to decide to take the car is scrap hit or new engine hit.
• omega gearbox bizare problem 23 May 2005 (Forum)
  I have an Omega 3.0 Elite with 46K on the clock, The problem i have is the automatic gearbox. When the engine and box are cold it runs fine with perfect barely noticeably gearchanges is very quick to respond to demand on changing gear. you can manually move the selector from D to 3,2,1 whilst driving slowly and it is smooth up or down, not to mention when going to pull away its is instantly responsive, Perfect until the engine and box warn up to between 90'C and fan kicking in.
• Astra 1.4i automatic 94 starter problem 11 May 2005 (Forum)
  I can here the engine is not turning just the sound of the starter spinning and making this metal on metal rattle/scraping/banging sound. I removed the starter and did a test on it and it ran ok but it was very worn and the gear was running up and down the shaft freely so I replaced it. I now have a new starter and I have fitted this but the problem remains. So when I try to start the car this it was happerns I here a click from the starter motor when the ignition is turn on then when I try to start the engine the starter motor spins with this metal rattling scraping noise but the engine does turn over or anything and this is with a new starter.
• Flash quick sub 10k Golf GTI / 206cc? 27 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  OK I've investigated the 323 ci and I can't afford a good one and can't really afford to run it properly either - So I need something a bit flash with a bit of poke (sub 9s 0-60). Have so-far come up with Golf GTI 1.8 / 2.0 and Pug 206 2.0se cc - like the practicality of the Golf & wide image / love the fun + sportyness of the cc.
• Negotiating for an Accord 22 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  My trade-in is a 1992 J Volvo 850 2.5 20v GLT saloon. 65k miles supported by loads of MOT certificates and some service history, but being realistic not worth a great deal. Still runs very nicely, but cam belt has never been changed (!) and I feel it's getting to the stage where several expensive bits (clutch, catalyst etc) could fail in short order. Besides, I can afford to get something much nicer.
• Today's Honest John Column 18 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  In fact most body shops etc would blend the colour in across the width of a door as opposed to paint up to the shut line as advised by HJ. 2/ Re the comment about the new Passat, no reason to think it is going to be problematic however historically the first 6 months to a year's production of a new model has been the period in which minor faults occur which are corrected for later production, I doubt that there is any evidence to prove HJ's assertion that end of line models are less reliable because the manufacturer has "cut ocmponent costs", to the contrary it costs a lot to design, specify and source revised components so any minor unit cost saving would be unlikely to be justified if the model only had a year or so to run. 3/ Not down to HJ this one, the back page feature quotes ... "admits to using the old French method of bumping cars fore and aft to fit into a slot so needs something quite robust" ... therefore seems to condone this activity that only serves to damage other people's valuable property particularly if performed when driving an ML with rear mounted spare wheel and chrome bull bar as per the lady featured.
• Peugeot 205 Gentry 1.9 GTi (Auto) 1 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  So my question is: * Can I simply 'swap out' my ECU for one from a manual 1.9 GTi and expect my car to have increase performance? * Is there a limiter or something in my car that I could remove so that the engine could run to its fuller potential? * Would removing the CAT give any greater increase? If so any ideas of cost and where I should go? Thoughts/advice appreciated, as ever. Many thanks.
• Tarmac v Monobloc 31 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  Keeping it motor related, it is obviously for my cars and each week I would be washing them on the whichever surface I finally choose. Also, as it is quite a narrow driveway then the chances are that my car will be running on exactly the same "track" all the time. Would this cause sinking in one choice more than another? Any thoughts on the tarmac v monobloc debate would be appreciated.
• what car 24 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  main considerations are. i will have around £14K to spend want a bmw 320 coupe should have estate, as its for work and i have kids, i do a tip run now and again. want it to be really fast want petrol need diesel as i do around 30Kp.a. ! my heart is saying coupe. my head is saying estate or hatchback. want it to look fantastic, be a little different than all the rep mobiles.
• I've replaced my Maestro van, with.... 30 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  A proper valet/detail clean has been done, be myself, so looks showroom fresh.Service & belted, found no surprises, either. So, I'll keep you informed as to what it's like running a bargain car!! VB
• Another dead 306 engine 13 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  For 2 days before this happened I started to get a whistle on boost, kind of like an air leak noise rather than mechanical which I put down to a split in a pipe. On examination I managed to get it to run again but only on 3 and a half cylinders and a compression test revealed 425 psi on 1,2,4 and less than 100 psi on 3. The links below show the glow plug on number 3. The first 2 are of the one that was in the engine, it appears to have been hit repeatedly by something small, hammering it flat and bending it up.
• HELP -2nd insurance renewal! 25 yrs old 14 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  I rewarded myself with 2002 BMW Z3. I thought being new, and a model that holds its price, I would save myself money in the long run. After buying the car I realised my insurance was going to be massive! First year £1500 - Bought a 10 month bonus excellorater policy. Renewal has just come through at £994. I have to renew by 29th November and dont have this kind of money.
• Insurance for test drives 31 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  As long as the buyer's got comprehensive cover on his car, they ought to have 3rd party cover to drive my car, so if he runs someone over he's covered. But what about the more likely scenario of an accident causing damage to my car? I read in an earlier thread about buyers who'd struggled to obtain cover on a car they wanted to test drive.
• If I had a gun...... 29 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  It was chucking it down with rain when I left work two hours late, by which time it is impossible to see the key to lock the gate, which is necessary to stop the carpark being frequented by prostitutes and drug users It would have been nice to have a clean run home but Spurs are playing at Bolton tonight, so there's a bit of traffic about and the dual carriage way outside the Reebok is currently down to one lane in each direction, just to slow things down and there's a bus broken down on the roundabout at one end of that road, just to grind things to a total halt Once past the A6, there is usually very little traffic to impede my progress, but step forward FiestaWoman, whose speed over 3 or 4 miles of almost empty 40 and 30 mph road ranged from 25 to 18 mph.