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• Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - '52 1.6 SOHC Full Beam /flash not working 23 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  t replace the thermostat myself because instead of putting it next to or near the radiator they have hidden it at the back under the timing belt cover Setting off when the car does get warm is no better, set of in first then the seems to be no power, and then suddenly it surges forward, its just not smooth, I used to own a MK1 Astra and have never experienced anything like this (apart from the engine running cool, which I could do the thermo myself as it was at the top of the engine bay next to the rad ? very easy to do) I don?t like the way you have to replace the bulbs at the back by removing the entire light cluster from the back of car instead of removing the bulb holders out of the back.
• Is it cheaper ? - Buying outside UK 17 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  Therefore the advantage of RHD over LHD is sort of irrelevant as I do almost as many miles "over there" as I do here. As for depreciation. I am not too worried about that either as I tend to run my cars to very high mileages and resultantly they are never worth a lot anyway when they have completed their "tour of duty". My preference is to buy cars which are approx three years old and with up to around 50k mls on with a good service history.
• MG MG ZT (2001 - 2005) - help - mid-life crisis? 1 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Also, how much are the tyres and how long do they last? e) When should the cambelt be changed and how much does this cost? I accept that the running costs of the MG are likely to be higher than those of the Accord, but the depreciation (and initial outlay) should be less. Is the old shape car likely to be a future classic? Finally, does anyone know of an MG specialist in the Wokingham, Berkshire area who I could get in contact with?
• Most ridiculous breakdown 22 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  Get taken 200 miles in AA tow truck. Am told car has cracked engine block. Clueless and skint, so fix it myself with Polyfilla. Car runs another two years before being sold, and MBM 559G is apparently still on road. Have been member of AA ever since.
• Can't make up me mind wot car to buy 30 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  I bought in when my former Toyota Enima (sounds to me like a medical procedure) failed its MOT on something that would cost too much to repair; and the mechanic (who I know personally) said "'ere y'a mate, wot about this Volvo we've got round the back of garage?" (used as garage run-around). I have definitely had my money's'orth out of it. It's deffo time to get a different car. and I am prepared to spend up to £15000, but would rather spend no money whatsoever as I like looking at the numbers in my bank account.
• Newbies New Car Time 9 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  unfortunately my age, budget and the types of car about today in the second hand market mean i cant do that yet.. previously ive owned about 10 cars since i was 18 and passed my test. all bought for under 1k with the exception of one (3.9k). anyway.. for one reason of another i dont keep them long. more recently its been due to unforseen circumstances rather than loss of interest. a 1990 Honda Civic hatch 1.6i-16, great, cheap and sound running. broke into and attempted theft so sold rather than repair, next an auto (blah) 1991(E36) bmw 325i se. again good and cheap but terminally damaged by a malfunctioning pop up bollard in a carpark.
• BMW 335 - An afternoon out. 21 May 2007 (Forum)
  Everything is just right inside, the leather's aromatic properties overcome the trend of recent BMWs to smell gluey, I immediately felt at home in this car, I could close my eyes and know I was in a three series despite the fact I'd never driven the latest shape version. Just right. Roadwise. BMW seem to have overcome the problems they had with the run flats, despite it's 18 inch wheels, the ride was flat and smooth (definitely smoother than SWMBO's Golf), handling on some of my favourite bends was predictable and as safe as anything, there is no drama in this car, everything happened as expected. overtaking was totally effortless (as it should be) - maybe it was slightly disengaging to drive, only because it is so good, very very good.
• Living with the Seicento 8 May 2007 (Forum)
  I have decided to get the cambelt done a year early as it cant do any harm and then i wont be worrying about it ( I dont always trust manufacturers recommendations aimed at the fleet markets running costs ). All in all, Im actually very happy with it - certainly you get what you pay for, but on initial impressions, you get a fair bit more too.
• My first BMW... 24 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  I'm not at all convinced by the 119k mileage though; it has service history up to 88k in 2001 and since then, nothing. It is possible that someone very fat used it to pootle to and from the station or school run, doing 4k per year (the last owner bought it in early 2006 with 110k up), the slight wear to the steering wheel is sun damage and the driver's seat cushion wear is down to that... but I'm not convinced.
• Cyclists - psychopaths? 12 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  Last week I was run over by a cyclist. He cycled at high speed across a pedestrian crossing, onto the pavement, and then straight into me. I had a fraction of a second warning between seeing the cyclist and the impact to extend my arms in front for protection.
• second hand car problem 9 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  The dealer paid for this and got the work done, which took another week, again lending me my old car back. Throughout this time he was reasonable and helpful. I have now had the car back and up and running since the beginning of March. However, this evening the automatic gearbox appears to have given up - it wont go into first gear, and jumps straight into second, no accelleration, and the ems light is on again.
• Go back to petrol: would you? 3 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  * Two cars I otherwise like are utterly ruined by their diesel engines: the Mitsubishi Grandis and the pre-2005 (can't run to a new one) Saab 9-5 estate. The Saab has a variety of powerful, civilized petrol engines; I've not tried a petrol Grandis but would like to. * The high demand for diesels at the moment, and the usual premium on the new price, generally mean that 1-3 year old diesels cost significantly more than their petrol equivalents
• Engine failure just prior to trading in. 23 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  Off the record they suggest it's happened a few times with the big 3.0 diesel, but I can't see what I can reasonably expect Saab to contribute even if I managed to convince the central office to contribute towards the cost on the basis that Saab engines shouldn't just fail like that at such low mileage. Advice on how to approach this would be appreciated. I want to get the car back up and running so I can do the trade-in and not lose too much of the 6750 pounds trade-in value they offered me. I have already purchased outright the new car, so I suppose I could get the work done cheaply away from Saab using a reconditioned engine and then sell it privately, but frankly it's a lot of hassle that I'd rather avoid.
• vauxhall brakes 20 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  just read this on another forum Quote: For reasons that become obvious below, I would like as many as possible to do the following test and email me the results: 1/ Sit in the driver's seat with the engine running. 2/ Press moderately hard on the brake pedal - and keep the same pressure applied for up to a minute. 3/ There are only two possible results - either: (a) once the initial free play and compressibility have been taken up in the first second or so, the pedal stays where it is.
• 5k miles in Octavia 2.0TDi estate 16 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  not fab but 44mpg average for a car that is used for as many short journeys as well as long, and it is a big estate (gives 48mpg on a run) Electric memory drivers seat/mirrors linked to keyfob ? very useful when two very different sized people drive the car regularly! Auto-dipping nearside mirror when reversing ? surprisingly useful, something you don?
• Mobilo experience 15 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  {Yes, no problem with that - DD} My car 'flat-lined' yesterday, no electrics or brain function at all, except for , curiously running lights & headlights. After going through all the permutations of turning this off , back on, trying to lock unlock, different ignition key (which, btw, are electronic & need to sync with the car's ECU) so on & so forth, I decided to call the Warranty/Mobilo number for Mercedes. 12:45pm So, got through on the number quickly, no queue.
• VW Golf Mk3 poor pick-up from idling 4 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  Their quote is way outside my budget, so I?m back to DIY - I have bought and installed a secondhand throttle body/injector and the car now runs nearly perfectly. It starts first time, idles at normal speed, and can be driven. The remaining problem is that it loses power when I open the throttle quickly from idling ? if I open the throttle more slowly, it will behave.
• Vauxhall Omega ABS Light 14 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  The cars not worth much, has a minor oil leak that's going to cost more than the cars worth to repair & I intend to run it until something else costs too much to replace & then scrap it. Thanks for any pointers
• Volvo S80 battery problem 1 May 2006 (Forum)
  I dont know much about cars so any help is greatly appreciated..please keep it simple. I have a volvo S80. About 4 months ago my wife left the hazard lights on after she had run out of fuel. After a few hours of waiting for help the battery ran out. When she eventually managed to get the fuel, unbeknown to her that the batterry had ran out she tried countless times to start the engine with the result that the engine was flooded with fuel.
• Pug 406 (2.0 16v Petrol) Engine Problem 6 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  Pulled over onto the hard shoulder, got out, but it was pitch black, nothing to see, engine sounded "not right" (again, lumpy is best i can come up with). Waverd on switching off and calling the breakdown folks, but as it was still running, decided to push on up the hard shoulder to the exit, home and sleep. Upon pulling up on the driveway, i had a look under the light of next doors security device, exhaust looked smokey, but hard to say for sure, but smelt awful (hard to describe, slightly acidic?