August 2006
Hi all,
I had a new Cat Converter installed a month ago....recently whilst driving I'm getting a droning sound coming from under the car, not speed related but around 2000rpm...could it be a badly re-assembled exhaust system once the cat's been installed (the cat is right in the centre of the car). If its not that any ideas what else it could be...??
Cheers
Richard Read more
I'm thinking of getting an older car that's, reliable, comfortable/fast to drive and a cut above the norm. The models that stand out are the Mercedes 190E 2.6i and the BMW 325i E30. Which would others recommend or is there an alternative?
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P.P.S. Online service manuals:
mb.braingears.com/
You might remember my post in the technical section about broken springs on a P-reg Astra. Well, it turns out that they were broken (oops), but we took the car into our local independent who changed them at substantially less than the 200 pounds each quoted by the Vaux. dealer.
While it was in, the garage found that the oil cooler was leaking (we knew it had an oil leak soon after buying it, but just topped it up until it could be fitted into the garage), and replaced that too with our permission.
The car was bought from a dealer in the Leeds area two months ago for 1250 pounds. I test drove it and it seemed fine, and I didn't spot the oil leak as you can't spot the source till it's on a ramp. It had a full MOT put on it when we bought it. The car was taken straight down to Devon, you see, so we wouldn't have been able to get it back up for them to fix it anyway.
The combined work cost nearly 800 pounds, and I was wondering if it's worth dropping into the dealer we bought it from to see if they'd be prepared to make a contribution. If they refused, would it be worthing bringing a case in the small claims court, or is it "bought as seen"? We have a formal invoice for it the car (ie, it wasn't bought for cash but on a credit card).
Ta very much!
David. Read more
When I bought the Mondeo (from a "car supermarket" in the South) the things (two biggish, four minor) I asked to be sorted, which I was assured would be picked up and corrected in the "101 point check" that the car had not at the time been through, had been completely ignored.
Got some of them done the next day (with a courtesy car provided), and gave up on the rest when they just stopped answering my phone calls or e-mails.
Didn't have the time or inclination to pursue it.
This place was a 50 mile trek from my house, and I totally agree about buying a car locally in future. As it turns out, 14 months later the car has been great, but don't ever believe dealers when they tell you they'll sort problems out. In future I will ask for money off and the car "as is".
Cheers
DP
There's lot of news today about the latest attempt at a viable electric car. This one is called the Tesla Roadster:
tinyurl.com/m6v3l
tinyurl.com/hmokw
To summarise, it has a range of 250 miles (when new), does 0-60 in four seconds and can hit 130mph. It's made by Lotus (on behalf of the American company that invented it) here in the UK, in Norfolk. It will sell in the US for $100,000 a car. Obviously, costs could come down considerably if mass marketed.
Sounds great on paper doesn't it? They claim a life span of 125,000 miles before the batteries are worn out. Not so bad, eh?
However, when you do the maths it doesn't make any sense to me at all. The ultimate life of 125,000 miles is based on the typical 500 charge cycles multiplied by the 250 mile range, i.e. they have assumed you will always do the maximum range before re-charging, never a partial charge.
In the real world, this isn't going to happen, and in any case, isn't 500 charge cycles less than 2 years of daily use before the battery is worn out?
No doubt, like the lithium-ion batteries in mobiles phones and laptops, the battery range is likely to diminish over time, such that the actual range could be much less than 250 miles towards the end of the cars life.
Quote:
"Li-Ion batteries lose their capacity with every charge/discharge cycle. The slope is such that after about 100 charges the effective capacity is reduced to about 75%-85% of the original."
It doesn't even help if you don't use the car much:
"Li-Ion batteries stored for any time irreversibly lose capacity. The clock starts from the time the cell is made, and runs whether the battery is used or not. It loses approximately 10%/year."
From:
tinyurl.com/ms8fa
That's a loss of 25 miles a year on range, even without taking charge cycle degradation into account...
So, is it back to the drawing board, or has the internal combustion engine finally met its match? Is this technology likely to remain a play thing for the rich few or will it make it into our daily commute one day in the form of a Tesla Focus or a Tesla 3-series?
Opinions please... Read more
>>Whatever the technology, it will still be taxed here.>>
Energy is already taxed - just another lump sum for a certain Scottish gentleman.
Got two kids to look after now....
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
I am disillusioned in my current job, been for an interview for a job that has better hours but £6k less pay. However it comes with a company car, either a Focus or Astra.
Now I have never had a company car so unsure of rules so if anyone has any links, info etc then I would appreciate it. I asked at the interview what the company "rules" were on the car and was told that all business mileage is covered and you would pay for any private mileage, but he didn't say what the payment was.
I am thinking, ok, £6k less, but Gordon Brown would take £1.5k of that anyway. It probably costs me about £1k on fuel to get to work so as a gross amount, say rough £1.25k on my salary. That doesn't include wear and tear, servicing, ins etc.
But I am totally ignorant to how much it would "cost" me to have a company car. Is there a standard cost per mile for personal use? Does "creative bookeeping" restrict personal miles?
Any info gratefully received, I am off to work now but will try and search the forum whenever I can to see if there are any similar threads.
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Many thanks for all your help and replies. Got a phone call today to say that I had not been successful with the interview so at this stage I do not need to worry about company car implications. However I now have a better understanding of what is involved if any futire jobs include a company car.
On the bright side, it means I don't need to contemplate selling my vrS!
Helping a friend look for a used Charade, we came across a 04 plate Black EL. To the best of my knowledge Black coloured Charades were only introduced earlier this year or am I mistaken. Any enlightenment would be gratefully appreiated.
John Read more
My BIL is on his fourth replacement rear shock absorber on a 2 year old Clio Renaultsport 182.
The obvious problem is that the shock absorbers actually bottom out (before the springs) at well below the fully laden weight - thus knackering themselves and allowing no rear suspension travel. After a recent holiday he weighed the contents and occupants just to make sure.
Garage will not admit a design fault , but just replace bits, this seems a ridiculous situation.
Anyone else come across the problem?
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I wasna fu but just had plenty. Read more
Sounds like wrong part is fitted. Measure distance between shock mounting point centres (call it A) - then measure bump-stop gap (B). Calculate A-B - this should be the length of the shock when fully compressed (to within a few mm). Check out some after-market shocks to see if they offer a shorter compressed length.
I have just had my local multi frachise garage prosecuted for wrongfully failing my cars mot.When i said to the vosa chap about next years mot and saying ill take it to such and such he then informed me that they had been prosecuted lately aswell.Im just wondering if anybody knows of any way to check a garages track record online as it has really made me lose faith in mot testing stations honesty.Worse part is i justed assumed as this garage was a main dealer they would be about the fairest place to go without being conned.If it wasnt for the stupid amount of money they wanted to put the car right i would never have taken it to a small garage to see how much they would charge to put the car right. Ofcourse on inspection the mot tester( had it looked at somewhere else to confirm) said there was nothing wrong with it and to complain to vosa,so i did.The vosa chap said they get points awarded them and if they reach a certain amount they lose there license to mot.So as stated above really,is there anyway to check if garages have points against them.
Cheers Read more
I searched beforhand for an mot only test station( council,bus,fire service and ambulance stations) and there are none in my area. There used to be a couple of places years ago and thats how i used to get my mots. These now seem few and far between. If someone can tell me of any mot only stations in south lincolnshire you can have a thousand thank yous.
is this motor any good? Read more
A farmer mate of the brothers drove a diesel Amazon for a while.
The brother asked him why he always but always had the sheep trailer on behind.
Simple answer, It made NO difference to the fuel economy.
About 20mpg with trailer OR without trailer, and bytimes he needed the trailer.
so he simply kept it hooked on.
But since he was doing a 50 mile round trip twice a day the novelty soon wore off.
and the Amazon moved on to pastures fresh.
A friend is considering buying from a small, Kent-based dealer, a 2002 Skoda Octavia Superb 4X4 1.8T hatchback with 36,000 miles on it. He isn't a car person but I haven't really got time at the moment to go and drive it with him.
Apart from what is said in the car-by-car breakdown, does anyone have any experience of this model? Is the 4X4 system liable to cause trouble or noise? And what should my friend look for or ask about, apart from recalls and so forth? The car is listed at £6.7K, and his knackered but road-legal and fairly well-maintained Peugeot 309, virtually worthless now, is available for PE if the dealer will take it.
He is going to see the car tomorrow so quick response would be helpful if anyone has anything to say. Read more
My friend liked the car and decided to buy it. He said it was refined and drove well, but the thing that swayed him was the style of the dealer, which dealt Skodas long before the VW takeover and is a respectable family business. No pressure to buy, simply the statement that the dealer wants happy customers who only come in for routine servicing and to buy new cars.The dealer offered a couple of hundred in PX for the old car and promised to sort out an exhaust rattle and replace the cambelt (34,000 miles early) before he collects the Skoda.
Thank you for useful inputs.
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Just been out to the car jacked it up (handy as its the first time ive done that...) and yes there is friction on the driver side rear !!
Anyone knows the costs to get it repaired ??
Thanks
Richard