May 2009
My TDi is very noisy when idleing and under accelaration when compared to a friends similar car. The car has done 105k with full service history. Any ideas? Read more
I'm looking at buying a dualiner as a big family wagon (thanks for the advice everyone) The question I have is, is there much difference in the running cost of the LWB -v- SWB models. I know the boot space is considerably bigger in the LWB but is won't be used for work purposes so its not an issue. I've being told there could be as much a 10-13mpg in the difference. The model is the 2.2 109bhp.
thanks Read more
thanks lads, the merc website quotes the mpg for the sport 115 as 44 mph but i guess the reality is alot lower. cheers for the advice
hi,i've just replaced the front discs/pads and the rear shoes.on my xsara 1.4i (w 2000)i went to my local motor factor for DOT 4 brake fluid,to 'bleed' the brakes,but on the back it said certain citroen cars should NOT use dot 4.i asked the shop assistant and he said i should use LMH+.Is this right?i've never heard of this before,i don't want to use this 'fluid' in case it knackers the brake system.i've even looked in my haynes manual,but can't seem to find it.any help would be much appreciated. Read more
A case of the service attended accused of 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing'
As has been mentioned the Xsara brakes system is standard and uses either dot4.0 or dot5.1. But not dot5.0.
The green fluid with which the attended is talking about is LHM+ for the hydropnumatic Citroens of which the Xsara is not.
After weeks of consideration and a couple of test drives the Mrs and I are back from a head to head test drive of the two cars.
Before the test the Fiat was the favourite. Cute looking, stylish, well equipped, perky and "fun" - the Mrs was almost ready to buy one without driving it.
After the test drive it got a thumbs down. She is fairly small and I am fairly tall - the seat was too high for her and she had to "reach down" to get the handbrake while I had no headroom in the passenger seat. What was most odd was the size of the seat squab meant that it was always pushing the back of her calves as she used the brake and clutch peddle. She was struggling to drive it anything like smoothly and felt claustrophobic, finding the retro dash up close was not so nice. The 500 was noisier, particularly transmission noise and the ride was fidgety.
The i10 was quieter and enjoyed a better ride. It had much more space and the interior is pleasantly styled. The plastic steering wheel in the base model was nasty and has forced a climb to the top spec model and the leather wheel - however this brings a host of goodies missing even from my new A3 sport like heated seats and sunroof. It is also much cheaper than the Fiat, but gains two doors and more boot space and has two years more warranty. I doubt it will withstand depreciation as well however. Delivery is suggested as mid June - which is quicker than I expected.
It will be sad to see our Mazda 323 go - 6 1/2 years and 60k miles of good service but the suspect CAT, non functioning boot, rusting wheel arch and numerous scrapes mean it is worth more as a £2k scrapper than a cheap and simple runaround. Read more
Good choice I'd say - putting myself in your buying/use criteria 'shoes'. Also, non-metallic red is a good colour - bright & cheerful, suits the slightly cheeky nature of the car, with the advantage of being easier to repair/match in the event; and of course, cheaper too!
The heated seats will be a real boon - I didn't rate such things once upon a time, but the near instant comfort & ease they provide on chilly mornings can't be underestimated. At least 5 years of totally worry-free motoring ahead for you.
When I tried a FIAT 500, apart from the initial blow-your-socks-off looks, the ride thing & slightly strained engine note did concern me - latterly even the looks begin to look a bit cheesy & cliched too.
We like to go off road cycling. If not every weekend certainly every other one. About three or four years ago I bought a cheapo set of roof bars and three bike racks off t'interweb for a total princely sum of something like £80. They fit a treat on the roof of my Mondeo diesel estate. They have never failed on weekend use and have even managed to haul the bikes down to the Med a few times. They were not any brand I've ever heard of and to be honest I can't remember what they were called. Anyway, they work and have never let me or our slightly ridiculously expensive bikes down.
I was idly browsing about the market for these things and noticed that you can get very fancy ones and expensive ones these days, ones that lift your bike up for you and so on if you are prepared to invest small fortunes in them. I also note that you can get "Aero" versions which are allegedly, and may well be, more economical on fuel.
Now, admittedly, the mpg of my Mondy drops dramatically from the mid 40s to the low 30s when the three bikes are on the roof, especially if motorways are involved although the effect is much less marked when pottering around the typically country lanes we seem to find ourselves on when seeking out new places to get cold, tired and muddy.
Thing is though, I can't imagine that the cost of these things could be even vaguely re-couped in fuel savings given that no matter what shape or weight your roof kit is the biggest drag must be coming from the bikes which are attached to them.
Anyone tried these posh ones and do they make any difference ?
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what about bike holders that fit onto the boot lid? surely the aerodynamics would be much better as the cross section of the car covers them?
I know that this has come up in previous threads but I'm not sure if a definite answer was posted.
I have just renewed my taxed disc online (this is about 2 weeks early), is it legal to display this disc before the old one has run out? If not, then with all of the online/radio/TV encouragement to renew I would have thought that they would have included some kind of bold warning not to display it until the old one has expired. Read more
I might have told this story on here before and if I have I apologise. Some years ago my Galaxy which was then only a few months old was broken into in Manchester. Some of my stuff was taken and a window smashed. Anyway, I called the police who were not very interested and didn't even attend the scene despite my having lost some valuables but there you go. That's not the point of my ramble.
Anyway, the window was fixed and I carried on using the car. A few weeks later, I had to go to Northern Ireland via Stranraer / Belfast. Because I carry large suspicious looking bags I usually attract the attention of security checks at such places. I was checked by the harbour police on the way in to Belfast and again on my disembarcation at Stranraer on the way back. About a week after that while washing the car I noticed for the first time that the tax disc was missing. It suddenly came to me that I had been driving around without a tax disc for a couple of montths as it must have been stolen at the time of the break in. I hadn't noticed. No traffic warden had noticed despite the car having been reguarly parked in many different locations in various towns and cities and furthermore, two sets of security concious harbour police hadn't noticed.
Of course I immediately arranged a replacement disc but it struck me then that obviously nobody much cared about it.
I am interested in recovering a motorbike I once owned from new.
How do I start to trace that vehicle please? Read more
My old bike is still taxed - D registered. Had to sell it in 1972 or thereabouts. Student loans hadn't been invented, no parental financial assistance. I couldn't afford a new chain and set of tyres. Now quite rare as there were few Norton ES2 Mk 2 made before the gates were shut - it was a rebadge of a Matchless 500 single - so despised by some!
Some may recall that towards the end of August start of September 2008 (looking at the receipt for the purchase date) I was twittering on in here in another thread (not even sure if I started it too!) about what tyres to fit to my vehicle and eventually I went with the Riken made by Michelin.
I cannot find that thread though.
Within the context of that thread a few of you asked me to give feed back on how that Riken tyre progressed, wear, handling etc., over the coming months.
9 months and 11k later, rear axle, inflated to 28 to 35psi (depending on loading) it still has 6.68mm of sound tread across the face of the tyre and it is doing just fine - so fine I procured a 2nd Riken replacement for another tyre that had less than 2.3mm of tread left today and paired them up on the rear axle.
No problems with wear and I do not 'hang around' when it comes to making safe progress on the roads. Not once have I had any issues with loss of grip.
Tyre has been used urban, rural (dirt tracks Scotland!) off road (I do a lot of fishing) and motorways. Read more
Yes DD - that one!
Went back to ATS as they bettered the price by £10.00 on the same make, size & type of tyre they sold me last year and beat all competition in my area by several pounds too.
Its new tyre time for my focus. 2 new rears are needed
it seems conti premium2 are very good for my car and so is the goodyear excellence but has anyone had any experience of these tires on a focus or any recommendations on what to buy my tyre size is 205/55/16/v
i have currently michelin premacy hp on the car at the moment and would ideally like less road noise and comfort , sporting performance is not required but i would like the best tyre available
any thoughts
Tony Read more
I used Avon ZV5s on the front of a Focus, they were 205/55/15 and performed very well. Best thing was they were only £45 each from my local tyre fitters.
Hi all, i need some help on this.... My citroen xsara 2.0 hdi 110 is giving me some odd problems,
When i am driving, the battery light will start flashing/ beeping when the car first hits 2500 rpm, then it flashes/beeps almost constantly while the engine is revving above 1800 rpm (approx). I can 'ease' the situation by putting the fan on maximum in the cockpit, and putting headlights on. Strangely enough, the fan goes off, and the lights dip when the battery light comes on??? I drive 80 miles a day, and have no starting problems, so i assume the battery and alternator are ok.
The other problem is the boot switch, when i unlock the car with key fob, the boot switch activates, i press boot release button 10 times and am ok for my journey, if i just open and close boot, it opens when i start car, please point me in the right direction, it's driving me mad,
Thanks
Gareth
{post amended to remove all the SHOUTING!} Read more
Matt, You are a legend!
read your thread yesterday at 5.00pm, by 5.20 I was done, the boot now opens when I say, not when I open door, at some point I will change switch, but that's only if I feel the need to, it still opens on the key-fob.
Thanks a million for your help
Gareth
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My ole Brother has got this thing - I won't call it a car but it's an L reg 2 ltr diesel Corolla
... Now, I've owned and driven (in 'The Trade') many vehicles of every shape & discription but - I've never come across a 'thing' like his Toyota diesel ... no kidding, its soooooooooooo bad I'd rather walk!
I reckon the reason is that he bought it from a cut n' shut merchant (another relative!) and the absolutely incredible noise and vibration is down to the engine mountings in some way, in fact I'd put £££ on it.