Any Car mechanic 'bods' out there ?

Mike_St_Helens

rog2 wrote:

If you don't do that many miles, Mike it's probably not worth bothering with. No car is at its most economic on short runs - my wife's car (318i) gives around 26 mpg, but when I take it up the motorway it's nearer 40 mpg.
And, of course there's the clbcard points - I really notice the difference since my car was repo'd - last week my statement arrived and I was 20 points short of getting any vouchers. :mad: :mad:

Damn them pesky repo men.

Sorry to hear that tho Rog... They didnt waste much time though did they !

rog2

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

Damn them pesky repo men.

Sorry to hear that tho Rog... They didnt waste much time though did they !

Mike - they took my car back in February :mad: :mad: At that time I was totally unaware of my rights, tried to negociate with finance company (Black Horse) who tied me up in knots - I had been throwing every penny at that loan and, when I could no longer pay - they marched in and repo'd. :mad: :mad:
That was before I knew of this site, and it was, possibly one of the biggest factors in my bankruptcy as I needed to be anywhere in the Uk at a moment's notice.
I suppose I could say that if I knew then what I know now, but hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing.:rolleyes:
It WON'T happen again though. :beer:

cosworthblue

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

Hi all..

Im after a bit of advice.. I cant really take the car back to the garage or go to another as ill either get charged or laughed at and there is something i need to ask about my car ..

I have a frontera, 2L. It takes around £70 to fill the tank.. Im only getting around 400 miles out of it.. Is this right. Thing is Ive never had such a big car so I dont know if its normal.. Im used to getting 350 miles for £30 in the Clio !!

Any help would be great.. also if it is right, tips on reducing this would be good too !!

Mike :beer:

hi their i am nigel and i see that u are asking about the mileage u r getting on ur car it is about right for that car as u have a 2lt it is under powered so u have to rev it a bit more than u should. plus the this will use a bit more fuel than usaual and it is a4x4 and they do use more fuel than ur clio and do not for get ur clio was lighter and u is very good on fuel.plus the frontera is a heavy 4x4 car.all so find out when it was last serviced.and check when the cam belt was changed as this is a must as they can cost u if they snap.any info u want u can ring me on 07895044129 any time before 22.00 at night.or ring in the day time.from nigel.will be glad to help u.

livinginhope

Morning Mike,hope you had a good birthday

I don't think you have anything to worry about with the car,I have the diesel version and get about 400 miles until the light comes on.On a motorway trip I get 650 miles from the tank,but on the country roads around here and in town it's a lot less.

Worth checking for fuel leaks though as we have had a few problems with corroded/perished fuel pipes.

LIH

Mike_St_Helens

livinginhope wrote:

Morning Mike,hope you had a good birthday

I don't think you have anything to worry about with the car,I have the diesel version and get about 400 miles until the light comes on.On a motorway trip I get 650 miles from the tank,but on the country roads around here and in town it's a lot less.

Worth checking for fuel leaks though as we have had a few problems with corroded/perished fuel pipes.

LIH

Cool... Thanks LIL..

The light.... Now, do you knoiw how long you get when that comes on ?

Mike_St_Helens

cosworthblue wrote:

hi their i am nigel and i see that u are asking about the mileage u r getting on ur car it is about right for that car as u have a 2lt it is under powered so u have to rev it a bit more than u should. plus the this will use a bit more fuel than usaual and it is a4x4 and they do use more fuel than ur clio and do not for get ur clio was lighter and u is very good on fuel.plus the frontera is a heavy 4x4 car.all so find out when it was last serviced.and check when the cam belt was changed as this is a must as they can cost u if they snap.any info u want u can ring me on 07895044129 any time before 22.00 at night.or ring in the day time.from nigel.will be glad to help u.

Thanks Nigel. Thats very good of you to offer.

Ive always wanted to know someone who can service a car for free !!:rotfl: :rotfl:

Mike

livinginhope

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

Cool... Thanks LIL..

The light.... Now, do you knoiw how long you get when that comes on ?

Don't know if your's is like mine,the needle drops sooooo quickly after the 1/2 tank the full to 1/2 takes ages,then..boom..it's nearly empty?
I don't trust my car for more than about 20 miles when the light is on constantly,it does flicker for about 50 miles though.I know one day I will run out of diesel,DH is always telling me off saying that you shouldn't run on the last bit of the tank,you should always keep it over the 1/4? does anyone know why?

LIH

Mike_St_Helens

livinginhope wrote:

Don't know if your's is like mine,the needle drops sooooo quickly after the 1/2 tank the full to 1/2 takes ages,then..boom..it's nearly empty?
I don't trust my car for more than about 20 miles when the light is on constantly,it does flicker for about 50 miles though.I know one day I will run out of diesel,DH is always telling me off saying that you shouldn't run on the last bit of the tank,you should always keep it over the 1/4? does anyone know why?

LIH

Well I was puching my luck last week.. before payday. I ran out on a roundabout on a dual carrageway... Wasnt very nice.. Police came and everything !

I now am so scared all the time.. It drinks petrol like I drink wine !

immoral_angeluk

Hi Mike... sounds like you've got a lovely gas guzzler there! Just a quickie though.. where is most of your driving? Short city trips or long motorway journeys? You'll get more mpg on the motorway (Unless it's the M6 in which case expect to leave the motorway with an empty tank and a stress headache from all the traffic!). Also check the basic things like your tyre pressures, remove any roof rack if it's unused and remove any unnecessary weight out of the car. Plus watch your speed and acceleration/braking. Driving at 70mph apparently uses 20% more fuel than driving at 60mph and harsh braking and acceleration will use up fuel very quickly. Same applies for running the heater on full blast or the A/C.

Other solution? Swap that gas guzzlers for a nice little city car with a smaller engine.

immoral_angeluk

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

Cool... Thanks LIL..

The light.... Now, do you knoiw how long you get when that comes on ?

Depends on the car. I've never seen my light (Could be broke for all I know! lol) but I drive a rover 25 and apparently rovers have a 40 mile 'reserve' of fuel.