Car Sold To Me With BLACK STICKER On Dash

tight_scotsman

pendulum wrote: »

This isn't a safety related fault, but it sounds like you'd have put your children at risk if it had been (I'd not normally say this, but you wanna play the "think of the children card", so right back at you!). These lights come on at ignition and then go out - as a driver you're supposed to be checking that they do so correctly, so you should have spotted this straight away.

the lights were fine

if you read previous posts this light had been covered up with black tape so the op didnt even know it existed let alone know its purpose

buying a used car is a minefield for most of us but once bitten twice shy.
next time she buys a car she can come in here and all the EXPERTS can advise

Road_Hog

Red_Shirt wrote: »

Yes i have had the car for 2 years. I am a 25year old woman and dont know alot about cars, I guess when you have children and are incharge of a machine that you dont know alot about (under the bonet, etc) something like this comes along, as a mother you do think the worst.
Just a simple 'Nothing can be done' would have been enough. That is why I asked for help.
Thanks though.

Yes, it's a shame that some people are more interested in having a 'pop' at you than giving you good advice. Despite the fact that the forum now displays a newbie avatar, some still delight in laughing at other's misfortune.

forgotmyname

Passing your test is only a tiny step in learning to drive, My instructor said congratulations you passed, You can now go out on your own and REALLY learn to drive.

Many more steps to learn, 70's Ford with RWD is rubbish in the snow, Concrete walls are stronger than 70's Fords.

Car dealers are there to get as much money as possible for whatever heap they have to sell. Inexperienced drivers/buyers are fair game.

It passed an MOT when you had it the previous year so saying its unroadworthy wont be of any use.

Another note for your car diary. Had you had the delights of visiting QuikFit or similar yet??

Might need a new book for those lessons.


I remember one of the Car Magazines buying a Saab Turbo, Turned out to have a piece of black electrical tape over the mileometer, Actually done 100,000 miles more than it was showing.

cyclonebri1

Red shirt, ignore the usual suspects, they are normally even more opinionated than that:eek::A:A, so sad, but as agreed after 2 years it's a pointless task trying to get any comeback.

What is the state of the car at present, ie, is this all sorted?? if not find a freindly garage that will simply do an emissions test for you, mine certainly wouldn't charge for this. See if it falls in line with the original value, bearing in mind there are several aspect of the emission test, could fail on either but it will give a clue as to the problem. Stick a new air filter in 1st, it is sometimes overlooked.

Road_Hog

forgotmyname wrote: »

Many more steps to learn, 70's Ford with RWD is rubbish in the snow, Concrete walls are stronger than 70's Fords.

I liked '70s RWD Fords. RWD is much better than FWD, except in the hands on an inexperienced driver. But yes, they do have a tendency to swing the back end out it icy conditions. I used to go to the car parks in Richmond Park early in the morning, just to practice exactly how much power was needed before the back end overtook the front end.

pendulum

tight_scotsman wrote: »

the lights were fine

if you read previous posts this light had been covered up with black tape so the op didnt even know it existed let alone know its purpose

If you read my post you may actually learn something. The lights come on at ignition then go out to enable a driver to check they are working. Thus, a light covered up with tape will never come on, which would indicate a problem. The meaning of each light is found in the manual.

Lum

The car is not unsafe or going to go careering off the road because of an emissions fault. At worst it's polluting a bit more than it should and maybe burning more petrol than it should.

If it were me I'd probably look for a more friendly MOT tester, since the emissions test depends a lot on how the individual tester operates the machine. Get the MOT and then punt the car on to some other poor sod, ideally a dealership.

Surprised they have decided the ECU is at fault though. Obviously I've not seen the codes but usually it's sensors that go, the lambda sensor being the biggest culprit, and also cheap to replace.

harveybobbles

I've found cars with all sorts stuck in the dash pod - little smiley face stickers that "the kids put there". I've even had one guy who put a sweet just where the engine light is, but I rumbled him...

Strider590

Garage bought car at auction without seeing it, upon closer inspection they notice the ECU warning light, they get their "mechanic" to shove a sticker over it and they sell it on. Fairly standard practice these days im afraid.....

vroom3

harveybobbles wrote: »

I've found cars with all sorts stuck in the dash pod - little smiley face stickers that "the kids put there". I've even had one guy who put a sweet just where the engine light is, but I rumbled him...

As the saying goes ...it takes allsorts!!