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theberengersniper

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theberengersniper last won the day on August 31 2023

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  1. That hasn't been my experience, but apparently your vehicle does. My mistake. But that doesn't change my advice. Your car is telling you there is a problem with it, and you still don't know what that problem is. I can well imagine if that problem turns out to be something which could easily contribute to the degradation of some other component, BMW or your finance company could well object to paying for its repair.
  2. Just a quick point of note; that amber light you have on your dashboard will never "go red", it is a single-colour lamp that has no ability to change its colour. In fact it's concerning you're being told that, there are no warning lights on your dashboard that change colour depending on the severity of the problem. In your case, that light indicates that there is a current and active problem with your car. In order to establish what that problem is, your car needs to be connected to a diagnostic scanner (preferably a BMW one [as in the manufacturer, not Big Motoring World], as generic scanners that you can buy online can't always query the ECU fully) and its fault codes read. With respect, I disagree entirely with their advice that you can continue to use the car. With some problems that could cause the lamp to illuminate, it may indeed be safe to continue using it, but you don't know what those faults are, and there are plenty that could cause significant damage. By way of a quick word of warning, be wary of the garage taking the car in and simply clearing the fault code memory. Doing so would cause your engine light to go out and could possibly trick you into thinking the problem has been resolved, when in reality it will come back after you've driven the car a few times. Saying all that, I would agree with the advice you've been given, you should absolutely reject this vehicle.
  3. Excellent point about the CRA, I was a little too blinkered by the technicalities of the repair that hadn't even occurred to me.
  4. In case it's helpful, some additional commentary: Although the replacement bonnet cost is enormous and certainly includes a 'we are the main dealer so we can' tax, part of the reason for the cost will be accounted for in Jeep replacing the bonnet with an original OEM, i.e., not a pattern aftermarket, panel. Additionally, I would expect a main dealer bodyshop to paint the bonnet and blend the colour out into the front wings and potentially even across the front doors. They do that to eliminate any visible colour discrepancy between the new paint and the old. If they simply painted the new bonnet, unless their painter is extremely good at paint mixing, you would almost certainly see a colour difference. In relation to them declining to attempt a repair on the original bonnet, I can see the logic in that. Once corrosion has taken hold, the only genuinely effective way of resolving it is to cut out and replace the affected metal. If you don't, the rust will always come back, eventually. In the case of an easily-replaceable part like a bonnet, you would simply never invest the labour time in fixing it. You may have it in mind that you want the main dealer to fix the issue and use genuine parts to do so, but if you're open to other options, you could ask that Jeep pay their contribution to you directly. In doing so, you'd be free to arrange for another bodyshop to carry out the repair at a fraction of the cost. Lastly, something for you to keep in mind and query with Jeep; normally when a panel is replaced under warranty, that new panel is not normally covered under the original anti-perforation guarantee, which is probably not what you would expect. The reason is because that new panel has not been subject to the extensive anti-corrosion dipping treatment the original panels have. You might choose to ask them the question about the replacement bonnet, and if you can get someone to agree it's covered, make sure they put pen to paper.
  5. It certainly won't have done the car any good, that's for sure. Unfortunately, the other danger is extended idling is also bad for DPFs, and I would imagine cars sat for that length of time have been started and left to run from time to time to ensure their batteries remained in reasonable condition and their interiors don't go mouldy. Because idling doesn't heat the exhaust to a sufficient temperature, and it's not sufficient to satisfy the car's ECU that a 'drive cycle' (complete heating and driving) has occurred, the DPF just accumulates soot. It's the same effect as driving short distances.
  6. Hello, My apologies, I'm parachuting in here after an extended break away. In case it assists, a vehicle inspection would normally include an electronic scan of the car's ECU to determine if there were any 'active' (meaning current, i.e. not historic or transient) faults recorded in there. Cars with DPFs fitted have two additional sensors in their exhaust system; one before the filter and one after, whose job it is to measure the differential pressure across the DPF. If the pressure differential is within acceptable limits then your DPF is operating properly and is not blocked. If the pressure differential reaches a pre-determined point, the car will attempt an active regeneration cycle. This means the car will inject additional fuel into the exhaust system and alter its timing to raise the exhaust temperature beyond normal levels in order to burn off accumulated soot and particles, thus unblocking the DPF and reducing the differential pressure. If your car had a blocked DPF, that issue would be recorded in the ECU and should be picked up on inspection, and you should see a dashboard warning light. To answer your question about distance travelled, you're right, a DPF-equipped vehicle that's only driven very short distances is a recipe for disaster. In fact it's why you hear so much about DPFs in the first place these days. When diesel cars became popular dealers were pushing them onto every Tom, Dick and Harry that walked in, including people like Aunty Margaret that only ever runs down the road to the paper shop once a week. These vehicles never have the opportunity to reach operating temperature, which is a requirement (along with other parameters) in order for the car to trigger an automatic exhaust regeneration cycle, which is the process that's responsible for cleaning out the DPF, so these cars never do and the filter becomes blocked. There seems to be some suggestion that rather than being blocked, your DPF has actually broken down inside. That does happen, particularly if the DPF has become too hot at some point, because its internal structure can melt. If that happens you have two choices, but as only one of them is legal, that's the only one we can recommend here, which is complete DPF replacement. Unfortunately, DPFs are extremely expensive, hence their theft is quite common. If there are any other specific questions I can answer, don't hesitate to tag me.
  7. I would suggest the first thing you need to do, before getting ahead of yourself or involved in any confrontations with the seller, is to establish what is wrong with the car. You said it had been taken to a garage on a tow truck. Have the garage assessed the car and given you an indication of what is wrong and what is required to resolve the issue with the car not starting? It's possible the issue is so minor it's simply not worth getting involved in chasing the seller. Conversely, it could be something major. You need to find out. When you know what's wrong with it, you can make a decision on the way forward with the help of this site.
  8. If you sign in to the Natwest banking mobile app, can you see whether they have now updated your address? If they haven't, do you have the ability to order a replacement card in the app? My thinking (although I accept it might be a bit wild) is that your change of address has somehow caused them to effectively treat your request as a new credit application, which is being declined because you've "generally kept the account within its credit limit", or in other words, you were at times in breech of their terms and conditions because you didn't always keep it within its credit limit. If you could order the new card via the app, then arrange to collect or have the card forwarded by the new occupiers of your old address, it might just about be a way around the issue. Does your credit card account have any warnings or status messages against it in the app?
  9. Can I play devil's advocate and suggest the entire amount should be sought with a chargeback? You can always re-credit the card with new funds once that's done. The reason I say that is because it's quite possible when Iceland realise what's going on they will simply freeze the card or some such action, which will then leave the OP unable to access the £35 they don't dispute. Depends on how Iceland choose to handle it I suppose.
  10. To be crystal clear, because it's not obvious, this is where you are with it, correct? You are still in possession of the new phone, but... The new phone is locked and cannot be used Samsung have issued you with a refund of the price paid for the upgrade, but... Samsung retain possession of your old phone, so... You have the new phone, which can't be used, but you do have a refund in your account If that summary is accurate, then the most pressing issue to resolve (as I think Nicky Boy has cottoned on to) is that the new phone needs unlocked again, which I expect they will not do until you return the refund. Or, you need to return the new phone to them and then pursue them for the return of your old one. As I see it though, the original nucleus of this whole escapade has been your failure to comply with their terms. If you knew the old phone needed to reach them by Day 7, and particularly given the time of year and pressures courier companies are under, not sending the old phone until Day 5 was a clear mistake. I think if I were in your position, my first port of call would be to forget about any complaint for now, contact Customer Services and ask them what the most expedient way of resolving this is; either, return the refund and have the phone unlocked again, or ask them how they can arrange return of your old phone in exchange for you returning the new one. As I see it you are in an unwinnable deadlock until you either return their money or their device. I do realise you don't see it like that (and I make no comment on who's right or wrong), but you're trying to move an oak tree with a piece of string. It won't move.
  11. Hi Zebra, There are a few things we need to think about, starting I think with what I feel is the more clear-cut issue; that of your car having had fluids replaced recently in advance of your service. The issue in my view is that you asked the garage to carry out what you refer to as a 'full service'. The reason I draw particular attention to the words you've used is because the garage did precisely what you asked them to do. You appear not to have caveated your request by telling them your car has had certain fluids replaced recently. By way of example, if your car had had its engine oil and filter replaced, the garage wouldn't know that until they had already started draining your engine of its current fill. You might try to point to the clean oil filter as something they should have noticed, but this isn't necessarily the case. The underside of the modern car's engine bays are shielded for reasons of aerodynamics and noise, but a side-effect of that shield is to keep your engine much cleaner than used to be the case. The coil springs are a whole different issue. It's difficult to describe in text, but at the base of each coil spring the coil needs to stop at some point. Because the point at which the coil stops is not at the same level as the opposite side of the spring (by virtue of the fact it's a helix), the mount on which the spring sits is also shaped to have that ramp-like shape. When installing the spring, it's critical that the garage aligns the ramp on the mount with the coil shape of the spring. Failure to do that will result in any number of issues; mount damage, tearing of the rubber boots, clunking, damage to the damper unit that sits inside the spring etc. The thing we need to be careful to understand in your case is this: Your suspension strut, which connects between the hub that your wheel is attached to and the under-bonnet area of the car, swivels by design when your turn the steering. Not all cars do this, but yours is fitted with a type of front suspension known as 'McPherson Strut', and that's how it works. Now, to replace the front springs the entire strut unit needs to be removed from the car, the spring is compressed (a buttock-tightening procedure, even after decades, I can assure you), the top mount is removed and the spring removed. When the new spring is fitted, the reverse takes place. If the top mount is incorrectly assembled, it's possible that the mount, rather than rotating with the spring, instead resists its movement. If that were to happen, the top mount moving, as a result of you steering, could have effectively dragged your coil spring out of its seat. It would appear to be this second scenario that's happened in your case, and it introduces a complexity you need to understand. Once the garage had finished fitting your new springs, they would have inspected the job with the car still on the ramp, with the wheels straight, so they probably never realised their error. They should have road-tested it of course, but it seems they didn't, and so I think your argument needs to account for the fact that they didn't test the work, rather than they simply didn't check it visually. A couple of final points. Your Agila is quite low mileage, is it definitely out of warranty now? It's great news that the second garage clearly identified that the top mounts have not been assembled as per the manufacturer's procedure. You'll need that. What would be even better is if you could get him to commit to paper a sketch of how they were fitted vs. a picture of the Autodata manual diagram (the tool he'll use to show him manufacturer procedures).
  12. I'm not aware of the specific legalities, although I would be surprised if they were blatantly doing something illegal in such a prominent way. I can see this from the seller's side too, having come up against this issue many times over the years. As a seller, you can be conversing with someone over EBay messages, trading offers back and forth, finally accept an offer, only for the buyer to go completely quiet. I've long suspected buyers do this without having the means to actually pay, for example, maybe pay day is a week away, but they still want whatever item is for sale. The previous offer system allowed them to manipulate sellers like that, and it really wasn't fair. Once an offer is accepted, the buyer wasn't forced to complete, but the seller is forced to remove the item from sale. You might say things have just swung too far in the opposite direction. I'm not making comment on that, merely that it was never fair, it just wasn't fare to the seller before.
  13. @Dolly-21 - thanks, but yes, as Bankfodder points out, it's the sludge itself I need to see. In fact, if you're able to take another photo and you feel it doesn't show up very well, I would suggest donning a pair of rubber gloves and retrieving some of the sludge and then wiping it on a piece of white printer paper. We really need to see the colour and consistency of it.
  14. This is possible. When the oil separator begins to fail, it no longer effectively separates all the oil from the gas being recirculated from the crankcase back into the intake manifold. This whole process happens ironically for emissions reduction reasons and is designed to ensure all of the oxygen and particulates that would, in an older engine, be exhausted directly to atmosphere, are instead sent back into the manifold, effectively for a second go at combustion. When the oil separator (which is a generic term, it's more commonly known as a pollution control valve) starts to fail, the oil that should be separated out and directed back to your oil sump, is instead taken in through the intake manifold. What that does is effectively make the intake mixture richer, because not only do you have the fuel your engine is expecting to burn, but you also have a quantity of oil, which is itself combustible. That extra combustible mixture causes your engine idle speed to run high. With regard to your car jumping off quickly in first gear, yes it will be because of this issue. Think about it based on what I've said above; your engine is running faster than it should be. The effect is exactly the same as if you manually pressed the accelerator harder. If you're expecting to pull away with, say 1700rpm on the engine, in reality you could have something closer to 2500 as an example. That's a lot of extra torque you weren't expecting to have. The sludge issue is still puzzling me. If it's still there, perhaps you might upload a photograph for us to see?
  15. @Dolly-21 - My apologies for the slow reply, I'm trying to learn to keep the laptop shut over the weekend these days. Could you clarify for me please where exactly this 'sludge' that's mentioned is accumulating? There is mention in the thread of it having been in the 'petrol cap' but also in the 'oil tank'. Can you describe what this sludge looked like and where precisely you can see it? I don't think it's been mentioned thus far whether your car has a petrol or diesel engine. Can you tell us which it is? There is a phenomenon in diesel fuel called 'gelling', which can happen as the fuel approaches and surpasses zero degrees celcius. When gelling occurs, the liquid fuel literally begins to transition from an oily liquid into a much thicker gel, because the waxes in the fuel begin to transition from their liquid state towards a solid. It is possible this is the cause of the sludge you're referring to, but as I say, that is dependent on your car being a diesel in the first place, and the sludge appearing in the fuel filler neck. Another more general observation I'll make at this stage is in regard to the diagnostic report you've had done. I'm sorry to say so, but that car has a lot of things wrong with it - 15 active (as in, they're happening right now and every time you run the car), and 13 sporadic faults. Many of them are to do with what we'd normally call "body control faults"; things like instrument cluster issues, central locking issues, drivers' door electrics etc, but some of them are directly engine-related, such as your engine air intake having a leak (affecting the smooth running of the engine), and your engine idle speed being too high. Again, depending whether your car is petrol or diesel, some of those faults could have some real-world implications for you in the future. As an example, the idle speed too high could easily contribute to an MOT failure, either through the engine speed itself, or because the test equipment will be attempting to read idle emissions. With an idle speed too high, the equipment will be measuring emissions at what it thinks is tick-over engine speed, but is in fact some value higher than that, leading to increased emissions. I hate to sound so pessimistic, but if you intend to keep that car there is a lot that needs investigated and fixed. It's quite surprising for a car with such low mileage. @BankFodder - Thank you for the tag and opportunity to comment. If I can be of further assistance now or in future don't hesitate to tag again.
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