Halfpenny

Pirates...

Its not a 'new normal', its a 'blip' caused by a mismatch between supply and demand. Once the chip shortage is resolved (which WILL happen sometime next year) then things will start to settle. In the long term I think we will go back to oversupply of new cars. Europe still has too much production capacity (much of it on short time working now due to chip problem) and the Chinese have barely started to export cars yet..

Its all about grabbing market share with these companies. Cazoo is backed by a billionaire (Alex Chesterman) and the Daily Mail (22%). They don't mind big losses for a few years if they can squeeze out the competition.

Very likely the linkage. Not expensive but his problem now.

Sometimes stuck on this crowded little island its hard to get a perspective. Just prior to Covid the UK annual vehicle production was around 1.3 million in a global market of almost 100 million. China makes three times as many cars as the US - 21 million and growing. India is ramping up and developing countries like Indonesia are expanding capacity. UK is a fringe player, a 'little peanut' as the Chinese say. There is still massive global overcapacity - and as Covid retreats and chip supplies come back on stream they'll be back flooding the market.

Hyundai/Kia clutches are something of a weak point. Judder is common. If the bite point is low check if it has a hydraulic damper fitted (I think Hyundai refer to them as a 'clutch regulator'). If the go bad it causes a low pedal.

https://qz.com/2047652/toyota-seemed-to-know-that-the-taliban-would-take-kabul/?fbclid=IwAR3mjaNr-5Ee0bO-sbTN_IWsSrGlgVWdYFAXiP7ViHzomcJ9ws7rXngLUCk

Yes, but putting one on will satisfy his curiosity one way or the other. If it were me I'd be looking at fault codes and live data. Would nail it fairly quickly.

If you think its a coil pack then buy a cheap one for £25 and drop it on. They are dead easy to change. The £25 cheapies are not built for the long term, but they do work and it will prove a point. Count the number of connector pins because there are two styles (7 or 6 pin, IIRC). Takes about 5 mins to swap these out.

The windscreen is bonded into the bodyshell and is part of the car's structure. There should be no movement of the screen unless the bonding has failed (in which case you would have water leaks, wind noise etc). I suspect your creaking is coming from the door moving in its aperture as the bodyshell flexes.. Check the door alignment etc.

I believe they just replace the rotary coupler (clockspring) and add an extra earth. Its about a 20 minute job. I don't think they replace the column module unless they've recently increased the scope of the recall. Its quite possible that the column module has indeed failed, but the dealer should explain what is going on. Bad to do work on SRS then just send a customer away with SRS light on and no explanation. We wouldn't do that. Column modules do fail and IIRC were around £600 last time I priced on.

AFAIK this MB recall is for faulty clocksprings fitted to 2011-2017 cars. If the wheel controls don't work then that does point to a faulty clockspring, or possibly some other part of the steering wiring harness if a new clockspring didn't fix it. Unfortunately the quality of these wiring harnesses is not great. A faulty squib shouldn't stop the wheel buttons from working though, so I am a bit doubtful of your mechanic's diagnosis. Do the buttons light up when lights are switched on? I must say its very poor of the dealer to do work on the SRS and send you away with the light on (even if not related to their work) they should at least explain the fault to you - I would assume they did diagnosis?

That's not a fuse, that's the Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS). It sits between the battery negative and the false negative. If you are working on a SS NEVER connect a charger to the battery without disconnecting the battery first. Also if you boost or jump a car the negative terminal of the booster goes to chassis, NOT to battery negative (potential big bill). Always use a branded SS battery and note that the system might take a few runs to relearn a new battery. Also won't stop if HRW is on, A/C is on or any large electrical loads.

I would say over 90% of the SS issues we see are battery related. You need the correct SS battery and it must be in good condition. The voltage may read OK but if the battery is down on cranking current (as detected by battery management system) then the SS will be disabled.

Wouldn't last two seconds in a court.

You seem to be looking for an auction dealing with a 'grey area' between salvage and straight clean cars. I don't think such a thing exists. Vehicles with scuffs and dings will be in the regular auctions. My impression is that prices for N/S salvage and vehicles with unrecorded minor damage are unrealistically high at the moment - no doubt fuelled by a small army of DIY bodgers who've been watching the various YouTube channels. More than 20 years ago I had a Chief EZ Liner, spray booth etc and repaired and sold some salvage but even then, when it was cheaper and simpler, I couldn't make it worthwhile unless I cut a lot of corners (which I didn't want to do).

I think you'll find most people have had trouble with warranty companies paying out at some time or other... full stop! Oil & filter is not a service. Cars should be properly mechanically prepped - that means any due/overdue fluids and filters, brake inspection and S/R as necessary and any due/overdue major items such as cambelt etc. As a rule of thumb anything falling due within 6 months should be done and replace any tyres below 3mm. Of course if you are in the banger market then ignore much of the above... If you are reasonably well established then consider self funding - https://www.warrantyadmin.co.uk/crystal-clear-warranty.php

No, of course they don't sell for that much.. Dealers buy cars, prep them sale, keep them for 6 months, pay for a load of advertising and then dump them into the auction at a loss.... Impressive!

I would not describe that as knocking or banging. I suspect something switching in/out causing change in load or AFR - A/C, cooling fan or maybe check EVAP system. That doesn't look like coils/plugs or broken valve springs etc. Carefully check vacuum/intake system and any solenoids etc. Check PS also.

Correct oil would be 5W30 Dexos. Unlikely to be oil problem. Fault codes? Live data? Coils and plugs normally play up under load - not idle. Check oil filler and dipstick are seated - vac leaks cause problems like rough idle. These engines are prone to broken valve springs. Are you sure its not A/C cutting in? Possible noisy A/C compressor.

Models of dashcam are changing all the time. Do a search for 'Nextbase' on Amazon and you'll see their range. They do have a keyfob sized model....

Yes, its crazy. Poor availability and sharply rising prices. Not seen this before in 40 years of this business. What the hell is going on?

We've fitted a few dashcams for customers - Nextbase brand. Not had any complaints so far. Be sure to use their branded hardwire kit and avoid SanDisk SD cards - we've found Samsung High Endurance cards to be totally reliable. At the cheaper end of the market have used Toguard dashcams - bit flimsy but seem to be ok so far.

Prices of used vehicles will fluctuate up and down but if trade prices rise then generally so will retail prices so there is still a profit to be got. However a large part of our income is from service work and when our consumables are showing such big price increases its really going to squeeze us. Increasing our prices to the customer will lead to a drop in business.

I haven't got one here to look at but IIRC its on the N/S and there is a bit of a recess in the inner wing for it to fit in, so its not terribly close to the tyre and firmly retained. No way should the tyre rub on the filler. If that has happened then suspect damage of some sort or non-standard wheel/tyre..