Power Assisted Steering

[paul_oshea]

is this the same for every vehicle? my brother has it for fiesta and starting off and turning is a load of ******. i ask cos looking into buying a car in england and the missus will be using it so she can pass her test and i want to be sure it isnt too much of a hindrance.

are astras generally a good car? anything in particular to look out for? my knowledge of cars is about as good as peadars knowledge of the bures.:D

[dahamsta]

Different cars have different weights. It's about the same on my 5 series and the gf's Passat, for example, but it's incredibly light on my Astra van. Sounds like it mightn't be working on that Fiesta though.

As to the Astra, Honest John (http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm) is usually a very good barometer. Search for Vauxhall insteal of Opel. Same thing.

adam

[paul_oshea]

cheers adam. didnt come across that site in searching.

i spose ill find out on a test drive.....hopefullly i wont crash. Is power steering essentially the same as power assisted then?

[anto1208]

I would guess its just a lesser form of power steering . But more or less the same idea

[GavinZac]

im guessing its the same thing, but some marketeer had to up his word count.

[OneRedArmy]

Fiestas steering always has been atrociously heavy.

Japanese cars generally a lot lighter steering.

[Peadar]

my knowledge of cars is about as good as peadars knowledge of the bures.:D

Glad to see your obsession with me hasn't dwindled, pronane! :rolleyes:

For the record, older Astra's are a pile of junk!
Not sure about the new ones, because I don't know anyone willing to buy one.

[paul_oshea]

thats a point, not an obsession.

good informative tips on the car thanks.....

[dahamsta]

My 2003 Astra van isn't a pile of junk, although I don't know if that's supposed to be old or new. I'd prefer to take the beamer for a spin, but sometimes you gotta be sensible...

[paul_oshea]

took it for a drive, one thing worried me, there was a slight squeeling when i put the foot on the clutch? anything to worry about there? getting in Mot'd ( NCT) for the year till next july and 3 month warranty, said before hand if i got it for £900 id take it ( listed at £1045 ), and i did so im buying it. I assume that squeeling will get sorted in an MOT?

[endabob1]

Wouldn't bank on the MOT "sorting" anything, if it fails it's normally on emissions. Don't know enough about cars to know what it is but I had a clapped out Fiat that squeeled a lot and it was the cam belt, cost about £90 to get it replaced & it had sailed through it's MOT.

[dahamsta]

The NCT is just a comforter, if you're in any way concerned you should ask to get it seen by a mechanic. The squeal could be a clutch-release bearing, but then it could be just a squeaky pedal.

adam

[paul_oshea]

ok thanks lads, he did say he would get their mechanic to look at it, but that doesnt really mean anything to me i spose.....

is the clutch-release bearing a simple and not costly to get fixed?

[beautifulrock]

[QUOTE=paul_oshea;701990]took it for a drive, one thing worried me, there was a slight squeeling when i put the foot on the clutch? QUOTE]

Paul, are you sure that was not the salesman shouting at you "thats the clutch, use the !"££ brake"

[paul_oshea]

LOL, it was the sound like you get when putting your foot on the brake :D

thats what i was actually thinking at first, am i a thick, as he was saying is it the brake, but he soon figured out for himself. But it was quite like the noise you get from brakes sometimes, a squealing noise.

[dahamsta]

The squealing noise you get from brakes is actually put there on purpose, to tell you that you need to change your pads.

Them looking at it is good if they can make it go away, but there are different ways of making things go away. As I said, if in doubt, get a mechanic to look at it. Finding a mechanic to do that is the tricky part...

adam

[beautifulrock]

Plenty of second hand cars in London Paul, if in doubt move on, you will save yourself hassle and money in the long run.

[paul_oshea]

my mate sent me an email there saying he had a squealing sound as well, and he thought the cable must have been too tight, as it snapped all of a sudden when he was driving, had to call the AA out and all that, cost him a bomb in the end....

Ya, I think I will still go with it, try and sound like I have an idea what it is, make them take a look at it.....then afterwards get someone I know to look at it. To be honest though I dont know that many mechanics in london....

Rock, you are probably right, but I have this inate child-like personality where I have to get something straight away and dont like waiting - i suppose it could be instant gratification....

[dahamsta]

Didn't click you were in London. The AA in the UK does vehicle inpections for a relatively reasonable fee. (They do them in Ireland too, but the prices are scandalous.) Other companies do them too.

https://www.theaa.com/motoring-advice/vehicle-inspections.html

Getting it checked out later is just silly. Either get it checked out first or buy another car. Or take your chances, but don't kid yourself that getting it checked out later will help in any way.

(I was just robbed on a van from a shower of lying scumbags in Tullamore. They made a load of promises they didn't follow through on. I'm suing them. I shouldn't have taken the van, but it had already been paid for by the leasing company. Lessons learned and all that, but it'll cost me time and effort to sort out.)

adam

[paul_oshea]

are those inspections company independent, i mean do they advise on an independent basis or say oh ya you need this and we will provide it for £250 etc? I think £122 is worth it as oppossed to losing £900

[beautifulrock]

The AA send their man in the van round. He will give you a full and detailed report detailing wht is wrong or needs changing. This report will not have any costings included. Well worth doing although still feel you should look around a bit more and find one that is not making any silly noises. (still worth getting the AA check on any car you decide to purchase)

[paul_oshea]

rockbottom, i have seen a couple of cars, and to be honest when buying privately you wont get a better deal as you wont get any warranty, and MOT generally has run out for most of cars ive seen around that price. Plus I saw the full service history and the car has only had 2 owners, plus it was serviced about once every year, which is decent enough, so from the pratical side of things ( which i have an idea about ) it does seem decent enough.

However mechanically is something I dont have a clue about and getting a check done is a good thing, but am giong to ask around mates and mates' mates first, if nothing there then ill get the AA thing. thanks for that link

[dahamsta]

Depends on the inspection company. AA would be pretty independent, after that you'll need to use the old noggin.

[paul_oshea]

got the car yesterday in the end, gave it a good drive yesterday, brakes are worrying though, nothing near like an emergency stop, very slow gradual stop, would this be fixed by changing the discs and pads or could there be more to it, if not how much would it cost to get that stuff done around?

[dahamsta]

Take it to a mechanic and ask!