SpeedySub

I know it might cost a little money, but it might pay to give a lawyer a call too if you can just to make sure you know exactly what your rights are. You may be able to go through small claims court if you are not happy with the outcome, or through the insurance ombudsman. His insurance company will be looking to pay out the least amount possible and will screw you over if you don't know your rights.

I have read the thread but cannot tell if you have insurance, I'm guessing you do. But my experience would be that their insurance company would get an assessor to have have a look at the condition of the car and then work out a Value and depending on the policy it will either be market value or sum insured, this is where it gets tricky as my policy I found was what ever was less (my girlfriends is the other way round!). And as the Insurance company was the same for both cars for my accident they screwed me big time and said market value was half of sum insured, you can get an independent evaluation at your own cost but with mine they would then split the difference between my valuation and theirs. If in doubt or feeling ripped off you can always call the Insurance Ombudsmen for advice.

Reviving an old thread, but just a few questions: - If doing this over a period of time i.e not enough money to do all at once, would it be best to save all the parts up and do all at once? or are there certain ones that could be done first, others that can be done down the track? - How much difference in using Nolathelene/whiteline to standard OEM ones? - For a pretty stock standard car/wagon is there any major benefits of upgrading the bushes?

The first time it happened before I took it in it looked like it had explosive diarrhea in my engine bay. Now it just looks like it dribbles out form under the cap or around the area of the cap and just dribbles down onto the fan surround. I'm guessing at this point it might be the cap. Im just nervous theres an underlying H/G gasket issue. Can anyone advise if it was a H/G that it could still be covered if the warranty runs out?

Good question- Last time I looked it looked ok. Would they have put a new cap on when the new radiator went in? I think it looks like the same one to my untrained eye. Also there doesn't look to be the usual signs of a H/G, but I have read that thats not always the case.

Hey After a long trip I found coolant through the engine bay, but it didn't lose much out of the radiator (overflow tank was empty though) and didn't overheat on the gauge. Took it to the dealers and they replaced the radiator and the thermostat. It has been running fine and not overheating, but there still seems to be overflowing coolant out of the radiator cap. The overflow bottle is ok. I will take it back to the dealer but could this be a head gasket issue causing this, I wan to be armed with some decent info when talking to them as my warranty runs out at the end of the month and I have a family trip to Wanaka in 2 weeks. Im confused as why it would be leaking out to the radiator cap and not going into the overflow bottle. Also if the head gasket did go after warranty and I have taken it in for these issues can I still claim it under warranty as the problem wasn't fixed?

Yeah I realize I won't know until I drive it- probably wasn't the best way to put it. Any specific things to look, listen for, smell?? when driving, things that might wear out at this point. At this point its this car or a..... I really don't want to say it........ Holden:mad: Astra

Yes she is insured, but its only insured for $1500 or market value, so not expecting to get much more. Her car is 1993 Laser with 320,000k's on it. We have been looking at all cars in that price range but not a lot going at the moment. (looking to spend the least amount possible as just brought my car and we are getting her a new one in april/may)

Hi Looking at buying this car (haven't had a look or drive yet) http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=803009951 We only need the car til april/may next year. Im a bit unsure as the K's on it are very high. Any helpful things to look at would be good. What do you guys think? is it worth it? The girlfriends car was rear ended yesterday and looks like it will be a write off.

Sweet, will save my money for more beer on holiday. I have already done the upper engine cleaner, that was a good thing to do, felt the improve response and idled and drove smoother. Will definitely do that again at the next service.

Does anyone recommend compression repair products? I was looking at some to add before my trip to Wanaka. Are they worth the money, is there any issues with using them? The car has done about 157k,it runs fine but was thinking it may help run better.

Did this last night. Worked great, now can open the car without a key!! Only had to do it twice as I ended up not reading through it completely the first time.

I will be adding the manifold spacers at a later stage. Most of the throttle body spacers look quite narrow (12mm or so), I was wondering if I increased this to maybe 30/50mm would this make a difference. It seems that you may get an increase/shift of torque with the spacer, so a longer one should help? as I said I may make one up and see what happens.

Throttle body spacers? Does anyone know if they are worth it? do they help in any way. I have been reading up on a few sites, most say they don't really do much. But I am thinking of getting one made (looking at 3D printing). Do I bother?

Or go to a meet and when no one is looking discreetly peel one off and put it on your car:p

Yes and no;). I like the look,interior and driving feel of my car better, but I do love the feeling when the turbo kicks in. Maybe my next one will be a turbo

Dropped car back at the mechanics. Car still overheating, temperature fluctuating while driving from normal to 3/4's and back again. Have been given a nice loan car though, 2001 legacy GT. Wow once the turbo kicks in its quick. Still like the look of my car though.

Thanks, good to know when doing the usual checks.

Just heard from the mechanic - New Radiator. Pick up on the way home.

Should the overflow bottle have any coolant in it? When I checked mine on the weekend it was empty, but I have seen images where others have coolant in them. Whats the deal? (note - car is at mechanics as had a coolant leak, coolant over top of radiator and cambelt cover, but coolant overflow bottle empty)

Yeah always good to know a good mechanic. The cars still has a little bit of time on the warranty, but always glad of any assistance with mechanical work. I can do some myself, but not the major stuff. Still need to come to a CHCH meet, last couple have clashed with other things, but hope to be at the next one.

Just dropped car off to the mechanic. After a drive to kaikoura and back over the weekend I noticed coolant sprayed over the front of the engine, looks like somethings wrong with the radiator. Good thing its still under warranty. Now driving a loaner subaru with 301,000kms on it, and it drives really nice and smooth. Just waiting to hear what the problem is.

Sweet will try when I get home

That makes the CEL flash a certain number of times which indicates the fault code? Do I turn the ignition on once I have connected the plugs? or can I do it with ignition on? just want to make sure I don't fry anything.

Any one have an Idea why my temp would spike? I was driving home yesterday and sitting at in intersection and noticed my temp gauge was at 3/4, usually it sits a little bit below half way. I turned the heater on full and watched it drop rapidly back to normal. I had just done about 5ks through traffic and 15ks on the motorway before noticing it. I am supposed to be heading up to Kaikoura tomorrow so wanna make sure its ok. No leaks noticed and water level normal. (Took the car out later that night to go out for dinner (about a 50k round trip) and the temp stayed normal)