Archive for June, 2007

This is not the most interesting of all but it sure did teach me a lesson. I want to tell all you men and women out there that before you buy a car, find a spare part dealer. Once you have bought the car, you will need to change parts and it can be quite a frustrating and disappointing experience if you don’t know a genuine dealer. I have a Vauxhall Vectra and the car is a real machine. I am proud of my Vauxhall and have no complaints about the car but what has really troubled me is finding a good Vauxhall parts supplier. There have been times when I had to pay excessive amount of money towards buying a Vectra spare part and sometimes they were just not available.

It took me a quite a long time to locate carsparefinder where I can find the listings of all Vauxhall parts and it doesn’t matter what model you have. How I found carsparefinder is a long story but the important thing is that if you are one of the frustrated, disappointed Vauxhall owners who are unable to find genuine Vauxhall spares then you should visit the website. I promise you, your nightmares are going to get over.

As far as the standard car/light commercial vehicle is concerned the last section in the Inspection Manual covers Drivers View of the Road and is sub-divided into the requirements for mirrors, wipers/washers, windscreen, and bonnet.

Much the same with many other areas of the MoT test the basic requirements for the mirrors is that they should be present and secure not damaged sufficiently to impair vision or positioned so that they cannot be easily seen from the driver’s seat. There are further requirements depending on age, vehicle type and number of seats but basically obligatory mirrors fall into three types (1) external nearside (2) external offside (3) interior. For vehicles first used before August 1978 and with no more than 7 passenger seats the rules state that it must be fitted with any one of the above, for all passenger vehicles with more than 7 passenger seats (not mini-buses) of any age and all vehicles first used August 1978 onward two mirrors must be fitted one of which must be option (1), any other fitted mirrors are not obligatory and therefore not part of the MoT test.

So that’s rearward vision sorted, now let’s look at the forward direction via wipers and washers. The requirements for these items are simple and straight forward in that the controls for both must be present and easily accessible to the driver, the wipers must continue to operate when switched on and must sweep a large enough area of the windscreen for forward vision to both the left and right as well as to the front, the washers must provide sufficient fluid to enable the wipers to do their job properly. Now this does not mean that a fitted complex six jet system has to emit six perfect streams of fluid it means literally “sufficient fluid� and only that.  From the outside of the vehicle the condition of the wiper blades must be checked for insecurity, damage and deterioration. It can be a matter for some discussion between MoT testers and vehicle owners as to what constitutes an ineffective wiper blade, but at the end of the day would any good and responsible driver want to split hairs between paying out £10.00 for a pair of blades and having less than perfect vision through the windscreen.

Remember if you need repairs to your vehicle you can get parts for any vehicle including Vauxhall Vectra parts from Carsparefinder and have a garage fit them for you, by supplying the Vauxhall parts yourself the garage will cut the bill as they will not have to pay for those expensive new parts.

You are probably wondering what I am doing here writing this blog. Honestly, I am trying to share some information that I feel is extremely valuable especially for those who own a Vauxhall Vectra. I have a Vauxhall Vectra 4 door saloon in silver color. It is a 1.8i, 16v VVT that can give an optimum performance at 131mph. My Vauxhall has manual transmissions and with a 1796c.c engine capacity, it comes to life in 0-5 seconds. I love my car and get a maintenance check as often as I can.

There are something’s that you may never have control over like a flat tyre, a scratch on the bumper or the driver side door, a broken windshield, a brake failure and many others. In such a situation the best thing that you can do is get the necessary repair done or look for the Vauxhall Vectra part, which might not be as easy to find unless you are looking in carsparefinder. Yes! Carsparefinder was my savior when I was in distress and required a change of bumper, which was almost broken off and it was dangerous for me to drive my Vectra on the roads. After a long search, I couldn’t find the Vauxhall Vectra part that I needed anywhere else except at this place and that also for a price that matches my pocket. I am sharing this information so that you don’t have to go through the ordeal I went through while searching for a genuine Vauxhall part.

Vauxhall spares, the one thing that I was scared that I would never find after I bought a shiny, new and powerful Vauxhall Vectra. According to the car dictionary, the spare parts would include everything from brakes to the engine valves, from the rear view mirror to the bumper. When you own a Vauxhall, it is a matter of pride and I didn’t want my pride to disappear just because I couldn’t find the right spare part for my car. Of course, I was quoted some really high prices for the small parts I wanted to replace but I had said to myself that I will not give up. There must be a store somewhere that would offer me genuine and not so expensive Vauxhall spares.

The hardwork really paid off as I found the right place and now you can also take advantage of this information. You can visit carsparefinder and find any and every Vauxhall Vectra spare parts, even the ones you couldn’t find at the store next to your office or home. The website has an easy navigation and you can find the spare parts of all Vauxhall models. The price of genuine and used parts is all mentioned so you don’t have to really look any further.

When my wife bought the Vauxhall Vectra 4 door saloon, I had an argument with her regarding the availability of a genuine or even used Vauxhall car parts. I had heard from many of my colleagues that it is almost a nightmare to find a genuine Vauxhall Vectra spare and if you are lucky enough to find one then it is going to rip your pocket. But now we had the Vauxhall so I had to look for an option because at some point of time, the Vauxhall Vectra will need a repair or my wife might fancy changing the interiors. Whatever the need, I had to really find a dealer of Vauxhall spares. I visited all the vendors near my place and in the city of Middlesborough and to my surprise all of them quoted me what felt like an exorbitant price to pay.

One day, during lunch I was generally surfing on the Internet and I came across this website called carsparefinder. I wasn’t too sure because I had already been through quite a few of them. I thought to myself, let’s give it a try. Guess what? I found every Vauxhall car parts listed there with an economically viable price tag. If I had known earlier that I could find them with so much ease then I wouldn’t have really spent time and money traveling. Now I have also told my colleagues about my new find.

I own two Vauxhall Vectra cars; one is driven by my wife and one by me. The day I bought the Vauxhall, I was feeling on the top of the world because the car is a super machine. It is something that I have always dreamt of owning and it took me 15 years to save enough to own it. But I never realized that I might soon face the problem of not finding a genuine Vauxhall Vectra part. It was something that I should have anticipated but never did. The result was that when I visited my mechanic to get an Irmscher front bumper added to my Vauxhall Vectra, I was amazed at the fact that he didn’t have any and to top that he said he didn’t know where to find one. Now that’s a really sticky situation!

I asked all my friends, colleagues and went over various car magazines and finally went to the Vauxhall website. I spoke to a customer service representative and he guided me to carsparefinder. My first question was, are you absolutely sure that I will find the Vauxhall part that I am looking for? He confirmed it and I immediately checked their website. It was a relief to find the Irmscher front bumper there and that also at a reasonable price. I recommend anyone and everyone to visit the website at least once. You will know what I am talking about.

I bought this Vauxhall Vectra a year back and have been thinking of getting angel eye headlamps after the car was involved in a small incident. For a long time, I couldn’t forget the fact that someone hit my car while it was parked at the mall parking lot. How can anyone hit a stationary car? But the problem was much bigger. I was driving around the city with a broken left headlight and it was not just inconvenient but also illegal. I was fined twice but I just couldn’t find a genuine pair of Vauxhall Vectra headlamps. I had searched through the yellow pages and visited mechanics and vendors but didn’t find what I was looking for or they were charging me exorbitant price It seemed like finding a used Vauxhall part was not just difficult but impossible.

This is when I reached the stage of selling my Vauxhall off because the situation was becoming worse and getting the better of me. I was getting frustrated and irritable and it showed. When I thought I was going to go over the edge that’s when my neighbor came to my rescue. His son drives a Vauxhall Vectra and although he stays in Liverpool and I am in Bath, he asked me to check carsparefinder. Since the time I visited their online store, I have not only located used Vauxhall part for my Vectra but the best part is that they are well priced and genuine.

The Mot test Inspection Manual now moves onto Fuel and Emissions and is divided into four sub-sections: exhaust system, fuel system, exhaust emissions-spark ignition and exhaust emissions-compression ignition.

As with almost all of the Inspection Manual, the tester is not obliged to follow any set examination order as long as the test is carried out to the correct standards with no omissions. In this section I will deal with each subject in the order it appears in the manual.

It would be fairly obvious to most people that a vehicle has a blowing exhaust, however, the tester must also inspect all other parts of the exhaust system looking for the less obvious, for example missing or ineffective mountings, excessive noise caused by deliberate modification or repairs which do not effectively seal exhaust gas leaks. Minor gas leaks such as those around joints or from small pin holes anywhere in the system would not normally fail, they can however, have an adverse effect on the result of the exhaust emission test carried out on petrol engine vehicles. When assessing noise levels generated by a deliberately modified exhaust the nominated tester can only use his or her discretion aided by the wording in the Inspection Manual which states “the noise emitted from the vehicle is clearly unreasonably above the level expected from a similar vehicle with a silencer in average condition�. The term average condition means a silencer fitted to a similar vehicle in an unmodified state.

Whilst under the vehicle the tester must examine all visible fuel system components for leakage and/or insecurity, should the tester feel, in his or her opinion, that the fuel lines are heavily corroded the presenter should be informed and an advisory notice issued, the basic rule is no leak, no fail. The security of the fuel system components includes any fixings applied to fasten parts to the body and/or chassis, ineffective clips, mountings etc can cause premature component failure and fuel leakage. For a complete system examination the tester must also inspect system components in the engine bay and also assess the condition of the fuel filler cap and its mounting flange. It is a common mis-conception that the filler cap must be of the lockable variety, this is not the case as the test regulations only specify that the cap and flange joint must seal such that it maintains tank pressure and fastens by positive means and not a simple and wholly ineffective push fit. This cap/flange joint is subject to a detailed check ensuring that any sealing ring, washer etc is present and in good working condition, this is to assess its capability of preventing fuel loss should the vehicle overturn as a result of a traffic incident.

The last part of this section deals with exhaust emissions, both spark ignition and compression ignition engines, and for the sake of expediency I shall leave out dual fuel and hybrid powered vehicles.

Like the section dealing with seat belts, the Inspection Manual has differing requirements for spark ignition emissions dependant on the age of the vehicle being tested; a brief outline is as follows:

1. First used before Aug 1975
• Visual check only                                                                           
2. First used between Aug 1975 & July 1986
• CO max 4.5%, HC max 1200ppm
3. First used between Aug 1986 & July 1992
• CO max 3.5%, HC max 1200ppm
4. First used between Aug 1992 & Feb 2002
• CO max 0.3%, HC max 200ppm, lambda 0.97 and 1.03 (during fast idle test)
• CO max 0.5% at normal idle.
5. First used after Mar 2002
• CO max 0.2%, HC max 200ppm, Lambda between 0.97 & 1.03

Looking at the figures above we can see how much the effect of legislation and engineering has had on reducing exhaust pollution especially since 1992 and the introduction of catalytic converters and powerful electronic engine management systems.

Prior to the vehicles first used before August 1992 emissions testing comprised of a 5 second gas analysis or prior to first use August 1975 a visual check for dense blue or black smoke. For vehicles with first use since August 1992 the tester must carry out a detailed gas analysis measuring carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and the value for lambda at two engine speed ranges, idle (450rpm to 1500rpm) and fast idle (2500rpm to 3000rpm). Fortunately for the tester this task is carried out by a computer controlled gas tester which will instruct the user when to increase the engine speed, when to allow it to idle etc and the test results will be displayed on screen and on a paper printout.

So what about compression ignition engines? Again the age of the vehicle will dictate the test procedure but the gases emitted by these engines are very different to their petrol cousins so a different type of analyser is used to measure, in crude terms, the density of exhaust smoke during engine acceleration or for the more technically minded, the co-efficient of obscuration.

1. First used before July 1979
• Visual check only
2. First use after Aug 1979
• 2.5m-1 maximum for non-turbocharged engines
• 3.0m-1 maximum for turbocharged engines

The visual check is basically an assessment by the nominated tester that the vehicle does not produce dense blue or clearly visible black smoke during a period of 5 seconds at idle, this assessment is repeated during acceleration. The Inspection Manual definition of dense smoke is emissions which largely obscures vision. For vehicles which are subject to a metered smoke analysis the same rules apply together with the maximum limits above.

Remember if you need repairs to your vehicle you can get parts for any vehicle including Vauxhall Vectra parts from Carsparefinder and have a garage fit them for you, by supplying the Vauxhall parts yourself the garage will cut the bill as they will not have to pay for those expensive new parts.

When I saw the new Vauxhall on a Television advertisement, I had to visit a store to see it and test drive it. Once I had done the test drive, I was quite impressed and wanted to buy it. But there were questions in my mind like will the Vauxhall Vectra suit my needs? Is it really as good as it looks especially I was worried about its performance in the long run. But the most important question was will I be able to get genuine Vauxhall part easily? I am sure most of you who are thinking of buying a Vauxhall or any other car for that matter would go through this phase of self questioning.

We often buy a car and end up not finding genuine car parts and have to make do with a local brand that causes problem in the long run. It is a perfect scenario of money wasted, time wasted and in the meantime the resale value of the car depreciates. So it is more of a total loss than anything else. So where do you find a genuine Vauxhall part? The internet is a great place to search but you have to run everything through a sieve before making a decision or you can follow my lead and check carsparefinder. They have listings of every Vauxhall Vectra spare part and they keep only genuine parts. All this at a great price!

In the heart of the Vauxhall design lies the Vauxhall engine, and in the heart of my Vauxhall Vectra 4 Door Saloon lies a 1,796cc, four cylinders, 16 valves, 122bhp at 6,000rpm engine. The manual transmission of my car includes a five-speed gearbox, and a front-wheel drive. It can reach a speed of 127mph, and gives a performance of 0-60 in 10.5sec. I have always been proud of my Vauxhall Vectra and when I sit inside and start the car, I can feel its raw and untamed power. I wish I could drive it at maximum but the roads in London won’t allow me the pleasure.

But the one thing that had me worried once was that the car had developed a small problem in the engine and I didn’t know what to do. My mechanic advised me that I needed to change a small valve. I didn’t know where to look for one. I went onto the Internet and found some excessively priced Vauxhall valves and then I came across carsparefinder. It was purely by chance and I found the valve I was looking for at a lower price than what I had previously seen. The best part is that at carsparefinder I found only genuine Vauxhall engine parts. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief!