mgm14grand

Have you checked the paper work to see where the auction cars are coming from? With such new cars, I'm wondering it they're ex rental cars - nothing wrong with that - just I think people look after lease cars more than rental cars. However a rental does mean they get a once over every couple of weeks when they're handed back. You can get yourself a warranty from www.warrantydirect.co.uk to cover a car bought at auction. If you also pay for a valet then you've pretty much done what ford do minus a commission for them. Ford direct are fine. The advantage for me was you can pick one with the op

Another post I read earlier also mentioned you can flash you headlamps to keep them on for 30 seconds for a "follow me home" function.

Perhaps it's submitted an order for the headlamp upgrade that will be fulfilled next time you take it for a service :-)

Yolu don't need to have your foot on the brake pedal. It's either the brake pedal OR the clutch. So for a hill start it's clutch in, find the biting point, relase the handbrake just as you do with a old fashioned manual cable brake. I wasn't sure I'd like the EPB, but now I'm convinced they're the future. I occasionaly forgot to apply the brake in my old car, which is impossible in the C-Max as it does it when you turn the engine off. Simon

The autowipers work on position 1 on the usual stalk. The wheel then adjusts the sensitivity with 1 being most sensitive, 6 meaning they don't come on unless it's chucking it down. 2 seems to be the best position for me. Sometime they're a bit useless and don't work enough, sometimes they go into heavy thunderstorm mode, when it's only spitting. Another Leap forward through technology. Only the garage can tell you what version the ECU is on. They need to hook it up to the WDS system. You can find what version your instrument cluster is on, but that just controls the dials and gauges not the

Check that before you get the car the Dash has been updated to 0424. Make sure you get some kind of warrenty and then check the fuel consumption when you get it ... there are numerous ECU fixes available to sort this out. (Mine improved by 10%) Two things steered me towards the Ghia... Always has heated front screen and washer jets - some Zetec have it as an option but you may need to shop around. Rear electric windows with disable switch to stop kids messing with the windows (rear electrics not an option on zetec) Things that were nice to have's ... More upmarket looking wheels (wish th

Is it a pain to change them or do the light units just pop out with a tug? Not much point doing them yet, though, it light till nearly 10pm! Did you leave the passenger map light as a white one? Otherwise they won't be able to see the Red A roads on a map :-)

I did the maths to work out how much extra the 2.0 would cost, £110 in fuel plus a bit more on insurance say £50, so for £160 per year you get the 2.0. No brainer really - unless your a company car user, in the 40% braket, then you might consider the 1.6 (if you're tight). However, that said, if you want to save the environment, you don't really need 136PS. And don't believe the offical figures, actual comined mpg is more like 43-48 depending on your routes. All cold start town is below 40 and all motorway mid 50's.

I've just stuck Bridgestone Potenza RE720's on as they had a really good rating for wet driving while keeping normal wear and dry usage capability. £65 each from mytyres.co.uk (instead of £90) and then £10 fitting at a local garage. The tread pattern looks like it will be good at shifting water, and there's still a nice solid "slick" section for good grip in the dry. They also seem to have rim protection, although I don't remember reading it at the time. I went for H rated tyres (upto 130mph) as I don't expect to ever go over the ton, even in Deutchland. That's the advantage of mytyres - th

That shouldn't happen because a) the glow plugs switch on only when the engine is cold b) the igntion system needs to be on to open up the fuel valves to spray fuel into the engine from the common rail system. A diesel engine, becuase of it's much higer compression stroke would be almost impossible to roll if left in gear. In fact it's almost impossible to move a petrol, i've forgot to put my handbrake on in my old megane a few times, but the cars still been where it was as I always leave it in gear. I agree, the handbrake should hold the car on it's own. However knowing that all things me

AFAIK: As diesel engines work on compression ignition they don't need a spark to ingite the fuel. However when the engine is cold the compression sometimes doesn't generate enough heat to get the combustion going early enough. The glow plug is active when the engine is cold to generate extra heat to make sure the fuel starts to combust properly. Once the engine warms up, the plugs will switch off. If you didn't wait, the most likely thing to happen is the engine wouldn't fire up. It will turn over and just cough unburnt diesel out the exhaust. Nice. You'll notice that the fuel consumption is p

What have you fitted? What have you tryed on previous cars? Being a biker tyres are a major purchase decision for me - life depends on it. Happy to spend upto £150 a pair. I don't like the very directional pattern on the Sport Contacts, there's a lot of roads on my way to work where the car pulls following the repair join strips in the road. There aren't many waterways on them so I don't know how they are clearing the rain!? They look like cut slicks. Having said all that - I've been impressed with grip wet or dry, and especially under emergecy braking yesterday in the wet with nearly worn

I have a 2.0 TDCI with 14,000 miles on. Just about to replace the Front Sport Contacts, but the backs have about 1/2 left. (I am doing my advanced driving course so style is very smooth). Do you check your type pressures every week (or at least every month)? Probably will go for Bridgestone RE720's. Got the best wet performace while maintianing grip and longevity. I don't like the very directional pattern on the Sport Contacts, there's a lot of roads on my way to work where the car pulls following the repair join strips in the road. There aren't many waterways on them so I don't know how t

I'm still getting used to these turbo diesel thingies. I find that if you ask too much of the engine - i.e. you give it loads of throttle - but don't slip the clutch a bit, you get an effect a bit like mmmmmmn - waaaaaaaaa. The first bit is you wondering if the engine knows you have the throttle depressed, when it suddenly hits the powerband and the turbo kicks in and you then have to hold on for dear life. Just try not flooring it at low revs and to remember to use the clutch a bit and you can balance it out to obtain a nice fast take off. However saying that I still end up "rolling out

I'll second that. I think you'll find most c-max owners love driving them and using the praticality of them to carry washing machines, mountain bikes and garden waste. But cleaning them ... we all have such busy lifestyles that they probably get a shampoo a week or two after they started to look dirty :-(

My march 04 ( 1st registration date - I don't know the build date) went from averaging just under 40 upto 46 mpg after they upgraded the ECU. Getting 40 was difficult ultra economical driving, while the 46 is normal driving again. They also did the dash upgrade from 0422 to 0424, but that shouldn't affect fuel consumption. Funny thing my dealer said it was a known problem - they just had to keep in in overnight while waiting for a mail from Ford telling them which was the right version of the ECU to install for my cars build date. Sorry I don't know what the actual version was though. S

Not me, to many fiddly bits to clean and too shiny. But if bling is your thing, they're sorted. I'll be after some black / dark grey 5 or 6 spokes eventually, as I can't get my brushes behind the double 9 spokes of the Ghia. Got to get wome wood on the hall floor first - the missus doesn't like the wood effect stick on vinyl tiles that were there when we moved in [no suprise really]. Simon.

Mmmmn. Seems good. I realised I could always keep house keys and car key separate if it was a problem with the range.

Sounds great, but how close do you have to be to the car? I sometimes leave my keys in the front door during the day. It's only about 8 ft from the car. I wouldn't be too impressed to find some local scally's rummaging thru my glovebox!

You see the problem with most forums is that people only look them up when they're having trouble. A bit of time lurking, tring to find why stuff doesn't work then a few questions and then they b****r off. Me, I tend to try and hang a round a few months, posting some help for the other lost souls by sharing my positive experiences and then I * * * * off. So what? Well I'm not ready to b****r off just yet becuase these C-Maxes are really great. I'm so fed off with people thinking BMW/Audi/Merc/VW are the only companies capable of producing a good motor. I researched my car purchase for over

2.0 TDCi: Short trips in an out of town I get low 40's. Planning ahead smooth driving, sticking to the speed limit (well nearly).. Typical run on the Motorway 52. Best I've seen: 60.3. Over all average is 46. Note short trips a pretty poor as it seems that untill the engine is warmed up fuel consumption suffers. E.g. from cold I could get a low as 38/39. But say if I get home from work, pick up the wife and then pop into town then I'll get 43 on the same run. Simon

Water and/or oil go white when heated. If that's coming from the engine its bad news. Once it's been cleared out by compression in the engine it could work ok - but where's it coming from? Plus if you get too much in the piston and the engine tries to squash it, as if it were air - all sorts of things will bust. Conrods, cylinder heads, crankshafts ££££. So just to make it clear :-) TAKE IT TO A DEALER. New cars shouldn't stall. They may start to struggle in the winter after 5 years or more, but not so soon. Saying all of that - I wanted to add something so you don't get stressed. It may

Someone suggested on the C-Max forum that the odo/radio lights staying on is for sales reps when they fill up. When you get back in the car, you can see the mileage and what date/time is on the clock ready to fill in your mileage claim. Used to drive me nuts as it's also good for crims to see how many miles you've got on the trip computer and if the tank will be full. I think the lights should go out once you lock the car! Assuming the dash computer is same as the C-Max then there is one way to get an instant readout - but disclaimer - I cannot be held repsonible for what happens if you us

Wrong place for me, It's behind and to the left of me. I went out for a drive recently to try and make it happen, so I can take it in and demonstrate it. Couldn't get the noise to buzz at all :-(. Pulling off several time since then it has done it - doh!.

First off, I don't want to seem like I'm unhappy with the car, I'm not ... in fact I still think C-maxes are great. I shall be sticking a sofabed in the back this weekend! I have a buzzing rattle from somwhere just behind or under the passenger seat. Some kind of harmonic induced vibration. Only when pulling off in 1st with more than about 1,500 revs. Anyone had this and know the source? Otherwise it a case of getting the wife to do some stop starts while I sit in the back with my head under the chair :-(. 1st guess is that it's outside and an exhaust bolt may be loose, but it doesn't happ