CAR CLINIC: The first car tremors

Thank you for posting my article or rather for sending an email. I live in Lodwar, so I rely on Nation Online for news. I brought my car to Nissan Kenya and I did not get the help I was looking for, despite their list of expensive parts that were not available.

I was asked to pay a deposit of 80% and wait three weeks for the coins. I finally headed to Grogan, where after doing everything, including changing the piston rings without success, the guys finally settled on electrical circuits – as you had said.

And that's it! My car is so cold and silent that I sometimes wonder if it really works after a long trip. Keep writing sir. You are good. Not only know the cars. I laugh all the time reading your articles. You have a sense of humor.

Stay well! I advised you on the electric ones, but I never said you should not waste your time going to Nissan in Kenya. I know that I am frank, but not so direct.

That said, paying 80% in advance and waiting just three weeks for car parts seems a little sketchy, especially since the car and the brand in question are consumer goods.

Here's a fun fact: It took me less than half an hour between the time I met the guy who sold me my car and the one where I got myself I ran away.

I do not know why Nissan parts should take three weeks to arrive and yet we have stores in the industrial area that sell cars and car percentages (nose cuts, half cuts, among others).

I will continue to write. Readers like you give me hope and motivation. I am glad that I reach someone somewhere; someone who appreciates the effort.

Want more information before you go shopping? google

Thank you for your articles. I need a second car, specifically a Morris Mini just to entertain me. Doing a search on Google did not help much. Advise me, please. M Manyibei

Hmm … I dare to say that the problem is not the lack of information from Google about the Morris Mini, but perhaps your lack of skills on how to & # 39; Use Google.

Most Google users enter the search settings in the dialog box and press the Go button, after which Google presents the results in descending order of relevance … and this is not a course from computer, why are we talking about Google?

I just typed "Morris Mini" in Google's search bar and I can already see a sea of ​​information spread across several websites. Maybe you want to come back on the Net and try again? I do not think it would be wise to copy and paste.
Another unclear thing is: what exactly do you want advice on? I suspect Google has more information about Morris Minis than me

Safety is perhaps the most important aspect of a vehicle to consider because cars disappeared after hackers took advantage of software flaws

I saw it today and it made me sad: buying a used german is like betting on a football match; bad surprises are not unknown and they are painful financially.

I am about to buy my first car and I tore myself between a 116i aMMW (2011/2012) and a 2013 Auris (because the 2011 model really is not very appealing ). My heart is for the 116i while my brain whispers Toyota Auris 2013 because of its affordable price and reliability.

I'm not sure it's going to be a bumpy ride with the 116i (pun intended) or if it's going to be amazing. Everyone does not stop saying that it will cost me a fortune to maintain the car and that eventually something will go wrong.

The Auris is all that I imagine for my pocket and all the skewed comments I've heard. On the 116i, I have 50/50 because of all the negative comments I've heard. Is it true? I am also thinking of a Subaru Impreza.

Help me make this decision before I get it wrong. I want my first car to be a hatchback; I have something for them.

Hello,
Let's start with Auris and put it aside because I have a lot to say about the BMW 116i. I'm surprised you find Auris unattractive, because it's one of Toyota's best moments in auto manufacturing. It is noticeably better to drive than a lot of white rice that they launch on their own market, which will eventually be imported here, like the Belta, the Ractis and the Pbado.

Can a second look at Auris be justified? If the Toyota is not attractive, then the BMW could be even less so.

The race of the 116 will not necessarily be bumpy, but it will certainly be slow. The car speeds up to 100 rest in 11 seconds without end, which is just long enough to save and buy a second 116i.

The car is lethargic, and it's easy to see why: the 1.6-liter four is 114hp (two more and its name would be synonymous with its horsepower), which is more or less what I'm # 39 I got from my previous Mazdalago with 100cc less. A 2012 BMW with a Demio power of 2006.

More so. The looks of the car are "polarizing" which, in diluted English, means "seems funny". The proportions are a little odd.

The practical aspect is compromised by the curious decision of BMW to drive to the rear in a segment where all vehicles are pulling from the front.

This means that in the real world it will not be five places: there is a transmission tunnel, a drive shaft eats what would otherwise be the space for the rear pbadenger's legs, and the boot is terribly small. shopping would snuggle normally.

And then we come to the real fly in the ointment: safety (or the lack thereof).

Let's talk about something called "security through darkness". It is a concept fueled by the deliberate lack of information; in this, a system designed or applied by secret methods is immune from compromise because, well, all about it is a secret.

You can not hack anything if you do not know how it works. Some cars have their ECU locked by this technique to prevent random mapping by footed Hoons with laptops. It's not really a great system, but it worked for people like Toyota.

Enter BMW with its electronic key. No problem with that; everyone has an electronic key these days, even Mazda.

During the adoption of Safety in the Dark (STO), they failed to develop a sufficiently strict firewall, allowing easy access to the OBD network, where and how a series 1 is launched.

With the hope and prayer that thieves do not understand the flaws in security (STO), and without a pbadword-protected firewall, thieves found flaws in the security and blam! 1 series TWOCcing follows, in large numbers.

It was as simple as programming a key ring to run the vehicle via the OBD port. By and large, anyone with a blank dongle could log on and start a series 1 with a few keystrokes. A documented case had hackers rape the vehicle in less than three minutes. It hurt so much that Midlands and East London police in the UK had to remove the OBD ports from their own Series 1 fleet for fear of losing their inventory.

An Emmanuel Adebayor from Istanbul, Turkey – Formerly from London, United Kingdom – Lost his X6 through this subterfuge.

An update of the software had to be prepared to prevent the Woodstock style hippie free love of the late 60s that the BMW 1 Series was getting from those who preferred not to pay for their own cars.

Still afraid? No? So we continue: the N43 engine, which is one of the two engines of the 116i (the other is the N47), has problems with ignition coils and fuel injectors.

So do you avoid the N43 and the N47? You wish! The N47, on the other hand, has a problem of failure of the distribution chain. Ask the owners of Subaru, like myself, the kind of horror that accompanies the failure of a distribution kit on a running engine.

We will tell a story of pain, terror and demoralization; and we will tell it with a gleam in our eyes.

The reflection is not a fiery resolution to combat timing problems until the end, but only one diamond: a solitary tear on the edge of the eyelid as we recall the force that oozes from our shoulders when we heard that sound – that clatter as someone who mixes pebbles in a juice blender, before the power comes out of us under a depressing push, manifesting what car magazines call a catastrophic engine failure. This is not a good space to be in.

So, is Series 1 your enemy? Maybe, maybe not. If you want to do something, do it right.

Take advantage of BMW's superior driving dynamics and rear-facing maneuverability giving it the necessary firepower and deserving of the most driving experience. Get the 130i (with a 6MT); Or have a drink of cold, sober water and get a 3-series instead if you really want a small BMW, or a Volkswagen Golf if you really want a German sedan. (Note: the 1.6 liter Toyota Auris is 0-100 in 8 seconds)

(Note 2: a quick look at the PistonHeads forum reveals that the weakness of security is perhaps not really the fault of BMW

dictate that OBD access should not be restricted, allowing non-BMW companies to work on the car … Interesting … this also allows for thieves to work on the car)

When to make difficult call of the price against grandeur

Your column is brilliant and entertaining as usual. And very useful too.

Do you prefer a used 2015/2016 Lexus GS350 or Mercedes E-Clbad with less than 50 km and with a warranty of up to 100 km or 2019/2020, whichever comes first? Both are managed by the agency. Or should we be content with the new Toyota Camry (quite the looker) or Honda Accord (solid construction reputation), which cost less (almost half) than the old ones used?

I work for donkey years in a country where both are readily available. It's time to reward me for hard work. PS The AMG G63 will still be my ideal car, but due to my current "inadequate pecuniary musculature", the GS350 (especially in its F-Sport skin) is getting closer to the same pbadion. Peter

Hello Peter,
I was going to ask who, here, offers warranties on a Lexus, then I realized that maybe you were not where I was Am, who is Baltimore.

However, I have to write as I am in Kenya because that is the general badumption and most likely it is not where you are too, so you have to be in a place where the You can get warranties on a Lexus. You're not in Baltimore either, is not it?

I do quick calculations in my hotel room in Baltimore and some of them do not quite add up. A new Camry and / or Accord costs half a Lexus and / or a Mercedes? Really?

I need to know where you are (obviously not in Kenya and probably not on the East Coast of the United States) because these market dynamics seem very interesting. Unless we compare the input model Camrys and Chords with respect to Lexi and Mercs highly specialized, in which case it may be true.

The Camry and the Accord are not at the GS / E-Clbad level, so you may need to pick an early team and stick to it. The Camry and the Accord rank alongside the C / IS clbad, the difference being that they are FWD while the premium luxury cars are RWD.

All these cars may or may not have optional AWD. So, would you prefer the pragmatism of spending less money for more or less the same utility or would you opt for a subjective and unquantifiable hedonism and a pony for larger shows? Your Choice

(Full Disclosure: I would like to pony for larger sedans, especially the W212.One of my friends, in the same circle as the Golf-driving Tyrone who played in these stories before, did recently. a long line of waiting for those who in turn want to mess up the inside of this W212.)