Courtesy Car

[HDi fun]

Passat in for MoT, timing belt and rectify slight vacuum leak leading to overly firm brake pedal if you apply a couple of times in quick succession.

I have custody of a 1.2i 16v Corsa Activ courtesy loan vehicle. Not at all keen: noisy, cramped, wibbly wobbly steering, but so unbelievably slow!

 

[T9 man]

I feel your pain Paul I remember having a Ford KIA 1.3 as a courtesy car while the beast was being worked on on several occasions. Slow - yes, cramped - yes, wibbly wobbly steering - yes, but that car ran on fresh air I swear

 

[HDi fun]

At least it has the words Courtesy Car plastered all over it. That helps.

 

[T9 man]

So true.

 

[obi_waynne]

You might even be glad to get the Passat back!

 

[HDi fun]

You might even be glad to get the Passat back!

I will be. No question. It is actually very nice to drive, plenty of midrange shove and nicely weighted steering. it's just the cost of fixing the thing which I don't like.
I really need the space too now as my wife has developed chronic neurological condition which requires me to carry walking aids in addition to other luggage.

 

[Yugguy]

You need a Lexus chaps. Whenever my inlaws take their RX300 in for a service they'll get something like an IS300h as a courtesy car.

 

[obi_waynne]

I got an 225bhp A5 Quattro last time as a courtesy car, for a whole weekend!

 

[T9 man]

I bet you were reluctant to hand that back on Monday morning Obi

 

[obi_waynne]

Very much so, it was Easter bank holiday, the Garage couldn't contact me to authorise work so let me keep the car until Tuesday morning! What an awesome weekend that was! I probably used up a months fuel budget on that one weekend but as I wasn't paying for tyres and wear and tear it made perfect sense!

 

[T9 man]

Understood

 

[Yugguy]

Yeah, nightmare for you...

 

[HDi fun]

I'd be disappointed too, stuck with such a woeful piece of machinery. Rather have me Cawsa Spawt 1.2i 16 valve any day

 

[T9 man]

^^

 

[HDi fun]

Got the VW back. Brake vacuum loss fixed, new cambelt and waterpump.

Q: What idiot uses belts to drive critical engine components?
A: VW.

Anyway, it's nice to have circa 300 lbft under my right foot and have brake pedal feel back as normal. £454 lighter in the wallet department but at least it's money well spent. I don't grudge servicing costs. Let's see what goes wrong next . . . .

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Maybe you need to wear dark sunnies along with a peaked cap pulled down to deter being recognized so you can still just see out to hide your embarrassment.

 

[obi_waynne]

How did they fix the brake vacuum loss? Mine has been hissing for months now so it's only a matter of time until I need to do something about it.

 

[HDi fun]

It was literally a short vacuum pipe from the top LHS of the cylinder head. I've uploaded a picture and outlined the offending part. This is not my engine, but a stock picture, my engine is rather grubby. It is of course possible that yours is drawing in air from somewhere else. It needs to be fixed as dirt can get into the vacuum pump itself which could cause problems.