Test drive number 1

[karnevil]

Well I managed my first test drive today,a blue 2004 1.8.I am not sure this would be the one I would be parting with my cash for as it was at the high end of the price range and was not that well spec'd.But using this as a base of a car from a franchised dealer with a full service history I will know better what to be looking for in subsequent cars.Definatley need to be wearing less heavy shoes for next time!
Just a couple of things i noticed.1,the car I saw had after market lights fitted and the rear boot trim did not seem to fit right is this usual with these lamp units or had they been fitted wrong?
2,Although the temp from the heater was good and no excessive temp showing on the gauge,the heater button did not turn all the way round i.e the raised indicator section of the button did not turn all the way to the full red area but went passed the full blue area.I'm guessing this shows the knob has been off at some stage and not refitted correctly is this innocent or an indication of something more sinister?

[Dingbat]

Hi. there.

Taking your questions in reverse order.

The heater control knobs are only plastic and the spines tend to split and rotate freely - this means that it's not always possible to tell where the correct position of the knob is. You can buy better quality replacements.

The back of the standard lights on the MGTF is not protected and does not grip the boot trim. Again, nothing to worry about - you can buy rear light internal protective covers which serve to tidy up the whole area. I don't know how aftermarket lights would affect this.

HTH

Brian

[karnevil]

Thanks for that,Brian,I thought it may well be a splines issue but the dial did feel well located and just wanted to make sure it wasn't a mechanism issue.
Thanks.

[Mykel]

Hm, the knob has a notch, so will fit in one way only, so there's another idea: The dial connects to the heater valve via a mechanical cable which is clamped at both ends. Maybe one of the ends is fixed in a wrong position, so the valve opening doesn't match the dial reading exactly. Quite a job though, you will have to remove the centre fascia and one of the side panels, IIRC. Your decision if it's worthwhile to do it, as there is no other problem related to that issue. Do you have aircon?

HTH
Mykel