Newbie checking in!

[DavidQ]

Hi Guys,

I've had my megane since July and there are a few things that are annoying me that i'd like to have rectified, the gear knob is looking rather worn the numbers aren't clearly displayed.. not that I don't know how to change gears but i'd like to have my interior as clean and as presentable as possible. Also the bezel around the base of the gears seems to have some discolouration, hopefully it's possible these parts can be replaced.. any websites would be greatly appreciated.

Now onto the nitty gritty, the car has some scratches on it, some more noticable than others, my car is black and some of the scratches are white. I would like to get this taken care of ASAP as this is my first car and I'm due to take my test in three weeks, in an ideal world i'd love the car to be gleaming for that special day .

Starting the car has been rather strange lately, some times the car will start fine with no problems and others it wont, sounds like a grinding noise coming from the engine area.. usually starts on the second or third attempt, and in the last two days if i start my car there's a rattling noise just before the car starts, i can't really isolate where the noise is coming from but it sound like it's just below the driver seat, mabye a little further back.

On a final note, i was reversing out of the driveway yesterday and when I got back i saw this laying where the front of my car normally sits, does anyone know what it is or if it even belongs to my car?





I'm in Strabane, Northern ireland so if by any chance people know of local garages/shops etc i'd be delighted.


I know this is isn't quite all based on parts accessories but any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, i know very little about cars!

[sav0]

if you have the 1.6vvt megane i would say the noise you can hear and the problems starting is caused by the dephaser pully its a common problem on that particular model. If your car is due a cambelt change if your car is 5 years old or done 70,000 miles get the dephaser pully done at the same time

As for the part you found on your drive look in the passengers side front wheel arch it fits in there. Secure it in place. Last thing you want is water getting into the hole then into the UCH

[DavidQ]

Thanks for the reply, mine is the 1.6 VVVT Dyanamique, the grinding noise happened when i bought the car.. I had it back at the dealers two or three times, I even left it overnight so they could do a cold start and they said it never happened and started fine, he did say if it did happen again to bring it up and they would sort it for me. It doesn't happens every day, it's more like a weekly occurance. The dealer gave me 6 months warranty with the car and I've only had it two months would this be covered ?.

[sav0]

If you only have 4 months warranty left I would get the dephaser pully checked out it will go sooner or later and it should be covered. depending on its mileage /age you might as well get the cambelt done at the same time

Do a search on this site for dephaser pully most people with a 1.6 vvt have suffered with it

[DavidQ]

Thanks for the advice again sav0, there's only 50,000 miles on it. I can see from a quick search this seems to be a common problem and will be in touch with the dealer after the bank holiday. Can anyone shed any light on the best way to have scratches removed? and also replacing some of the interior, as mentioned in my OP.

Thanks