had a quick look at an 04 coupe this morning in a dealers as I happened to be passing.Didn't bother taking it out as it was a high miler/manual and I'm looking for a low/average miler auto.
I asked the attentive salesman if he had driven the car and did the heated seats work ? No sir not yet, only just come in, yes sir everything on our cars cars works perfectly.

I realised he didn't have a clue if the heated seats worked or not but it did make me think: what is it that is so fragile about the heated seats?

Presumably its an electrical problem but what exactly and how easy /difficult is it to fix.
P

 

Never had a problem with mine, but she only done 6,500 miles. I know others on here that have. Were abouts are you looking for your Crossfire? Have you looked on Pistion Heads yet? They have a few for sale on there.

Jon

 

hello Jon
I'm looking anywhere around the Berkshire,Londonish,home counties area.
There are a couple on Piston Heads that are worth a look but when I called them up and told them the price range I would be offering them they both said no thanks.
I don't think most people ( particularly the dealers) have really grasped how low they are going to have to price a car to get someone to part with their cash.When you are talking about something a little exotic
( but no 'badge' appeal) like our favourite car the xf then you are talking 'low'.
Easy for me to talk as I'm in no hurry and I'm not trying to make a living selling cars.........shame really but I know eventually I will get a decent xf for silly money.
Jeff

 

Hi Jeff.

I will keep my eye's open. I'm in the motor trade myself.

Cheers
Jon

 

I had my seat heater control module replace twice under warranty. There is alot of threads on these problems in the applicable Tech sections of the forum.

Where is Berkshire UK near?

 

thanks,I will have a trawl through the Tech section.
Berkshire is one of the counties adjoining London on the western side.
Rural suburbia is my take on this part of the world,pleasant and green but dominated by its proximity to London.

 

seems like you're looking for the same car as me just out of curiousity what do you consider low/average miles?

 

I tend to think of 'average' mileage as 10K a year but its not necessarily
the best way of judging condition. 15K a year on motorways is a lot better for an engine than 5K on short journey school runs .Its always a balance but 'high' miles and a well used drivers seat is always a turnoff for me.

 

don't make you wrong there mate... seen pics of sum where the seat looks like it's half melted from the use!!! uhhh no thanks no interest there!! Mind you off for atest drive tomorrow so I'll finally find out if the drive is a good as the looks promise.... be an interesting change from an F150 Lightning!

 

I think you will find it a bit tame compared to the grunt of an F150 L
Hope it doesn't disappoint

 

Hey have a look in the tech section . . . I posted a complete how to on repairing the seat heater. This is a problem that LEAR Corp (seat supplier to Merc. Benz & Mopar) had not corrected !!! Looking at the instruction sheet, it has a date of 2000 I believe !!! So, they KNEW they had a problem way back then !!! Essentially it is the wire that comes from the heating wire - the wire is sewn too tight and breaks . . . then once it is broken and the heating element no longer works, it takes out the control module - so I have read in the manual . . . anyhow, have a look and you can see the kit you can get from the dealer and fix it yourself, or have the dealer tech (do you REALLY trust them ???) fix it . . .

Cheers

Mark
A12rag

 

lol... it's very tame compared to the L!!! That being said though it's still respectable just needs a little more 'pep'... depending on what the L makes and a CF costs I suspect a couple of mods could be in order

 

What are you hoping to pay for a nice low mileage auto example? Folks will say "no thanks" to a "silly money offer" when they selling their pride and joy! There are loads of decent cars on the market at low low prices (6K - 8K) even at the dealers. But if your budget is really low the best place for you is the motor auctions. But good luck - hope you find what you want and do let us know how you get on.

 

hanx Petro..I used to live in Western Massachusetts in the Bershire Mountains

 

know where you mean Nightrider but never got the chance to visit Western Mass.
I workeed for a company that had its R&D and conferance facilities in Norwood ( on the Boston Providence turnpike) and on extended business trips spent many weekends driving around but I used to drive down to the Cape rather than west into the Berkshire,Catskill mountains.I just love the Cape area.
Small world eh?

Steve,I have a price range in mind of 5-6K for an 04/54 (at 6K it will have to be like new) and its purely based on where I think s/h car prices will be going this year. As you say most people will say thats a joke price for my car and if they can get the 6-8 K asking price good for them.
In some ways its best for all of us if my price prediction doesn't come true
but I think this recession/depression has only just started and part of me says keep your cash under the bed and make do with the old MGF for a Sunday afternoon car.But, thats a bit too negative and there's nowhere to put the dog in the MGF!

 

Just because there are some cars selling at £6000 dosen't mean there in good nick.
I think you'll find that the cars selling that low are either high mileage or there not in good condition.
I know from experience when you look at the ones at a low price they are usually that price for a reason.
I find to get a good car you always pay that we bit extra but you never know.
Cerainly at £6000 there a cheap car.
I see there's a SRT6 roadster for sale at the moment for £12500 and that was over £35,000 new.


norrie.

 

It seems to me we are entering an era where asking prices for s/h cars (perhaps new cars as well ) is pretty much academic,just like the asking price for houses really.
Last week I was offered a really immaculate ,low mileage Mazda RX8,05 reg for £4K mainly because I could produce the cash the same day.The poor chap had advertised it a few weeks ago for £6500 thinking that was 'reasonable' and he would get a decent offer.No takers just a few time wasters.
His business went sour virtually overnight and he was desperate.
I was really tempted but it was the wrong colour,luckily he did sell it.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions from this sad story.
P

PS we seem to have digressed off the subject of 'heated seats' but I think I understand what the problem is and where to look for some answers.

 

Hi,
I had the drivers side fail a few months ago and replaced under warranty. I chatted to the dealer about the comments on this being a weak area of the vehicle. He said it was about the way the heater sits under the seat area and with movement breaks it, probably the same wire mentioned in the other post.

This probably means that lifespan is not so much through use of the heater , but a combination of miles driven, weight of person and how rough the roads are I'm sure someone mathematical can work out an equation for that .. any takers ?

cheers

Paul

 

thanks Paul.This all leads me to think this is a mechanical problem and thus not too difficult to fix.
Shame it wasn't corrected at the outset or by a recall,heated seats are not rocket science, never had any problems with those on my 12 year old Volvo.
I expect the bean counters said no,let the dealers fix it under warranty.
The irony is that I never use them but the 'boss' uses them all the time in winter so it becomes an essential extra on any car.
P

 

as an aside - it appears that Xfs are loosing around £250 a month in the trade which has got to be a real downer for those needing/wishing to sell