October 2001
Does anybody actually bother to use their indicators nowadays?!
Picture what happened to me the other day. Approaching a mini roundabout intending to go straight ahead, hence no need to indicate, meanwhile another car travelling towards me is about to hit the rounabout and is not indicating, hence I presume he is also going straight over. As I'm about to enter the roundabout this guy is turning right after all, but not indicating, by the time I realise this I have already crossed the approach and therefore have to slam on the brakes at the same time as the other guy to avoid a collision. We looked at eachother in disbelief, then what does this bloke do? PUTS HIS INDICATOR ON!
If you can't even be bothered to flick a stalk then you should'nt be on the road!
Rant over.
P.S. And no, he had'nt put it on earlier incase anybody may of thought it had self cancelled without him realising it. Read more
Just about to set to changing the oil and filter on my wifes car after getting the engine nice and hot when I notice that the filter I have just bought is some 35mm longer than other filters I have used including the makers. Question:
Although the thread and oil seal look the same as the others should I risk fitting it or wait until I have checked it out, I will not be until next weekend when I will again be able to do the oil chang. Also why is there so many different filters,surely after all it is only to filter the oil, apart from bigger engines needing bigger filters what is the difference?. In case someone is sitting out there with a Crossland filter parts list I have been given a 2071 filter for a Honda Civic 1.5 lsi 1992.
Regards, Malcolm . Read more
Thanks all for the interestimg forum on oil filters, The supplier cross-referenced it with other makes and did offer me a shorter one, but I have decided to use the longer type as it will be easier to remove next time round.
Regards Malcolm.
the new A class high roof was announced this weekend it looks likea !!!!! and its name is vaneo,whoever thought that up,also the new vectra and derivitives were tested along with the new Micra this has a glass roof and the new VW limo
being built in my city center Dresden,all the parts come on a special tram and the finished product taken away in the same way so there is no heavy trucks plowing through the city, Read more
Such odd numbers were probably no more than drawing office numbers.
The W.125 was very much in the metal in 1937, developed 646 bhp (about twice that of Supra now here, rather fine!) at 5800rpm from 5.66 litres with Schiebervergaser, was clocked at 193 mph at Spa and pioneered long travel suspension, no inverted wings in those days.
The modern GP driver seems to graduate straight from karts to vast Flymos!
Anybody have any problems with the engine increasing to high revs by itself when coming to a stop. The problem is getting worse and have the occasional experience as driving along, in between gears. Any ideas ? Read more
ECU problem? No throttle so thinks engine going to stall. Only a guess!
In my line of work I travel to Spain often. in Bilbao I had noticed a car parked across the street from our offices which looked like a triumph Dolomite crossed with an Austin 1100. the badges said Austin Victoria.
Can anyone give me some more information about this car ? I'd say it was at least 25 years old, I have spoken to the elderly owner who still uses it regularly but says he wants to replace it. - he bought it in 1974 and says can no longer get any parts for it.
Has it any value if I was to buy it and bring it here? Ive never seen another one like it. It is a kind of Harvest gold colour and seems to be in very good condition for its age. Read more
Should have been the Austin ZULU in South Africa?
where did ogri go to, as i have not seen him for a while in the motoring section of the telegraph. Read more
Bike magazine binned Ogri in the 70s, in a dispute with the author Paul Sample. Their circulation halved overnight, allegedly.
Telegraph beware!
How many more articles will be written claiming Fleet Auctions are the best place to buy bargains ??
Do these car magazine journalists ever visit Auctions ?
They are simply dumping grounds for all the ex-lease companies leftovers.
I'll explain.....
Most leasing companies offer vehicles to thier staff members first at the end of the lease period.
Next the Franchise dealers have their pick along with other trade buyers/car supermarkets.
Whats leftover is sent to auction and typically-
1). Poor Specification - white/dark solid blue/burgandy -- No aircon or sunroof...
2).High milelage - 85'000 + on a 3 year old car
3).In need of significant body repairs - large dents / Scratches / Damaged paintwork.
4).No paperwork.
The sad thing is private punters often pay more for these cars at auction than they would for a better car at say a car supermarket or local independent dealer.
I'm sure some of you will counter what i said by asking why do traders attend auctions ? well most don't bother with the well known auction houses -these attract the private punters and normally the worst cars.It's also a seasonal thing,when the plate changes happen there are so many lease cars to dispose of there are more 'quality' cars on offer.
My advice buy directly from a leasing company ( check out exchange and mart ) or car supermarket but avoid finance deals.At least you can drive these cars and check out the paperwork unlike at most auctions. Read more
I've bought my last 4 cars at BCA auctions all low mileage, under 18 months old with no problems
You may have to wait most of the day for the one you want but good savings if you are carefull
Only irritating thing for private punters is you can't get onto the car lists on the BCA websites. Only alternative is to pay £1 a min for their rip off fax back or turn up and hope what you're after is there.
I was in a Tesco filling station the other day and saw a diesel additive priced at around £9.99. I am considering getting some sort of additive for the car which is a 1.4 Citroen AX Diesel. Would getting an additive be worth it and what is the best additive to get. I am willing to pay around £15 Read more
If you really have to then use Millers,if it makes any difference then you are either not servicing your vehicle enough,or using it incorrectly.
Some years ago I heard Gerd Van Acken say much the same thing,I suppose he'd know......
Has anyone suffered a sudden loss of their spare wheel for under the car into the path of a vehicle travelling behind? I did last night,there was a loud bang followed by another as the Passat behind me ran over my spare wheel. Extensive damage to the Passat. The long metal threaded bolt in the rear of my Citroen Xantia HDI SX estate was still intact and the threads undamaged ?
The screw hook on part to the carrier was missing and was not found at the scene. How could this have happened? I regularly check the spare and ensure it is refitted correctly in the carrier and wound up tight so as to stop any movement when you travel on bumpy roads. The tyre was fully inflated. The new screw hook part purchased from Citroen is twice as thick and twice as heavy in metal terms as the orignal.The has been no recall on the fault as far as I know. Has anyone encountered a similar problem? Regards, Mke. Read more
Hi, David,
thanks for the info. Car currently in the garage for repairs. The offside rear chassis box section where there is a drop down plate to which the tow bar fits has pulled away leaving a hole????.
The alignment checks show the car is out slightly at the back. Further work being carried out to check for more hidden damage. Hopefully repairable. Wll explore the tow bar route but doubt any admissions. May never have been fitted from new. However car serviced twice by main dealer and they never reported any problems (missing part). I suspect because it was new they did not remove it.????. When the spare escaped it did so in normal suspension mode and would have had difficulty in getting out from under neath with out causing damage. Oh well onwards and upwards, a learning curve I think.(expensive one)
Regards, Mike.
I am looking at buying a new C220 CDi Auto, I hope to test one next week, anyone have any comments on the car in particular noise, vibration, harshness? Is the diesel a clatter-box or refined?
I have driven an E Class with the same motor that wasn't bad but sounded like a pinking petrol at times.
The auto felt OK, the E was a little slow on the uptake from a stop, but moved OK on the road.
Thanks
Tim Read more
Colin sent me an e-mail, he is in litigation with Merc over a series of faults, leeks and corrosion, plus noise issues etc. He reckons he is not the only one.
I think I will give it a miss, and go read the JD Power survey again....or buy another Toyota, I never had those probs with them
TaTa Tim
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This happened to me.... nearly had a Fiat Panda in the driver's door...
Martin.