January 2002
I have just got a job with the option of a company car or to take the money and buy my own. I was looking forward to choosing a new or preferably 12 month old diesel estate.
It appears that all the really desirable ones are only available new i.e.Rover Tourer, VW 130 bhp or Audi 130bhp. The Mondeo with similiar spec is not yet available. Any advice on what to go for? Is the Audi A4 really better than the bigger Passat. The Current Mondeo Diesel is rather cheap as an import. I currently run a 96 Xantia and I have become very fond of it but the C5 looks rather plain to me.
I really didn't think choosing would be this difficult
Any advice gratefully received.
Cheers
Peter Read more
I am interested in canvassing views on this topic as I personally have mixed feelings. Do they ease congestion or are they a major cause? When directions are painted on the road surface and you are the third car in the queue, can you tell whether you are in the correct lane? Drivers who are familiar with such roundabouts seem to deliberately choose the wrong lane at one set of lights to ensure that they are in the correct lane at the next set. Your comments would be interesting. Read more
Same problem at the Army and Navy roundabout at Chelmsford.
Small roundabout with traffic lights and three lanes painted in.
No room for traffic to stack up between the lights.
You need to cut across sharply to get in the correct lane to turn off it.
Not nice.
Hi all,
I'm writing to see whether any of you have had bad experiences with Omega door handles in the cold.
The problem is that the door opens ok, but won't shut - it just bounces open again! Eventually it will shut but only after the warmth of the sun or application of quantities of luke warm water on the outside of the door skin around the lock. Using the key to help here makes no difference - so I think its a mechanical as opposed to a central locking problem.
Am I alone with these problems?
In anticipation & happy new year to you all.
Robert Read more
Yes,
You are being cheeky - what do you drive? I'm sure I could make some smart arsed comment about that!
Robert
I'm questioning my sanity at the moment because i saw one of the best looking saloon cars i have seen in a long time today ..... a Skoda.
It must have been top of the range Octavia (i think) reminded me of Alfa romeo/Lancia saloon. Nice big dark grey alloys/aggresive styling in black paint.
I would like to drive one just to see how good/bad Skodas are.Problem is if its really good i still would'nt buy one because of the image thing.... Just like the latest adverts for Skodas.
Perhaps i could slap some Lancia badges on to disguise its a Skoda ???? Read more
Whats that to do with Skoda,and your facts are wrong again
There are only two kinds of drivers on the road that you see: the morons, who drive slower than me; and the maniacs, who drive faster than me. Doesn't everyone operate on this principal? ;^}
You dont get to see the third kind, those sensible intelligent paragons of driving virtue go at the same speed as you, as you neither overtake them nor are overtaken by them ;-)
~R Read more
Randolph,
Growler sort of beat me to it, I was going to say you don't see too much of type three because we (??) are all busy posting our perfect ways on the forum.
David
First commute back after Christmas and I think most some motorists have left their common sense in 2001.
From J8/9 all the way to J4, it was blocked by middle lane drivers. I lost count of the number of cars undertaking. It was amazing there wasn't an accident as I saw at least one car attempt to pull in only to almost take out the undertaking car.
As usual, I assumed the safest place to be is the 'fast' lane. Wrong !!! It was choked with cars trying to do the same as me. As a result the middle lane drivers were undertaking those cars.
There was a point when I was totally stuck at 50mph with cars in the middle lane doing 55.
It is very frustrating when clearly some people do not know how to use a motorway. When are we going to get the Police to crack down on this kind of behaviour.
As if it couldn't get any worse, some motorists were trying to queue jump the slip for the M25, this meant that they were stationary cars in the 'slow' lane indicating to cut in!
It beggars belief. Read more
Here's some more
Both M4 Both new years eve
1. BMW 3 series 60mph in lane 2 no traffic either side for about a quarter of a mile-oh yes had main beam on (all the time on lit section)
2. Followed by a Focus complete with dark red coloured space saver wheel on front offside-followed me at 80+ for some time....
Beat that!!
:0)
I have just been charged £117.50p for a replacement handset to open/lock the doors on my 1996 Rover 416i.
The fitter drove it into the workshop and told me the vehicle had to be connected to a computer to have the handset programmed.
Does anybody know if my original keycode number is still valid with the new handset.
john Read more
ref. mondeo key programming ,if you are programming new keys you need a minimum of two keys and the car has to connected to fords wds system for about 20 mins.
The following article headed
"Would you credit it?
A number of you were shocked to learn of the reader who was billed for credit card transactions two years after closing his credit card account. "
at the Guardian web site
www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,624963,00.h...l
shows why it is risky to authorise companies to deduct regular payments from your credit card account. Note that the RAC and AA both have this method of payment as one of their favoured options. Read more
continuous payment by credit card is a different legal agreement to direct debit or standing order
DD and SO can be cancelled by only talking to bank (although it is good manners to tell the party that normally gets paid)
as said continuous payment by credit card is different
AA are p**s poor at managing this, and you DO have much more control if the money is comming out of your current account by DD or SO
Ditched AA anyway for their pro-speed camera position on the news one night
RE Internet Service Providers, AOL are renowned for continuing to take money from peoples credit card accoutns long after the agreement has been cancelled, they has often been comment in PC press, best way to avoid this is to use Amex not Visa or Mastercard - As Amex have a much more Pro-Active customer help approach than most other CC companies in this regard
Other Service providers are not so bad
Wouldnt use AOL anyway as their software tends to screw other stuff up, and its generally regarded as the beginners way of accessing the internet
Hi,
I have excessive wear on the front tyres of my citroen ZX 1.9 TD. All four tyres were replaced after 110,000 miles last August, and have since done 10,000 miles. The tread on the passenger side tyre has almost completly worn down on the inside. On the drivers side the tread has worn right down on both edges (not in the centre). My local citroen garage are currently too busy to help me!
Can anyone help me with this problem?
Thanks,
Ian H Read more
Ian,
The wear on both outer edges of your o/s tyre would usually be under-inflation. The wear on the inside of the n/s tyre would often be tracking.
The combination is a little odd. However I would first look at the track rod ends and check the lower front wishbones, they frequently have wear at the inner bushes.
You didn't really get 110,000 miles from one set of tyres???
David
I have a 96 Polo Diesel.
The last couple of times I have started it the clock has reset it'self to 00.00 The car starts OK although its a little grudging in the cold weather. Could it be excessive drain on the battery (Still original one)? Read more
James
Classic symptom of an old battery on its last legs. When you start the car the volts drop below the minimum at which the clock will operate. When the volts recover it simply restarts at zero.
The problem will go away when it gets warmer or you replace the battery (whichever comes first).
regards
John
Browse
Looking at new diesel estates, Rover 75, Passat and A4, Laguna, imho strengths are:
Safety: Laguna, Rover 75 (see NCAP details, not just star rating)
Quality: Audi, Rover/Passat
Luggage space: Passat, Laguna
rear passenger space: Passat, Rover
Fuel economy: Passat/Audi
Equipment: Laguna
Engine refinement: Rover, Laguna
Ride comfort: Rover
Performance: Passat, Audi
Family appeal: Laguna (large sunroof, inbuilt blinds)
(I went for the Laguna, but would have loved a Rover; collegues have all gone for Passat/A4...)
If you are looking for a 1 year old diesel estate, I'd definately go for a 115bhp Passat rather than the superceded A4. My R reg Passat 110 saloon at 113k was much quieter and more refined than the 55k 110 S reg A4 Avant pool car that followed it, which lurched, creaked and was much more cramped. The Passat would be cheaper too...
HTH!