November 2002
Can someone please advise:
I've got my eye on, say, three cars at auction. Bid on first car and 'win' it provisionally. Am I then prevented from bidding on the other cars, which could come through before the provisional is accepted? Scenario is then losing out on the other cars if the provisional is declined - or ending up with two or more bids being accepted :-( Is it just a case of tough t**ty?? Read more
I have just had an motor insurance renewal letter from the AA. My wife and I have a car each, both insured via the AA. Total cost for next year is £900.86, this includes five year's no-claims on one policy. They then offer, in the same letter alternatives of 737.21, this includes £75 to protect my no-claims bonus. But with excesses of £300 on one and £275 on another.
I went to Egg who also do motor insurance. Their price, for the same cover, is £513.55, for both cars and a promise to keep the rate the same for next year. This is with excesses of £100.
I think the AA tv advertisement is a load of old toffee.
It does make sense to shop around.
Bye for now
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(or also as London Victoria). I had a slight accident where I was completely at fault. It was so minor I was not claiming on my policy but the third party was. I rang the accident line, they took the accident details over the phone in a very sympathetic way. Most impressive, no paper trail. They will be writing to the third party directly offering to use a Frizzell repairer. As a protected NCB I will not, in theory, pay a penny.
I had previously offered to deal with minor damage to old van by cash but he showed me a huge repair quote. He must have thought Christmas had come and I doubt any of the cash would have been used for repair. By being greedy he lost everything as Frizzells will pay for work actually needed.
Does anyone know about Z bushes on a 325TDS SE?
I recently bought the car and find it 'white lines' a bit or to describe more fully - when driving in the slow lane (does anybody do this apart from me? the car 'wobbles' in the tram lines created by the big trucks)BUT the fault doesn't feel like it's the front of the car but the rear wheels.
I notice in the service history a recent report mentioned the Z bushes needed replacement. I'm guessing this is the culprit but is it a difficult job to replace these? Also any idea of costs?
Regards
Sideways Read more
3rd time lucky! -- I have just come across the following comment from John G Burns, the Unixnerd.../bmw site proprietor and BMW expert:
On higher mileage cars the rear subframe mounts can fail after 10 years or so. Two rubber bushings hold the subframe to the car, not fun to change without the correct tool. Failed bushings make the back end of the car wander about, you can feel it when changing lane.
Hope that helps.
5th gear last night, pointed out that Bi fuel and LPG cars are exempt from the London congestion charging scheme even though the exact same sized car running conventional fuel isnt:-))) mmmmmmm..... Read more
Probably because she owns one.
Thanks Keith.
Without wishing to pry - how do you know she owns one?
I don't intend to cause regurgitation of a lot of ill-informed arguments, but I think an observation of mine is worth sharing.
Recently I have been attempting to use Shell diesel when possible, but the last 4 times I have filled my Polo have been twice from the Shell station and twice at Tesco.
Both times at Tesco I have noticed the fuel markedly more frothy and difficult to get brimmed full (to measure fuel consumption - anally retentive I know...)
I was wondering what information this gives on the content of surfactants to help keep the engine clean??
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I agree with Godfrey H,
I use BP, Tesco and Sainsbury's City Diesel.
BP - Not frothy, fills up the tank in a flash.
Sainsbury's and Tesco, quite frothy and takes longer to fill.
I guess BP and in this case, Shell have a better additives package.
As a long time reader of Diesel car, I can't imagine one to be more efficient than the other.
You need to go to France and fill up there to get better diesel performance wise. French diesel has more sulphur, we already conform with the tight Euro standards for 2004 Diesel wise.
French Diesel will give more smoke, but slightly enhanced performance. It's a direct trade-off.
Cheers - Jon S
I bought a set of PowerTrain pads from Partco and was fine after 3000 miles of normal driving. I took it to road rallying last Friday and it overheated and glazed. Now I have to throw them away.
Which brand / model should I go for if I do normal driving but the occasional rallying?
The car is Nissan Maxima QX 3.0.
Thanks,
Garrison Tsang
Girton College
Cambridge
CB3 0JG
Cambridge University Automobile Club - Competition Secretary
www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cuac/
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Sorry but i though they were no better than ferodo or standard citroen parts on my zx. That said i suspect the pads are not the weakest link in the brake chain!!
1994 Golf VR6: ABS light is permanently on and the ABS doesnt work. couple of auto electricians have had a look at it and not been able to fix it. I have checked the outputs from the wheel sensors, and seem to get an alternating voltage output from all of them. VW garage in oxford said that the engine management code showed up as a "voltage fault" to the abs unit. A mate got me some of the VW wiring diagrams but they are pretty unintelligible. Anyone got any bright ideas for things I should look for, or a good auto-electrician that can sort it? I REALLY dont want to go to the (oxford area) main dealer, as all they seem to be able to do is change my washer fluid on a service, then charge me for it!
cheers,
Shed Read more
Cheers PDP, I think Ill pop round there and have a chat to them.
I suspect I know the answer to this, but just in case:
Took the Mondeo in for an oil change yesterday, Ford Rapid fit. Bloke shimmies over looking shifty afterwards, conversation goes like this.
Bloke: You got uneven tyre wear there mate. You want us to check the balance and alignment?
Me: Well....how much?
Bloke: 35 quid the balance, 62 the alignment. Plus VAT.
Me: But I had it aligned in the summer when I had the suspension sorted.
Bloke: Yes, well, you have to check it three times a year.
Me: Eh? At a 100 a go?
Bloke: Meaningful silence.
Me: I'll leave that for now then thanks.
Question: Does he tell this "three times a year" line to six and seven eighths out of seven of his customers (and that's not a number I've picked out of a hat.)? Or is three times a year actually reasonable? Read more
Thank you folks. Seems like the money asked is not unreasonable, and for a Mondeo, the interval suggested isn't either.
This June, I had the misfortune to be snapped by a gatso in Cambridge. 3points and 60 quid.
I told my insurers about this at renewal time, and my quote went up by around 60 quid as a result. I have to say that the lady at Direct Line was rather taken aback that I had told her, and was not immediately sure what to do! Apparently, I am in the minority.
Anyway, my good lady wife has just renewed her insurance. I am a named driver on her policy. She did not tell them about my conviction.
Will she or I now get in trouble? Is her insurance valid? Do the insurance companies look at each other's data? Should I / Mrs Joe come clean, and is it likely that her insurance will have a big hike as a result of me being a named driver? Read more
>>But not murder, rape, arson, theft, being drunk and disorderly, possession, dealing or use of drugs, or GBH ! Etcetera.
Not true, actually. It all comes under "material fact".
Now, clearly, some of those you mentioned are material and some are not.
[Sorry, nothing Motoring related here. M.] Read more
There's concerted drink-drive campaigning every Christmas - across tv, radio, social media etc.
They could save some money, and lives, by making the drink-drive limit zero, as there is absolutely no one who knows how much can safely be drunk and still get behind a wheel.
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It is worth remembering that if the seller does not accept your provisional bid but asks for a higher bid you are free to walk away. Hence if your provisional bid is close they risk losing a sale by rejecting it. Depending on how the provisionals office works at the particular auction it doesn't do any harm to ask them to try and get an answer fast as you can only buy one car and want to get back out there.
If the auctioneer says very provisional on your bid you are very unlikely to get it so could bid on other cars straight away if the bank account will take it.
On one occasion the auctioneer (who had me bidding against nobody) didn't actually want to take the deposit as I was still so far off reserve. But I carried on anyway, and got the provisionals desk to tell the seller (finance co.) why they should sell it cheap. In the end I got it for £2k less than they said they would take.
PB.