November 2002
I have always understood that in the USA all cars had to be insured for any driver, and friends in the USA have lent me their cars without notifying their insurance company.
I am buying a property in Florida to use as a holiday home. Apart from myself, my family and friends will use it. I have been contemplating buying a car to leave there for the use of anyone visiting.
To get some idea of insurance costs I got quotes on the internet from a couple Florida motor insurance companies. These required me to name and give details of up to 4 drivers. The more drivers I named the higher the premium.
Does anyone know the exact position on Florida Motor Insurance?
Marcus
PS.
If T Lucas could give me the name of the firm that leases his pal Plymouth Caravans for $99 a month I would go for that option. See thread "Back from the USA"
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Over the past couple of weeks my 181k mile GTI gearbox has occasionally got stuck in third gear, requiring a quick pull on the gearstick to pull it out! Just driven it on a short journey tonight and it did again, pulled it out and now whenever I try to select third it grates quite badly!!! When the car is stationary it still selects all the gears without a problem. Does this imply that the above is a relatively easy fix or is it a little more terminal??? :-(
Tim Read more
Could be a worn ball joint. But if 3rd gear cannot be engaged but all the other gears are fine then it probably means 3rd gear synchomesh is worn out.
Can you advise how to remove replace the engine breather unit which sits on top of the inlet manifold on a 2.5 v6 petrol omega. Can it be done without removing the inlet manifold. Have already cleaned the breather pipe,which was blocked,from the drivers side bank to the back of the breather unit.
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Many thanks to Stuart and Crombster for their help. Decided to bite the bullet and change the cam cover seals - they are expensive for a bit of rubber. Glad I did because there was quite a lot of oil in the spark plug trench between the cams particularly in the drivers side bank. Replacing the seal on the passenger side was more difficult the secret is to to patiently work to position the wires and pipes clear to enable the cam cover to go underneath. By the way the screw in the plastic breather unit is covered by a plastic tray with the ecotec symbol on it - you use a screw driver to lever it off and the screw becomes visible. Soaking the breather unit in some petrol removed the gunge. I found removing and replacing the fuel rail quite tricky - very nervous of dropping a bolt on removal and refitting. I would be interested in how Crombster or anyone else did it. You were right it is quite a time consuming but ultimately a very rewarding job. Any one know what a a main dealer would charge.
Many thanks again
Kind Regards
Ian
Did anyone read the article in Saturdays Telegraph about the Mercedes that was impounded by HM customs from the lady bringing back booze for her 40th birthday - and sold without any appeal being allowed. £16k down the pan.
If the facts are as reported then we should all be writing to our MPs and and having a whip round for supporting some legal costs too.
Ps it'a damn good job Mrs M did not go abroad for her recent birthday refreshments.....!
Meldrew
(I just do not believe it) Read more
...and it is actually in contravention of HM C&E's own charter regarding what happens if something is under appeal.
You watch, it'll turn out to be blamed on an admin cock-up, some clerk will get the blame at worst a verbal warning.
Mind you I couldn't understand why they couple were so attached to a Vito to want to pay £10,000 in order to get their own van back. I suppose this was in anticipation of winning the case against C&E.
Has anyone experienced idling problems after a restart when engine is warm on Golf GTI with APK 2.0 litre 8v engine? If the car is up to operating temperature and then switched off and left for about 5 to 15 minutes, on restarting the engine (throttle not touched) speed immediately goes up to 2,000 to 3,000 revs and then slowly (5 to 10 seconds) goes back to normal idle speed. Occasionally fault happens after warm restart when engine has idled normally initially, but then idle speed goes up in first few hundred yards(noticeable between gear changes and a bit disconcerting!). This does not happen for an immediate re-start when warm, nor does it happen if the engine is warm but left for half an hour or so. Any suggestions as to what the problem is please; car nearly 3 years and 15k miles old?
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my fiesta 1.1 is losing a large amount of water ,first i thought it was the radiator but when running the engine the water seems to be escaping underneath the fanbet cog, i have also checked the hoseclips to make sure they are secure enough does anybody have any idea what might be the cause of the water loss? any thoughts appreciated..thanks Read more
thanks for the advice i think i will give it a try, i may even surprise myself!..thanks.
I am sure this has been asked before but...
Front tyres 3mm(average)
Rear Tyres 6.5m (average)
From a previous post it was suggested that tyres should be changed at 3mm (also matchs the advice from Continental who suggest to take summer tyres out of service when the tread depth is down to 3mm and do the same with winter tyres from 4mm (at least for winter use) Therefore the time has come to replace the front tyres.
So am I right in replacing the tyres now, and putting the 6.5mm tyres to the front, and fitting new rubber to the rear. There is no mention on the conti site of fitting new to the rear? Read more
Valid comments Andy, my post came across a bit black and white! I know there has been quite a lot of discussion about this. I'm not sure I agree with your point about potential balancing and tracking problems - I think the wear pattern is the potential issue which could lead to poorer roadholding after moving the tyres to the other end. As you say, age doesn't really become an issue on high mileage cars. However, I had thought that the general consensus was that best tyres always go on the back (but accepting that those who made this consensus are not necessarily experts in their field). I think the main thing is be aware of the debate, read the arguments for and against, and make your own mind up based on the information provided - bit like a general election really!
My Rover 416 98R has slight bump on top of hatch plus 'mottling' to right of number plate.
I,m getting quotes of £350 + vat to repair this.. Any cheaper but still good way to make a good repair? Read more
Thankyou my sons..actually I think I'll go for Docs suggestion (or similar type of service ).
One of the trade mags recently carried a report of the death of a Swedish gentleman called Nils Bohlin. An event ignored by the media in this country as far as I know, rather surprisingly for a man who is accredited with saving around one million lives and many times that in serious injuries.
His claim to fame was the invention of the three point safety belt, standard fitment and a legal requirement on all cars for many years. So, any one out there who has survived death or serious injury because of Mr Bohlins work, raise your caps.
Personally, I would be happy to see a full safety harness, as worn by racing drivers to now become the norm. Just as easy to get in and out of, much more secure, and it might let us do away with that frightening bl**dy airbag! Read more
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A thought - can somebody invent DOUBLE diagonal straps?
SAFER, and not too uncomfortable for the ladies.
They have.
The BMW 125cc scooter-with-a-roof has a doubel diagonal seatbelt arrangement - IIRC both have to be locked to enable the bike to go.
This roof/strapped-in arrangement means that (here, at any rate) the rider doesn't need a helmet.
I have to change my insurance over at the end of the month when I take on ownership of the Astra.
For the Renault 5, I was paying around 145 pounds pa TPFT.
The cheapest quote I've had on the Astra 1.7D is around 200 pounds.
However, my existing company has quoted either an extra 83 pounds to carry on my policy until its renewal in July (which sounds a lot just for a change of car for 8 months), or I could take out a whole new year's policy for 228 pounds.
If I cancel my policy with then and go elsewhere I have to pay 50 pounds penalty.
My question is, is the increase in premium simply due to the size of the car? (all other details are the same)
And do the above quotes sound reasonable? Read more
You are right, Volvo, I should phone around a bit. I will do so if I can get my head round it in the next few days. I think my excess is 100 quid at the moment, which is what the other companies have been quoting for too. As far as I'm aware, all details are exactly the same as for my present policy, except of course the car itself. For all of them, NCD protection costs extra, and as such I have not asked for this protection.
Of course, ideally I would like FC rather than TPFT, and I know most people say the difference in price is relatively small these days, but since even the increased premium for the change of car is stretching me to the limit, it's not an option for me.
Browse
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In my experience you can't get US car insurance unless you are a US citizen/permanent resident or at least have a US drivers licence.
As I am a UK citizen with a UK driving licence, I have got third party insurance from AIG before now - this was about 3-4 years ago.
See www.insuranceexchangeonline.com/autoUS.htm
mike