December 2002
Just a quick one that has been bothering me for a while...
Is there any difference between DERV fuel and diesel? What does DERV stand for?
Sorry if this is really basic.
Read more
Just seen on BBC 'Northwest Tonight' that a new Virgin train going in to service next year has set a speed record between Manchester - London (2hrs, 9 Mins), some politician was going on about how great this was, which it is really.
But hang on... Politicians are always telling us that 'SPEED KILLS' are they not? After all what if a child were to run out in front of this train...
Perhaps a politician would now care to acknowledge exactly when 'speed kills'
Hypocrisy strikes again. Read more
A pointless thread about something not related to Motoring, and its not even Friday.
www.trakkies.co.uk
Hi... I purchased a 94 Corsa SRi (8 valve) about 9 months ago - in recent months i have noticed it has begun to loose water. In addition to this an oily yellow mixture began appearing round the oil filler cap. A local mechanic suspected a damaged head gasket, however before i commited i flushed the cooling system, refilled and only minor water loss, with no more yellow gunk in the rocker box cover, so i suspected an airlock and thought nothing more of it.
Last night - i noticed the engine temperature gauge seemed almost stuck between the rest pin and the 90 marker, the same toda, it has until now run at 90 or there abouts. The needle falls when the engine is stopped so its not stuck there. There is now more yellow gunk in the top cover than before, no noticeable water loss however - and even when i leave the engine running with the car sat still, the needle will not rise to 90, previously it would take about 5 minutes before the temp had risen enough for the fan to kick in. The heater now blows warmish air, but not quite as warm as it used to! Another air lock? Or something more expensive?? Help?!?! Many thanks... Read more
Returning to UK and am buying first car in UK. I am thinking of buying a 2 year old car from a car supermarket.
I need help as to what are the pitfalls to lookout for and what are the "must do's" during the process of buying from these outlets.
Read more
A couple of thoughts...
If you've been away from UK for sometime, have you checked out the insurance situation? We've had a lot of cost increases, plus 'group' re-clasification.May be worth talking to a broker, for some guidance as to which models would suit your budget, first.
Then,ONLY if you have the time, view whats on offer at the supermarkets, then go & have a couple of days out at an auction.
See if you can't spend a little time & save some (a lot?) money at the auction.Bet the car will be there, just waiting for you!
Mark
Just doing some research into the best car to transport two little 'uns around town at the lowest cost over two years, but saftey is an issue, so no out and out bangers allowed..
The other given is a 21 year old South African nanny (uk licence) and insurance is MINIMUM £2k in London, no joke....! yes, yes get another nanny I hear you say, but you try explaining to two under 5's them that you sacked the nanny 'cos the insurance is too high....? doesn't fit in to barbie world now...and it is Christmas
So it seems that best deal is to go for one of those 12 month free insurance offers with VW or Renault, but knowing the 'going south' residuals for anything resembling garlic, I am erring on the sauerkraut side of things..
So how about a 1.2 Polo for £7,995 or lower if I can find one, they seem to have reasonable rates @ 6.5%
Does anyone reckon I can knock a dealer for more, even if they are throwing in the free insurance?? Are there better deals to be had, or am I mad for going new even with the free insurance and the fact I will have to pay for this in year 2 anyway...
merry christmas everyone
Read more
If you are likely to be changing nannies regularly, why not
set up a company and call the nannies employees. You
could then arrange business incurance to cover yourself, your missus and
any nanny you want.
Why not? Because business car insurance is far more expensive than cover for individuals.
Having read HJ's report on the police auction, it would be interesting to find out how many of these vehicles get clocked or end up with a completely new identity. Who does the V5 state as the owner on a police vehicle? Anyone here ever bought one? The prices are certainly tempting. Read more
The 'silver' police vehicles mentioned earlier aren't, really. What the Met and other forces are introducing is a protective covering that can be removed prior to disposal of the vehicle, leaving pristine paintwork. The other benefit is they can order vehicles in any colour, not just whiet.
I have a 95/N Ford Escort 1.6
About once every 4 weeks I will start it in the morning and it will be fine until I stop at the end of our drive, about 100 yards away, at which point the engine cuts out. Trying to start it again immediately is a waste of time, but if it is left for about 4-5 minutes, it starts first time and gives no more trouble.
Other than this, the car works absolutely fine.
My usual mechanic cannot work out what the problem is and as it is so intermittent he is unlikely to experience it himself.
Has anyone here had the same problem or has any ideas?
Dave H
Read more
Hope it works, but even if it doesn't, at least you will be using the right oil! :)
Blue
I'm thinking of buying one of these, the (independent) dealer is asking a (reasonable?) £3.5k for it. Mileage is very low at 17,000 which immediately makes me suspect shopping trolley lifestyle, but there is no mayo and everything looks healthy. All the docs check out and SH is immaculate. Has new tyres, exhaust and timing belt is done. How much should I pay for this car? Does anyone have specific experience with this model? Cheers.
Read more
Thanks for the advice on this. Previous owner confirmed the vehicle's history, mainly shopping trips, as suspected, and the Honda garage which (over)serviced it all its life also assisted in curing the paranoia. Collected the car just before Christmas - it's lovely. We've now done more miles in two weeks than it did in the previous ten months!
On the subject of clocking, it obviously pays to be sceptical when dealing with low mileage cars due to the vast numbers of dodgy vehicles on our roads. But there are exceptions, and assuming well serviced and sound mechanically, I'd say they represent excellent propositions for those in need of a mile muncher on a budget.
I am having some power delivery problems in my DT and took it down to the garage today to see if the MAF sensor was playing up. They did a diagnostic check and said that all seemed ok. They also asked whether I always filled up at the same place because from the mechanic's past experiences he found that he had problems (with petrol) from the same company that I use.
Has anyone experienced worse performance from certain suppliers than others? (I know that improvements from different petrol suppliers has been recently discussed) Read more
At about this time of the year they start supplying diesel with winter anti waxing additives, and this stuff is about 1.5% non combustible. It will have a small effect on power and fuel consumption.
I don't know if there's much difference bewteen diesel brands, but I avoid Tesco because it seems to froth more.
Ian Cook
I don't have the security code to my R660 stereo on my gleaming new 416.
It is possible to turn the code protection off for convinience.
Anyone know how to do this without actually having the code?
Any sly work arounds?
--
These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads. Read more
See this thread for further info forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6608
Upon presentation of the right documents, the code is 'usually' instantly available via the database.
£5 charge for the privelige
MG-Rover Questions? forums.mg-rover.org/
Browse
.jpg)
Except running your car on cooking oil is also illegal. Unless you declare it and pay the duty of course.