January 2003
www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/
www.heritage.org.uk/
Due to the weather I was reduced to museum visiting over the hols. Showed my face at both the above.
Probably Gaydon was more interesting of the two. Highlight was a whole room of cut away engines (including the 14. K Series from my beloved 414.) Also a *vintage* 1250 cc MG capable of 200mph. I'm wondering if it's the 1250 that later appeared in the various MG's? Big section of landrovers which was a waste of space - even series 1's can be seen on the road still and a Freelander is *not* noteworthy. Other lowlights were a Rover 213 Vitesse from the 90's (why?) and various other modern cars of little interest. Interesting to see significant space given to jet cars - didn't realise they were ever considered yet there was 20 years of work on them!
Bike museum was good. If anything it suffered from having too many exhibits. There wasn't any room for detailed written explanations. Pretty wide selection of bikes though, including one diesel british bike form 95.
Each gave 3-4 hours of entertainment and sore legs form standing up for hours on end. Also we were 2 out of 5 visitors to the NMCM and 2 out of 10 at Gaydon, not exactly overcrowded. Well worth it if you're in the midlands and it's raining. (Which it always is)
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads. Read more
Apologies for the similarity to this thread and the Citreon ZX thread. Looking for a car for my mum to replace her '84 metro which is not looking healthy. Small to medium car preferably 4 doors but not essential, decent build and safety approx £4-5.5k. Short journeys mainly.
Had a look at various cars on HJ's car by car but nothing promising, had thought a about Peaugeots as a local dealer doing 0% finance 3 years no deposit, but seems to have bad reports on 106, 206 and 306, Micra and Civic look promising, anyone got any personal recommendations as I know not all makes of the same car react equally through their working lives. Read more
A little bird (or was it a fat bloke) tells me that you can pick up a new Ka for £5k. Not necessarily my first choice, but with three years warranty you can't wrong.
If you go for a second hand car, probably best to get something Japanese if substance is more important than style to Gran. The outgoing Micra is good value right now.
Steer clear of leaky, shoddy (IMO) Clios.
If anyone can help please...
I'm interested in buying this Pugeot 205 XS 1.4 1991 J Reg, but was concerned if there was a water leak in it. I looked in the boot and the wading stuff in right-hand side corner near the rear seats was a b it wet and there was a bit dampness under the mat of the left-hand side seat and a bit under some of the others. There is a bit condensation, but not a lot, mainly due to the cold wheather, and it looks as if it clears when the sun is out. The condensation is expected. It is nothing compared to the leak my 1990 Ford Fiesta, hence why i'm looking for a new car. The Pugeot has been rarely used as the guy selling is still learning to drive. The car is up for £795, but he will take £600 and i think i'm happy to pay this if it is worth it. But i'm not sure whether it is worth buying this car cos this could be a water leak. I like the car, but a bit concerned. Does anyone have any advice for me please? Thanks. Read more
First you will have to convince yourself that water IS getting in at the tailgate - it may have just had a window left open by mistake. Also I should think a carwash could cause problems, and I suppose another possibility is a leak from the rear screen washer pipe. Come to think of it, I have seen one or two cases of a leak from the washer-bottle (in boot) if it is filled above the screw holes - that would make the underfelt damp on the right-hand side.
I think it would be unusual for the tailgate glass to leak as it is bonded - more likely a leak round the wiper spindle or the lock plate. You might be able to find out by removing the inside tailgate trim panel and getting someone to spray the car. I couldn't be bothered to do that, I put heavy polythene with Sticky Fixers over those 2 drain holes so that any water in the tailgate could drain past the weatherstrip onto the bumper.
Are the rear quarter-lights on the XS watertight?
I have a company car which Mrs B is insured to drive for social domestic and pleasure purposes.
Mrs B is self employed and hence all trips to and from work count as "business travel". Consequently she can't drive my car to work and this is becoming a slight pain.
We could buy her a car, but we don't need two and this would be costly.
So, I wondered if it would be possible to get insurance that would cover just her business mileage. My first thought was to try one of the motoring syndicates at Lloyds of London.
Has any backroomer ever attempted to buy such cover or does anyone (Mark/RLBS?) know if it is available? Otherwise, any suggestions re. a Lloyds syndicate?
Thanks in advance.
Peter
PS The company does offer a cash alternative but I can't take it until my car is up for replacement. Read more
Not quite right Peterb. Well, not in my case. I get a fuel card for all fuel. I run my own car (but the company pays me an allowance). The taxman said I can't claim the mileage allowance as it includes an element for fuel, so up till last year I claim all car expenses against tax, in the proportion of business v private miles. Including the fuel. My fuel spend was about £3.5k last year and my business mileage about 70%, so I only paid tax on 30% of £3.5k for my private fuel.
Hope that made sense.
An accountant friend has told me that this all changes this year, but I'm waiting to hear that from the taxman.
Hello All,
My first post in a while...
Does anyone know if it is possible to retro-fit a front centre armrest to a 1990 Audi Coupe?
If so, can anyone suggest a supplier, as Audi don't seem to produce the part anymore...
Thanks in advance,
Stuart Read more
Stuart : no direct experience, I'm afraid, but previous practice would indicate that the fixing points are probably where they need to be, for example under the carpet : It should be fairly easy to see.
As for getting one, try www.findapart.co.uk. if Audi can't source one new, unless one of the specialists has one (German & Swedish, for example) you'll need one from a breakers.
HTH
www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=132&art_id=qw1041...4
I think it's dead ugly, and shall not be buying one. Read more
Is this really what the Germans think an ostentatious British car
should look like?
Just be grateful the Americans didn't buy RR!
Does anyone know of an independant Honda specialist in the the Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield or Dewsbury area ?
TIA Read more
In Milton Keynes car parks I have seen a few cars with wheel clamps having DVLA stickers, presumably because they don't have a valid tax disc. I thought they had do give a warning before they clamped a car or can they do it to any car that is just one day over the tax disc? What's the release fee? Read more
V,
Tartan slippers can be OK, they don't look too good worn with pink dressing gowns though.
MM
Have been offered a 2001 Picasso HDI SX with 70k miles on the clock for £7500. It's an ex Citroen Lease car, so has a full Citroen service history.
Engine-wise the milage doesn't bother me, but are there likely to be any other problems looming, for example: steering, suspension, or gearbox?
Read more
Have a look at the Picasso-L group at yahoogroups.com. They'll keep you right about possible pitfalls. There was a muttering about the hydraulic clutch linkage failing at 70,000 miles but I reckon it's either 'all in the past' now or confined to a very few cars. Pic owners don't seem to complain about it.
The Cit/ Peugeot HDIs are brilliant motors!
Graeme
I've owned a 1998 Civic 1.8 Aerodeck since new. But in the last 18 months, I've been having intermittent problems with trying to start the engine. When the problem occurs, it can take me a few minutes before the immobiliser decides to let the engine turn over.
Normally, I turn the key to position '2', wait a second, then start the engine. But lately, the engine fails to turn over and the immobiliser light starts flashing after releasing the key.
The local garage suggested waiting until all the dash lights go out after putting the key in in position '2', then try to start the engine. I tried this for several months, but I still found that the engine occasionally would not start and the immobiliser light starts flashing after releasing the key.
The spare key isn't any better. I've tried reducing the number of keys I have on my key ring. On two occasions, I was on the brink of calling out the recovery service to tow my car to the nearest garage.
This might be a conincidence, but the problem only started happening shortly after I had the rear box replaced on the exhaust, and I started using the car at weekends only about the same time too.
Does anyone know if the Honda (Valeo?) immobiliser uses rolling codes and what frequency band it operates on?
Any suggestions welcome.
bill
Read more
Bill
I think it is a separate aerial or pick-up unit around the ignition lock assembly which transmits to an immobiliser ECU.
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
Browse
Also well worth a visit is the National Motor Museum in Coventry City Centre. Thrust II and Thrust SSC now both live here. It's free to get in, though you do have to pay Covs outrageous parking fees.