February 2003
With the plethora of on-line dealers such as Virgin, jamjar, drivethedeal etc.etc., has anybody out there had any experience with them.
I have been offered an 8% discount on a vehicle (dealer won't budge at the moment) and on the face of it, everything seems ok. But ...... is there something lurking once I click on the "Order this vehicle now" button ??
If anyone out there has bought on-line I would be interested in their comments, good and bad.
Thanks / JD Read more
I read that this is expected in the UK in June.
Must say it looks very interesting at a time when too many cars look alike. I've never really been a Jap car enthusiast (style wise) although the engineering is obviously chart topping. This could be the one that changes it.
Is it already available outside the UK? If so, has anyone seen it on the road or even tried it?
I hope HJ is on the list to get his mits on one when they arrive. Read more
Almost sounds too good to be true doesn't it Steve but HJ's theory about price competition against VW/Audi makes sense to me and long may it continue!
I saw a new South Yorks traffic car today: a C class Merc 270 CDI. They've also fairly recently acquired a 5 series. Are the V70s going out of fashion? An officer friend says he and his colleagues quite like them, but that view is not widely held. Are there any more interesting cars out there?
O
(self-confessed police car fan - except when being pulled over!) Read more
Humberside ran the Cosworth Escort, slightly modified in the suspension department, as part of a Vehicle Crime Unit established to combat the excessive vehicle theft figures at the time. It was replaced by the first Police Impretza (as pictured a few weeks ago in the Motoring Telegraph). Again it was slightly tweeked, nothing too drastic.
In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.
It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which I think is not following the spirit of the thread.
I will delete any of the above. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain I will simply remove it.
However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.
Volume 7 is now open, I\'ll leave this open for a few days to die down from its current questions. Read more
pulling the volumes together.
Has anyone tried this product ? Read more
"It makes the rain bead into tiny droplets and after each wipe smears them over the windscreen - making it virtually opaque !"
You can get that for free - I suspect it's to do with diesel.
Tomo.
Which offers the best value? All are CLK 230 Autos
99 T plate - 56,000 miles £17k
98 R plate- -21,500 mile £17k
00 V plate - 54,000 £17.5k
98 S plate - 32,000 £17.5k
All are one owner or demo plus one owner all FMSH.
Read more
£10k, at a guess. Hard to be sure but I don't think CLKs on that shape will still be making all the money in three years' time. It's still less than you'd lose on most new cars at that money though.
Well I have finally got to the bottom of the delay in my V5 being issued. For those who don't know, I picked up my Irish-import Alfa in December.
After several weeks of calls to the DVLA I have now been told that there was a hold on issuing the V5 as the dealer paid too much for the tax disc.
That's right, paid TOO MUCH for the VEL. So because Swansea got too much money, they sat on my V5 application for nearly 2 months but didn't think to contact me or give me a straight answer when I contacted them. Dontcha just love it?
So for all those who said there was no backlog on V5s, you were right. Sorry!
I'm not paranoid, they really are out to get me!
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You'll note I said Public Sector Work, not Workers. It's endemic across the "business" (for want of a better phrase)structure.
What amazes me is that you frequently see vacancies for posts that are identical to private-sector roles, yet they often state that preference will be given to applicants with a public-sector background.
It's a self-perpetuating system, discouraging fresh ideas from people who have had to show efficiency or see their employer go to the wall in favour of those who have no concept of accountability.
DVLA seems to be full of these people, not one iota of understanding of customer service. Tom's experience of those that manage test bookings seems somewhat similar.
Keeping a tenuous hold on motoring, the departments responsible for highway maintenance seem to have the same mindset. I shudder to think what this country will be like 10 years from now.
I've just bought a second hand Audi (collect it tomorrow) and also gone and bought a £250 personal plate from DVLA. Should I wait until I get my V5 back from DVLA before I transfer the new number to the car or does it matter. I'm worried that the ownership details will somehow get crossed in the mix and that it will delay not only the V5 process but also that it will stop me putting the plate on the car.
Ideally, I'd like to get the plate on the car as soon as possible as it hides its age quite well.
If anyone has any info on this sort of thing, I'd be happy to hear it.
Thanks in advance
Read more
Just one point I herad that from 14th Feb you cannot get reg plates made unless you have the v5 and proof of ID so if you haven't had the plates made yet you could get stuck until the v5 arrives
Many years ago now there was correspondence in Motor Sport (in which I was involved) in respect of the exorbitant rates demanded in respect of insurance of sports cars. A representative of an insurer claimed that the statistics justified the charges. Somebody asked for the figures. The answer was that they could not be given as that might help competitors gain the business! (The verbiage was more complex than my rendering, which perhaps disguised the illogicality to the author.)
Today, I am charged over £400 for a car which is limited to 3,000 miles p.a., in practice scarcely does 1,000, lives in a locked garage in an area of reasonable amenity, has a class1 security system and the best steering lock, and is on a "classic" policy which is supposed to be very favourable.
It is my opinion that what is demanded amounts to an amenity charge, as one has to pay much more for a house in a pleasant situation though the intrinsic material worth is no greater.
I was reminded of this by a current allied topic, though it seems not pukka to use the word "profiteering".
Now to bed.
Tomo. Read more
Thanks, noted.
Did you know that Messrs Shanks were once the subject of a Glasgow joke alleging they were artistic; they were the well-known Barrhead school of potters!
Cheers,
Tomo
Tomo.
Hi everyone. Got a slight problem with my Cavalier (2.0 8V 1994 97K) since having had new front shocks fitted (Gabriel shocks, fitted by STS). Wonder if anyone might be able to offer some advice.....
Everything was very smooth before I got the shocks fitted without a hint of steering vibration, but it was getting blown round in the wind quite a bit and I was advised to have new front shocks. Now I've got them it handles a lot better but I'm getting a lot of vibration through the steering between 60-70MPH.
I've gone back to STS who rebalanced the front wheels and did the tracking but it hasn't made any difference. Funnily enough I had a similar problem with my old Astra 1.3 but never managed to solve it (despite new tyres, rebalances etc.).
I know that all the symptoms point towards wheel balance but I don't think it can be this as it was perfect before the new shocks and rebalancing the wheels (also taking the wheel covers off) has made no difference.
The vibration seems to be slightly more noticeable on smooth roads and when steering slightly to the left or right (on the motorway), and lessons slightly if you freewheel.
Any ideas anyone?
Thanks in advance,
Ben Read more
Yeah I thought at first that it might be the wheel trims but taking them off didn't seem to make much difference. I can also remember screeching to a halt in a lay-by once in my old Astra which was possessed by the wheel wobble gremlins and tearing the hub caps off in rage, only to get even more annoyed when I set off again to find that it hadn't made any difference.
I never really managed to solve the problem with the Astra but the Cav was perfect to start with and so I knew that it was capable of better things. All in all it's a great car, cheap to buy, cheap to run and now really nice to drive again!
Anyway, good luck with your new Cav and getting the airbag light sorted out.
Ben
Browse
I expect the dealer could say similar things to one that spoke to my mum after she tried to compare broker prices recently.
A dealer may say the cars are parallel imports, or the prices are not fully on the road, excluding taxes, full warranty, manufacturer offers etc, when these are generally not true (for UK broker supplied cars).
Many brokers can offer these prices since the dealers get bonuses for reaching volume targets. The local dealer may not get these bonuses. However, it does give some scope for haggling.
My mum took the local dealer route, eventually getting a price between the broker and RRP. She thought it was worth paying more to have a local point of contact if things go wrong and possibly better service or discounts when having the car serviced.
I went for the non-dealer route because the purchase price savings couldn't be matched elsewhere.
James