May 2003
There's an ever increasing number of people adding large bore exhaust pipes to their cars for looks and noise effect. We have recently had speed bumps put outside our house and the noise is driving me nuts from these pipes. Spoke with plod the other day as I once got stopped for having a noisy exhaust (corroded end pipe) and wondered whether they would do anything about it. His answer was that they need to check if the pipes are "type approved", ie legal. He went on to say that this meant they had to get on the ground under the car to check and as such, they were not going to bother as it was a hassle! - can you believe it!
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What's the worst new car build quality issue that BRs have experienced?
For me it was a 1984 MG Metro that leaked rainwater through the gutter where side panels joined roof, like a sieve. Afer weeks and weeks of failed attempts to trace, it was eventually solved by the supplying dealer removing the headlining, and squirting expanding foam just about everywhere, before refitting headlining. Low tech, and I wasn't happy at the time, but I kept the car another eight years, and it never leaked again!
This is small beer compared to what I've just read in Murray Walker's autobiography though, from his days as Vauxhall advertising account manager: He was shown a brand new Victor that had drum brakes on one side, and discs on the other! Read more
I left one of those 3-for-a-pound plastic lighters in the car once - it went bang when the sun got on it, and showered the interior with sharp little slivers of plastic.
I only discovered this when I got in, and sat on one of the offending shards, which penetrated quite deeply. Ouch.
Just been on the phone to my broker, and the reason I have been given for my insurance going up this year is that I changed to a car that is in a higher insurance group during the last year. Maybe this proves that insurers have a different system of mathematics to the rest of us, as I'm sure 2 (the grouping of the Yaris) is lower than 8 (the grouping of my old Tipo)...
Anyone else got any implausible reasons for increases? Read more
Spot on.
There is a well known phenomenen known as the insurtance premium cycle. It goes something like this.
1. Competition drives premiums down.
2. Providors start to lose money and therefore raise premiums or withdraw from the market.
3. Higher premiums and less competition lead to improved profitability. This encourages some companies to cut premiums and others to enter or re-enter the market.
4. See 1. above!
Hence, when premiums are going up either meens that the cost of claims is increasing and/or we are at stage 2 above.
Peter
PS I don't work in insurance but am a qualified actuary.
Warranty Direct which insures the warranty on 30,000 cars per annum, have just published their findings over the past 12 months. Presumably this company would have no personal axe to grind against any particular manufacturer, so their results should be totally unbiased. They list Jeep as the worst manufacturer, and surprisingly Suburu as the second worse, followed less surprisingly by Land Rover and Alfa Romeo. Full details are published on their website :-
www.reliabilityindex.co.uk Read more
Matt35,
Quite appropriate as they've just pleasured me with an extra invoice!
MM
My 1996 60,000 mile Laguna diesel failed it's MOT emissions test - which at 60k miles it shouldn't do I reckon.
Maybe my daily 5 mile trips are to blame in that the engine never really warms up or gets a fast run?
Can anyone suggest the the cheapest way of fixing this - a mate reckons I need to change the injectors...?
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Diesels need to be driven hard to keep the internals clean. Take the car for a hard drive for about 10 miles just before you take it for re-test. I'm sure it will pass. Every year since I've had diesels (11 years) I have taken the car for a good 'thrash' on its way to mot. It certainly worked for me and they never failed on emissions.
These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
I knew how to 'read' a tyre sidewall in all respects except what the 'Traction' and 'Treadwear' indicators (A,B,C) really mean, and how they are calculated, so asked Google to find out.
Thought I'd share the (full!) explanation with fellow BR's:
www.toyo.com.au/tech_info4.html Read more
Can't argue with that John, probably a result of too much sun and locally grown wine!! (lucky geezers)
LZ
Twice this week I have seen brand new 03 reg cars in the colour silver. And twice I have seen what seems to be a manufacturing defect with the paintwork on these vehicles.
The cars I saw this 'defect' in were a Mazda MX5 and an Audi TT. The problem was that of very visible alternate light and dark vertical banding (like zebra stripes, but about 4 inches wide). This affected the whole side of the car.
The banding was only visible when viewing the car from the rear with a viweing angle of around 30 degrees to the paintwork. If you viewed the car from the side the banding was not seen.
I have viewed other silver cars in the same way and not seen the same problem.
Thoughts? Read more
You can often get the banding effect from an inkjet printer - don't know if there's any similarity in production methods?
Can someone please explain the legalities of what would happen if a cyclist crashes into my car through no fault of my own.
Assuming the cyclist is OK, they can simply ride off into the sunset, and even if there are witnesses, there isn't a registration plate on a push bike that I know of.
But if they do stop and admit fault, what can be done to recover the cost of the required repairs? I doubt they have cycle insurance to cover such eventualities.
Is it simply a case of sending them a bill? If so, what if they refuse or are unable to pay?
What if it is a child that causes the damage? They will have no means to pay.
This is all hypothetical. I was talking with a friend last night when we stumbled across this sort of scenario. It would be interesting to know what would happen.
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Overall, I'd say cyclists are more sinned against than sinning. I must temper this by saying that when on 2 wheels negligent and sometimes homicidal driving by cars raises the adrenalin. Things seem more real when you're not encased in steel.
It reminds me of when a friend was driven at, whilst running, in Sutton Park, (in Sutton Coldfield, home sometimes of national cross country championships). Moron parked: friend came across him. As friend was also a powerlifter as well as a Birchfield Harrier, exchange of views resulted in hero behind the ton of metal being lifted through the open drivers window in one smooth movement. Thats what I'd like to do the drivers who either negigently, or deliberately, assault (with missiles) or cut me up on rural roads! If only I could catch the s**s!
Volvo 740 TD at around 3200 rpm the Turbo Warning Light has started to come on. Does anyone know this model and what the light is implying. I assume it is too much boost rather that too little. Any ideas on the probable cause. Regards Peter Read more
Peter, is the turbo wastegate actuating? Could have seized shut.
Has anyone any experience of ending a hire-purchase agreement by handing back the car after paying half the payments? My agreement says that I can do this so long as the car is in generally good condition for its age. I am wondering whether the finance company would use this to claim back extra money even though the car has been serviced according to schedule at main dealerships. Does the mileage matter? If not, then with the plummetting used prices, this seems to be a good way to finance some high-mileage driving.
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What constitutes "reasonable condition" My Vectra has a small dent on the rear wheel arch and a cracked back light, should i have thes sorted first?
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I think i'm going to fit twin big bore pipes to my new M.B. E320 just to annoy everyone.
Do big bore pipes make any difference on an E32CDI Diesel?