Am I the only one who\'s driven nuts by the Direct line insurance ad?
You know, chummy and girlfriend are driving in the beetle when she asks how much he\'s saved on renewing his car insurance.
Ooh about 10%.
That\'s a lot, you must have lots of spare cash, says she.
Loaded, says he.
Right, stop here and you can buy me lunch says she.

I\'d be saying \"If I\'ve saved 10% and that\'s a lot, I\'ve spent 90% and that\'s a lot, you silly, dozy girl\"

Maybe I\'m a bit mean (Yorkshireman)

What do you think?
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This is a true story of a colleague at work, make of it what you will but a £3k cheque off a dealer for a new engine is a result in anyones book….

Driving along the motorway in an A4 tdi, he hears a loud thunk, car coasts to hard shoulder and rescue truck recovers car to local garage. Local mechanic takes cambelt cover off, cambelt intact but colleague notices some fraying on belt, engine will not turn over, suspected major internal damage. Car has done 140k miles(!) but at 120k had belt changed by Audi dealer (part of a large multi franchise group). Suspecting problem is cambelt related car is recovered to the dealer. Dealer wants several hundred to take head off to identify internal problem and responsibility. So car is moved to local vw/audi independent specialist. On arrival at specialist both specialist and colleague are surprised at the removal of the front bumper and several other components given that no authorisation for work had been given. Specialist confirms that timing is correct and that belt is not stripped or damaged in anyway (still in situ on car) but inside of engine is trashed after meeting valves at speed! One new engine and over £2k later car is back on road.

Colleague is suspicious that a) fraying on belt clearly seen when recovered is no longer visible b) how could this unmarked timing belt have ridden out the destruction of the engine. He then embarks on a 12 month small claims court process that has ended (before court) with a £3k cheque from large dealer group. Process involved expert witness who could see no other cause for the damage than a timing belt malfunction, dealer claimed valve must have dropped in engine. He could also not understand how the belt could be in that condition but stopped at accusing them of swopping it before car recovered to specialist.
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Bought a car a BCA Blackbushe this week and was expecting to pay £165 buyers fee as a private punter. I did not complain however, when they invoiced me as an account customer at only £66. Question is, is the reduced fee to the trade just a discount for the regulars, or is there really more of a risk with a private punter.

Any idea?

Chris M Read more

Car is V reg with only 19000 miles. Turbo boost is pretty non-existent, particularly noticeable changing from 1st to 2nd - unless a lot of revs are used it goes backwards! My friendly mech has covered all of the usual suspects without joy. Has anyone suffered similar problems and is there a 'common' fault that I could look at? Read more

I blame the wretched catalytic converter for most of the current raft of problems that inflict many of today`s cars, due mainly to the complication of electronic monitoring sensors (E.C.U`s) to control fuel/air ratios. There gas been much discussed recently (and justifiably) about the unreliability of the new Renault Laguna, but pre-cat models, like the Renault 4 and 5 were extremely reliable, and capable of 150k mileages without too many problems. At the end of the day, I question the true need for cats & their miniscule impact on the environment, but reckon the manufacturers are making a fortune out of us, the every-day motorist, by charging exhorbitant prices for replacement E.C.U`s.!!!! Read more