May 2003

sean

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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sean

Thanks for the comparison between Yorkshiremen and Scotsmen.
I was sent up to the very far north of Scotland for a fortnight.
Talk about a bleak and lonely place.
I didn't see a soul for a week.
Then there was a knock at the door.
I answered it to find a 7 foot Scot at the door, replete with kilt.
"I've come to invite you to a ceilidh" he said.
"What's a ceilidh?" says I.
"A lot of drinking, a lot of dancing and A LOT of lovemaking" he said.
"But I don't know what to wear" says I.
"Wear what you like, there'll just be the 2 of us"
!!!!!

KB.

I've often seen a big (Harley type) bike parked in our High Road in the shopping area, where the pavement is very wide. It's always fully on the the pavement and in all honesty doesn't get in anybodys way (unless you were blind in which case it would get in your way, in quite a painful manner). Today I noticed it had the rear number plate (and, of course, there isn't a front one) completely covered up with a piece of cloth. Presumably the new system of parking wardens are being more efficient than the previous and have given it a ticket or two.

I'd often wondered whether it would get a ticket in the past and considered the owner lucky to have the apparent ability to park outside his shop without getting nabbed.

Question is how does he stand re. covering up his plate whilst parked on the pavement? It's still part of the highway and if a car driver covered up his plates with sticky tape I suspect it would raise eyebrows and warrant investigation. I bet if a warden did attempt to uncover the plate, the owner would be out like a shot telling him/her to get their sticky hands off his bike. And presumably the warden has no right to touch a vehicle in order to ascertain it's number although I suppose they could get it from the tax disc - I didn't study it enough to see if it had one.

Only seen it with them covered this once myself so don't know whether it'll become a regular thing but for sure I've never seen it done before.
KB. Read more

KB.

I thank you, DD.
KB.

ian

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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Flat in Fifth

Just been reading an article on automotive metals basically covering that aluminium is closing the gap on market share with steel.

One interesting thing emerges, that in the Audi A8 redesign that the 3.4 metre long side panel, eg the rear wing, C, B, A pillars and part of the roof (basically all the LHS except front wing and doors) is now made out of a single pressing compared to the previous 8 separate parts.

Now I am no expert in body repairs, but it strikes me that any ding to the rear wing and rear lights area could end up mega expensive. Fair enough if you have damage to the pillars then its most likely a major shunt.

But I'd be interested to hear what the backroom thinks. Good or bad
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FergusTheDog

Saw one at Waterloo, looks wonderful, I've decided SWMBO is going to have one.

Chris M

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

Chris M

I subscribed to 50 searches over 2 months for £10 which I thought was reasonable value. I'd never managed to get the Auctionview to work properly when it was free. I'm about an hours drive from Blackbushe, so it saves a wasted journey. I was looking for another Vectra and there were 15 on sale on Monday, of which I was intrested in about 6. It's likely to be a couple of years before I need to return, so paying for the service isn't a problem for me, but if you're a regular, I can see your point.

Chris M

Forum Importing
Ravster

I'd like to import an Audi from Europe myself. Can anyone recommend a good dealer they may have come across on the continent?

Regards

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Wally Zebon

I\'ve been lookin into this myself, for an S3. I found the following site very useful....

www.sportimport.co.uk

Unfortunately the S3 has been discontinued because the new A3 is due out next month. The new S3 won\'t be out until late 2004/early 2005 with an RS version out a year later.

Might have to look for an ex-demo.

Bouncey

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

Dynamic Dave

Can you tell me where turbo techniques are and a phone
no?


Turbo Technics actually.
Northampton.
www.turbotechnics.com/contactus.htm
whiz

8< 8< Whole post snipped 8< 8<

If you can\'t type a message without using swearwords, I can\'t be bothered to edit it. Care to post again without the bad language, or shall I simply cancel your registration?
--
Dynamic Dave
Back Room Moderator

mailto:dave_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
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Dude - {P}

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

Mondaywoe

Dunno, but the tailpipe interior is 'as new' after a year / 15,000 miles.

myeika

Hello there.

The other week I was looking round the net for cars which we could get with our DLA Motability allowance.
I came across a site which listed cars and the deposit needed for them, but have now lost this site and I wondered if any of you know the URL for it please?
Many thanks in advance for your help
Myeika
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mark999

Try www.motability.co.uk.