August 2003
There is often debate in the BR as to the extent of \'rip off Britain\'. I decided to do a bit of research and so have obtained parts prices in the UK and in the US, for a range of service parts for one of my cars. The car is a 1998 Nissan Maxima/QX (\'A32\' chassis).
The parts prices are listed below. The first price is from a UK Nissan main dealer; the second price (in US $) is from a Nissan main dealer in Denver, Co. I have then converted the US price into UK sterling using an exchange rate of £1=$1.57 and given a sterling equivalent price (in parenthesis). All of these prices are retail, no discount, and exclude sales taxes/VAT.
Note that apart from the pollen filter all of the parts are the same Nissan part number.
PART..................UK...........US
Oil filter..........£8.34.........£4.45 (£2.83)
Air Filter..........£14.22........£7.52 (£4.78)
Fuel filter.........£11.70.......$10.66 (£6.79)
Drain Washer........£1.29.........$1.46 (£0.93) - Bolt AND washer
Pollen filter......£28.00........$43.56 (£27.74)
6x NGK Pt. plugs...£82.49........$50.28 (£32.03)
Ex. starter.......£249.00 ......$247.88 (£157.88)
Front pads.........£48.70........$50.28 (£32.03)
I think that this makes pretty interesting reading. Many parts are a factor 2-4 more expensive in the UK. I really do not believe that this can be accounted for by different shipping/marketing costs etc. For certain parts (e.g. the started motor) there could be a good saving in buying from the US (assuming one doesn\'t get stung for too much import tax).
I am now trying to get a list of prices from a German dealer. I know the parts are cheaper over there (I bought a set of Pt. plugs from a Munich dealer for about Euro60) - but I want to see the full picture. Read more
A5 closed last night c19:00 south from it's junction with the A426. Line of cones and utilities type closure sign rather than police accident. No evident prior indication approaching from Lutterworth (M1/J20). Anyone know if this is days/weeks closure for roadworks or just a one off incident?
Thanks in anticipation. Read more
Hence the regular appearance of the mobile speed camera van.
my mk2 driver had a full size steelie as a spare when I bought it so I bought a 2nd hand (unused) mk2 gti spacesaver from the scrappy to flatten out the lump in the boot. I want to check the tyre pressure on the spacesaver but have no idea what the pressure should be.
I assume that, as it is a very different wheel and tyre to the standard 185 65 14 tyres I have on, the pressure will not just be 30psi??
thanks Read more
60psi and 50 miles limit on use at max velocity of 50mph.
Thank you for all your suggestions and ideas about possibilities for this site.
Please take this as a general thank you whilst I wade through the replies individually.
Mark. Read more
It's very interesting to hear all that HJ. Part of the problem is that most people haven't got a clue what it takes to run this place and consequently make all sorts of assumptions about how easy, profitable or realistic certain things are. It would be nice if all the detail could be explained to 'us' but even if it were all summarised and presented for us to read, many people wouldn't bother and would still wind up raising the same issues again and again and you'd spend the rest of your life explaining. Like all businesses I suspect I've had this problem with my clients who tend to make all sorts of assumptions about what I do and how I work which are both simplistic and unrealistic. Trying to educate them is time consuming and to a large extent pointless because there's always another who'll ask exactly the same question or make the same mistake/assumption. There's no solution to all of this except for people here to be patient, considerate and constructive. As has been shown, there is a mechanism for presenting ideas to HJ et al and some of these may bear fruit directly or indirectly. Let's not however be unrealistic in our expectations of this place and those who run it as best they can given the time and resources available.
Vive La BackRoom !
Does any know of the report disclosure of a Mark 5 Golf at a German car show last week. Regards Peter Read more
I recall the Mk IV being launched (I've had one) and
the motoring press were astonished at the price, build quality, interior,
refinement etc. etc.
Within a year is was old hat, boring, underpowered, unreliable, poor
chassis, not as good as the Focus, etc. etc.
Best to drive one and form your own opinion I reckon.
I agree. After the new VW Golf Mk V launch everyone will wax lyrical how much better is was over the old one. Then we get into the 'Old Ones Suffered From...' syndrome.
I know that they will improve the new car somewhat, but the outgoing model is still a great car-I sold mine after 4 years for 58% what I paid for it new.
By the way...I would not buy the new Mk V for at least a year; let them get the production niggles sorted and allow them to cut in the problem fixes reported by owners after launch. I'm an engineer..seen it all before: Cars launched when they are not quite 100% ready....
I work for a company which has sites in Scotland and SW England. Soon, I will have to travel from my base in England to the Scottish sites once or twice a month. The company will pay me expenses based on the actual mileage. As far as my insurance company is concerned is this business use or can I claim that I am using my car to simply travel to my place of work? My assumption is that since travelling to the local factory every morning is covered (I always ask if travelling to work is covered by the policy) then so is travelling to Scotland when I need to work in the Scottish factory. However, I am worried that since a mileage allowance is paid then I may not be covered.
Should I inform my insurers of this forthcoming change and if so will it increase my premiums. Read more
Thanks to everyone who answered my question. I'll give my insurance co., Direct Line, a call when I come back from my holidays.
Robin
I was in my local Citroen dealer recently and took the opportunity to sit in the new C8. Our Synergie has given us excellent service, I like the folks at the dealership and a discounted C8 would be a logical replacement for the Synergie.
However, I was disappointed to see that the C8 instrument cluster is in the centre of the cabin. Now in 30-odd years I've never owned a car where the instruments aren't in line with the steering wheel and I associate the central positioning of instruments with old-fashioned or utility vehicles e.g. Morris Minor, BL Mini, Land Rover. If I'm going to shell out thousands of pounds, I want the car designer to make the driver's job as easy as possible. That includes arranging the switches, stalks and instruments around the driver, not sharing them with passengers or scattering them around the cabin.
What do others think? Irrational prejudice or valid point?
H.
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Stranger in a strange land Read more
Something else to consider [noticed this especially in the MINI] is that the most commonly done speeds are to the left pf the dial [ie. 30, 40, 50, 70] so are even further away.
Surely it must be harder and taking more time to work out if it's pointing at 30 or 40?
Also with central mounted stuff, the area infront of the driver looks bare and bland, [Yaris, Primera] and like something is missing.
Kev
Please see:-
www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=7219
Tomo as was! Read more
I have a 1998 "R" Saab 9-5 2.3 SE Eco LPT saloon (manual)
About 6 months ago the engine started to surge and stutter, usually at about 30 to 40 mph it seemed, and quite often in damp weather. After a couple of attempts, the local main dealer diagnosed a faulty DI cassette and this was replaced. The fault was cured, but now the problem has begun to re-appear. This time it seems to be off power, whilst cruising without too much load on the engine.
Has anyone got any suggestions as to a cause? Is all this going to kill the cat / other parts of my engine?
This car has only done 40k miles and I'd like to keep it, but I'm conncerned that there may be an expensive time-bomb under the bonnet (the fuel guage has also started to fail intermittantly on a sudden basis)
Any suggestions welcomed! Read more
saabclub.co.uk also have good forums.
I have often wondered if someone could explain this to me - what can you tell about the state of a car from the liquid that comes out of a car exhaust? is it simply condensation or is it possible that it might be fuel of some sort? Read more
I think if the steam on a cold morning effect persists then it shows that the engine isn't warming up properly. It could indicate something else amiss - when the duct to my AMM came off I first noticed constant steam from a normally colourless exhaust.
You can also do a useful diagnosis by running your finger inside the tail pipe. It should be absolutely clean and sootless.
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There are a number of people on ebay advertising Mercedes service and parts CDs. I'm sure if you contacted them with your requirements they may be able to locate a "spare" w211 parts CD for a small fee. Most parts and service CDs end up going for between £7 and £15. Well worth it!