August 2003
I applaud everything I read encouraging more disciplined, relaxed & forgiving driving - even if it is getting more difficult to drive in this manner - and honestly believe most of the guys n gals reading the sensible advice given on this web site will take it to heart & hopefully improve their driving standards, but is it all in vain?
Most of the lunatics out there only see driving as a means to an end & wouldn't read any driving advice even if it came with a ten pound note attatched to it!
If only fixed site cameras could differentiate between speeding & dangerous driving, then maybe we'd all have a little more faith in the laws of the road...
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Anyone care to share their experiences on this subject?
My most recent experience was my Pug 309 SRi, which was the victim of a hard rear end smash at 14 years old in 2001 and therefore written off, 80K miles.
Insurance valuation £600, which I received in full. I was going to sell it in a few months anyway.
Salvage value £0
Cost to get rid would have been £25 + VAT.
After advertising it for spares/breaking in the paper, I managed the following
Alloy wheels with poor but legal tyres £65
Windscreen for another car to get thru MOT £15
Salvaged battery, radio, bulbs, fuses etc
Rest of car taken for gearbox and other bits by garage £45
Total revenue to me £125
Earlier experience - A mini bought for £15 off a contact and dismantled in a street in Leicester, just to get rid of it!
Engine, box, driver's door £50
Bonnet £15
Passenger door £10
Boot £5
Daimler Mk 2 wheel and tyre on back seat (don't ask me why) £10
Other bits removed and boxed £10 the lot
Shell and wheels (tyres no good) removed FOC by breakers.
Total Revenue to me £100
Although it's getting harder to get rid of cars now, I would be interested to hear how people have managed it.
H
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When we went to the Eden Project last week, we saw loads of cars used as canvasses for pop art style paintings.
There was even a double decker bus painted up!
Looking at them it seems that they first remove the engine and box and then let loose on it with a spray gun. They didn't look out of place.
H
when accelerating under load, for example, when going up a a hill(don\'t laugh) particularly when cold.
Has anyone any idea why. I\'ve just had it fully serviced but the problem is still there. Read more
It's run 100% today so it's nigh on certain that the problem is the damaged HT lead.
The drivers side door on my 2 door golf is not aligned correctly. I have read that the 2 door models have heavy doors which will sag over time. I think I need new pins. But which ones are these and how do I fit new ones?
Cheers Read more
I was talking to a taxi driver today who I hired . He has a "K" plate Carlton 2.0i manual gearbox . He was saying that its the cars last week as a taxi as it is now to old , still on the same engine and gearbox etc.........just had one clutch...... oh the mileage ................502,000 miles !!!!!!! MY GOD ! ! ! ! Is that a record ? Read more
190E is W201. Bascially a slightly 'shrunken' W124 and used
quite a few W124 parts. Both W201 and W124 represent
the peak of MB's competence in my opinion. Up until
about '93 the company was run by engineers. From around
'93 onwards the company became more 'Anglo-Saxon' and they let the
accounts take over - and it shows.
Ahh right, thanks for clearing that up.
My in-laws have a 190 (the normal 2 litre one, not the fuel injected model), it's a 1991 model so twelve years old, and nothing ever, ever, goes wrong with it. The bodywork is immaculate, the interior looks as good as new - it's a stunningly well built car.
It goes in for a routine service once a year, and as far as I can tell and that ever gets done is an oil and filter change.
R reg, Can anyone tell me why the 2 small diameter rubber pipes that go to the exhaust gas analyser (small alloy thing fitted to bulkhead) keep being blown off when I rev the engine.
Bert Read more
All OK now, new cat fitted for £225
Bert
Hello All,
I bought a 2001 Leon Cupra 20VT from a SEAT dealer in June. It was an August 2001 one owner car and now has 15K miles. We are very pleased with it indeed but the first three tanks of fuel have only averaged 26 - 27MPG. This is on mixed driving. Some excitement sure but not continual racing. This economy seems poor to me and is worse than other owners have reported on the SeatCupra.Net site (they cite 30-32 avg). The car seems fine but I suspect something may be a little out. I wonder if anyone has any experience of these cars, has suffered poor economy (or is this the going rate??) and can suggest any possible problems. Car is due for service in a couple of weeks and if I can suggest an area to investigate it would be helpful.
Thanks in advance. Read more
I remember my Cupra to be a thirsty old beast
Does it exist?
This post was prompted by my recent attempts to discover which make and model best suited my own needs, by asking a well known motoring website via its Used Car Chooser functionality. It brought back everything from Kia wotsits to BMW blahs. Hmmm, useful, said I. I suspect my ideal car lies somewhere between the two, but how do i define ideal?
We all have different priorities when choosing a car, but if we take an 'averaged' weighting of every motorist's requirements, then we must be able to arrive at a formula for building the 'perfect' car for the 'average' motorist, whatever that means. Take an arbitrary 'average' balance of the following criteria:
o reliability
o performance
o quality
o value for money
o practicality
o image
o drivability
o economy
Is there a car which fulfils an 'average' motorist's requirement for each of these? What is it?
(For example, in terms of quality, the 'average' motorist will demand > Lada, but < Bentley). Read more
To me, the ideal car is one that costs little to run and to buy, so there's little money tied up in it, but it produces high scores for reliability, economy, comfort etc and it suits my needs.
Wife 2 kids Mortgage etc
Has to be my Xantia. Despite the fact that it's now 10 years old, its comfortable to drive, starts first time every time, economic, reliable, safe, fast for its class (130bhp) etc etc. I reckon I've got another 3 to 4 years in this one when it'll be worth pants and I'll probably give it away or break it for spares (selling them through the paper).
The only drawback is that it is not an estate, but then with the van, I don't need an estate. The odd time I have to carry anything in it, the hatchback loadspace is adequate.
H
I always thought I had a well fitting anorak when it comes to odd cars, but one has got me stumped. A friend mentioned a car he saw yesterday, and I can't think for the life of me what it might be.
Small, boxy little rag top which he reckoned looked 60's but was on a '91 'H' plate (possible late import?). Shape reminded him slightly of the Daf variomatic, but he's convinced it was either a Pug or a Renault? Also had a 'sport' badge on it somewhere apparently
Any ideas guys?
Our best guess so far is a Talbot Samba convertible which took the dealers 6 years to shift?
Gareth Read more
After careful consideration over the weekend a Nissan Figaro was favourite. We printed off a picture and showed it to him this morning. Surprise surprise, it looked rather familiar! Our spotter also proved his keen eye after he told his missus about the search and she told him it was pale blue, not brown!
Apologies for wasting your time chaps, turned out to be the first thing you suggested. He was just so insistent that it was a brown boxy Pug.
With observation like that he must be a used car salesman's dream :-)
Gareth
My 2000 (old shape) Corolla recently had a seized front brake disc - corrosion had 'welded' the pad to the disc, according to the RAC man who fixed it - which he did by sanding the disc down. Only problem now is that I think the corrosion spot is still there - the car sounds like something is clonking at the front - but isn't apparent if you rev the engine with the clutch out.
Could the noise be something else? Cheers everyone. BTW - what causes pads to rust to discs ? Read more
Browse
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8 ball,
Well spotted!
'5th: There are loads of good drivers out there. You just don't notice them because they don't cause any trouble.'
Matt35.