September 2003
My mother in law is 76 and fit as a flea. Last summer she took a chainsaw to a row of Leylandii and cut them down, when I said I hoped she had all the correct kevlar safety clothing she said no but she did wear her woolly gloves. This summer she has replaced her front lawn with slabs and 2 tons of gravel (she shifted the gravel herself) She only tells us afterwards when we visit her. Problem is she refuses to make a will. She has a 47 year old youngest daughter who lives with her and her own paid for bungalow. My wife's other sister has tried to get her to make a will but she won't because she reckons she will die instantly if she does. She would like the daughter to stay in the bungalow when she dies which other members of the family have no problem with(I have a feeling MiL will outlive the lot of us!) and other sister has said that not having a will may cause problems. Trouble is she doesn't believe us without seeing it in black and white but doesn't want to consult an expert.
My question is - do any of you know of a website that would explain problems of being intestate in simple terms so that we could show this to her?
Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help.
PhilW Read more
I witnessed an amusing-but-wasn't incident the other day.
I had arranged to give a colleague a lift to the office so I parked up in a layby at the agreed meeting point. This was off an NSL road with one lane in one direction and two in the other. Road crew were out coning off one lane for repairs. The chap was dropping cones off the back of the truck, but he wasn't being particularly careful where they were landing. Inevitably, a few minutes later an artic ended up shoving a couple of the cones into the path of the oncoming traffic. Most vehicles managed to avoid the hazard, but one motorist was clearly confused, couldn't decide which way to dive and ended up splatting a cone and dragging it along the road. He pulled into my layby and removed the (very squashed) cone from under the car, and then continued on his way: not even a scratch on his shiny 03 plate Mondeo.
(i) I recall from my trophying days that those cones are reasonably weighty when filled with sand. Could they do any serious damage? I don't think i would like to hit one at any significant speed.
(ii) Has anyone else observed the maintenance crews being careless to the point of being a serious danger to road users? I thought they were supposed to be scrupulously cautious?
Ed. Read more
Well, not a traffic cone, but close enough.
I remember some years back a mate was driving along the carriageway when, right after a sharp turn, sees a part of a blown-up truck tire! Not having time to maneuver and travelling at a high speed, he just drives over the thing. No bangs, the thing barely touched the car, so he thought he was ok.
Well, only seconds later, the engine starts to rattle and suddenly dies!
The tire-part had cut the fuel line! I can't remember how he managed to patch it, but he spent several hours trying!
I guess a trafic cone too could cause such minor (but so annoying) damages.
Okay, put a hole in the sump, that'll have to be one strong cone and one thin/rusted sump!
Vagelis.
My misfortune weekend.
Took a car for rent for the weekend , a lovely Vauxhall Astra 2 litre Turbo with 193 bhp.Fantastic power and speed.
However when i had a look at the alloy wheels today evening , I realised with a shock that 3 out of the four alloys are scratched , one a little deeper than the others.Dont know when that happened but they were fine when i took it , so im the culprit :(
Just wondering what to expect when i give the car back.
How much do these things cost.
Any alternatives to fix these before i give them back so that the damage wont be noticed? Read more
I have rented cars on many occasions and most of them had some sort of damage. Sometimes this was clearly stated at the time I collected the car, but often it was not. When you return the car the rental company must check it there and then, in front of you, because it is not unknown for their staff to cause damage and them try charge the customer. Scratches to alloy wheels is called wear and tear in my opinion, so I would be not that worried if I were you. Just immagine the state a 6 month old car that has been hired out to 200 different people! In any case you would only be responsible for what is not covered by the insurance.
Don't want to be totally ignorant here, but how exactly does a fuel tank work - everyone says don't run down the fuel tank to empty or you will pick up all the carp from the bottom of the tank. But surely the pipe from the tank must be at the bottom of the tank? Or is it slightly higher in which case how would the carp get from the bottom of the tank up into the pipe?
Don't laugh at my ignorance please! Read more
Years ago before the days of fuel filters and plastic tanks, all sorts of crud used to build up in the fuel tank. Water and rust flakes, etc. Volvo used to use cork sealing rings on the filler caps, they used to break up and end up in the tank. With a full tank all of this stuff swilled about and didn't stick to the crucial part - the little strainer on the end of the fuel pickup pipe. With a low fuel level all of the crud was concentrated around the strainer - which became blocked ! After an hour or so the stuff might fall away and enable the fuel to flow again - for a short while. A couple of gallons of fuel usually washed it away.
Hi
Can anyone shed any light on a problem I am having with my Galaxy. The car is a Ford Galaxy 2.3GLX auto 1998. Sometimes when I start it, I can not select any gears and the break lights do not work. After a while it selects the gear and the lights work fine. If I start the car with the gear selector switch pressed in I can select the gears but the lights still do not work. It is obviously a intermittent fault as it is fine most of the time. Can anyone give me a clue as to what might be wrong with it?
Many Thanks Read more
If it is your brake light switch, it is a little awkward to get to but can be done at home. The switch is above the brake pedal and requires twisting thru about 90 deg. to release it. (A bit like a lamp bayonet)
New switches come with their operating plunger fully extended. Haynes manual suggest that you leave it at this length and as you fit the switch the plunger compresses into the switch body by the right amount to contact the pedal. I've found that setting the switch like this means that a lot of pedal pressure is required before the brake light switch operates. This can confuse following motorists who have no idea you're braking.
The VAG switch actually has two preset positions and one of these is correct for the Galaxy pedal. To set the switch to the correct pre-set position, gently compress the plunger until it clicks solidly in the position suitable for the Galaxy pedal. Once set , install it to the pedal bracket. Cost about £7 from Ford.
Hope this helps
considering buying a 2 yr old car from the ci.
the deal is that the car will be delivered to a 'sister'
garage on the south coast, vat & transportation paid, but not
the cost of re-registering.
aware that a certificate of orginality is required, but do any
of you knowledgable chaps know any other requirements or pitfalls before signing on the dotted line.
Read more
Here in Guernsey (and I would have thought the tax rules were identical), I was told that from a personal import perspective, you don't have to pay import duty or VAT provided you have owned the car for at least six months prior to export to the UK, and hold onto it for a least 12 months after you bring it in.
Would agree with all the comments made so far, but also add a couple more - suspension and steering can take a hammering because the roads are very narrow, and you often have to pop up a kerb to give clearance to an oncoming vehicle. Also check for poorly repaired body damage, as sometimes said other vehicles don't get out of the way...lots of cars here with bent wings and doors, and missing mirrors. Also lots of hills, so check the clutch is OK if it's a manual.
Hire cars tend to get turned around on a 6 month basis by the bigger firms (not so much demand out of season, but some locals take them on lease contracts, and they also get changed every 9 months or so), so at 2 years old probably won't be ex-hire. Brand new, cars here are cheaper than the UK (no VAT), but the older they get the higher the secondhand price compared to the UK - although the corresponding mileages are lower, of course.
Does anyone have any experience of fuel going-off and then causing poor running if a car is stored for a few months? and if so how can it be prevented Read more
OMC (Outboard Motor Corporation) who are the manufacturers of Mercury and Mariner outboards make a Petrol treatment fluid available from any boatyard or shop dealing in outboards. The benefit of this product is that it gives specific instructions for the dosage required to store petrol for up to 12 months and also different dosage rates for cleaning carbs or for winter lay up etc. I havn't found any other products that deal specifically with stabilising petrol for long term storage but I'd be very pleased to hear of any.
Anyone know how to remove one, or more to the point where the fixing screws/bolts are? I hit a rabbit a while ago and ever since then the bumper has been slightly out of alignment with the nearside wing and also a bit wobbly. I'm might selling the car shortly and don't really want to go to the expense of a workshop manual for it. TIA. Read more
I know I already "TIA'D" at the start of this thread, but once again many thanks for the advice offered.
I'll have another look for these bolts that are located behind the grille as I was unable to spot them before when I looked. In the mean time the cable ties are holding.
Please someone tell me the difference if there is one. I know what a timing belt does, what does a cam belt do???? is it the same????
MG Read more
Is a cam/timing belt absolutely the same thing?????
Yes, most definately.
The Lexus reputation for reliability is unrivalled, and a model I have always admired, but I understand they are not the most fuel efficient 2 litre by a long shot. I would just like to hear back from anybody in the B.R. with experience of this model amd their m.p.g. figures ?? Read more
Agree with that Joe, the other bits that spoil it IMO
are the cheap looking (I know they cost) rear light clusters.
They may be cheap looking but they seem to be catching on with other marques too...
Chad.
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pulling the volumes together