October 2003

billy25

afternoon all,
this is my first post so please excuse any small lapses in protocol;

i have a 2.2vtech prelude auto, which has 86000kms on the clock, i have had it 5yrs and until now never had a single fault with it.the problem that is starting to appear is, even when the car has been running all day, if i stop at a petrol station,fill-up,and go to the cash point to pay for the petrol,and buy a bag of sweets,when i try to re-start it,the engine will spin over but not fire,this ia often accompanied by the car giving what i can only describe as a "small jump" and the sports-mode indicater light on the dashboard starts flashing.the car will always start again after 2-5mins once this light has stopped flashing, it is only happening once in a blue-moon at the moment, but i would like to get it seen to as soon as poss.
thanks for any help/suggestions offered.

ps
an old chap at my local said he once had this problem with the donkeys he used to work with in spain,and when they stopped and refused to go again he used to stand a yard in front of them and temp them with something tasty, hence the bags of sweets i bought,but alas to say this "folk-lure" remedy didn't work either. :-(
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billy25

hi pete,
what on earth could you be replacing it with?.....only a newer r-type surely! (see captain zippy's thread on his spec's)
:-)

billy.

Phoenicks

a bit cheeky as its not officially sanctioned but for a bit of fun how about we have a Forum New and Used Car of Year.

We all have a lot of experience with cars, deals, new cars and used and perhaps its time to lay out what cars we all think are the current favourites?

In no way is it scientific but what cars do we think are cracking deals new, and sounds used buys. The cars should also be enjoyable drives!

Suggestions please.... Read more

Morris Ox

Spot on, David. It applies only to prestige brands and even then you can get your fingers burnt.

Took my lead from my chum with the Porsche. He's very sharp on risk assessment and doesn't buy classics because the market fluctuates too much. His calculation was that, accepting that you had to shell out serious money to start with, you'd get serious money back at the end. £2k down after two years is diddly squat really.

borasport20

Seen recently on my morning journey into work, from a distance it looks like a narrow Isetta 'bubble car' with (I think) a canvas top and no side windows.

It has two 'open' wheels at the front, and one at the back centrally behind the engine. The one I see also has 2 stabiliser wheels and 'L' plates...!

(description may be a bit inaccurate, as i try to look where i'm going !)



Bora - what Bora ? Read more

BrianW

If the 50cc is classed as a moped I presume that it is restricted to 45kph (27mph).

Mixing that (or a restricted moped) with traffic doing up to 70mph is a brown trouser job.
At night, in the wet?
Shorter life expectancy than a rear gunner in Bomber Command (Poppy Day reference).

Whoever dreamed up that restriction should be made to ride a moped to that specification, with someone following behind with a bucket to shovel up the pieces.

BMDUBYA

Hi BR'ers I'm looking for a universal rear mounted bike carrier, any suggestions, tips and advice?

Thanks in advance Read more

JohnM{P}

Look at www.roofbox.co.uk/ for lots of info and advice.

Which? report had an interesting table showing how different types affected fuel consumption.
If normal cost of fuel for 1000 miles was £105, approx.costs for bike carriers were as follows:
1 bike roof mounted - £120
1 bike high rear mounted - £128
2 bike high rear mounted - £140
3 bike high rear mounted - £155
1 bike towbar mounted - £113
2 bike towbar mounted - £116

Forum USA
Marcos{P}

Just got back from New York, I got in in the end after all the panic, and I noticed a distinct lack of BMW's. Loads of Merc S-Class and E-Class a fair few Lexus and of course loads of big American Lincoln Town car's but very few BMW's.
I would have thought the X5 would have been a huge seller but I only saw one.
The Americans obviously don't hate German products, Mercs everywhere, so why do they not like new BMW's. I say new as there were quite a few old style 5-Series but virtually no 7's and no new 5's.

WHY ? Read more

BaseRSXmanual

Well one thing you can say for sure is that the USA is the world capital of SUVs, Mini-Vans, and pickup trucks!! I hate it. But believe it or not there are even tons of the BMW SUVs and the Mercedes SUVs. I know of two of each just in my neighborhood. Plus I have already seen 2 PORSCHE ? Cheyennes this week! What we have a real lack of are Jaguars. But they have been on the increase since Ford bought them.

Question Speedo accuracy
GJD

As I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong) a speedometer is allowed to overread by up to 10% and not underread at all. But when is this checked? I had assumed it would be done every MOT, but it's not on the list at www.motuk.co.uk/

Is the speedo checked at manufacture and then assumed to be OK? Would it only be checked again as part of an accident investigation? What if it doesn't work at all (ie reads zero all the time) - would the car pass an MOT?

GJD Read more

billy25

cheers sjb,
thats cleared that up, and i stand corrected,original poster was correct with the 10% figures (however i knew there was a 5% in there somewhere! :-) )

Peter D

Peugeot insist their Antifreeze/anti corrosion is the business but I am informed it is made by Castrol. Is this true and what part number/ID does it have Regards Peter Read more

eMBe {P}

>>Peugeot insist their Antifreeze/anti corrosion is the business ...>>

Check out HJ's FAQs - Q33 tells you all you need to know.

As for the other answers given in reply to you, ask the contributors for their qualifications.

Note: Aprilia is someone who HJ trusts enough to use on his FAQs.

TrevorH

My wife hired a car through a well known car hire company for a fortnight, paid a deposit which, as it was explained to us, would be our maximum exposure should any loss occur.

Some days later she is in a queue of stationary traffic in a multi-storey car park. Someone reverses out of their space into the side of the car. She collected the other driver?s insurance details but neglected to take any witness details. All this was passed on to the hire company the same morning. We return the car some days later and told the deposit would be withheld until fault was determined. Fair enough, we thought, it should be cut and dried.

Fast forward two weeks. A letter arrives from the car hire co saying we will be presented with a bill for the repair as well as consequential loss of earnings whilst the hire car is off the road.

Whilst it appears to be a standard letter and possibly sent in error (the contact at the car hire co is on holiday) I am mindful that chasing a big hire company for cash through legal channels could well result in more loss. Are we at liberty to chase the other driver for any loss incurred by us, regardless of whether the car hire co is in the wrong or not? We will no doubt contact the other driver to see if she has already coughed up to the car hire co for the loss. I wouldn?t put it past them to extract money from as many parties as possible.

Advice anyone?
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DavidHM

Yes, Davey - but they only have to show this on the balance of probabilities. They don't have to show that the car would definitely have been used, only that the loss is reasonably foreseeable. They must of course mitigate their loss - they can't insist that you pay for the car for a month until they feel like getting it repaired.

Furthermore, a bit of deft drafting means that the car is actually hired out to you, for your use (maybe via any insurance that you've agreed) while it is being repaired, even if you can't actually drive it, although this could prove tricky to actually enforce.

However... you can still claim back all this via the other driver's insurance. In agreeing to pay for any damage, even if it is not your fault, you have not given people carte blanche to drive into the hire car and bill you. You have merely signed an indemnity agreement with the hire company, and if they claim their losses from you, you are then put into the hire company's position and you have the right to sue the party that caused you loss - i.e., the other driver.

Of course, before you sue, you just contact the insurance company, provide evidence of your own loss, and they pay up. Will it count as a claim? Almost certainly, depending on how your policy documents are drafted, but it won't cause your wife to lose her NCB. She may find that her premium increases by literally a few quid because of the incident, but she won't suffer serious financial loss in that respect.

Dan J

Given recent topics, maybe of interest to some here.

COLOGNE, Germany, October 3, 2003 -- Ford diesel technology is staying ahead of the curve on two important emissions issues in the environmentally sensitive European market.

The European exhaust gas emissions standard, known as the Euro Stage IV, will be the strictest in the world when it goes into effect in 2005.

But a Euro Stage IV compatible version of the Mondeo Duratorq 130 PS TDCi is available beginning this month in selected European markets.

The Euro IV compliance was achieved largely through detail changes to the engine and modifications to the fuel injection system. The new engine has virtually residue-free combustion.

The Stage IV Mondeo will initially replace Stage III versions in the U.K. and German markets. Euro Stage IV emissions capability will be extended to Fiesta and Fusion TDCi models next year.

Ford diesel technology also is progressing in the control of particulate emissions. Particulates are microscopic particles of soot emitted by diesel engines. As part of its commitment to making its engines as clean as possible, Ford is introducing an optional filter to capture those polluting and potentially harmful emissions.

Developed with PSA Peugeot Citroën and introduced at last month's Frankfurt Motor Show, the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) makes its debut in the Focus C-MAX Duratorq TDCi engine lineup.

Available in selected European markets, the new DPF system is targeted to reduce particulate emissions by more than 98 percent to meet future emission standards.

Introduction of a DPF system is possible through the development of latest-generation common-rail engines and a new ceramic filter. The filter not only traps particulate mass during normal operations, but also automatically regenerates itself by burning off those trapped particles.

Read more

RichardW

>Particulates are microscopic particles of soot emitted by diesel engines.

Pity they missed that petrol engines make as much as diesel engines these days in PM 2.5 range that matters. Perhaps with the advent of Euro IV and particulate traps people will stop trying to put about that diesel engines are not as 'clean' as petrol engines.

Let us not forget that petrols have had cats for 10 years to get them near the CO performance of diesels.

Oh well, rant off.

Hmm, maybe petrols will become very very cheap in a year or two and I'll have to swtich back as they'll be cheaper???


RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....

Diem

I understand from HJ that the VW Sharan is replaced by the Touran. Does anyobne know if their 'sisters', Alhamra and Galaxy are now at the end of their run too?
Diem Read more

Diem

Ivor,

Many thanks - useful info!

I appreciate your support.

Dick