November 2003
Below is a copy of an e-mail passed on to me earlier.
for all the women in your families
> Subject: FW: Warwickshire Police Community Safety Liaison Warwick
> District Warning
>
>
>
> This is a real incident, pass it on to others,please pass it on.
> About a month ago a woman was standing by the entrance to a shopping
> centre in Nottingham, passing out flyers to all the women going in.
>
> The woman had written the flyer herself to tell about an experience she
> had so that she might warn other women
>
> The previous day, this woman had finished shopping and went out to her car
> and discovered that she had a flat tyre. She got the jack out of the boot
> and began to change the flat. A nice man dressed in a business suit and
> carrying a briefcase walked up to her and said, "I noticed you're changing
> a flat tyre, would you like me to take care of it for you?" the woman was
> grateful for his offer and accepted his help.
>
> They chatted amicably while the man changed the tyre, and then put the
> flat and jack in the boot, shut it and dusted off his hands. The woman
> thanked him profusely, and as she was about to get in her car the mn told
> her he had left his car around the other side of the shopping centre and
> asked if she would mind giving him lift to his car. She was a little
> surprised and asked why his car was the other side. He explained that he
> had seen an old friend in the centre that he hadn't seen for some time and
> they'd had a bite to eat and a look around the shops for a while. He got
> turned round in the shopping centre and came out the wrong exit and now he
> was running late and his car was round the other side of the centre.
>
> The woman hated to tell him no because he had just rescued her from having
> to change the wheel all by herself, but she felt uneasy, then she
> remembers seeing the man put his briefcase in her boot before shutting it
> and before he asked her for a ride to his car.
>
> So she made an excuse and said but she had remembered just one last thing
> she needed to buy. She said she would only be a few minutes, he could sit
> down in her car and wait for her, and she would be as quick as she could
> be. She hurried into the shopping centre and told a security guard what
> had happened, the guard came out to the car with her, but the man had
> left, she unlocked the boot, took his locked briefcase to the police
> station.
>
> The police opened it {ostensibly to look for ID so that they could return
> it to the man}, what they found was Rope, Duct tape and Knives, when the
> police checked the tyre, there was nothing wrong with it, the air had
> simply been let out. Its obvious what the mans intentions were and had
> carefully thought them out in advance. The woman was blessed to have
> escaped harm. How much worse could it have been if she had children with
> her and got them to wait in the car or had a baby in a car seat? This
> woman told this experience on the flyer she was passing out so that other
> women could be warned.
>
> PLEASE forward this on, it may save a life, he could be in any shopping
> centre. John Farren PC 769,
>
> Warwickshire Police Community Safety Liaison Warwick District.
> Tel: 01926 415000 Ext: 4395
Read more
I like most of you have an interest in cars, therefore when any of my friends/ relatives are looking for cars, I am dragged along.
My sister is looking for a C3 diesel, she has seen a deal today in Arnold Clark Citroen, brand new unregistered C3 1.4 HDI LX, list price £10,300, Citroen are doing their cashback deal of £1000 on this, but the dealer has taken it down to £7988 on the road!
I have searched high and low and just cannot find a deal to match this - obviously what they will give her on her trade in may influence but the salesman knows there is going to be a trade in but this was the price he started with! (My sister had her other car with her today).
I have to go along tomorrow with my sister and haggle him down!! I have told my sister to bring all her trade in documentation and proof of address details for finance etc to show the salesman she is going to do a deal if it is right. The salesman has said that Arnold Clark have already committed to these and if they don't sell them then they will register them themselves, probably use for hire for a few months and then sell on. This all sounds ok to me - do you think I have further scope to haggle?
Obviously, I may get a dire trade in offered with the "our price is already so low" speech!
Thoughts? Or are you all at the pub like sensible people? Read more
Well, I secured the deal today.
Car £7988 inc 6 months tax. Extra £300 for metallic paint (my sister's choice of colour)
Trade In £1200 without their finance, £1500 with (went with)
Negotiated in dash multichanger for free (worth £250)
Also mats free (worth £45)
Their finance worked out at only £400 more than Directline over 3 years so by taking their finance got extra £300 on trade in and £300 of accessories.
Not bad I thought? Delivery Friday.
One thing however, noticed the C3 doesn't have any rear head restraints although has the holes and fittings for them - other than a citroen dealer, does anyone know of a good breaker / car parts place that I could maybe get them from?
In the local news up here in the NE. Two teenagers in a stolen car ploughed into a pensioner waiting at a bus stop, killing him. Both occupants of the car said eachother was driving, with no witnesses to confirm who the driver was both get off scott free.
Both scumbags shown on TV giving V signs to awaiting cameras outside of court after the verdict (whilst covering their faces to avoid ID)
British justice. Blair hang your head in shame (tough on crime......etc.....).
I give up. Read more
Thanks for that tip PU, this thread read only for the moment; not because we disagree with any of the sentiments expressed here but because the case may yet go to court.
Cheers,
ND
HJ has often mentioned 'Millers' additive for the old diesels. I have a Ren' 2.2 dci done 30 hard k. Should this motor now have this treatment or what?? and if so where does one geddit!
Regards. Read more
MD
www.tinyurl.com/v3mm
Click on stockists at the top.
While you are there have a belt round the track.
Been using it for years now following HJ recommendation. Produces to me a sweeter engine and no smoke.
DVD
Eurotunnel is quoting me over £196 for a five day return fare for a Mondeo and two people in September 2004. If I go shopping to Calais for an afternoon I can sometimes get there and back for about £10 ! Why the big difference ? Can anyone tell me of a cheaper route - I am travelling to Holland. Thanks. Del Boy
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The £10 fares are only fillers with limited availability on off peak crossings.
I used the tunnel several times in the last year, mostly on one way journeys. It was impossible to bypass their system that charges full fare of around £150 for the one way ticket.
Several of my colleagues commute to France and have had their credit cards charged with the full fare after they were (electronically) caught using two cheapo returns to make the journey when they wanted.
If you buy 1,000 Eurotunnel shares (approx £507.50 worth at todays price) you get 30% off 3 standard returns a year. Mind you, looking at historic value of their shares, this concession would have cost you less than half that back in April.
Further to similar sounding topic - our local council has recently introduced some taxi bays outside some of the shops. The penalty for improper use is £1000 - yes, I have put the right number of noughts, one thousand pounds for parking your car in a taxi bay.
I guess this represents over a month's take-home pay for many people. Sounds scandalous to me. What other outrageous fines have people come across? Read more
local council has recently
introduced some taxi bays outside some of the shops. The
penalty for improper use is £1000 - yes, I have put
the right number of noughts, one thousand pounds for parking your
car in a taxi bay.
Happy to be proven wrong but I suspect the bay is reserved for vehicles licenced to ply for hire and the improper use they're aiming at is cowboy minicabs. There are dept for transport guidelines on parking penalties, knock a nought off and you'd be close to the max (London at least).
hopefully people can use this thread to share some of their common (or uncommon) problems relating to this type car.
To start off
the A/C hose running from the front to rear of the engine bay rubbed against the bracket for securing it which eventually cut through the pipe and released the gas (this pipe is £30 from Ford garage)
An oil leak which appeared to be coming from the joint between the intercooler and intake actually turned out to be from the oil feed pipe going to the turbocharger, the power steering pipe was rubbing against it and eventually rubbed a hole causing the above leak (this pipe also costs £30 from Ford)
Hopefully somebody will be able to prevent their pipes from getting the same problems.
This car only has 52000 mls Read more
A friend of mine's daughter has a 1994 Suzuki Swift 1.3 Gti.
(The car has had 1 session at an engine diagnostic centre (told that was the "best bet" by a Suzuki dealer), but not tested on a rolling road. The centre didn't come up with any actual solution.)
The engine idles at the correct overall speed, but is very lumpy and the ignition timing viewed on a strobe is jittering about 5 degrees. Above about 1200 RPM the ignition timing appears stable (throttle position idle switch?) and advances correctly.
If the throttle is opened quickly, engine response is very sluggish and accompanied by a deep "throaty" noise. This is even when standing still. On the road, there is virtually no power until engine reaches approx 3000 rpm and then power returns and engine revs freely. It comes in fairly suddenly, but not like an absolute switch. The car will run along the flat or downhill in a high gear with lowish revs as normal, i.e. no bucking from the engine. But setting off from rest requires constant 3000+ rpm and loads of clutch slip, and hills require a run at them.
Full static diagnostic has been carried out and all timing, HT and emissions were OK. Leak tests have also been carried out on all inlet manifold pipes and no problems found. Chemical test on radiator coolant indicated no leaks from head gasket.
ECM code 34 (air flow sensor (AFS)) is stored in EMU, but "Check Engine" light is not on during normal running.
Restricting the air flow to the inlet port of the AFS (not the whole engine) causes engine to stall, so it appears to be doing at least some measuring. No other test on AFS carried out yet. Tests have been carried out on Throttle Position Sensor and Idle Speed Control solenoid/valve and found to be OK. EGR relay looks ok, and nipping of the EGR pipework seems to make no difference either way.
Anybody any ideas?
I'm afraid I have to go away for a couple of days now, so won't be able to answer anyone's further queries until Monday, but I thought I'd post this now then at least there's more time for people to see it. Hope that's OK. My friend may be testing more areas in between times anyway.
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I doubt a worn keyway in crank more likely to be wrong size key fitted allowing free play on crank/pulley tis also not likely a home made one will work.Due to torgue on crank.it only takes a key that is a few thou out of thickness to cause it.still should not have happened.still good luck
There, that got your attention.
You have all been so horribly well behaved and sensible this Friday that you have driven me to drink. My keys can be found behind the bar (motoring link).
I dunno, I remember when a Friday afternoon was a license for winding up the mods (pick your own thread), telling outrageous jokes www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=16...1 , the Silly thread www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=14...7 , blah blah blah....... Read more
Any more of that and you'll be banned.
Stu.
(The Moderators' Moderator)
Quotes from today's Telegraph, ( top story at
news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml )
which has extensive coverage of MG-Rover's executives -
" .. the world's highest-paid auto executives. Well, I suppose we should say good for them, ..."
Rover is no Phoenix ? just an expensive Byers folly
By George Trefgarne
(Filed: 14/11/2003)
How Phoenix feathered its nest with Rover's prize assets
By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent
(Filed: 14/11/2003)
MPs plan Rover inquiry
By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent
(Filed: 14/11/2003)
An investigation into how MG Rover, the car maker, is being run is being planned by MPs after weeks of revelations in The Telegraph about the financial structure of the business.
Firm with a history of strikes and huge losses
By Paul Marston, Transport Correspondent
(Filed: 14/11/2003)
Read more
Hi DL - I'm fine mate, still fighting off the frogs!
Tnanks for the tip, Phoenicks - I spent 35 years in newspapers before I managed to escape, even spent some time as a motoring editor, so I reckon I know pretty much what I can believe...
Incidentally, over the years I owned more BMC, BLMC, BLMH, BL, 'Austin Rover', etc, cars than any other make and I've owned nearly 40 motors - every one bought and run with my own hard-earned. Only sold my beloved P6 V8 last year when I left the country - so I feel particularly sore about what has happened to so-called MG Rover now. Apart from my very brief dalliance with the 'all aggro' they were well-conceived motors (if sometimes badly made) that often suffered at the hands of the market because your average motorist years ago was afraid of advanced technology. 'Mr Average' was often happier with a cart-sprung, side-valve Ford or a Vauxhall than something that had genuine design flair built into it! My preferred everyday driver now is Honda, so you can see why I'm even more unhappy about MG Rover's recent history.
I don't see what point there is in a parliamentary inquiry into the ownership saga. The taxpayers' direct involvement ended when our cash was flushed down the drain long ago.
Browse
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I first saw this some eight years ago.
Surly everybody has seen it by now!