November 2003
Surely this statement will put off many potential buyers from going to view a car for sale privately. It is almost like saying "If you come to look at it you buy it!" Any opinions?
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I'm a loser, baby....so why don't you kill me?! Read more
Situation is as follows.
Offspring has a six months posting to Jersey from February.
Assuming some personal transport is needed while there.
Existing heap has been delayed in going to the scrapyard by Dads TLC.
First thoughts are to fly or float there.
Buy a secondhand fairly recent car.
Insure it. A 25year old professional has never insured in own right but driven several years intermittently on my insurance.
Use car for six months.
Import it to UK?
Or sell it?
Has anyone any experience, tips, pros and cons of the above.
Cost of insurance?
I understand that ex hire cars are re- registered in the UK. How does an individual contact such sellers in Jersey?
How is a used car valued for VAT if importing into the UK?
What paperwork is required?
Cost of a one way ferry for car or sell it to a dealer?
Initial Google searches show virtually no hits on secondhand car sales.
Anyone know any recommended dealers or franchises?
Lots of questions but thanks in advance of your replies.
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Hello
Personal contract purchase: This is a bit like a hire purchase agreement, but the monthly payments tend to be lower, which means you can afford a flasher car than you might have thought possible. However, at the end of the repayment period – often three years – you face a choice: either hand back the car and get nothing or pay a lump sum and own the car outright. The scheme often include servicing and maintenance in the price. Often people swap to have another personal contract purchase scheme to keep on the road....
Mondeo V Reg 2.0 Ghia 66000 miles
Had car into Ford dealership today for service and MOT - company car.
Get car back to find that it has failed MOT due to airbag sensor which they have ordered.
However, now ABS and traction control warning light are permanently on. Dealer says this is linked to airbag problem and nothing to worry about, they will both work fine.
Other than finding a quiet road to let burn some rubber on take off / stopping, does anyone know if dealer is telling truth on this one? Or have they done something to pink fluffy dice up the electronics? Read more
Full marks to Dynamic Dave - car went back today, they were still adamant that the airbag sensor was faulty.
When I went back to collect it, got the service manager and it was the ABS sensor!!!!!
Incidentally, re the light , I meant the light on the switch, not the warning light.
Sorry if this turned out to be a red herring but thanks for all your input and advice.
Nicolle borrowed the Laguna for a week to visit relies in deepest Herefordshire. Papa had the clio to run around it. The rattling standard fit sunroof drove me bonkers. I know its a standard feature (the rattle) anyone know how to fix it?
Clio w reg 1.2 Grande
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aquired a t reg clio a few months ago and the rattling comming from the sun roof was driving the wife mad as it sounded like the noise was comming from everywhere, had a good look at it at the weekend and found the problem in the end - it was rattling from the hard plastic framework on the outside on top of the roof if that makes sense, it must have lost its seal or something as the wait of the sunroof was vibrating against the roof, simple fix as I pushed three barbque sticks at a time just to lift the framework up just enough to pump some sealer under, pulled the sticks out and wiped clean and so on all round and you would not believe how quite the car is now as it drives like a new one and the wife loves it. best of luck.
Today, we drove to visit friends in Buckingham, which meant driving along the A413 after dark.
Near Padbury we found a series of switchback corners with intensely bright cats eyes, that continued to glow even when alongside the car, and therefore out of headlamp arc. Looking in the rear view mirror, they also continued to glow intensely, and the series of corners could clearly be seen behind for a very considerable distance, despite the total absence of other vehicles, streetlamps, or any source of light.
With nobody around, I then turned the headlights and sidelights completely off for ten seconds or so, in pitch black, and could still clearly see red cats eyes marking the left of the road, and bluish-white in the middle. Given the series of sweeping corners, it was a surreal experience like daylight without the daylight!
Does any backroomer know how these cats eyes work, please?
LEDs?
Solar charged during the day, perhaps?
Many thanks. Read more
If anyone doubts the effects of LED strobing, move your alarm clock around in front of your eyes in pitch darkness. The figures appear to distort out of shape slightly. The effect is worse around the edges of vision.
This is 50Hz rather than 100Hz admittedly, but the human eye can't directly detect 50Hz flickering either.
Did Ford make many changes to the 1.3 engine before putting it into the Ka ? Read more
Ah....yes they do! Think about it!
Tom, 10 minutes in the corner for you ;-)
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Well alright then, but only very short ones! The point is, that doesn't determine whether it's a OHV or OHC engine.
Apparently, for first two months, the ACPO has decided that in England and Wales, the ban will only be applied as a verbal warning. Read more
Hi Pologirl
Why not try a hands-free kit? The version with a wire which plugs into the bottom/side of the phone and the other end is a tiny loudspeaker, which goes in ones ear, works well. Set your phone to automatic answer after two rings and you are away.
Even though I have voice dialling, I avoid making calls on the move. Tesco have own brand hands-free and in-car charger kits for - I think - £4.99.
Regards Don drbe
Lead Replacement Petrol to be phased out.
www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/fuel/LRP.html
"LRP now (mid 2002) accounts for only 2.7% of total fuel sales, and forecourt managers will increasingly be tempted to switch pumps to more profitable products.
Trends indicate that you won't be able to find LRP from the end of 2003 except at a few specialist outlets hoping to keep something no-one else has."
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Doh! I've just noticed that the second reference to Valvemaster above should have been Valvemaster Plus.
And a footnote on LRP: from a letter in the Capri Club magazine, received this morning, "As to LRP, I have only used this once and wished I had not. I put a few gallons in for convenience sake and before I had gone 3 or 4 miles the car was misfiring."
I have previously posted that I think the BMW 5 Series with the 4 headlight "rings" on was one of the smartest sights on the road at dusk.
However, I saw one today and they had obviously replaced the standard bulbs with blue ones - 4 blue rings on a late model BMW 5 series - I could have cried there and then!!
I was so shocked that I didn't even check if there was a baseball cap at the wheel.
Why? Why? Why? Read more
On Ebay, the Clear rear lights as sported by every boy racer in his Saxo are referred to as "Lexus Style".
Therefore it is safe to assume that the responsibility for all these tacky Saxos can be traced back to Lexus............
Choking yet PeterB??
In HJ's column in today's Telegraph he had a query from a Chevy Z28 owner with a transmission noise. HJ's advice that it's probably the torque convertor is spot on but:
If the owner is a lurker here in the BR and reading this, I'd recommend that you check the fluid level first. It's real easy to get the reading wrong and I've heard other reports that over/underfilling can cause the symptoms you describe.
I'd also recommend the following sites for fellow Z28/Firebird owners.
www.austin-f-body.org
www.houston-f-body.org
Kevin...
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HJ,
I don't think you were mistaken with the advice you gave.
When the transmission mounts are on their way out the first symptom is usually a distinctive 'clunk' when the 'box is put into Drive and a similar noise whenever you backoff the throttle.
It's a known problem but not expensive to fix.
You might want to include this in the Car-by-Car breakdown for '96 and later models.
1) The window motors on Z28s and Firebirds are their biggest weak point. If you are thinking of buying a Z28 or Firebird make sure that the windows operate smoothly. GM UK will only supply a new window motor complete with the regulator arm (£300+ each). You can buy a replacement motor in the US for about $50 and the Siemens units seem to fix the problem.
2) The 6-speed manual models (were they ever available in UK?) had a problem with vibration through the transmission. Fixed by replacing the propshaft.
Kevin...
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I have to say that it wouldn't put me off per se.
If I felt the car was iffy then I wouldn't buy; but if it was the car that I wanted then the "rudeness" of the seller isn't going to stop me having it. - although it might affect the bargaining.
Even dodgy, backstreet-traders sell good cars, at least sometimes.