November 2003
Woke this morning to find that most of our road appears to have been 'done' overnight by les number plate bandito's!
I've lost my front, neighbour his rear, other neighbour both, his neighbour both, repeat to fade...
Guess MK Plod will be receiving a number of calls this morning and MK Halfords quite a number of sales this evening?
Ho-hum! Read more
There is a council owned car park in Ashton-under-Lyne that has been designated as The Macmillan Cancer Relief Car Park, and all revenue from it goes to Macmillan Cancer Relief. Given the size of it, and the fact that it is always full, and it costs £2.50 for a working day, I guess that the charity gets quite a bit of income.
Seems like a very good idea to me. It's nice to see a council not being greedy for a change.
Has anyone seen similar schemes elsewhere? Read more
Basildon Council used to open the Council offices car park up to the public for the three or four Saturdays before Xmas every year and allow various local charities to man it and take the proceeds. I always thought it was an excellent idea and in keeping with the season. Basildon town centre has changed a fair bit recently and I don't go there as much as I used to so not sure if they still do it but I think it's something that should be encouraged.
Cockle
Oh Dear!!!......it never rains.......
Just had my Insurance people phone me regarding the description of car, when i originally phoned & arranged cover i told them it was a Lexus Soarer, as thats how it was advertised...when i realised it said Toyota Soarer on the V5 i phoned them but had top leave a message on the answer phone.
The person who phoned back says is the car an import?? I said ofcourse its an import all soarers are , she said "Oh i'll have to see what the insurance Co says"
Now they gave me a quote for a Lexus Soarer .as they are all imports will this make a difference....i mean how did they give me a quoite in the first place and not know they are all imported???
Last thing is Toyota on all the V5 log books as mine , i would have thought so ?? Its just people calling & badgeing their cars "Lexus" which i can't be bothered with .
Cheers. :confused:
Quick Update as i write:
Today i had yet another call from my Insurance broker (PSP) most apologetic that the Insurance Co has in formed them that they can not cover the car as it is a "Grey"but will give me afew days "Grace" to find another Co that will cover me!
Wonderfull , even more so when i point out that it is a "Cherised poilicy Ltd mileage "set at 5000 per annum they offer me an alternative policy with Norwich union that is not limited miles 3 years bonus at £1465 which is about £1167.83p more than i had paid! SOo quite a difference..Ok i know i can be covered for around £697 but this would mean i would have to take the NCB from my other insurance which then make that rise a £175 Great!!
Insurance Companys are not my favourite flavour this year, they took 2 years bonus from me in september when a cretin set fire to a car in a public car park that spread to my & 2 other cars and because i made a claim i mam now a risk as the car that was originally set alight was a stolen car...so this has affeected all my vehicles as regards Insurance.
Legalised robbery 2nd only to speed camera's..anyway what i'm peeved at is that they quoted me for a LExus Soarer & now that i've pointed out that its a "Toyota" they wont entertain it, i've pointed out that there is no such car as a Lexus Soarer in RHD & that they are all "Toyota's" therfore "all" Soarers are Grey imports but No No in fact the cover note they sent me said it was a Lexus Sourer & the insurance broker was telling me thats what they had quoted me on not a Soarer!!!! Arrghhh! help i'm shrinking.
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The Mondewoe will be going soon, I am going to pay the man in the scrap yard extra so that I can press the button on the crusher.
The replacement may be an L reg GS300 Lexus with 131,000 miles on the clock. It belongs to one of my supervisors who got it about 3 years ago for about 6.5K. He is looking for about 4K, I know it has only had minimal work done on it and has never let him down at all. Everything still works in it and it looks to be in fine condition. He is one of the best practical engineers I have ever worked with and know that he has looked after it well, oil changes at 5000 miles etc.
Question is; what is it worth and what problems can I expect.
All the best folks
Bill Read more
"17-19mpg is usual on the new GS, so seems perfectly acceptable for the old one. Obviously you can get this to 25+ at constant speeds above 40."
Sorry, but that just ain't so. You'd be hard pushed to get less than 25 even around town on the new GS, and I regularly get over 30 on my 98 model (first year of the newer shape).
Utterly fantastic car.
I cannot get rid of the foul odour of milk in the boot-carpet of my car.Have tried conventional products,eg washing-up liquid/soda-bicarb., but the smell lingers in the car. Any suggestions? Thanks
{No need to post the same message to both forums. I have deleted the other one in Tech Matters. DD.}
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sorry had to have a chuckle at this one!!
i would of given anything for the smell of sour milk a couple of years ago!! went fishing...got to beach only to find our bait had escaped (live crabs ) out of about sixty-ish'we recovered about forty, the others had dissapeared into the various nooks and crannies,between panels etc...where the blighters decided to die. only way to cure that smell was change the car!!
billy
My new car hasnt got one and I miss it, anyone know if these are possible to buy? or will I have to go to the breakers and get one.
The thing is I am not happy about riveting or screwing into my floor panel and would prefer to get one fitted.
Any thoughts/ideas welcome
Steve Read more
Tony its the 1.4 sport
Wondering if you have any suggestions over this 'perhaps' trivial matter..
I run a pug 206 (2001) 1.9 Diesel with 23,000 on the clock. A nice little runner so far but when I am in third/fourth gear crusing a 2000 RPM the car jolts back/hesitates for a split second until I accelarate..any ideas..?
The car has recently been serviced and does most of it's miles on the motorway between 60-75 mph. with no hesitations present..
If anything any suggestions would put my mind at rest..as I am due to have a long trip up to Scotland?
Cheers folks...
Craig Read more
Quick qestion,..what is the EGR Valve and how would it help if I disconnected it? (re; hesitation)
hi lads
i have a 306 xsi and im getting some vibrations....when im stand still and i put my foot on the accelerator and i could feel a slight vibration.ive got someone to check the exaust its fine....enigine mounts fine.......when i showed it to my uncle he said the acclerator cables strenghed abit....he goes its to the max.........so he said get that checked.......anyone got any ideas what it could be?
thanks
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no the engine does not jump about on tick over. when engine is reved you can feel it when it decreases the revs......you can feel a slight vibrations.....
Two guys I know have in the last two months;
One bought a Lotus Esprit, for around £9k I think, and was very happy.
The other sold a 300 twin turbo for around £3 - £4k.
I can't say that I'd do it, but they were both happy with their experiences. Read more
I used ebay to auction an X reg Clio recently. There were 15 bids, but the top one didn\'t meet the reserve I set. However, I eventually sold it to someone who had seen it on ebay (they didn\'t bid)and who contacted me by email, so I got the right result.
Information on preventing pop-ups removed. This site relies on them as an income. By blocking the pop-ups you are risking the future of this site, blah blah blah. DD.
I have a 1999 Toyota Avensis GLS hatchback. I got it just under 2 years ago, when it had done 18,500 miles. I bought it from a Toyota dealer and paid a bit extra to get a 2 year warranty. This comes up for renewal in January, and would cost a further £570. The car has now done 36,000 miles and I expect to add another 9,000 to 10,000 miles a year for each of the next two years. Most driving is on A-roads or motorways as I don't commute in it or use it much for short journeys. Given that the car has been completely reliable to date, do you think that the warranty is worth renewing? Or should I just stick the money in the bank and self-insure?
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I had a 98 avensis 2 litre petrol for 4 years /63000 miles- we had a fleet of about 20 at work. Only common problems seemed to be front brake discs which needed regular regrinds and replacement and the steeing column bushes which need regular lubrication and sometimes replacement.
I should keep your money in your pocket- they are fine reliable cars- people say they are boring- I found it the quietest most comfortable car I have ever had. Now got a mondeo tdci which goes very well when its going- but I am on first name terms with everyone at the workshops. Now I could do with that car being a bit more boring like an avensis!


The stolen number plates will almost certainly be used to do "Drive Aways", i.e. a free tank of petrol, from petrol stations.
The thieves just use them once for this purpose and then throw them away!