December 2003
Assuming a 'modern' car - a few years old, how long (or how many miles) does it take to charge the battery after you've started the car? Lets assume the car is in good condition, and it takes no more than 1 to 2 seconds for the engine to 'catch' after turning the key. Read more
Corolla 2000's wheel trims looking v.tired so thinking of giving it a Xmas present of alloys.... but I don't want 'aftermarket' jobs making my Corolla look like a boy-racer mobile and devalue the whole thing. The higher-spec Corollas had nice Toyota-made alloys, but when I asked my dealer how much they were as spares, they quoted £1000+ !!
2 things -
are there any suppliers doing Toyota parts over the internet cheaper ?
or
would alloys from breakers be any good ? Read more
have you looked on ebay?
Two pints of bitter or lager.
Alternatively
Two pub measures (175ml) of wine.
OK to drive or not?
I say you\'ll be banged up but plenty of people I know say different.
Can anyone out there give hard facts on this and also how long it takes alcohol to clear the body for those who drink late at night and drive in the morning..
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A lot also depends on your metabolism. Slow metabolism = slow usage of alcohol.
Fast metabolism (usually runners/athletes) = quick usage.
The latter is not neccessarily a good thing as it means you absorn alcohol quickly into the bloodstream as well as getting rid of it quickly.
When I was breathalysed for the once and only time some 9 years ago I was running over 40 miles a week. I had drunk one pint of lager 4 hours before. Alcohol level in blood= negigible..
(yes I have a fast metabolism , still run and am reasonably lean. and weigh 70 kgs )
madf
I have £11,000 to spend on a new car. First and foremost, after owning a Freelander and an Alfa Romeo in the space of 5 years I want something RELIABLE and relatively safe (so no microcar). The rest (kudos, looks, etc.) is unimportant. I would only do 6,000/7,000 miles a year in this car, it really is to go from A to B (36 miles a day) 95 % of the time. Citroen seems cheap and cheerful but reliability an issue as it seems.
Warranty Direct points towards Mazda (we have one already but too soon to judge its reliablity) but are they to be trusted ?
I want at least 1.5 engine with air con. I thought a Mazda 3 or a Civic be best. Any advice ? Read more
Ah sorry, the Jazz has "only" a 1.4 engine so doesn't quite meet your 1.5 litre criteria. If you are flexible on this it might be worth a test drive though while down at the Honda garage looking at Civics...
SWMBO preferred the Jazz over the Civic even though she refused to look at one initially, thinking it the same size as the Toyota Yaris...
mike
Well, i only bought the Hilux on Friday and this is my third post in technical this morning! That'll teach me to go and look at cars in the dark!
Problem: My handbrake doesn't appear to work. I thought it'd be either the shoes were worn (they're not) or the cable needed adjusting. I took it into a local garage this morning to have a quick look at it, and they adjusted the cable as much as possible, but still it's not working. Looking underneath, it appears the reason for this is that the lever sticking out of the back of the drum on which the cable pulls actually hits the leaf spring before it can pull the brakes on.
I've got a feeling that one of the (many) previous owners has at some point replaced the levers off a 2WD hilux, and that these levers are not long enough to clear the leaf spring on a 4WD hilux, which sits quite a bit higher. I am, however, clutching at straws - any help?? Read more
My car heater is of no use until the engine has fully warmed up (a couple of miles or so). Nissan Micra K11.
Yet I sometimes read postings about clearing ice from car windscreens in the morning which advise drivers to first of all start the engine and turn the screen fan heater on.
I was always under the impression that a cold fan heater would be of no use in clearing ice. In fact, it would seem to cause internal misting as well.
So I normally avoid using the car heater until I am off and running and the engine has warmed up fully. Is this a good technique for icy mornings?
Mike Read more
Recently sold my old (89) sapphire 2000E. Heated front screen was wonderful - amazed I've never come across one in other cars.
This event happened on Friday (5th).
Off M1 junction 15 turned left towards Roade. Came up behind a Rover estate travelling at 20/30 mph (60 limit on road). Woman driver having animated conversation with woman passenger, turning head and looking at passenger for long periods.
Could not overtake due to oncoming traffic and something told me to hang back.
Past speed camera (on open stretch of road) then up hill and round bend. Right turn to Blisworth just past bend. One car sitting waiting to turn right. Woman in Rover 30 mph straight in to back.
Surprisingly large amount of damage but fortunately no one (visably) injured. Stopped to offer services as witness but woman admitted liability (then at least). Owner of other car (Golf as it happens) calls police but the're not interested and say its a civil matter.
The end.
Moral? Shocking driving, woman obviously accident waiting to happen but no punishment because its not in a category where the police get a slice of the wonga. Happen again? Maybe... Read more
I'm familiar with that turning to Blisworth and it's ruddy dangerous.
No visibility of the junction in advance of the turn
and people tend to be accelerating having just got past the
camera.
But of course if the camera were not there they would never have slowed down in the first place. It makes me think twice about speed down the hill when it's facing the other way. Presumably meant to "protect" both the Blisworth and Courteenhall turns.
The next camera down, by Roade school, is an eye opener. OK let's assume all the cars that crawl past it are doing 28mph. So just how fast are they going past our similarly sited (edge of conurbation) secondary school in a neighbouring village?. Public education still has a long way to go.
My Hilux (see other threads!) has got quite a lot of superficial surface rust on it, which i'd like to clean up a bit. I don't want a spot on job, just to make it look a bit tidier.
Not having done any bodywork repairs before, what is the best procedure? I was just going to grind/sand it back to bare metal, prime and spray. Are these rust treatments i've seen any good? Will they stop the rust reappearing? Do you have to get rid of all traces of rust so that they work? Read more
Actually it was Dynamic who mentioned using a wire brush, although I do use one where there's lots of rust. The sort I use is the cup-type that screws onto the spindle of a 4.5" angle grinder. Quick, effective and quite long-lasting, but a bit expensive at around £7 for a good one.
Two things to watch out for when using these cup-brushes:
1. Some have a speed limit of around 8500 rev/min but angle grinders often run at over 10,000 rev/min.
2. Wires frequently break free and impinge themselves into any exposed body parts. Safety specs are essential, overalls and strong gloves highly recommended.
It seems to be my month for buying old bangers, but would anyone care to hazard a guess as to what happened here (I've included no details which would enable anybody to identify anyone/thing).
Rang a man about a cheap 4x4 in the autotrader for my Father's use running around on some old land. Regrettably possibly sold, customer gone home to get money.
Get phone call back, car not in fact sold. I arranged to go and see it.
Go and see it. Not as per description, pretty awful actually, but still ok for the job except for broken rear window.
Story around broken window is a bit iffy.
V5 shows one owner from new. Clearly not accurate. Red section of V5 used for sale to trader or salvage is missing, but car has not been re-registered in any new name. Presumably was used for taxing car, but how come it didn't get into a new name ?
Vehicle has 11 months MOT and had been given 6 months tax at the same time, still got 5 months to run. Not unusual except the car would appear not to have been used for a couple of months.
Petrol cap flap has been prised open and bent back flat. Rear door lock has been hacked off the frame and welded back on as had one of the hinges. Ignition lock original and undamaged, ditto door locks. One key still fits all locks.
Car is not stolen, not subject to any known claim and unknown to police for any crime or tickets. Not a 100% certain answer, but probably correct since I have a useful uncle.
All engine numbers, chasis numbers, V5 etc. check out with no sign of tampering.
If car blows up tomorrow I'm not losing much money. So agree to buy if window is fixed. Man agrees window to be fixed (albeit with perspex) in 2 hours and recommends pub to wait in.
Hand over small deposit and take documents.
Arrive in pub maybe 1 mile away. While still in car park man rushes in and states not able to sell me the car since window will not be ready for 4 hours. I reply that I'll wait. Then man says not likely to be ready until tomorrow. I say I'll pick it up tomorrow. Man says not really going to be ready until Monday. I say I'll take it without glass. Man says no, he doesn't want to do that. Man hands back deposit, retreives documents and hands over further £20 "for my trouble" & leaves in cloud of dust with me left gobsmacked in the car park.
You can assume that nobody had given him an increased offer for the car (you had to see it to know). It was him who had advertised it in the autotrader. Advert gave his home number and mobile number and business address.
What happened ?? I have no idea and have thought of many alternatives, none of which seem to fit. But it was somewhat surreal. The seller didn't strike me as dishonest, although probably open to the odd "deal".
He didn't seem to be unwilling or nervous about selling the vehicle beforehand, but definitely did not want to sell it by the time we were in the pub car park.
He had already suggested I could take the car without the window when we were negotiating.
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>>as no doubt you know all too well in your line of work
CIO of a telecommunications company. Insurance was a while ago.
You often see it in papers and mags and occasionally on the TV but never think it\'s going to happen to you - but last night some pink fluffy dice have come along and nicked the alloys on my Omega and left it on bricks or breeze blocks to be precise!!
First thing I knew about it was early this morning when a neighbour knocked on the door and said \"You\'re not going to believe this but all 4 wheels on your car have been nicked!\".
Went outside to check just in case it wasn\'t April fool come early, to see the Omega with a breeze block and a neat pile of wheel nuts at each corner (The car was parked overnight on the road directly outside the house). No other damage to the car that I can see, though dropping it onto the bricks may have caused some damage to the underside that I can\'t.
I duly phoned the police and went through the normal procedures, though in fairness there\'s probably not a lot they can do. Then phoned insurers, Direct Line, and have arranged for recovery to one of their local repair centres. In theory it shouldn\'t be a big job, just a new set of wheels and tyres and the car should be back on the road within the day (or so I hope).
Reporting the crime and dealing with the insurers was very hassle free as I would imagine commiting the crime would have been in the first place.
I suppose I\'ll have to resign myself to becoming just another car crime statistic.......
Chad.
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A couple of months ago I was out walking the dogs and found some youths driving a car round a field in a car-unfriendly fashion.
Phone plod and reported it and nothing happened.
Next day found the car dumped in the field and reported it again. Plod sent out a recovery vehicle. Nothing else heard.
If they's responded the previous day they could have saved some of the damage to the car and had a good chance of nicking the felons.
Browse
Cliff, Cool, I agrre spend 30/40 % more on a good battery and double the life and reliability. Regards Peter