I know there have been various threads on lights recently, and about upgrading bulbs etc.

However, I think its a timely reminder that in this weather, we should clean ALL our lights before EVERY journey as this could make the difference that you require from your lights. A packet of the cheapest baby wipes kept in the car will give enough moisture to clean dirt off them.

Even if you are setting off in broad daylight, who is to say that 15 mins along the road you won't hit a blanket of fog?
Just my thoughts for what they are worth. Read more

Late last month I put my Golf VR6 into the Vauxhall dealer around the corner from me. I asked them to replace the rear number plate, because the old one was stained and would be an MOT failure item. When I collected the car I saw that they had not replaced the plate exactly as it was before, because the metal screw heads were showing as there were no yellow caps on them. I asked about this and they said "they don't do them like that any more, and new Vauxhalls are like that." Noticing also that the number plate wasn't completely flat, I left it at that.

This morning I unscrewed the plate to fit new screws with caps. I was horrified to find that the fitter had not used the original fixing points but had drilled new holes through the metal, bare-metal holes that can rust. They have therefore damaged the car with no authorization to do anything so radical. It was all the more stupid because the new plate could have easily been glued to the rubber collars protruding from the original fixing points. Before I come down on them like a ton of bricks, I thought I'd air the matter on this board to see whether anyone thinks I'm being unreasonable. Read more

How do I tell for sure if my passat is a "pd" as I've read many people refer to this type of car, and now i'm not sure either way, I have a :-

VW PASSAT 1.9 S TDI AUTO ( as per the log book )

Year (W) 2000

It is 85kw, to my understanding this is the 130bhp car.

cheers. Read more

Would I be correct in my assumption that now would be a better time to be buying at auction rather than in January?

My thinking being that nobody wants to buy a car close to Christmas, and traders dont want to buy cars to have sitting around... Read more

With the centralising of A&E departments to large specialist hospitals, to my mind, it is even more important to have good directional signs to these sites.
Everybody including emergency services are having to travel further with patients to such facilities.

Surely it is essential that proper standard directional signs are deployed in the most appropriate places. I see plenty of new signs saying "Hospital NOT A& E" so someone gets new signs erected.

Who does one SHOUT at to get this sorted out?

Examples.
Chichester. A significant tourist area so there are many drivers, often foreign visitors, unfamiliar with the area.
From the A27, the major road in the area, there is a good large red A & E sign pointing to the town. All other signs are just small ones with black lettering on the usual white background but all mixed up with other directional signs on the many roundabouts.
A tip. If you unfortunately need to go there from the A27 then follow the larger brown tourist sign with a mask on it directing you to the theatre.

Southampton. I gave directions to a friend on a non urgent visit to her son.
M27, A33, A35 then you are bound to see signs cos its walking distance. I identified the route etc. etc. from several maps and printouts supplied.
She reported back ?not easy to find the hospital and the ambulance taking her son there, just 40 miles from Poole, had difficulty finding it.?

Rant not over. I am not ranting at my friends on the forum but I do want to rant at those ******** driving a desk who I hope can fix the problem. If they went into the real world with their eyes open we might get them to act.
Read more