January 2004
Brother in law has just shelled out c. £800!!!!!! to have the petrol tank in his 'R' plate Renault Clio replaced. Apparently it had ruptured although the garage couldn't really explain how. Anyone come across this probelm before ? Read more
On the box the other night there was an advert that turned out to be for a Honda. The ad opened with a party scene in a sitting room with a bowl of keys being handed around, with the implication that this was a wife swapping party. A large lady then picked up the bowl and selected the keys for the Honda at which a number of males jumped up. The implication being that the car was more attractive than the lady. Am I alone in thinking that this is grossly sexist and offensive? Are potential Honda owners going to be encouraged by the implications towards them as well? Maybe it is because I work in marketing that I seek the reasoning that motivated the producers of the advertisement,as somebody took a conscious and very expensive decision to make and run this campaign. Surely there is not such a paucity of creative talent that they have to revert to unpleasant, tawdry smut of this nature.
I once complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about an ad for a BMW that talked about the lines of the car and the neat way they had dealt with the complex angles cause by the conjunction of the wing, bonnet and windscreen that they desribed as being "a corner that is forever Munich". A play on the line by William Blake, a First World War poet who described a corner of a foreign field as forever being England in his poem about the war. I complained that this was dreadfully insensitive of the advertisers of a German product and highly offensive. The ASA replied that as very few people had complained they were not going to take it any further. I did consider writing to the Royal British Legion and advising them of the address of the ASA but thought better of it, and I didnt see the ad run again. But at least they werre subtle about it, unlike Honda.
The implications behind this Honda advert are about as obvious as they can be. Now I enjoy a laugh and a joke, but do others just find this tacky, unpleasant and demeaning. Or am I really becoming a boring old so and so. Must go, got to get my copy of the Daily Mail.
MGs Read more
MGS,
did you complain about the Carling Ad that ran in the late 80's, where they recreated the dambusters raid?
Can someone give me a definative answer to this? Is it strictly necessary to remove any of the battery leads when attaching a home battery charger to the battery on a modern car? Years ago I remember when we had dynamos it wasn't necessary but with the advent of alternaters I think there is now a link (electronic or wire etc) with the alternater even tho' the ignition is 'off'. (First query) Read more
Have a look at the thread \'Battery Chargers\'
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=18638&...f
I?m planning to start car trading and am trying to find out the implications of VAT registration. I know that if I sell more than £56k worth of cars a year, then I will have to register. But what will this actually mean? Is there a VAT portion of the hammer price when buying at auction? Does the asking price of any car I sell include a VAT element which I?ll then have to pay to customs & excise? Read more
But, of course, you'll have depreciated the asset (car) within your business accounts to such a small amount, that the VAT due to be re-paid, would be minimal.
VB
Sorry if this is old ground that I'm covering here, but does anyone have any recommendations for cheap & reliable online car insurance brokers ?
I'm looking to insure a Seat Ibiza 130 for fully comp. + protected no claims (have about 6 years no claims discont at mo), but it has to include BUSINESS use. Nonsense like AA or RAC cover thrown in is useless to me as is any other 'value added' guff that just bumps up the price. Oh, and I'm 27&3/4 btw.
Current best quote is from budget at a whisker under £500, which seems quite good to me, but does anyone know of anything better ?
ta,
Humdinger.
PS. Read more
Esure give business cover "for free" to most people - so well worth a quote. Both myself and Mrs MMD are with Esure now, in both cases because they were extremely competitive. And NCD goes up to 75% if you stay with them for 5 years (and started on full NCD).
If a head gasket has failed between a water channel and a combustion cylinder there will be a build up of pressure in the cooling system but water will not get into the oil. Is that correct?
If a head gasket has failed between an oil channel and a water channel there will be NO build up of pressure in the cooling system but water will get into the oil. Is that correct?
Thank you. Read more
It aint necessarily so!!
Gasket failure between water channel and combustion chamber
All things being equal when the engine is running the pressure in the cylinder varies from 'high' (when the coolant system will over pressure) to 'negative' when it is possible for 'water' to enter the cylinder which would immediately turn to vapour because of the temperature and appear as steam in the exhaust. However when the engine is shut down and as it cools there is a possibility that water could pass into the cylinder and thence into the sump and lubricating oil.
Gasket Failure between Oil and Water Channel.
Not easy this one ( but result is same) because it depends if the oilway is pressure or drain. If pressure then oil pressure is usually 3 bar, Coolant system say about 1.5 bar so oil will end up in the expansion tank. If the oilway is drain (returning to sump) then the coolant will be at a higher pressure and travel into the sump via this route.
Not sure why you ask the question but it is simple to test gor head gasket failure if you have the kit - a test for hydrocarbons in the expansion tank is one go/no go test, the other is a water pressure squeeze on the expansion tank.
In a shock move, motorists on the south coast this morning found themselves enjoying a new dual carriageway. The road in question provides a convenient route between Southampton and the M25, offering unrivalled views of the Hampshire and Surrey countryside.
Rumours that this road was actually the M3 and that no bleeder would actually return to the left hand lane after overtaking the occassional lorry were met with incredulity. One motorist, when faced with this suggestion, merely scoffed and hurled his redundant indicator stalk at the enquiring journalist. "Can't you see that this road simply has a double hard shoulder? Now out of my way, peasant. My expensive German car and I must be off to make more money doing seemingly trivial but very expensive things in London."
More details of this story can't be found at www.Aaaarghwhydon'ttheyjustmoveoverwhenthelaneisclear.com Read more
I agree. I\'ve tried everything and the same old cars still juggle back and forth past you for the entire commute.
Case in point this morning. I took it easy once up to Basingstoke (anything before that was fair game) and watched a Ford Ka with 4 onboard keep pace with the usual loony crew all the way up the M3 and around the M25 to the M40. Hardly the ultimate speed machine.
I'm sure this site could save someone some head scratching, and maybe a quid or two:
www.bba-reman.com/
Their "common failures" section on the tabs across the top of the screen is particularly interesting, and I like the idea of a free rebuild if your problem is weird enough... Read more
Hi.I have a 2001 Passat.There is a noise that sounds like a coin stuck somewhere.When I brake it rolls forward,when I go up a steep hill or accelerate, it rolls back.It sounds as though it is around the centre console area.I removed this last night but nothing there.I then found a ball-bearing(???) in the heater vent under the drives seat.But it wasn\'t this either.Anyone any ideas where this \"thing\" could possibly be. Read more
Well,I actually thought I'd sussed it, but after reading your mails, I think I may be on the right track. I found a ball-bearing in the heater vents under the drivers seat.It was covered in grease and appeared to have located in a groove.It looked as though it wouldn't move, but because of where it was I thought that it MUST have been the problem.Could it be that a ball-bearing has fallen out and the others are now moving about?. Is that a possibility??
I saw a Porsche 959 at my local Porsche dealer yesterday as i was driving past and it really made me stop, look and stare. A real 'wow' moment as they're so rare.
It got me thinking about other times when i was 'wowed' at a car moment - you know, those moments that you'll never forget (in a good way!)
Now i'm a proper supercar admirer so most of my moments are supercar related:
Seeing a red Lamborghini Countach Anniversary model in the late 80's - 2 weeks after it was introduced, park on Southampton High St, brand new on its own with no other cars round it, and aged 12 running across the road to have a look at it. There was a crowd of about 20 people round it, and this guy comes out of a shop with 2 little girls, gets in it (with the fantastic scissor doors)and the 2 girls on one seat, starting it up and driving ever so slowly away. The gasps and cheers when he started it up were so memorable!
Being at a DeTomaso Pantera owners club meet at Castle Coombe, but it was an open invite for any other supercar owners (again in the late 80's). There we 10 countachs lined up next to each other with their doors open. - nice.
Same meet - a Ferrari 288 GTO with the numberplate BEG 4 1T as a numberplate turned up. The only one i ever saw.
And just recently a Ferrari F40 bogging down as it took off from the Frizzell r'bout traffic lights, only to suddenly get a rush of power and just scream off. fantastic. Only to be more memorable for the Renault 19 1.4 on big alloys and blacked out windows 'trying' to keep up with the F40 - oh how i roared!!!!
Whats your fondest wow memories? Read more
Wow moments:
1.The sound of a Diablo accelerating to 70 in first gear....from the passenger seat! 21st birthday treat some years back. Driver: the boss of Lamborghini UK, location: outside Maranello Concessionaires (Ferrari dealership). He said he did that quite often as a little dig at Ferrari. The Lambo place was at the end of a cul-de-sac so he was safe from reprisals.
2. Seeing Nick Heidfeld nail the MacLaren F1 car up the short straight before The Wall at the Goodwood Festival of Speed a few years back. The whole crowd simultaneously erupted into shocked laughter. He set the course record that year (1999?) which I think was only broken last year.
3. Giving my motorbike full throttle for the first time after the running-in period and being aware of a rapid narrowing in my field of vision as my brain failed to cope with the world accelerating so fast. Got used to it now though!
Browse
Not saying this is the cause but check out page 2 of this site
maybe usefull.
www.autoshop101.com/forms/h62.pdf