January 2004
I'm considering making a rash purchase- a camper van.
Before I go ahead I need to cost insurance.
As the vehicle I am looking at is not a factory built camper but a minibus conversion I am a little worried that cost of insurance will make the idea a non starter. I've done a little research and found that some companies look for engineers reports on the conversion before covering additionally the fact that it has been modified from factory spec may result in a 'Max Power' surcharge on the premium. Does anyone know of any companies which may specialise in cover for such vehicles.
Many thanks
9000 Read more
I have had one or two questions regarding do spoilers work.I gather on small cars that.they don`t and are purely there for looks.in some cases are there to help the cars fuel economy if it so needs it.
My question is if a spoiler is installed upside down will it cause the car to lift off the road.Not litteraly but take the weight off the road wheel.so causing a loss of traction on rear wheels.I am no expert on spoilers. Read more
You're right smokie, early models, due to their aerodynamic shape, were prone to becoming unstable in crosswinds.
>>Small strips were fitted I think down the sides of the rear window, which had
the effect of "spoiling" the airflow in a cross wind, preventing the generation of lift.
My Sierra Sapphire has said strips (strakes?) fitted. They are a real pain when cleaning the car. Small leaves get trapped behind them and turn into compost unless regularly blasted out.
I have no idea if they aid the aerodynamics as I do not explore
the limits especially with 165 tyres.
No, really, ban them. That's what one of the people who wrote in to the Times' motoring supplement this week wants to do.
Apparently, (and I suspect they just printed it because it was so funny) he/she wants them banned because of the poo they leave on the road.
From what I gathered, a "friend" was riding a motorbike around a corner, only to come across a pile of poo in the road. Front wheel slipped out and said friend went sailing down the road on his stomach minus bike, lubricated with large quantities of dung.
I couldn't help laughing - they want all horses banned from the road because they are "farmyard animals" and unpredictable and unsafe. Yeah, right. They might put a dent in your motor if you annoy them but hurt you? You're more at risk from baseball cap boy in his modded Nova, or one of the millions of untaxed, uninsured and MOTless drivers currently on our road.
I ride and have never found horse poo to be particularly slippery (please, don't ask) and my suspicion is that motorbike man was either going way too fast, or accelerating too hard. Read more
"I'm not sure how riders can clean up poo given that they look forwards. Maybe a special poo-cam could be fitted so that the rider always has a clear view of the horse's bottom?"
Horse drawn carriages giving tourists rides around cities/parks etc generally have a strategic 'poo bag' attached to the horses back ends that catches any escaping manure!
As for horses being ridden on the roads...I agree with whoever said that there should be some sort of test to make sure a horse is 'roadworthy'. Unfortunately, the roads where you are most likely to come across a horse and rider are the ones that involve blind bends and narrow lanes...not good on a 'spooky' horse.
On busier roads a seperate fenced off track running alongside would make it safer all round. When building a bypass near where I live they did this as well as building a tunnel under the road for the use of horses, riders and farmers moving their herds (I guess the council had a rush of blood to the head and actually decided on a plan that was both sensible and useful....that doesn't happen often!) ;o)
I stupidly left my internal (the one behind the flap) petrol filler tank cap from my MK 2 Rover 214Sli behind at Tesco today (no joy in getting it back sadly). Is it safe to drive the car without it and, more importantly, how do I go about getting another?
Any advice would be gratefully received! Read more
Go to a large busy petrol station saying did anyone hand a cap in on such and such a day, I have been told they will drag out a bif box full of them, hopefully, you will find one that fits, if not, just go to the local parts place, and it will probably be £7 - £12
Hi All,
Who does the panel think is the best car company for customer service - when cars go wrong
Is it the obvious 'quality' ones or not ?
No votes from me for Renault
x2l
Sorry if this has been done to death already
Read more
I must mention Safamar Skoda in Marbella for realy good customer service.
I bought my car(new)from then just under three years ago, but apart from the first check-up service have used a (nearer) Skoda dealer in Algeciras.At the time of purchase I bought an extended warranty for years two & three (at the time only a 1 year makers warranty applied). I did not realise, as my Spanish was very rudimentary at the time that this was an insurance type warranty and one of the conditions was that I had to leave the car with the dealer for 72 hours for inspection by a technico employed by the warranty company,in the case of a claim.
I had a problem with the power steering sensor: the claim was refused because I was not able to leave my car 35 Km away, for three days, for this inspection.
Surprise, surprise, a phone call from Safamar saying that the Sales Department would pay for the repair. An appointment arranged and work carried out as promised!
Guess who is going to get my future service business? No brainer isn't it!
A letter to Skoda España is on its way soon.(+ a bottle of good rioja already given to the mechanic who did the work on the eve of the most important holiday at Christmas in Spain - Los tres Reyes or as we know it Twelfth Night.)
As i've mentioned before, i'm intending to start trading from home in the next few weeks. In line with my legal obligation to provide a 6 month warranty, i've been looking at some of the warranty company websites.
So, does anybody have any recommendations or advice on these warranties, from the point of view of either a trader or customer? All the websites are very convincing in their sales pitch, so unless people can offer their direct experiences it'll come down to picking one at random!
TIA. Read more
Owen,
Note new regulations come into force in January 2005 regarding the sale of insurance products. Specifically you will need to register with the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Once you have seen their application form and the cost, it may well make you rethink the whole subject. I suggest you talk to a warranty company to find our more. By now they will be advising their clients on the options avaailable. Warranty Holdings are supposely the biggest, but someone once said about them "if you swim with the sharks......"
Best of luck
Hi see my colleagues at l-rover to strike for 24hr over pay deal. They have the attitude that because l-rover is profitable they deserve more than the 6.5% over 2 yrs. Fair enough but all profits go into the bigger ford/pag pot. Also bear in mind l-rover comes near bottom of jd power quality surveys so seems they are being paid good wages to build poor quality. We at Jaguar agreed to a 2year deal last year so we are up for our pay deal but aren't expecting much since jag lost so much last year. As for quality that is why freelander is being sent to halewood also talk of discovery going to van plant in turkey. Also large contingent of halewood workers going to solihull for 6 months to give them a push whilst halewood being modified. Eventually see solihull being closed and sold for building land. Read more
All true, HBGB. Firstly, the forum issue: I think the
timer is set to 20 minutes.
Yep, sure is.
If you think you're going over that, just hit [CTRL] + [A]
[X][V] and you'll get everything back. If it does then log
you out, you've got everything on the clipboard for next time.
Also see:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=3&t=78...5
My sister has managed to misplace her car keys for her 1999 Ford Fiesta 3dr. Unfortunately, when we purchased the car we were not supplied with a 2nd set of keys so it looks like the locks will have to be changed or is there another way round it? If not, how much do you think it will cost and is it worth claiming on the insurance? - her excess will be £600!
Any advice would be much appreciated! thanks,
Chris Read more
Go you!
I wouldn't let her forget it either ;-)
Blue
18 month old 307 hdi. Since cold mornings began in October, the first start up each day creates a large cloud of blue smoke, and some roughish running for the first mile or so. After that it is fine and runs well, starting again later in the day is no problem at all. Have an Xsara with same engine - no problems. Both do a mixture of runs. Didn't happen last winter. Read more
18 months old? Back to the dealer for warranty work!
I suspect that the glow plugs are not working (try waiting a few seconds are switch on before starting), but it could be something different. The computer will know. Maybe.
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
My inter wipe started giving \'two for the price of one\' last week and is now giving constant wipe.
Anyone know if I stand a chance of fixing myself? It\'s a 15yo Scorpio, so not going to get any real money spent on it. Read more
You may be right, but it only does it once in a blue moon when you flick the wiper switch up and back for a single wipe. It has done it since the relay was changed in April 1989 when the car and hence the wiper switch were one month old, so I'll live with it.
Browse
Thanks for all the replies- I manged to get a £300 quote without too much difficulty- I am sure I could reduce this by a bit more ringing around. The camper I had my eye on turned out to be a bit of a shed though.