I am off to Florida for 8 days in March. I did the same last year.

Last year the car hire was £138 for a week. This year the same car looks like it will be about £170 for 8 days. Given the dollar has dropped like a stone over the year, I don't see how this occurs. Except, of course, I am going to UK based companies (or US companies UK site) where they are quoting me in £££s, and I suspect the price has little real relevance to the actual cost - more relevance to the amount they think I will pay.

I am having difficulty finding an American based site where I can understand the insurance requirements, and pay on dollars.

So... what do you reckon on me turning up at Tampa airport and just walking along the desks to see what I can find? Or is pre-booking generally cheaper or easier? Or maybe I could arrange an American mate to do the booking for me?

(btw I just booked 3 nights at a hotel through an agency - was cheaper than booking direct with the hotel, and the hotel would only take 4 night minimum booking...also, was unable to match price on last year's Air Miles flight - £62!! plus a few miles) Read more

With many cars having multiplex wiring and computers that control one thing being able to control another, here are some of my ideas.

1, If you leave a door open and try to lock the car, the horn will beep to warn you.

2, Dipped beams switch to side lights when stationary for a period and opened the door. It really annoys me when drivers keep their lights on while chatting to passengers as they drop them off.

3, How about brake lights that go off after so long stationary, or a warning buzzer to alert the driver that they are wrecking their brake discs?

Anyone got any more ideas? Maybe we will see some on the next big Citroen! Read more

Replaced both front tyres (originally Kumho Ecsta Supra) with Pirelli P6000s after a puncture. The difference in performance between the tyres is quite incredible:

- The grip is many times better, particularly when accelerating quickly from stop. The traction control system also seems to work much better with these tyres, though is much less likely to activate unless I try really hard.
- The noise is much reduced - no audible noise from the front tyres at all now (there's no wind noise and little engine noise either).
- The ride is much smoother - especially on rough or harsh road surfaces.
- No understeer when going around roundabouts on a wet road surface.
- Not much difference in handling, but the Kumhos were slightly better if anything.

I imagined that there would be some difference between £40 tyres and £80 tyres, but I didn't expect it to be so significant.

Only one problem though - I feel vibration through the steering wheel at 70 mph! I suspect I might be taking them back to KwikFit for re-balancing, if that's the problem? I have noticed from other posts that Pirelli P6000s are difficult to balance, but I was under the impression that this had improved.
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Veyr quick question, is changing a headlamp bulb in a 97 Vectra an easy job? Or is it worth paying Halfords to do?

Thanks

Blue Read more

Last night I endured the worst journey of my life.8 hours in terrible conditions and total gridlock to travel 25 miles home.My toyota corolla D4D thankfully didn\'t let me down but it ran solidly for this time crawling along. It has only covered 1500 miles since new last month. Will this journey have done any lasting damage to my car, should I have the oil changed earlier than the initial 10 k service etc???

Thanks Read more