February 2004
this bangernomics thing is the way to go,.
father in law bought a k reg corsa mot and tax till sept
2 owners from new 34000 miles
its just been serviced as well
no history though, an old who comes in his shop said she was selling it. so he snapped it up for £300
the paint work was really dull, nearer white than red i "t"cutted the bonnet and polished it 4 times with autglym and its come up bright red.
its absolutely mint now
the jacks never been out of the boot.
all the tyres arent more than six months old £176 to insure for a year as well.
whata bargain lucky so and so!!!!!!!!!
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Hi
I'm currently investigating the use of Biodiesel as an alternative to the ~40 years or so of fossil fuels we've got left; and it's potential, and would like the BR's comments on the subject.
For starters, what do people hear think of diesels in general? would using a 'green' diesel change their perception of it? Would they consider buying a diesel car in future if the fuel was greener and/or cheaper?
I would like as many comments as possible as it would be great research.
Thanks for your time. :-)
Mike Farrow Read more
Sooty all you need to know here:
www.rixbiodiesel.co.uk/
Local plod gets even more sneaky!
www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=vn20040...1 Read more
I used to own a VW 181 'kubel' in camouflage colours. "Lost" it once or twice... after a few ales!
Takes deep breath before rant.......
Grrrrr. My insurance recently came up for renewal. The company gave a poor quote so I went elsewhere having spoken to the previous insurers to cancel over the phone. I paid up the new new insurance and have today checked my bank account only to find my old insurerers have set up a new direct debit and and have renewed the policy - so my car is now insured twice.
I rang them up only to be told that I should send in my old certificate and proof of my new insurance only on recieving that will they cancel the policy and charge for the period covered as well as an unspecified "administration charge". I am somewhat miffed and shall send them a snotty letter along with the certificates.
Anyone else had this? Get any where from sending unhappy letters?
whew... Read more
Ah, some progress.
I've spoken to them today and have been told that the premium will be refunded in full once they've processed the documents (apparrently the only do this once a week). Just have to wait and see if they make good on that........
Hi,
'89 Escort 1.4 (CVH), 107k miles, well serviced throughout its life.
I've been feeling that it has been lacking power recently (they don't make 15 year old cars like they used to!) so I checked compressions on the weekend, and had a look at the plugs:
#1 11.1 Grey (normal) colour
#2 12.5 Grey (normal) colour
#3 12.5 Grey (normal) colour
#4 12.0 Sooty black colour
First, is this difference in compressions (which I rechecked to be sure) OK, or too high?
Second, any ideas why #4 plug is black (indicating rich running?) but the other three are OK? It's definitely sooty black and not oil-covered black.
Thanks very much!
Mark Read more
MGK may be right as 3 are ok would point to valve stem seal/s
it is also possible the plug lead has a possible slight short
ie not supplying correct current to plug.causing the spark to be less than it should be.as all other three plugs are ok would be inclined to look at plug/lead and distributer cap.could be wrong but just a thought?
Hi all
I was having a discussion with a colleague about insurance. His wife had an accident, but she hasn't protected her no claims discount.
I thought that if you haven't got it protected and you have an accident, then you lose it all.
He thinks that she may lose a couple of years worth, but will still have some.
We both agree that there will be a premium increase.
Who is right?
Many Thanks
Jonathan Read more
In my very recent (even current) experience, most insurers drop 2, some 3, years of NCD - I'm not clear whether this depends on the magnitude or culpability of the claim. What does vary between insurers is the no. of years which can be accumulated. Most seem to stop at 5, others go up to 9. But my broker said that even though I had reached 9, after claiming I was back to 2 because the insurer they were using ignored anything above 5. Not only that, their penalty for the lost years seemed to be greater - so I went somewhere else.
Morning all
I've just acquired a 93 Peugeot 405 1.6GL but have no idea whether it is fuel injected or not.
I've had a quick gander under the bonnet and didn't see anything that looked like a carb (can't spell the full name!). Mind you, my technical knowledge is only slightly greater than HF's!
Where the throttle cable comes in, there's a load of 'gubbins', one part of which is labelled "Magneti Marelli".
Any of you know what this may be?
Thanks in advance
Rob
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I used to own on of these so lets see if I can help. I had a 93K facelift model and these definitely had a cat and therefore fule injection. The facelift model is mainly identifiable by the fact that the vertical face of the bootlid was body colour coded as opposed to the dark plastic slatted effect on the pre-facelift models. Actually looking back, the cat was fitted from late 91 on 1.6 models therefore you definitely have fuel injection.
What strange Otherworld to these people inhabit?
Example 1:
Dear Honest John,
I recently took my 12 year old Nissan Micra on a shopping expedition. Unfortunately the World War 2 landmine that I keep in the glove compartment detonated while I was in Woolworths, pulverizing the vehicle.
My local Nissan dealer has refused to compensate me; should I expect a full refund from Nissan UK?
Example 2:
I wish to buy a new Toyota Yaris. What colour seats should I order? Read more
Yes, the exploding can story did amuse...
---
Dear HJ,
I bought a used Fiesta and all my friends who drive new VWs laugh at me. Can I sue Ford for emotional distress?
(Lovely gorgeous mods, please move this to technical if you think it should be there)
Well... within 3 weeks of VW telling me there was a tiny hole in the back box (?) of Polo's exhaust, there's an almost continuous knocking coming from the exahust and I think it needs replacing/refitting/whatever. He is nearly 8 years old and has never had anything done to the exhaust so I'm not too stressed over it (even though this car seems to instinctively know just when I've got some spare cash it can use up!)
As you can see from above, I know nothing about exhausts, and can see a situation where someone talks me into having a whole new one when actually I only need one part of it (would that happen?). Can someone explain exhausts to me in simple terms please?
Also, where is best to take it? VW quoted over £200 at the time to replace back box and middle box (I think). Would it be best to take it to one of those speedy national exhaust chains?
And finally, how long does it take?
Thanks! Read more
Thanks all - it's all fixed!
The back box bit had come out of the middle box bit, and both parts had split... bit of a mess really!! The guy was astounded that it was the original exhaust but even showed me the original VW stamps on it.
All in all a fantastic service from Kwikfit, in half an hour and only £67!
Fiesta 1.1, 96000 miles.
The steering wheel has always had a slight to and fro motion when driving but its now become quite pronounced.The steering wheel rocks to and fro about an inch at the rim and is very noticeable at slow speed (say 10-30 mph). At higher speeds its still there but the frequency is much faster so, practically speaking, its less noticeable. In all other respects the handling seems quite normal, no pulling to one side or any vibration and self centres normally and brakes in a straight line. Checked tyres (even looking for a bulge in the tread which once happened to me) done the balancing, changed the tyres etc. Any body got any other ideas ? Read more
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll let you know what it turns out to be.
Browse
Apologies to Cardew: I had not meant to be offensive.. or if I was I was not really trying:-)
My wife runs a 10 year old Peugeot 106.. by all reckoning it's a banger. Owned from new, garaged evry day except 10 days in Scotland:-) only 39500 miles.. Waste of time and money replacing it.. Just regular services and spray all welded seams with rustproofer every 2-3 years..
We live in a throwaway society where what is desireable 3 years ago is now second rate.. eg Ford Pumas in 2000 were fetching very good prices second hand and the rare racing ones were rare as hens teeth. Now 10 a penny...
Why bother.. I don't.. The energy input into making a new car is HUGE....
madf