March 2004
Am thinking of hiring a car for a couple of weeks on a touring holiday, and was wondering if it is best to arrange your own insurance or use the in-house cover offered by the major hire companies. Read more
Hi
Can anyone help?
Bus lane cameras, especially in London. Some friends came over from the north of England to visit us on 13/03/04. They got lost and mistakenly went down about 20 yards of a bus lane at about 21:00 hours and were caught on camera - NOT by the bog standard cameras you get on the road side that are coloured grey but a camera placed high up on a lamp post on the far side of the road judging by the picture they have sent me.
Is this common practise now to use community s************s to catch motorist?
This friend of the family does not ever intentionally drive in bus lanes when they are in force. Even I nearly got caught out Sunday as I travelling in a certain part of the country and the bus lane enforcement times changed several times within a short driving distance. It is difficult to keep one eye on the road, the other eye on the signs if you are new to the area and your third eye on small bus lane ENFORCEMENT signs.
All help appreciated
M
PS: I\'m all for bus lane enforcement etc, but we should all know what tactics they are using if they really want us to believe that cameras are there as a deterent!! As always, those that have not registered their vehicle will get away with it.
PPS: I think they need to make the signs LARGER so law abiding people are not caught out unwittingly
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Read a letter in the Times today that mentions that 'French-style' kilometre signs are replacing the mile markers on stretches of the M6 motorway in Staffordshire and Cheshire.
I know that it was illegal in this country to have road signs in kilometres but is the thin edge of the wedge ? Read more
Larger distance signs are certainly appearing on M6 in Cheshire at present, copying the distances on the existing posts. But those always were metric (every 100m) measured in Km from (I suppose) the start of the M1 near London. Previous threads have discussed the accuracy of these, as after accidents or repairs some are out of position or just lost.
Can you repair a leaking exhaust silencer for the MOT with such as a paste repair in emergency or do you have to replace it.
What is the MOT ruling on this ???? Read more
Anything that works will pass. I have a bodge on an intermediate silencer joint consisting of a bit of bent tinplate, exhaust paste, and two jubilee clips. It has lasted through two MOTs so far.
Twenty minutes on the phone, a lovely man called Darren and one happy Pologirl!
I am now the proud owner of a reinstated no claims bonus, and a refund of £450.27.
And it only took 8 months and 4 days!!
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I woz ... sorry, was ... sitting in an interview room, sweating copiously and desperately trying to think of somthing to say about dealing with aggravating people.
Ohwell, not to worry, I didn't get the job, but the missus did, so that means she's the one who has to work harder, while I still enjoy the benefits of US having more money. Bargain!
Anybody read this mag? Or seen it in any shop come to that?
I believe it's about a tenner an issue, but if there's stuff in there you won't find anywhere else about engines, suspension, transmissions etc, I'd consider buying it... Read more
Follow up to Winnabago thread ....
Lots of Car Hire companies, of course - who do backroomers recommend for the States; in particular, where can you hire, at a reasonable rate, European cars - Passat would do ... don't fancy an American 'barge' like most advertise ...
oh, and why are the Sterling prices miles higher than the Dollar rate ? Read more
Dalglish,
Thanks for all the information you and BazzaBear have given on that insurance policy. Most NatWest people don't know anything about it. I have been checking it out and I think it is all the same policy - just that NatWest provide it cheaper as an incentive to use their card. I have a CitiBank US$ account and use their American Airlines cards to maximise my air-miles.
It would appear that you can hire direct from major rental firms based in the USA(without any insurance) for US$50- US$100 a week less than the UK price(with insurance). So you will recoup the annual premium for a 2/3 week rental. As I go several times each year it should save me quite a bit.
However a word of warning to anyone taking a Fly/Drive. I emailed the company to ensure that all the major companies will accept the insurance. Below is their reply:-
"Yes, indeed our insurance is issued by the largest insurance company in the world (AIG). The major car rental companies will recognize the insurance, the exception is if you purchase a fly-drive with a "free car" the car rental company expects to make its money from selling up, such items as insurance. Therefore, I would not recommend my product if you are intending to have a fly drive using Alamo and or Dollar in the USA. Mostly, suggest booking via the internet companies such as www.avis.com"
C
Dear all
I wonder if you could offer me some advice. My citroen ZX TD has 140k miles on the clock now. P reg 3 door, probably worthless in the current market.
I have had it as new from a lease then bought it. Apart from bushes I haven't spent any money on repair except usual battery, cam belt (*1). It is a three door however with 2 kids and 1 on the way. I need something bigger.
I am in the market for a replacement. I am think of either a mondeo or primera.
Anyone have any views on what i could pick up 9-10k at auction?
I was hoping for a ghia/sve trim diesel with 10-20k on the clock approx 12-18 months old.
Any views on how realistic this aim is or does anyone else have any other options?
I am value driven. I did like the look of Skoda Superbs, any views on the price these are going for at auction for a year old version?
Many thanks
Thicko2 Read more
Well I went yesterday.
Missed the excitment of the plane crash.
Ended up buying a volvo s40 se. 51 reg (dated jan 2002). High spec leather seats, climate, cruise, cd etc, 22k miles.
Not warranted but appropriate main dealer stamps.
Won auction at 7k. It was a provisional and paid 7.3k.
Well it's too late now but any views, good buy, average or bad.
Thicko2
This is kind of the reverse of the Winnebago thread. In mid July I have a business meeting with both a Kiwi and an American associate who are of some conderable importance to me. We normally hold this in London but got a bit tired of that and settled on Edinburgh, which yours truly blurted out as a possible location without any knowledge of the place. I shall be picking them up from LHR and driving up.
I would welcome any and all hints on how I can make sure the trip goes well. I recognise this is not a tourist site but any OT comments would be welcome. I have never been to Scotland so I have no idea what to expect.
Tks in advance.
+
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Just to reinforce the previous advice, I'm in Edinburgh now and drove here, only because I wanted the use of my car while in Scotland. I took the slightly unorthodox but scenic M6-A7-A38 route and the journey here was fine. The roads in the city are in appalling condition and driving on the cobblestones in the New Town is an alarming experience in the wet, however good your suspension may be.
Fly here and use the plentiful buses and taxis in the city.
I have a \'96 VW Vento which was imported (UK Spec) from Germany. It has no VIN plate and according to the Haynes manual some countries do not use the VIN plate. (engine codes etc etc are all valid per service book).
-Can anyone confirm if this is the case with German imports as I am worried that when I come to sell it I will have trouble?
- Can I get one made up?
Thanks Read more
cheers - will need a replacement then.
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Just arrived here courtesy of Mapmaker - that's pretty much how I got done in Croydon a couple of years ago. I paid up because I made the mistake but haven't been back there to shop since. Their loss not mine.