March 2004
Hi,
Last year my mother bought a car from a "friend of a friend". The previous owner gave the complete V5 to my mum rather than send it off to DVLA. She needed to buy tax for the car so she took the complete V5 to the post office who gave her the tax and took the V5 to send off to DVLA for change of owner. Now one year later there's no sign of the V5 and the tax is about to run out. She has the green slip from the bottom of the V5. The post office won't let her renew the tax and the dvla have told her to apply for a new V5 - which will take up to 6 weeks to process. She was advised by the dvla that she has to declare a sorn and take the car off the road. She's getting old now days and would struggle to get by without her car, plus the MOT will be running out soon meaning when she does eventually get the V5 there will be the extra trouble of getting the MOT.
Any advice? Read more
Daughter's Fiesta has had quite serious damage done by a ridge tile being blown off a roof into the n/s wing. I'd guess wing replacement required.
House owner has said she will claim it from house insurance. How would she go about doing this, and ought I be reporting it to daughter's car insurer (which I am reluctant to do in case she loses NCB). Read more
will - I wasn't suggesting that my scenario was reasonable, only that someone might propose it. I don't think I would want to pay up either, but I might wonder whether I should accept at least some of the responsibility. If a tile blows off my roof, it's most likely to land on my own car - who do I blame for that?
I am thinking of buying a second hand scooter with a reasonably big engine (250cc or even 500cc). I have seen some in pristine condition which have been garaged from new.
Is it risky buying a very low mileage i.e. 600 mile scooter as above, or is it better buying new. The depreciation is quite high for these vehicles and I can easily save £1500 on new with a low mileage one.
Also, what should I be looking for. I know that scooters are not as strong as cars and any abuse or lack of maintainance can kill one very quickly.
Read more
"it looks the part a little more than a scooter does"
I agree entirely, but having witnessed a rally here in the summer, there still seem to be people who think a 60's Vespa with 8 lights and 14 wing mirrors is the zenith of good taste!
I can see the appeal of something with leg shields, built-in storage and 'twist and go' gears, especially for commuting, but the dynamics of a 'proper' bike are more enjoyable, IMHO.
I'm old enought to remember the Mods and Rockers clashes, and it was clear then that there is more than one school of thought...
As reported in last weekend's motoring section (13th March), Honest John had a 'bad fill' of Shell.
Really & truly? How could he tell? What does he mean? What were the symptoms? This doesn't sound very scientific to me!
Perhaps he did more town driving than usual (so mpg was down) or the pump didn't fill the tank so full (mpg down again). Otherwise what did he mean?
I'd love to hear a bit more, if HJ is back from his hols. Read more
As HJ is now back from holiday, I wonder whether he would be so kind as to enlighten us as to what he meant?
What's the easiest way to tell if a car has been a private hire taxi (assuming someone is trying to hide the fact)? I'm thinking of something like a Carina or Avensis. Read more
The condition of the glove compartment and drivers sun visor is often a good guide.
If it is in a state inside you know they have been used much more than a regular car. In the case of a taxi, the driver will have kept most of his paperwork in these places.
In addition, these areas are probably not high on the seller's list to remove evidence from.
H
.... this weeken I had the "pleasure" of driving what must have been the worst drive of my life. It made a Land Rover Mk2 seem like a Rolls Royce.
The vehicle
M reg Lada Niva Cossack (one of the 4x4).
Awful. Read more
Didnt the genius which is MG-rover phoenix holdings want to continue the old espace and place on it a rover badge?
Im sure if they did , they would have brought out a MG version - nearly as comical as an MG cityrover.
Anyone else doing this? Read more
It was the Maserati GT Coupe that i couldnt get.
looked at other forums and believe thats the rare card...
Taken from www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004131700,00.html (I don't read that site, just get news syndicated from multiple sources via RSS)
A VAN driver stopped to ask a traffic warden for directions — and got a £50 ticket from his colleague.
Derek Scott, 47, got lost as he searched for an address in central London.
After driving down the same road in Westminster three times, he spotted a warden, pulled over and ran to the back of his Mercedes Sprinter van to ask for help.
The helpful warden said NOTHING about illegal parking and told him the way to the nearby address.
But as relieved Derek went to get in his vehicle, he found a SECOND warden writing a ticket.
Despite pleading with the warden, he was told: “You’re too late, you shouldn’t have stopped here.”
Derek fumed: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s ridiculous.”
The dad of two was told the ticket had been imposed because he had stopped in an area when “waiting loading and unloading restrictions were in place”.
He has been given 14 days to pay the £50 fine, or it will be increased to £100.
But Derek — who is retired due to ill health — said: “I wasn’t waiting, loading or unloading and I was talking to a warden when this other one booked me.
“I’m furious. It’s just barmy bureaucracy.”
Derek, of Hartlepool, Cleveland, had driven 240 miles to London only because he was taking a friend to a new job on a building site.
The City of Westminster Council’s Parking Regulation Unit, which uses NCP wardens, refused to show mercy.
A spokesman said: “We have a firm but fair parking policy.”
Read more
My brother went to court over a parking ticket, it went
like this...
Goes to see our sister in hospital, machine wouldn't accept his
change so back to the vehicle for loose change from ashtray,
still wouldn't accept money. Swapped some coins with a passer by,
still no luck. Put note in windscreen about where he was,
what time it was, how long he expected to be and
why he couldn't buy a ticket. Back to vehicle 20 minutes
later, ticketed, not happy, tries machine - still bust, now furious.
Writes to ticket office explaining the circumstances and offering to pay
the parking charge but not fine. They refuse and take him
to court. In court 'their' lawyer (solicitor, barrister - don't know
proper term!) stands up reads out the details and states that
under the circumstances he doesn't know why the case had gone
to court and they are dropping it!
How's that for a waste of time and money?
Steve.
sue them for costs , time, and inconvenience you will win and probably out of court a threat of suing with details of your claim may even be enough (why should they get away this).
If there's a happier petrol head on the planet at this moment, he or she's a truly lucky person...
Trying hard to be humble (honest!), I've just had the extreme priviledge of being chaufferred in a Mclaren Mercedes SLR. I even had it parked on my driveway at the start and end of the journey, and if I can figure how to get photos uploaded to groups.msn.com/honestjohn (I have tried to register twice to no avail), I'll do so.
So, what's it like?
WOW (and then some)! What an amazing example of what mankind can engineer, and a fantastic tribute to those who have designed and built it. The SLR has totally redefined what I think a car should sound like, let alone, from the passenger seat, what vehicle dynamics should be. I'm not simply talking the immense acceleratitive abilities that literally take your breath away, either. I'm talking phenomenal suspension control, and a selectable paddle shift box that actually works to perfection. I'm talking ceramic brakes that rewrite the rule book, and which don't so much shed speed as lose it like pressing a switch: Together with an airbrake on the boot lid, I read some months afo that an SLR will brake to rest from 60MPH in less than 100ft, and can well believe it. I'm talking a level of computer sophistication that make this AMG-sourced 627BHP and 780NM lion a docile pussycat in town, and which has a traction control system that handles all those ponies far more unobtrusively than my Vectra GSi's system handled 200 of them. The biggest surprise (but then given the size of the boots, perhaps it shouldn't have been) was the amount of tyre noise. In urban driving this is the dominant noise source, but it's a very small price to pay. For a preproduction prototype, the level of fit and finish was as superb as it needs to be on a production car, too. Faultless leather, faultless double stitching, and wonderful use of texture. I actually liked the silver interior trim that has drawn comment in the media, too, and for me the only item I wasn't keen on was very trivial, and out of sight for most of the time anyway: The 'blister' moulding inside the centre console cubby box looked a little low rent when compared with the high standard set by the rest of the trim. That's really it!
I will be honest and say that I have never liked austere Stuttgart Taxis, or the image that goes with the badge, but this car is totally, utterly, ACHINGLY desirable to me, and I want to sell the house and my wife's body to buy one. NOW! Since the original 3.0 litre example, I have lusted after 911 Turbos. I've even driven one, which only served to reinforce the lust. Now, however, my dream has been totally shattered, and I can't see how any car is going to replace it, should I have the spare funds to try. Every car on the road will simply be inadequate! If no one would insure me to drive an SLR, I would happily look at it, or start it up (wonderful fighter pilot trigger with flip lid in the top of the gear lever) and listen to that menacing V8 and supercharger howl. Even at a gentle and rock steady tickover, that bass rumble had the neighbour's curtains twitching. Tickle it up to 1500 RPM, no more was necessary, and it sounded like a whole squadron of Lancasters was making a low pass. Enough audio stimulation as to classify a TVR as being suitable for hairdressers and district nurses! It really did make the hair on my neck stand on end. The sad thing though is that in our street, I bet not one neighbour knew or cared what they were looking at!
When we collected our V70 2.4T from the Dutch dealer in March last year, I was on Cloud Nine. Having by far just spent the most money I ever had apart from buying a house, automotive life couldn't get any better. Well, it did, but after every climax comes the anticlimax, and this one will probably last for the rest of my days! Read more
Growler - Thanks! I'll do my best to! Even the 456 that entered my mental stable of cars as being the perfect GT (after reading the reviews at the time of release, seeing and hearing one go round Donington Park on a public day, and being soundly trounced by one on a Belgian autoroute after egging it on to hear the engine note!), looks ordinary now.
Phoenicks and patently - That would be telling! ;-)
Had car serviced last Saturday, and also had new front brake discs and pads fitted.
After 450 miles of mostly motorway driving, braking not-too-hard in order to run in the new brakes, last night i got a very distinct burning smell coming into the car after braking (again not-too-hard) for a roundabout. Upon stopping for inspection i found the the right front brake disk/pad to be very hot and smelly. I continued driving, very lightly indeed, and by the time i reached my destination the smell had reduced.
At the end of the return journey the right front wheel was fine, yet the left was now hot and smelly!
Have i just reached some finite point in the wear of the disks/pads, where they are now fully run in or something, and will be fine after a few more miles?
Or have the same garage which overfilled my engine oil also bodged up my brakes? Read more
Hi
I find that taking the car up the backroads and giving it a bleaching until there is smoke billowing from the brakes is a great way to bed them in.instantly.
Browse
Go to the DVLA site and look under Vehicle Licence as what to do.
In your shoes I would, if one fairly local, go to a Driver and Vehicle Licence Office with all relevant docs and have a face to face. Possible you may be able to get an excise Licence there whilst the replacement V5 is obtained (at cost).
Moral: Dont do tomorrow what you should have done today???
DVD