March 2004
Hi, I wonder if anyone can help with the following. We have a '97 R-plate Ford Fiesta 1.3 Encore, when the tank is near full & parked on a slope it will leak petrol from the fuel cap nozzle. Despite this being checked by a local garage who could find not fault (the fuel cap has been replaced.) Problem still occurs - again only when the car is parked on a slope & the fuel tank is near full. Read more
Does anybody know it it's possible to fit a roof rack to a Peugeot 306 3door? It's a gutterless roof, but i have seen fitting kits for 5 door models, just not the three door. Read more
in short yes thule do a kit for the 306 and i think paddy hopkirk do one as well not cheap though
...cheers...keo
The clutch on my 1985 Hilux is starting to slip, especially in 3rd or 4th gear uphill.
Is there any other possible problem that could cause this OTHER than a worn/contaminated clutch? It's hydraulic, so could any fault in the hyraulic system cause the same thing? Basically I don't want to go to the expense of changing the clutch (£200+) without knowing that it'll fix it!
TIA. Read more
I suspect you are right Richard.
Is there any way of testing the hydraulic system without spending money and replacing bits?
Folks,
Are these markings invisibile these days?
I often do the school run on my bike with my youngest on a separate crossbar saddle.
The school is on a narrow-ish lane with some turning/parking areas at the far end.
Most parents don't park or drop off on the yellow school entrance markings.
A minority do, and some even reverse their MPV/estates into the school entrance to turn round. As a school parent governor responsibile for health and safety, I am beginning to contemplate "calling in the law" on this one. The head teacher has included requests to desist in general letters to parents. There has been a sign erected saying "no stopping". But it still happens. And, no doubt, the school will get the blame if something happens.
Has anyone experienced similar problems, known anyone "nicked" (if so, how many points/how much were they fined?, or can you make any suggestions.)
Having to complete health and safety risk assessments for my "day job", I can see a real "nasty" emerging here:- car-bound kids with no road sense meeting parents with no road sense or consideration.
And, apparently, children have more (statisitcal) chance of being involved in an RTA as a pedestrian than being abducted.
Any advice welcomed!
rg Read more
Don't know if it was points or just parking ticket. Didn't have the guts to ask as my smug grin would probably have earned me a new face!
Considering replacing the Corolla with either a 2 year old new shape 1.4 T3 Corolla .. or going for a used diesel...
If I go diesel, it will to have good mpg figures, since I get 43mpg at the moment - so I'm looking for over 50mpg. Also, I want something with much nicer handling and ride (will be doing 180 miles per day soon). I don't want something Passat/Mondeo sized, equally well needs to be bigger than a Yaris !
So far, the VW Bora and the Seat Leon seem good choices - both are available for £8k from VW/Seat dealers, and my friendly local Skoda dealer can look after it.
What would backroom readers choose ? And what would be the best place to source it from ? Read more
Arnold,
My brother has had an Octavia TDI 110 estate as a company car for 2 years and has been delighted with it. 50mpg+, excellent performance, tidy handling and faultless reliability to date. He has wide experience of all types of car including German 'prestige' brands, considers the Octavia an ideal practical family car and reccommends it to anyone looking for such a car.
As for the badge, surely everyone now knows that modern Skodas are rebranded VW's and that the old jokes reflect more on the ignorance of those still telling them than the reality of the cars?
My colleague drives a 2000 "W" Accord 1.8 VTEC and claims the service book requires oil and filters every 3,000 miles. Is he reading the severe use pages, or do these cars really need so frequent servicing.
He is quite happy to get the oil done frequently as long as it is a reasonable cost. I suggested he bought a spanner and a book and did it himself. Read more
The service intervals for the 1.8 Accord VTEC are:
9000 main service + optional 4500 for oil changes.
How easy is it to tell the differance between a manual licence and an auto licence.
I have a manual licence and the missus has an auto licence, we both hold the new photo licences but it appears (to me at least) difficult to tell the entitlements apart.....
we both have "B" which looks like motor vehicles.
IF we wanted to hire a car they need to see your licence, and need to now that you have passed in a manual, not an auto.
Read more
Your good lady should have the number "78" to the right of the picture of the car on the reverse of her licence, this donotes "fitted with automatic transmission"
How on earth some foriegn car hire companies are expected to pick on this however is another matter.
I have a 1993 renault 21 savanna with worn hinge pins any advice with removing them.Renault have supplied new pins which screw in and say they are the only ones listed but the pins fitted seem to be only a push fit and any attempt made at knocking them out only seems to bend the end. Read more
My only experience of Renault hinge pins is to observe that the pins on a 00W Clio are retained by circlips. But I do know that the pins on 205s changed once, perhaps twice, during production. In 1991 they were Torx half-bolts (with plain ends). Before that they were hollow roll-pins which had to be driven out. After a few years the bolts sometimes became immovable in my experience, partly due to difficult access.
Hello
I'm not certain, but I think the new 'C' Class Merc is on sale.
If true, what sort of discount should i expect on the earlier version?
I'm looking for a new/ish 180k Elegance SE model.
A guy was advertising has 11 month old, one ownner, 180k elegance SE, obsidian black for 19k - 3500mls on the clock, one ownner - he is prepared to settle for 17k - I will have to buy new road tax, and not sure how much the first service is. Is this a good deal? Should I wait another couple of months as the new C class has lots of new toys as standard, looks a bit better and revamp interior ans suspension. therefore I should get good discount.
All help appreciated.
Thanks
MM Read more
Notice in my Makro mail that they have C-Class 200 Avantagarde for £15500k+VAT or thereabouts. These are delivery mileage but on 53 plates - presumably cars that MB registered but couldn't shift.
It seems that increasing it is the responsibility of the individual motorist in the UK to prove his/her innocence. With my recent experiences with VED and "lost" NIP forms I thought it might be worth offering some advice (for what it's worth).
1. Keep ALL motoring docs in safe place - MOT's, log book, licence, insurance docs etc. Sounds like common sense but a mislaid insurance cert will cause you problems/hassle should you get a "producer".
2. Send all important docs (such as returned NIPs) by recorded delivery. Failure to return these forms could lead to prosecution, what happens when they "lose" the form that you sent back?
3. If declaring a sorn, go to post office where you can get a reciept. I know of someone with a tax exempt vehicle who has had problems because the dvla "never recieved" the sorn that was sent in the post.
4. If you sell a car make sure the log book is filled in correctly and you keep the letter that the dvla send you. Again I know of someone else having a nightmare at the moment with parking tickets from a car they sold.
5. Road tax and insurance are easily kept up to date as you get sent a reminder, no such thing for the MOT which is easily forgotten.
All the above are simple things that you might regret not doing at some point in future. When I had my DVLA/VED "experience" I was extremely relieved that I had kept piles of paperwork which I'm sure helped me avoid a larger fine.
Anyone add anything else to this? Feel free to pick holes... Read more
Also worth carrying, somewhere safe, photcopies of your passport back pages + driving licence, when abroad. Way easier to get an emergency passport if you can provide details of the lost one.
Browse
Why not park facing down the slope.