May 2004
As much as I love my Rover 75 CDTi I kind of need to make a hand over heart decision that is difficult but for reasons I can't explain (yet) is probably financially the right thing to do.
So I'm thinking of buying something smaller and a bit cheaper to run towards the end of the year as the 75 will be 2 years old. Current favourite is a 00W Puma 1.7 which seems a steal for what it is and still have some practicality, hopefully with the Lux Pack fitted for some creature comforts.
I could probably get about £10K for mine, pick up a Puma for £6K and pocket the cash and also save some money on the running costs especially in the first year as third year 75 ownership takes a another big bite out of the value.
Would this seem like a sensible thing to do? There is a method for my madness which I can explain shortly. Read more
I rec'd a NIP for speeding but my name was spelt incorrectly, I returned it with a letter asking for it to be corrected but did not complete it or sign it. I have heard nothing for about 4 weeks - should I have signed it, as I have now found out that they are allowed the odd typo. Any advice gratefully received. Thanks. Read more
A Notice of Intended Prosecution in the name "Hornet" was sent to a defendant called called Horne. He tried to have it annulled because of the mistake but the High Court held that he had not been misled and the error was not sufficient to invalidate the Notice. (Camp v Horne 1965).
Somewhat similar but when all other facts correct but a wrong vehicle Reg No quoted and defendant obviously knew what the incident referred to then a mistake in the number was immaterial ( A-G (O'Gara) v Callaman (1958))
Whilst the ball now appears to be in the Process Dept's court one of three things:
They may be magnanimous and take no further action. In doing so they may make you sweat by not telling you so that you will have to wait some 9 months to be reasonably sure you are in the clear.
They may write back and repeat the Conditional Offer. Up to you but seems you don't have a case to fight so pay up and smile.
They may start proceedings for failing to name driver under the infamous S 172 RTA 88 leading to possible fine and points. Arrival of a summons will indicate this.
Up to you if you are a good poker player but nothing to stop you, if you don't hear anything in next month, contacting Process Department to clarify what is happening?
Did you keep the original NOIP and or copy just in case they go the S 172 road?. May help in mitigation.
DVD
Hi
I've decided my Volvo v70 is too expenside for me to do my commute to work in.
The costs are centered on Depreciation, Servicing and Tyres.
As I've already lost most of the depreciation on what is a nice car I thought I'd keep it and get a 2nd car to drive about 30k miles to and from work in.
Any comments on the plan overall? 2 lots of insurance etc?
So I'm looking to buy a cheap car that will need to do 30k miles/ year reasonably reliably, be cheap to run, maintain and insure. It will only need to carry the driver (me) along motorways, dual carriageways. So size isn't a problem. As for gadgets, I'd like A/C, PAS, ABS and a radio.
Any suggestions on the car?
I've thought of Fiat Punto's, Skoda's, Seat's, Daewoo's etc.
Any suggestions on how I should buy it? Little car sales plot? Private, auction or main dealer and see if they have any cars that have been traded in?
Any help appreciated.
cheers
Durelli - son of a famous Italian tyre maker
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For steady-speed cruising on m/ways and dual carriageways why not a Nissan Almera Diesel? Reliable, economical, pretty good NCAP score and a/c etc. Good value used.
Guys, Need your collective experience please - looking at a '94 Toyota Camry 3.0 GX Estate - 168k with autobox - it has Toyota history and is in decent nick given age and mileage. It had a recent cambelt change and has 11 months MOT left.
I'm thinking of offering around £1200 - does that sound reasonable ? CBC breakdown gave useful advice but can anyone shed more light on potential issues ? Read more
In my experience Toyota UK can source parts very quickly,usually 2-3 days for unusual parts for unusual cars.I recently had a '96 3.0 Camry estate auto with a overheating prob,Toyota supplied a new rad,quicker and slightly cheaper than the local factors.
I would recommend draining and flushing the coolant system and re-filling with the correct Toyota coolant,very important.My Camry estate was built in the USA.A very good,underated car in the UK.
The cars a Mazda 323F 1999 50k miles.
It had new ignitors/coils last year and has now lost power dramatically , but once its "on the cam" it goes Ok.
Have the ignitors/coils gone again? Read more
Idle has got more irratic and sometimes you need a bit of clutch juggling to get the beastie to move at junctions.
Have owned from new a 1.4 clio which is jerky when pulling away from cold. Also has been slow to start on occasions - dealer reckons it is not getting enough fuel ...... AA say it might be getting too much fuel!!
Any ideas??!!
Matt Read more
sounds like the "choke" isn't working right!! (do modern cars have these now?)or are they all ecu controlled enrichers?
billy.
On Friday saw a new Astra in the flesh for the first time. Quite a good looking vehicle, specially for a Vauxhall. I get the feeling it may date rather badly tho.
However the whole effect was ruined by the rear number plate. The dork who had prepared this vehicle for the road had screwed the rear number plate on crooked. Not a smidgeon, one side must have been 1.5 inches lower than the other. Wasnt a temporary plate either, the screws were visible.
really really shoddy. Read more
It's a pleasant looking car, but not, I think, going to change the Astra's reputation as anonymous eurobox transport. Saw a new dark navy one the other day, first I'd seen, and it was already blending invisibly into the traffic. The higher powered turbo versions might be more interesting.
Anyone have any info on the new VW folding roof hard top cabrio that VW will be releasing next year? Can't find mention on the vw.uk website. Read more
It's OK, I googled and found info at www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/volkswagen_news/ar...l
My 1998 Megane 1.6 8v has just started to occasionally splutter at low revs. Sometimes the idle drops, but more usually it happens when pulling from low revs it has a little miss. I doubt it is the HT coils causing the problem, as they have both been replaced in recent months and the symptoms are not the same as failing HT coils (as I know from experience).
The symptoms have only start since I had a cambelt change done a few days ago. So could that affect things? I could go back to the garage, but I'd rather has some idea to what the problem is first. If I took it back to the garage you can guarentee the problem wouldn't occur too!
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I replaced the spark plugs and that has seemed to have fixed it. The old ones looked well worn, and it was probably just coincidence that they started to miss just after the cambelt change.
Has anyone had any experience of Monaz tyres. Are tey good or bad. Tyre dealer near where I am seems to have them at a very good price. Any opinions would be welcome. Thanks.. Read more
I had a pair fitted to the front of my Orion ( God how I hated that car! but thats another tale!) They used to slide with mearest touch of the break pedal if there was a remote possiblity that at some point in the future there may be just the hint of moisture.
They were sooooo bad I wouldn't let Mrs JaB drive the car.
Buy the best you can afford... it's your life after all ;-)
I do really enjoy driving my car, however, one consideration is space which is at a premium where I live and parking is tricky.
Another is the running costs, another two years of MGR servicing whereas something older can get done 'down the arches' by my former mechanic. But the VED is only £135 and it's a fairly new car.
The four grand or whatever it is as such would come in handy but that's not the main concern. To reduce the depreciation to something palatable would mean keeping the car for 5 more years unless it goes at 2. Year 3 is a biggie for my car.
There are other good reasons, all will hopefully explained tomorrow.
I would enjoy the Puma, I had the use of one last weekend looking after it for a friend, it was a lot of fun.
I guess I am just thinking out loud just needing some food for thought really.