June 2004
Which was the headline in the Hull Daily Mail.
www.thisishull.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=136525...2
or
tinyurl.com/2fgv7
Over three days Humberside Police pulled over more than 1,000 motorists but more than 200 were not insured.
Vehicles without cover were immediately seized by police, who gave drivers 14 days to get insurance or have their cars crushed.
Of those 174 were recovered and put in storage and 42 were crushed immediately.
The fifth figure is a bit iffy though, as it later says
During the three days, officers stopped any vehicle in a poor condition or with no tax disc. So its really a fifth of those with no tax or tatty looking cars.
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I have a 1996 306, I have loose wires on passenger side front door that have affected the central locking and stereo speaker. Having unpluged the wiring from the door connector I've noticed that there are a number of broken wires, I have wiring diagrams in a haynes manual but cannot make head nor tail of them, I'm confident if I have a more basic diagram of the wiring that comes from the body of the door I can identify which wires go where and solder them, is there anywhere I can get basic wiring diagrams?
Also would the job be made easier if I took the passenger door off?
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Two years ago, I fixed several broken wires on the driver's door by resoldering short links between the broken ends. I did this with the door in place and it was very difficult.
The repairs have held together, but this year a different wire snapped. This time I removed the door and I would say that the improved access really makes this an essential step.
Most of the wires are different colours. IIRC there were 2 or 3 white wires and perhaps a duplicated red wire - so two whites and/or two reds would have to be broken to cause any problems identifying where to reconnect them. Some wires had Peugeot identification code numbers on them, but many were plain. The passenger door should have fewer wires than the driver's door because of the way the electric windows are connected.
I shaved a centimetre or so off the multiplug to expose enough wire to allow a solder connection. Soldered a 15cm (approx from memory) link between the multiplug and the original cable. Insulated both ends with heat shrink. Pushed/folded the original cable back into the A-pillar so that the new soldered joint lay inside the A-pillar and the new link wasn't under any tension. Taped over the cut part of the multiplug connector with electrical insulation tape.
You need to be very careful if you cut into the multiplug since the wires are moulded into the plastic and some are extremely close to the surface. Very easy to accidentally cut into a wire and make matters worse.
(I also remade all the links I made two years ago - a much neater job this time).
Ian
Im thinking of taking the plunge with my G reg Golf Driver,1.6,and replacing the Pierburg 2E2 carb with a Weber,as I dont want to spend next winter sitting in laybys again, waiting for the dreaded icing symptoms to ease.Any tips on this conversion?Is it a straightforward job?what about the vacuum resevoir?does that need to be connected?and I notice there isnt a place for the manual choke.My mechanic said he hasnt done this particular conversion before,but will give it a go.Any advice on this much appreciated. Read more
Yes,the warm air feed hose is there,and intact,and the air filter is a standard one.
Could anybody rationally explain the reasoning for buying a Porche 4x4 or its Volkswagon mate.They are not particully fast ,they are no good of road ,have no luggage space and are made in a assemble plant in Leipzig and if its monday it has a Porche badge etc. Read more
I saw a whole gaggle of these Cayennes in convoy last Sept, probably 15+, whilst walking the GR5 between St Gingolph (on the southern shore of Lac Leman) and Modane.The sighting was in Val d'Isere where unfortunately we had to overnight. The place was a ghost town, but fortunately the Cayennes made this godforsaken mechanical summer wasteland seem attractive by comparison.
Having just purchased a new Citroen C5. Being tight fisted I would not pay for the Citroen stacker unit.I have two brand new 10 cd units a Sony and a Blaupunkt including leads.Does anybody know if it is possible to mate either of these up to the factory fitted radio cd unit.If I am not mistaken the unit is made by clarion but with Cit/Pug connectors. Read more
Its a plug in box from www.dieselchiptuning.com . The HJ site moderator has a similar one for his Alfa.
The box takes 10 minutes to fit or remove, for me has slightly improved economy especially on the motorway. I wouldn't switch back even though my insurance costs are higher (24 years old as well).
I haven't performed any accelration tests etc, I just know it is fast!
Went to a BMW dealer but they didn't have exactly what I wanted but found one on their computer just 200 miles away. Would I like to buy it. 4 years old. Er...without seeing it? Yes they said. There's so much demand that it might go quickly. Would you buy unseen? They guarantee everything for 12 months and it comes with 12 months MOT but without seeing it? They said they'd have to buy it into their stock before I could see it and I couldn't refuse it if I didn't like it once they'd done this. Am I naive or is this a bit over the top... Read more
To finish this off. They told me it was in a compound somewhere in England. By using the used car search on bmw website I located it exactly at a dealer in the west country. I told them i wasn't buying anything useen. Within a week I was told it was sold; it's still on bmw website. However my local dealer has suddenly acquired a very similar vehicle...
Well it's been over 20 years since I had a driving lesson so, given that I'm assisting Mrs V. to learn, I thought it might be wise to sit in on her lesson to a) see how her official instructor handled things and b) in what respects the test and the required standards have changed over time.
Having explained this to him and allowing for the fact that I am relying on distant memory, I was struck by the fact that things seem to be quite a bit more relaxed. Things like crossing hands when steering, indicating when manoeuvring and changing up/down through the gears don't seem to be dealt with as strictly as I recall. All of this is good of course and I found it very useful to be able to compare what I've been teaching Mrs V. with what her instructor has. In some respects it appears I've been rather tougher on her than is expected nowadays but I'm proud to say that we agreed entirely on the areas she needs to work on a little.
I'm not suggesting that sitting in on a lesson is the same as having one but I do think it was a valuable experience. At least I now feel more confident in what I've been doing and hopefully Mrs V does too.
As far my occasional loud outburst, well I put it down to not having the luxury of dual controls :) Read more
......of reverse parking as a result of all this, do let me know. I couldn't do that in 1958, not could I reverse round a corner and I still can't.....
Those who think that all American motorists have unsophisticated tastes, and aspire to a Cadillac or Lincoln when they can afford it, might be interested in a motoring article I am reading here which lists the best 10 luxury cars under $45,000(approx 25,000 pounds) this includes domestic cars. They are:
BMW 3 Series
Audi A4
BMW 5 Series
Audi A6
Infiniti G35 Coupe
MB CLK
BMW Z4
Saab 9-5 Wagon(Estate)
VW Touareg
Infiniti FX45
The Infiniti is to Nissan what Lexus is to Toyota.
At this price the models are the top of the range often with 4WD. For instance the BMW 330xi with 3.0L 4WD(AWD) has a base price of approx $34K
In this part of America(Atlantic coast of Florida) it seems that the median age of drivers is 70+ and hence one would assume into the traditional 'floating barge' car. However the 'Bread and Butter' market is dominated by Hyundai/Kia/Honda/Toyota and Lexus, Jaguar and Mercedes seem to be the luxury car of choice.
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>>>>>>>>I have spent 13-14 hours straight in mine many times when towing my bike up to the TN and NC mountains (Growler knows why) and to arrive feeling fresh at the end of the journey can only be attributed to lighter than light steering, an ungodly powerful Aircon, plush sofa-like seats, silky smooth autobox, and cruise control. The big thirsty V8 really came into its own when the cruise was set at 85 MPH and you knew that no uphill climb would cause it to break a sweat. Just effortless motoring right to the end.
There is a God. Darn it, I miss my F-150.......
Are these any good?
I\'m not looking to kit up my Rover 214 Si but was wandering whether fiting an induction kit is worth it?
I\'m not particularly after the increase in speed or power but would an induction kit help the engine in the longer term? Is an induction kit worth fitting as opposed to the existing air filters? I\'m really just trying to improve the reliability of my car and am willing to put in the little extras to help its performance. Read more
Aye, but I was poainting out the filtration abilities rather than the performance. If you are after relyability you want the best filtration you can get as it will help to reduce engine ware.
As for performance I have a K&N on my nissan 200sx and when it was fitting with the filter and a performace exhuast there was a noticable diffrence in power (and noise). The combination also upped to boost by 2 or 3 psi by letting the engine breath better which would have the power too.
The filter has been on the car now for nearly 2 years and appart from neading a clean its doing well. You get good results on the 200 mainly becasue the standard setup is so restrictive.
But on a 1.4L NA engine I cant see the point realy specialy if the aim is relayability rather than performance.
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Nissan 200SX, modded, 240bhp : fast!
Peugeot 106 1.4 XND Graduate : slow!
One of my colleagues? at work has reversed into the front drivers door of my Rover.
Damage is two dents and a broken door mirror. The car was hit with some force.
She has admitted liability and payment will be via her insurance.
I have started to get quotes, but the suggested remedy is not consistent.
No.1: (Rover Main dealer): new door skin.
No.2 (large bodyshop linked to Nissan/Rover/VW dealer: repair to dents only.
No.3 (independant BMW Garage which does bodywork for all makes): new door!
The door now has uneven gaps around the edges.
I have no prices yet.
Can I push for a new door, or will the other insurance company try to go with the cheapest option?
Or can the existing door be sucessfully re-aligned after repair?
The car is in extremely good condition, so I want it returned to its previous state.
Any thoughts?
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Repairs from 'approved' bodyshops usually come with (at least) a 3 year warranty these days. You can always take it back if you're not happy and insist it's done properly.
A new door is possibly not necessary, but do make sure that the frame isn't very slightly twisted - enough to leave uneven gaps around the frame.
Graeme


"When police stop motorists and check out the vehicle details via their control centre from the PNC (Police National Computer) they can now also be informed if insurance is in force..."
Since so many people get nabbed by speed cameras now, why not ask for the insurance certificate when prosecuting? This would surely catch many more offenders.