June 2004
Saturdays ramblings from RF.
Well after the motor show I decided it was time to fully valet the Laguna to try and recapture the new car feeling. So after sitting in the newly valted interior, admiring my work and sniffing the cleaning fumes I thought thus.
Over the last year I have done 16000 miles. The trip computer tells me I average 40mph. Now that works out at 33 12 hour days.
Thats a long time. I then mused about NW's post on current car styling. I then looked around me at the light pleasant shades, the pleasing lines of the furnishings in the Laguna, and then thought about the huge slabs of poo coloured plastic in the new golf, or the slabs of dark black plastic in the Touran,
and I thought that 33 days in there would have me slitting my throat.
I have to admit that 33 days in the Audi A6 i sat in in the motor show (all light sexy and tactile) would be like a vacation.
So my musing of the day is, Did you realise how long you spend in your car, and what makes it bearable for you.
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Hope it is OK to post this.
He will be mad. I borrowed his car (mine was in the shop) and parked under some trees overnight. Sticky sap fell on it and has like eaten the paint a bit. I tried some Turtle Wax sap remover he's got but it doesn't work and definitley the paint has been eaten in about 6 places, not big but it doesn't look good. It's black metallic paint so it shows. Is there anything I can do? Yes he's going to find out anyway, I know. Maybe if I could say I tried :+(
Help!
Catherine aka Growlette Read more
Tku DVD. Yes I have that Turtle Wax chipstick (in black, looks like my daughter's lipstick from her Gothic slut Marilyn Manson phase....) along with black polish. Will try that.
Shame. I really do like the metallic finish, even if it goes by the ludicrous name of "Panther Black". Well I suppose they had to call it something, and you can still talk about animals of a certain colour as opposed to upsetting the PC brigade.
"Bastu"s??" Pls explain. "Bastos" has a definite meaning in Tagalog.
Maybe RF has it right, you live in constant fear and stress that your new pristine car will be scarred in some way. Eventually when it is, after the initial angst, you get used to it and feel as though a great weight has finally been lifted......
..not that I'm letting her off the hook just yet. Another couple of days of penitent expressions and give me a neck massage and surely you must have noticed my beer is finished and I need another won't do any harm.
I have a new polo sport 1.4 16v (100bhp) (registered september 2002) and over the last 12 months it has been into the garage on 10 seperate occasions for a total of 12 weeks for the same problem! The engine revs dip whilst the engine is idling and the car sometimes cuts out whilst idling. The revs sometimes dip whilst I am accelerating.
Does anyone know of any other polos of similar age with these problems?
Louise Read more
Loobie,
I have a 2003 65hp 1.2 polo and when it was new I did notice when idling that the revs would dip slightly and the car would judder slightly occasionally - it never cut out though. It seemed to be just after the car had come up to full operating temperature.
The problem seems to have disappeared after the ignition coils were changed following their [inevitable] failure.
CF
Found an article relating to a Renault shortly I believe to be sold to eastern europe from Renault for just about £3200. Very little in the way of creature comforts of course but if you only need a car that gets you from a to b this seems a brilliant concept. Just think what can't go wrong....electric windows and sunroof,air con,power steering, etc etc. Of course it is not to be sold here as the Twingo wasn't, what a shame: Iwould have my name on the list presto. Read more
No edit button but 2 airbags are standard as well...
Got an interview coming up to work in marketing at dealership level for Volvo. Not sure I actually want it as I suspect it will be too admin-like (making sure the adverts make the local paper on time - hardly what I\'ve spent 3 years at uni to do) and would prefer to work at head office level, but hey, if they offer me lots of money and a car I\'d be mad to turn it down! ;-)
So... feel free to tell me everything you know about Volvo as it\'s one of the few brands I know virtually nothing about - don\'t think I am quite in their target demographic yet! I know it\'s owned by Ford (isn\'t it?) and that\'s about it!
Thanks!
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Many congratulations PoloGirl. All the best people get a 2.i!
Seriously, some interviewees with 1sts turn out to be machines - so much time spent learning and 'regurgitating' (oops, that word probably won't get through the Moderator!) that they haven't learned how to think laterally, let alone have fun and get a life.
Do keep us posted as to your job search. Accountancy - more accurately business advice - pays fairly well and isn't nearly as boring as it sounds.
(First of a few threads from me today - sorry!)
I really like the Stilo, it was the only car I went to the Motorshow to look at and came away still wanting one.
The diesel one (JTD?) gets great reviews in all the things I've read about it, and the only naff thing about it is the gear lever (what is that popper all about?).
It seems just right for me - bigger than Polo and chunky looking, but not too big. Comes in a 3 door version, which I like. Looks like it will do well in town and when I go up and down the motorways to visit home. NCAP rating isn't as good as the Megane, but the insurance is less, and you get more stuff on it as standard.
So why does it depreciate so much and so fast? And would I be mad to want one?
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National have hired these (1.6 Active) to me a couple of times. I liked the outer styling but thought the interior was not up to standard and I really disliked them to drive to begin with. I thought the engine was coarse, I couldn't really get an ideal driving position, handling not as good as others and the brakes fade without much provocation. However, I drove it for 600 miles in one day and by the end of that I was impressed, still comfortable and the car still worked!
Andy
I\'m wanting to get a new key for my Corsa (2001). The dealer quotes over £100. Is this right?(I\'ve got one key and the code number). Are there any suppliers other than Vauxhall who supply this service? Thanks.
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This may help
www.alarmremotes.co.uk/
But maybe not:-
tinyurl.com/26uu7
Generally keys can be copied directly from a \'working\' original up to about \'98 and after this additional keys/plips need to programmed at the vehicle. A customer \'Pass code\' is required in this case and if not available can be obtained from the Vauxhall Dealer.
p.s. Sheffix, this has recently been discussed for other Vauxhalls. See these following threads for details:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=22674
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=22670
Sorry Mods. couldn't access the original thread (too long?) so thought I'd post this here.
The other day en route to Thurrock via the Dartford Tunnel I noticed what appeared to be a major problem with the instrument panel illumination on the MPV. As usual, I switched the sidelights on as I entered the tunnel and was surprised to find that the entire dashboard/control panel display remained unlit. No problem I thought, it's just the dimmer which needs adjusting. However I was horrified to find that adjusting this had no noticeable effect. My heart rapidly sank and any thoughts I'd had about the joys of owning a reliable Japanese car vapourised in an instant. All sorts of thoughts went through my head as I drove pondering what had gone wrong and was it going to be the first of many such problems in store. It was some minutes later when the bright sunshine disappeared behind a cloud that I realised I was still wearing my sunglasses!
All the feelings of immense relief were rapidly replaced with searing embarrassment. What a plonker! Read more
My latest...
Driving down a busy-ish main road, I flashed to let a car out of a side road to the left.
He came out, and then the car behind him abruptly followed. I did a quick beep on my horn, which I rarely do, but I felt this second car was taking advantage, and I'd had to brake pretty sharply when I saw him pull out.
As he finished his turn, I saw the tow-rope between the two cars...
....at misplacing keys? Mine have a little hook thing to attach to my belt, there is a hook on the wall in my small office for them, I practiced the discipline of leaving them in the same place (cf How to Deal With Memory and Age -- all good booksellers £7.99), and once again today I STILL can't find them. They have to be here somewhere, I used them to open the door last night when I came in (door keys on same ring as car), now can I find them? Can I hell.
Lately the housemaid has retrieved them from such unlikely places as the top of the cage of my aviary, underneath my Harley,
(huh?), the guest bathroom (don't even remember going in there), the loung room sofa and the top of the fridge in the kitchen.
Whatever happend to those little things you could use to track your keys via a bleeping noise? Mind you if I had one of them I'd probably lose that too........
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Bad with Keys? Oh yes, I am a specialist renowned in my circle of friends.
My best claim to fame is driving from Kent to Loughbrough and then (in friend's car) from Loughbrough to Manchester. Couple of days later we return to Loughbrough with me needing to get back to Kent. No sign of my car keys, which we eventually locate in Manchester. Local locksmith does the job of cutting a key from the Maestro's (sorry!) filler cap lock and off I drive, only delayed by about 6 hours!
Andy
This one is more tragic though.
www.thisishull.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=136525...2
Burstwick: A mother who was banned from getting behind the wheel was driving a car in which her five-year-old daughter died during a head-on smash, an inquest heard......... had been banned for 12 months and the car she was driving was unroadworthy .......drinking before the crash and had never passed a driving test.......
Mrs xxxxx will appear at Hull Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, charged with driving without due care and attention, driving while disqualified, using a vehicle without insurance, using a vehicle with no test certificate and driving with child under the age of 14 not wearing a seat belt.
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If the argument ever was that jail was inappropriate for this woman as it would deprive a child of its mother then this is a classic case of how such a policy often backfires. Despite the fact that she's repeatedly and cynically flouted the law and tragically killed an innocent child she's still free to do it again if she so decides! Just great!
Browse
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I find that virtually everything is in the right place in my Leon - the volume knob for the stereo is on the left rather than the right and the recirculate button for the climate control is a bit fiddly/easy to miss, but apart from that, the cabin is an exemplary piece of ergonomic design. Rattles are non-existent, squeaks sorted out long ago with a bit of silicone spray. The important things are all as they should be - driving position, seat support, pedal position, position of footrest (crucial for long trips), adjustable steering, etc. Also, the car itself is a joy to drive, with the right combination of power and handling enabling me to treat the back roads on my way to work as my own personal rollercoaster. Wheeee!!! ;-)
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmmm, doughnuts