June 2004
when i brake (medium presure on the pedal)i get a real screaching and squeal like theres no meat left on the pad,after checking both front pads theres loads left on both,it only happens when i apply moderate pressure,no noise when soft or hard pressure on pedal, anyone help Read more
Whoops. Edit button is playing up today. Delete one post, and they all vanish. Oh well.
DD. Read more
from the mirror
tinyurl.com/3xjlx
"
KILLER DRIVER FINED JUST £83.34 Jun 3 2004
By Geoffrey Lakeman
A WOMAN hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian was told to pay just £83.34p yesterday.
Hayley Matthews, 25, had no insurance, tax or MOT and was driving on defective tyres.
...... "
Read more
Out of respect for all the families concerned with this case, I think it's time to lock this thread.
DD.
I recently bought a Leon Cupra 20VT. I have been running it on super unleaded. Is this necessary or would 'standard' unleaded suffice? Thanks Read more
Ooops - that should have read 95RON.....
I'm a diesel driver, never buy the stuff y'see!
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Hiya,
I've just bought a x reg focus zetec, but it has a Ford 4000 stereo in it. I'm still trying to sell my old p reg escort which had a ford 5000 cd compatible stereo - is it worth swapping this for the one in the focus because at some stage I want to buy a cd player\autochanger or is better buying an aftermarket cd changer pack and but the fascias to fill the gaps ??
Anyone got any ideas? Read more
>> I would throw away the 4000 and fit a Ford
CD6000
>> single in-dash CD, available aplenty on ebay, amongst other places.
>> Then see if you really want a CD changer, which
IMO
>> are more trouble than they are worth. The 6000
will
>> drive a changer if you really want to.
>>
>> Andy
>>
Better still get the 6006e with built in 6 disc cd
changer, but don't loose the removable front, it costs £64 to
replace.
I agree, except that they are loads more expensive than the CD6000.
HJ comments, '..and cheapest of the cheap, a bright red 67k mile 2000X Rover 1.4iL(103PS), sold for just £2450.
BUT, the previous car in the list was even cheaper, at £2425 - a 115k mile Skoda Octavia TDI 110 SLX estate.
I'm not posting to pick holes in HJ's interesting report, just to ask the question, "which one would you rather own?"
(fwiw, I'd go for the Skoda every time)
Andy Read more
Hey:
I did say I wasn't picking holes in your report, which was as interesting and informative as usual, just interested in a debate. I did notice that the Skoda had covered more miles, but I would chose it over the Rover none-the-less.
Thanks for clarifying the bid to vs. sold for me though.
Andy
Given that many people (me included and DD excluded) don't appear to RTFM, I wonder how many drivers out there have modern RDS radios in their cars and don't realise they also have a Traffic Announcement facility. Driving home on Tuesday I found the service invaluable as we approached and successfully avoided chaos and long delays on the M2. Like many a young lady Mrs V. insists on having all that modern bingy bongy music going all the time so it's an ideal compromise - she gets to listen to what she wants, all the noise keeps me awake at the wheel and I get forewarned of impending doom. A really great service for anyone who hasn't got an all singing/dancing
sat nav or traffic master system. I'm surprised we don't hear more about it. Read more
You're right. I think the next time it happens I'll make a note and have a look into it. Will let you know how I get on.
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Lee
MINI adventure in progress
Browsing a couple of online news sites today you'ld think that a fuel crisis was iminent. Stories of leaked govenment plans, threatend driver action and even comments suggesting that panic buying has started abound.
It's generally belived that last time we had a fuel crisis the cause was panic buying rather than the blockading of refineries. So I was wondering, could all this talk actually cause fuel supply problems by leading people to think that a crisis exists even without any form of industrial action or supply problems?
(and yes I recognise the irony of starting a thread to talk about the problems caused by people talking too much about fuel!) Read more
True - brings in revenue and (in theory) will eventually start getting people off the road / reducing journeys. Win-win for Gordon.
Anyway, who cares how much tax is raised by fuel duty? The Chancellor has spending plans which need funding. If we don't pay it through fuel duty, it'll have to come from income tax (or pretend income tax - National Insurance!) or from increased borrowing, which is not a good thing either. Stuff has to be paid for. Alternative? Vote for a low spending party and watch the country crumble even more.
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Mattster
Boycott shoddy build and reliability.
My wife has a Volvo 480 2 litre of 100,000k vintage. It probably needs a cambelt and some attention to some noise from the steering. We have been offered £500 in exchange against a new Polo before haggling starts. Change or keep? Read more
The 480 was never the most reliable of Volvo products - I'd take the PX offer (you can always haggle to get more) and snap up a Polo.
But I wouldn't bother with a new Polo. Despite the fact that they are rightly hugely popular, you can still get them on the nearly new market for a reasonable saving in price over new - and you don't suffer that initial drop in depreciation the minute it goes out of the showroom.
Polos, like any VW, are built to last and for a long time, so have no qualms about getting one that's six to 18 months old or so (i.e. the new look version with the Mercedes type front headlamps layout).
These lovely old visions of childhood had all but been erased from my area.
Last summer and this one, however, a van always parks right outside my child's school, at school-closing time. Obviously if they're legally parked (which they often aren't, choosing the bus-stop if the legal places are occupied)then I guess there's no real cause for complaint.
I understand that they are going to the places where their business is going to be best, and for this good luck to them.
But, remember how they all used to have that 'Mind that Child' sign in the back? In that respect then surely the very unsafest places they could possibly position themselves is right outside a school? We've all seen the nightmare ads and programmes of children running across a road because of an ice-cream van. And yes, of course it is the parents' responsibility to ensure that their child does not do this.
I just feel that this is tempting fate, and that it is only a matter of time, particularly if this is commonplace, for something bad to happen.
I do not wish to bring any harm to the ice-cream guys' profits, but I also wonder if there is any way a school could ask for him/her to stop somewhere else. I am talking about a main road, and seeing both primary and even younger school kids rush to this van every day really worries me. Read more
according to our local paper, an ice-cream lorry overturned at jct 40 on the M6 near Penrith on wednesday morning.
police had the area "coned-off" for hours!.
billy.
p.s
brings a new meaning to "arctic roll"
Browse
This could be caused by pad design, sometimes they glaze over on the front pads and cause squealing. Also it can be vibration of the pad in the front calipers, to prevent this small metal backing shims are fitted behind the pads. It's annoying but probably harmless. If they were down to the metal you would notice a nasty grinding noise and lack of stopping power.