July 2004
well, nor had I until I came across an interesting* website on the subject. It is called Major Roads of Great Britain
euclid.colorado.edu/~rmg/roads/
Another one I found is all about the Great North Road and is very detailed on the history of the GNR and even mentions my village.
www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/contents.htm
*I guess that my use of the word interesting here has to be taken in the context of a very slow afternoon in a very hot office.
Just off to get my anorak. Read more
A friend has recently had a puncture on his A Class. On fitting the steel spare, he ommitted to use the special wheel bolts. The result was damage costing £600 to correct, with labour at £95 per hour. The work was done at a MB main dealer, in the north of England. This seems outragous to me.
Be warned to use the correct bolts when changing these wheels.
Pete Mansell Read more
Now that Simon has explained what happens when you use the wrong bolts, how do explain the 600 quid bit? Could someone perhaps give a hypothetical breakdown of what might appear on a bill for said work? Are rear bearings and ;abour that dear on this car? Mikey
I was wondering who has dealt with www.new-car-direct.co.uk
i would be very interested in the new bmw 5 touring.
but am very worried about going to an "internet dealership"
any ideas people?
would i still be able to get bmw's pcp ?
thanks yawl
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My side air bag activated while starting the ignition, while stationary and in park. This was the driver's side air bag. Door part way open. No indicator lights on dashboard stating something was wrong with the car. Air bag went off and burned bruised my daughter who was driving my car.
Am reading on safety sensor and impact sensors - trying to find out how this could have happened. Could my electrical system have made this malfuntion?
How could have this car initiated the activation of my airbag? This is a Mazda Millenia - 2002. Shop foreman at Mazda says so far that nothing shows to why the airbag went off (car still at the shop).
Car had a minor collision in front - 1-1/2 years ago - where they replaced bumper and hood. No airbags went off - car was going less than 5 miles an hour. Read more
Previous crash has nothing to do with this - likely to be a computer fault. As well as crash sensors, there are "safing sensors" which provide additional "reference" information for computer to chek if car is moving and/or direction of impact.
Hi,
Following a post in reply to Kev_is_Here I got thinking about Irish plates. My car has an Irish plate beginning VJI which I know didn't come with the car as new.
I know I shouldn't give the plate out but it begins VJI and then end which 4 numbers. I'm sure this means something to someone. Is it the region in Ireland? The age?
It's not important I'm just interested to know.
Many thanks
Adam Read more
As others have said, the second and third letters are the county. The first letter just runs sequentially from A-Z (though I think Z is actually not used, so it's really A-Y), and the numbers sequentially from 1 to 9999. When the A-Z letters run out, a new 2 letter sequence is picked for the county, and it starts again at A. So the sequence is like this:
VJI 1
VJI 2
...
VJI 9998
VJI 9999
WJI 1
WJI 2
...
So it is possible to work out dates from NI number plates, but not easily, because different counties work at different rates, depending on how many registrations there are. Around 15 years ago the Belfast registrations changed initial letter every six months or so, whereas Antrim registrations changed every nine months or so. Presumably these times may be shorter now, if car sales have risen.
Hi,
I have recently purchased a Fiesta 1.3 LX, Endura-E, 1996(N)with a host of problems!!! Most recent is when the throttle sensor multi plug is plugged into it's connection on top front right of the inlet manifold the car's revs, once applied, will not decrease when you take your foot off the accelerator.
There is no rev counter on the car but it sounds like it is revving at about 6000 RPM!, v embarassing when you pull up at the lights!
I'm driving with this multi-plug detached but this makes the car prone to stalling at low revs.
I am thinking it could be the idle valve only a guess any help much appreciated. Read more
Thanks Dave,
It seems a very common problem-a relief in a way. Thanks again.
I saw this programme recently, on five?, It was called something like "can you make money buying and selling cars" or maybe that was the tagline.
The idea was that they were given money, had to buy a car at auction (BCA) then they take it home dress it up, clean it,etc and then they sell it again at auction (not BCA).
Some things I noted were:
The purchase price included the commision for the auction (As it should do) but not costs in transporting the car home...trailer hire...or insurance and tax disc.
The sale price was taken as the hammer price, did not include any sellers commision. It is arguable that the Joe bloggs auction they used for selling might not have charged a sellers commission, but, I doubt it. Again transport costs to auction.
Then you have the fundamental flaw of the program that you buy and sell at auction. If they sold privately they might make more money, but maybe they thought this could lead to some bad press if they sold a lemon to a nice old granny.
Anyone else see this show? The episode I saw they had a bright yellow Saxo with an 'orrible yellow spoiler on the back. Read more
I have watched 2 of the series, it is definitely made for TV and the most money they will make would not cover even the most basic of real traders expenses. I also cringed when their so called expert was advising against a Honda because spares were expensive and an electric window did not work - bear in mind this is a car to buy at auction, tart up and sell at another auction! Also they said on the last programme they were interested in a certain car and so got the keys, I hope that the auction houses do not get a glut of private punters who think that they can get the keys to any car they are interested in!!
A note for Civic Owners -
I had a letter from the Honda Contact Centre advising of a recall ' as the headlight combination switch terminal may lose electrical contact due to heat build up after a period of operation. If this happens it is possible for the low beam function of the headlights to stop working either when turning on the headlights or it could happen when driving.'
The contact number for Honda is 0845 200 8000 - They got my info from DVLA but if you are concerned I suggest you give them a ring and ask if it applies to your model.
The local agent will fix free of charge.My local dealer was most concerned and helpful.
I compare this with the Ford response when I had a failure on the light switch of an Escort which was of a similar age ( ie just out of three year warranty).This failure resulted in me driving without any lights without realising it.
I had a long fight with the Ford dealer to get a 50 % reduction on the cost of the switch ( £56 and that was 10 years ago)
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Sorry - I should have added that its on an X plate.
got a tapping noise ,when car is started,when gas pedal pressed(its auto)the tapping noise goes quicker,i had a look underneath and the noise seems to be coming from the turbo or cat????it,s attached to the exhaust whatever it is and its got a small lever/switch on it which goes back n forth,got loss of power,spluttering,shaking motor at mo .....help pls,p.s.its a ally /silver colour Read more
p.s. and its smoking really bad when gas pedal down..
Hi folks first post here.
Currently have a Citroen Picasso HDi Exclusive, but want to change as it is coming to the end of the PCP arrangement.
Been looking at the Toyota Corolla Verso, Seat Altea and Renault (Grand) Scenic and coming down mainly in the direction of the Toyota.
I would appreciate some feedback on the Toyota before finalising. Main reason for choosing Toyota? perceived reliability, kit, size and occasional 7 seats (hence possibly Grand Scenic - VW Touran too expensive and I don't like the Zafira). Likely we will keep for 10 years this time (well, you never know).
Seat Altea 2.0TDi Sporting looks interesting and would do the job, but concerned about reliability and longevity and SWMBO thinks practicality is lacking compared to the others (well, maybe).
Comments and opinions most welcome...
TIA.
Richan
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..and if you're after practility that rules out the Altea! Personally I have had no problems with a 6-year old "mark 1" scenic but not too sure about the Grand version of the current one - no spare wheel as standard and it has a funny electric handbrake, plus I don't like the way that the roof slopes down so much at the back. Check the Toyota to see if it has a spare wheel, drive both for at least an hour to see which feels more comfortable - a comfortable driver is more likely to be a safe driver.
Browse
I can go one better than that! When I was at university in 1957, the word "stuff" was used by our Thermodynamics lecturer as a name for any mixture of air and water vapour, especially if the proportions of each constituent was unknown.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.