July 2004
I've been looking at a first car for my daughter's fiance and have seen a clean looking Vauxhall Cavalier 1.8i LS for £950 on an L plate with a full service history and 83K on the clock. Grateful for any advice the Back Roomers can give me on what to watch out for. There's nothing in the service book about cambelt changes so should I do one early and, if so, is it an easy job? The engine is pre-electronic, so what's the 'i' for? Many thanks in anticipation.
Mike Read more
Caught sight of the new don't Drink and Drive TV campaign the other night - see here: www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/drinkdrive/dr...m
One question - why's it aimed at young people (17-29) AGAIN?! I don't know anyone in that age bracket who drinks and drives at all, yet I know loads of people my dad's age who insist they are still safe to drive after 'just one or two'.
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As the judge ruled, "It would appear that Cardew has won
this one". And a brilliant off-the-wall COI commercial.
HJ
I have to concede, you are right.
I wonder if the difference lies with different sections of 17-25 society then?
Since the type of people I associate with don't seem to do this, could it be the burberry adorned chavsters who I so despise who are more prone to drink-driving?
A short article on page 5 of today's Telegraph Motoring section mentions that Prof. Begg's Commission for Integrated Transport has effectively been cast adrift from Govt. funding.
Seems like it wasn't only motorists who didn't like what he had to say.
Kevin... Read more
See the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday of a few weeks ago, "Common Sense" is now a non PC term.
Apparently those who recruit Magistrates are not allowed to use this as a criteria for who to recruit as it may disadvantage certain minority groups not familiar with the term common sense.
I kid you not!
SIMON
Just wondered if there is anyone else out there who has needed to replace the ball joints on their Laguna II. Ours (a 2001 Y plate with 38000 on the clock) has just failed its first MOT for this reason - this seems very premature? Need some ammunition with which to confront Renault UK. Thanks.
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Thanks for the reply. I am pleased to report that our local Ranault dealer have since been very helpful and, as a goodwill gesture, have replaced the ball joints at a reduced cost. A happy ending after all and some faith restored as well. Aliswan
Mods, there was a recent thread re someone who was fined for not notifying DVLA and it was queried that how do we know that DVLA have received the tear off slip?
Just to say I traded my Scenic in a couple of weeks ago and today received an acknowledgement from DVLA that they had received it.
I have tried finding the thread to no avail, but this may reassure people. Read more
how do we know that DVLA have received the tear off slip?
Just to say I traded my Scenic in a couple of weeks ago and
today received an acknowledgement from DVLA that they had received it.
I also received a letter back from the DVLA thanking me for informing them that I had sold my car and was no longer the owner.
I have tried finding the thread to no avail,
I can't find it either.
Yes, I'm looking for some pink fluffy dice, for a friend's recently resprayed baby-pink Beetle.
Searching the forum gives me 11 pages of results but I am pretty sure none of these results relate to what I'm after...!
I've seen black, white and red dice but I really need PINK ones. Google is no help.
Any ideas?
Mike
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Although I'm sure there's much better things to spend money on
in the latter.
Pink fluffy handcuffs. (yes really)
I have a runabout Micra in Madeira and when I start the car from cold I get a "scraping" bearing noise which disappears after several minutes of running the engine. If the engine is warm the noise does not occur when the car is restarted. Its hard to get a garage to look at it because getting there the engine is now hot -so no problem to listen too and there are language problems. Does anyone recognise the symptons and suggest what the problem may be?
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I have a high mileage carburettor with a problem when warm/hot that the starter will not operate. It's been like this intermittently since I acquired it 10 years ago.
Basically, the starter will spin the engine over when cold, but if you leave it a few minutes when hot the starter will not operate. Open the bonnet and go for a cup of tea, and it will start immediately. Leave it at work/shops for an hour and there is no problem. Start it as soon as you stop, and no problem. The 405 is famous for high underbonnet temperatures. About 8 years ago I convinced myself it was the starter solenoid sticking when hot, so I fitted a new Lucas one. Problem recurred almost immediately. I have gone problem seeking when it occurred, but of course the thing is intermittent and looking for it (with bonnet open) cures it as you work. I have soldered all the joints in the cable from ignition switch to solenoid, and changed the terminal end to a really tight one, and checked all connections, fuses and spade connections to the power supply.
Problem occurred intermittently, if left for a few minutes after a run.
Yesterday the starter failed (it has done 8 years and 100k) so I whipped it off and put on the original. Instant success. Started it up this morning, and went to local shops only a mile away and back,and parked up. 5 minutes later it wouldn't start. 30 minutes later it started up without a problem.
Ideas, before I get another starter, just in case the solenoid is faulty on this one, really.
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News is that I think I have cured it (fingers crossed), leastways it hasn't returned for the last 4 weeks. What I did was to take a cable from the ignition switch direct to the solenoid. I know this is obvious, but had checked all the joints and replaced any not 100%
I had assumed a break or fault in the wiring. When I double checked I had the correct cable by shorting out the ignition switch with my ammeter I recorded about 4 amps several times, spinning over the engine without the ignition on. Suddenly my 10A ammeter overloaded and the engine would not turn over. However operating the ignition switch made it work.
I can understand failure due to a wiring fault, but not a fault which could cause this quantity of overload. A simple short would have failed years ago.
Fingers crossed
Hi whats the best make and type of tyres for normal use, providing a combination of decent grip and long wear?
cheers
Al Read more
If you're (that fussy that you've asked this question and are) prepared to sacrifice grip for longevity, go for Michelin.
www.max-driver.com/
Chances of "getting through" to the targetted segment? Read more
If it gets through to just 1% of the audience then it would be a success. I know since doing the IAM myself that my observation is greatly improved and my overtakes are safer.
Browse
Thanks everyone for your help. We bought the car this afternoon. We tried to bring the price down, but he wouldn't budge. However, we settled for a full service, 12 months MOT and everything fixed. It may have been over the odds, but my future son-in-law is over the moon with the car and was happy to pay the asking price for a car in good condition and a full service history. Let's hope his faith in my car-finding abilities is well founded! Thanks, once again.
johnmac - Glad you found such a bargain. Much as I would have liked to follow your route, a replacement car was needed in rather a hurry.
Mike