August 2004
I share a car with my mum and it seems that when I don't use the car the petrol lasts forever but when I drive the it decreases really fast. Is there a way I should be driving to prevent this? Am I doing something wrong or is is more to do with where I'm driving?
For example my mum goes nowhere but the next town for work every day, where I like to go gallavanting off. I'm not talking about distance really because I know that's going to use fuel, I mean driving method - even on short journeys the car seems to be very thirsty if I'm driving.
Thanks! Read more
I\'ve moved this to the top as it gives useful information that is frequently requested on this site. I\'ve locked it so it doesn\'t turn into a pro/anti speeding thread. Cheeky, please post a new thread to let us know how things go? Cheers, ND
Guys,
Tried to search past \'speeding\' volumes, all except latest vol. 25 are not loading. I\'d therefore be very grateful if someone would enlighten me:
\'It\'s a fair cop\' - I was caught by a Truvelo (facing forward A422 farthinghoe village...) Particularly nasty as I was technically still in a 30mph zone - the 60mph de-restriction sign is about 25 feet behind the camera.
Anyway, I reckon I was doing about 36-38mph.
I\'m aware the Notice of impending Prosecution has a 14 day period to be issued by the police. My 14th day is this coming Bank Holiday Monday. If the NiP should arrive later in the week, and I am therefore outside the 14 day period, what should I do?
All replies are much appreciated.
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Since I cant post a reply to the locked nip topic, the best web site I have seen for speeding ticket information (fighting them that is) is pepipoo
pepipoo.com/NewForums2/index.php
I hope that plugging another web site is ok by the mods on here ?
Mark
{pepipoo's been mentioned a few times before, but I've moved this into the locked thread for reference, should anyone ever require it. DD}
One for the car insurance experts.
This morning i called at the petrol station, after filling up and as always before paying, I opened the drivers door and sat down sideways on the seat with my feet on the ground. I then proceeded to fill in on a piece of cardboard the details of litres bought and miles i have covered since the last fill up, as I have done for the last 8000 miles.While i was sat down with the door opened a Ford Transit pickup tried to squeeze through between my car and a car at the pump opposite as he did so he caught the door edge and creased it back (the door is a write off) He got out of the Transit and accused me of opening my door as he passed even though i had being sat there at least a minute with the door open. We exchanged details and I thought to myself, the accident was not my fault but this is going to be a knock for knock solution for the insurance companies. When I phoned up Churchill insurance I thought i would have to cough up the £200 excess on my policy. What a pleasant surprise when I was told that i would not have to pay any of the excess because my car was stationary. Why is this so, is a stationary vehicle deemed to be not at fault in an accident, or is there another reason.I have a protected full ncd policy and I have never been without a car in fifty one years of driving, the last thirty odd years accident free so i will be very disappointed, if irrespective of my protected ncd my next insurance premium is inflated to take account of an accident that was not my fault
Alan Read more
Hi Alan,
I am glad you are all sorted. I must say its a good recomendation for Churchill insurance. Its nice to see such prompt and fair service from an insurance company.
Cheers
Jlo
Can anyone tell me the correct battery for my 1997 Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 Auto. The hand book offers 4, 44Ah/55Ah/66Ah/70Ah and no indication which is right for my car! Various local battery suppliers say 40Ah is plenty big enough and others say must be 60Ah. I would appreciate any advice.
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Thanks once again, I am going to go with a 65Ah from Vauxhall for £43 with a 4 year guarantee!
I don\'t know how to close a thread but I have definitely got the info I requested and I am very impressed with the help!
Thanks to everyone who contributed.
I have to opt out of my company car soon and was pretty set on getting a 6mths or so old Mondeo TDCi - perhaps a Ford Direct one. However I've now read many horror stories about problems with the car, the dealer and with Ford themselves.
As with all things, we'll generally only hear about problem cars - so is there anyone doing, say 25-30K/yr in a Mondeo TDCi who is pretty satisfied with the car & the dealer? Read more
Vista, I also had a 406 until about a month ago, when I bought an 8-month old (04) Mondeo Zetec 130 TDCI 6sp Estate. It appears to be well constructed and is a joy to drive. It also tows like a dream. Only 1 minor problem so far - it was difficult to pick up from low revs, causing hesitation/stalling and a small amount of black smoke. However, this was sorted out by a software upgrade and now all is well. I read all of the posts about the Mondeo, but agree with the comment that of the many thousands built only very few seem to be causing problems, so I went ahead. It's by far the best car I have owned so far - I don't think you will regret it.
CG
I've seen a number of mentions of leasing as an alternative to buying recently, and I'm bemused.
People talk of avoiding depreciation, but leasing doesn't avoid depreciation - the car still depreciates, it's just that you've paid a middle man to predict the depreciation in advance. And because he can't predict that exactly, he's going to make sure he doesn't get burnt by erring on the side of higher depreciation.
It seems to me that in a simple open market, leasing is *always* going to be more expensive than buying, just because you've added an extra party who needs to make a profit. There needs to be some skew to the market to make it cheaper, like tax breaks.
Is there some skew to the market that I don't know about? Or am I just wrong? Can anyone quote any concrete figures for any car that shows leasing is a better deal financially? If not, why is anyone even considering it? Read more
Has anyone else noticed the tasty offer on leasing the megane CC that HJ has linked to?
It works out to £2450 to own the dci 120 version for a year inc Vat - that's pretty cheap motoring for an interesting car.
CF
I have been reading the thread regarding oil change intervals and one or two contributors mentioned cambelts.
I am not sure what the manufacturer recommends (if anything) for my car so perhaps I could have a reasonably definative opinion from the techies amongst us. My car is to be run until either it, or I am dead!
Skoda Fabia 1.9tdi with the VW PD 101 bhp diesel engine.
I already change the oil & filter at around 10,000 kilometer intervals BTW - much to the surprise of the franchised VW/Skoda dealers I have used. Now it's out of warranty I am going for menu servicing from Norauto - Spanish equivalent of say, Halfords. AND free coffee & pasties while you wait!
Roger. (in the UK for 2 more weeks and then back to the sun! ) Read more
Sorry Roger, ours is 5%. Your stuff isn't. Indeed the new SM Strong Ice is 6%. Any Hong Kong bartender worth his salt will ask you do you want a Hong Kong Sam Magoo or a Philippines one. Any old Far East hand will have the answer to that LOL...
www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=93
However since we must concern ourselves less with the octane rating of the amber nectar, in deference to the spirit of these columns, and more so with the mundane details of timing belt changes, I am sufficiently unnerved by what I have read about belt failures to have Herself's car done next week.
This morning, in my usual manner, I left to go to work. Mistake. The road outside my house, which is normally a \'rat run\' was busy, but i thought no more of it. Next thing I discover why - there\'s been an accident 800m or so up the road (YES! It involved a minibus taxi!) and traffic was at a standstill.
It took me 20 minutes to get from my driveway to the corner - 100m down the road.
In hindsight, i should have just parked the car and walked back home for another cup of coffee!
BUT, here\'s the rub... manaufacturers advise getting in the car and driving off staright away. Effectively this morning I was \'idling\' for 20 minutes! TWICE I turned the engine off, and restarted a few minutes later.
Is this wise?
What, under the circumstances, would be/have been the best course of action?
(NB - the car don\'t have a Catalyser!)
Keep crawling along at idle? Keep stopping and starting the engine? Revving the engine to get it warmed up quicker? parking (as above) and coming back later?
Ideas? Thoughts? Read more
Ian:
I face this every day. Sometimes it can take 45 minutes to get the 2 km out of my sub-division to the main road. Rat-run again, drivers are supposed to buy an annual sticker to use the private roads as short-cuts. About 80% don't bother.
Hell, I just crank up the a/c, dig out some MJQ or some other soft jazz CD, and text everyone I know.....let the engine stay on idle and take care of itself.
My feeling is manufacturers should concentrate on making cars that remain durable under the prevailing traffic conditions where they're sold. It shouldn't be up to the owner to worry about this sort of thing. Men on moon etc...
Morning,
This may be a very stupid question but is there any difference in fuel consumption between super unleaded and regular unleaded? When the company paid for petrol I used super (and noticed a discernible improvement in performance) but now I'm paying for it myself I'm using the cheapest (non supermarket) stuff.
Thanks in advance for replies.
Jon
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It is the compression ratio of an engine that determines the octane requirement, plus, I believe how much under pressure the fuel charge is to start with in the case of forced induction engines. For example, according to Volvo, my V70 2.4T benefits from running on super unleaded to obtain maximum performance, but thanks to modern electronics and the ability to detect knock, wind down boost, and retard ignition, it will also happily run on much lower octane fuel than we have in the UK. I have experimented many times, and Volvo are right. On super unleaded - I cannot detect any difference between brands - low to mid range torque is more solid, and fuel economy marginally better. The outright cost of running on super unleaded is still slightly more than running on regular unleaded, despite the improved economy of the former, but thankfully for me my employer is happy to stand it.
Anyway, the subject is nice and clearly explained here: auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm
I'm sure some people buy cars from a main dealer because of the extra benefit of the warranty. However its got me thinking.
Is it worth having these warranties in respect of the actual amount you spend to get it and maintain it, rather than the actual costs people have experienced with an out-of-warranty problem?
For example. Lets say you pay £1500 extra for a second hand main dealer car than the same car private. And the warranty also requires that you maintain the service history at a main dealer - perhaps £200 for an average service v £100 for an independent. Over 3 years this extra benefit of a warranty has cost £1800 more, plus maybe more on extra parts costs outside of the service that maybe required.
So, are the average cost of repairs that could be done under a warranty worth more than £1800?
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Of course, to a large number of people the value of a warranty is high because it gives peace of mind. I know lots of people who will not consider owning a car that is more than 3 years old simply because of the "peace of mind" factor of having a manufacturer's warranty. In cold statistical terms, it is probably not worth the additional outlay however this does not take into account the human factors.
Ed.
From what Father in law. found out it is rather thirsty. gather it is worst unit to have. Dont take my word for it though. I see why though. Nissan put him off buying it. Though I think he is interested in 1.4 ish 1.3 forget now?.Only part of waffle I listened to was keyless ignition. sliding rear seats?.these salesmen do go on. Hence to say he is only thinking about it.
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Was mech1