hi newbie here, it's time for me to part with my poor old axgt but would like to know if there are decent ways of repairing/hiding scratches. I have a long key scratch over 2 panels and it's not economical to have it done (chips away) so been looking around for paint sticks etc in the hope that something might do a good job. Can anyone recommend anything they've used.
It's a metallic graphite grey by the way. cheers Read more

Dear Forum,

While under the car, I noticed the front discs are past it, and I need to change them. In the past, I have had great difficulty getting rusted discs off - especially Fords! Does anyone have a good technique for doing this, preferably without potential wheel bearing damaging violence :-)

Thanks Read more

As I was going down Poynton Park Lane I passed the row of cars which always park on my side, about ten of them. I saw a Morris Minor approaching the other end, but the road is just wide enough for two cars to pass, so I proceeded. As I reached the ninth car, just one more to go, I realised that the MM driver was insisting on his ?right of way?, and stopping me. He quite angrily indicated that I was in the wrong. I politely indicated that if he moved three feet further toward the kerb there was room enough for both of us. After much fury and gesticulation he swerved across and passed me. A number of other drivers behind him obviously were wondering what I had done to upset the gentleman.
Next, in Cheadle Hulme, the road had been stripped for resurfacing and the near side half was coned off. At the end is a narrowish three way junction with painted white blob island, refuges and bollards. The workmen had red and green lollipops to control the traffic, but we didn?t seem to be going anywhere because a double decker bus was stopped. Eventually the lollipop man was seen trying to guide back a well coiffured silver haired lady who was insisting on her right of way at the roundabout and stopping traffic either way. It was raining heavily - the bus driver had a difficult task and went through painfully slowly. Two cars and then my turn, only to be blocked by another well coiffured silver haired lady who saw her chance to pass the waiting queue of cars by asserting her precedence on the island. She was incredulous and furious when I led a convoy of cars the wrong way around the island and across her front end. The lollipop man was almost in tears.
Have they all got it in for me? I insist that I am not guilty of ageism, because if you look around at the back of my head you will see a little silver hair there too! Many more days like this and I won?t have any.
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Why are "traffic calming measures" so called. In my case they have exactly the opposite effect ~ they positively wind me up!
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L'escargot by name, but not by nature. Read more

I would appreciate any thoughts or comments on my query.
The car is a 2001, X reg. MB 320CDI (W210, I think it's called) with 103,000 on the clock.

The problems are these - I will list them separately, as they may be unconnected.

1. for some months, under normal, fairly gentle acceleration, the gearbox has, it seems, changed back down a gear, causing the revs. to blip. Not a major problem as far as I am concerned - something I can live with.

2. A few days ago, when I decided to blow the soot out of the exhaust. I floored the accelerator from a fairly low speed, the revs. went round to the red line, just as though the gearbox had slipped into neutral. As the car slowed,I tried a couple of times to drive on, but there was no drive at all. I stopped the car, fiddled with the gear lever, put it into drive and the car drove away normally and since then has behaved normally - I haven't tried flooring the throttle since then, though.

Any ideas or suggestions, please?

regards drbe Read more