August 2004
i have a 1998 A6 1.8T and both the front tyres have worn on the edge. they are both new tyres - i replaced them thinking that the previous owner must have liked going round corners fast but after 1000 miles the problem is coming back.
would this be a suspension problem or tracking? anyone have any ideas?
ive got it booked in for a 4-wheel alignment tomorrow - but am unsure this would solve it. the guy in the garage didnt really no what was causing it
thanks
dave Read more
A friend of mine is in dispute with a major insurance company regarding a claim. The car is a Toyota Starlet 1.31 SR ( T Plate 99 ) which is the sport rally version of the Starlet and with the P at then end of the Chassis number denotes that the car was prepared at the point of entry and 15” Speedline Alloys fitted prior to delivery. The claim is for damage and resulting theft of the radio system. He has several specs from old sites and chat rooms but the insurance company is refusing to accept that is the vehicle they originally insured. They say they have rung a Toyota Agents who declares the vehicle was delivered with steel 14” wheels. The description on the Policy is correct i.e. SR and he is attempting to contact the original owner for a declaration of it being as delivered. We contacted a main dealer and they assure us that the spec was Lowered Suspension, Larger exhaust, Speedline 15” Alloys and spoiler. This garage has faxed the insurance company but still they refuse to authorise the repair. So the big question, does any know a contact where the original spec of the car could be obtained or what action to take to expedite the situation. Regards Peter Read more
>>Due to this hassle a couple of the guys here have checked there policies directly with the insurer to find errors,
And both those errors are their fault, not the insurance companys'. Yet in the event of a claim, they'd complain.
You're absolutely right, it does pay to check exactly what you're covered for & make sure that it's what you need to be covered for!
how long should i let my vw tdi idle after a motorway run? secondly, at what point does an engine reach maximum temperature; does a 3 hour motorway blast make the turbo significantly hotter than 30 mins? Read more
Thats not what the wifes Toyota Corolla manual states. It talks of a minimum of 30 sec & up to 2 minutes after a long fast run and even gives example speeds, this is for the D4D.
As it is having spent £ 600 on a new turbo for the Alfa JTD and the fact I drive it quite hard I always give it 1-2 minutes before turning off and I'll have driven very gently for the last mile or so. This includes short shifting so the revs stay low. I DON'T intend changing this one!
Also as someone pointed out water temp and Oil temp are two totally different things and one can be high and the other low, so the water temp gauge is irelavent.
Jim
Hi people,
kinda car related... I live near the A1 and have noticed it is a lot busier this year, and has a heavy flow of traffic well into the night. A year ago it would be dead by half seven, eight ish.
Is it just that roads getting busier generally, or are heavy goods using it to avoid something (say on the M1)?
Just wondering...
Mike Read more
There is heavy traffic on the A1 near Doncaster 24 hours a day, and has been for the past 15 years at least.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
Hello
Help please, I need to settle an argument..!
Does anyone know who gets to keep the revenue from parking in municipal car parks?
A friend says it's central government but I think that such monies head for the coffers of local government. Who is correct? Read more
The revenue goes to the Council, but part is then used to pay the Business Rates charged on the car parks by HM Gov. This goes to HM Government who then redistribute it to the Councils to provide services including parking - simple!
Not sure how 'technical' this is or whether it may be a problem in other vehicles but the rear doors on our MPV run on small metal wheels which rest on a metal (?) strip recessed into under the rear side windows. Over time I would have thought gunk is bound to accumulate at on them causing the wheels to damage the metal and possibly allow corrosion. Anyone got any ideas what I could do to prevent this other than just cleaning the area regularly? The strip appears to be metal but does not seem to have a protective plastic coating so I'd thought about possibly applying some strong pvc tape for the wheels to run on hence protect the paint work. Can anyone come up with a better idea? Ta all. Read more
That's an excellent ad. Only just seen it, too - so it obviously doesn't appear too often. Made me smile. (I don't want to see it again though...) Read more
What's wrong with them?
- Chassis.
- List price is BMW/Merc territory but the cars aren't, hence the s/h market marks them down.
- Chassis not up to scratch, and not able to take the power of some of the engines.
- Historically quirky designs have limited to market for s/h cars. Some hangover, still.
- Perceived quality & driving experience aren't what they should be for the price. The latter is probably due to the chassis.
- Have I mentioned the chassis?
Personally, I wanted one so hard it hurt (the quirky designs...), right up until I test drove a 900 2.3 & 2.0t within days of a BMW 323i. There was just no comparison, and BMW have kept me in their grip ever since.
Spotted a Chrysler Voyager with what appeared to be electrically operated rear sliding doors the other day. The thing is they seemed to be so slow in operation that I can't really see what benefit they offer over the traditional manual sliding doors which aren't exactly hard to open/close. Do such doors have a manual override or are the occupants of such vehicles at the mercy of yet more complex and dare I say, unnecessary electronics just waiting to fail after 3 years and 1 month? Read more
People who buy these big people carriers usually have plenty of kids, its a lot easier to have a electric door the mum/dad can open and let all the kids clamber in than having to go over and open it when you trying to load the weeks shopping in/or park outside the school and let them out, means the mum can carry on with what shes doing without having to get out of the car to let the kids out, the sliding doors can be heavy for a little kid and in my opinion the electric door thingy is probably a good idea. Sliding doors in general are a good idea as they can't be flung open into the car next to you. The doors probaby go slowly to avoid small fingers getting caught.
am i correct to presume if i am fully comp on one vehicle, i will be 3rd party on any other vehicle the owner allows me to drive?
while i understand this policy varies form different insurance companies; what is the general conditions on the rule?
i will be borrowing a friends old volvo estate to move furniture, while im not to concerned with the cost of replacing his car if an accident occurs (its worth tops £400) I dont want to run the risk of having no insurance.
also - if i was to own his volvo (a real future possibility) - would i still be able to use my main cars insurance policy to cover use of the volvo? Read more
he has e-mailed me - and tesco dont cover under 25\'s.
still havent checked liverpool victoria.
anyone know of any insurance companies who do? minew is up for renewal in 3 months and would be worth considering a policy which would let me borrow his estate to shift my furniture to new premises.
Engine oil was changed at National Tyres using Duckhams QXR oil 10W-40 on Honda Civic. I couldn't find the same brand/grade from the shops I visited. Any advice or suggestion on alternative for topping up? Thanks, Dump. Read more
I have heard of this idea too, but different sources say diffrent things. I was under the impression that it was OK to mix similar quality oil of similar 'make-up', i.e. minieral and mineral, synthetic to synthetic. However, was told that it was bad to mix Mineral and fully synthetic etc.
My car handbook says that it is Ok to mix different oils, but others specifcally state that the SAME oil must be used for top up.
I'm no mechanic, so could be totally wrong.
Browse
took it to garage this morn and they said the tyre pressure of 32 psi (which audi reccomend) was too low - thev put it to 36psi as it was rubbing as i was going round corners?
tracking was checked and was fine
hope this has solved it. the garage didnt even charge me for this - i was well suprised!
plume garage - shirley in solihull west midlands - highly recommended