August 2004
I was reading HJ column in today's Telegraph and there is a letter from someone who had his driving test cancelled because the car he was taking the test in was fitted with a skinny spare following a puncture the previous day. Whilst not wanting to upstage HJ the response he gave was incorrect, but of more concern was the fact that the driving instructor didn't know the law on skinny spares.
A skinny spare wheel can only be used in an emergency and not for extended use. The wheel should be used only to get the vehicle to somewhere where a new tyre can be fitted.
A driver can be stopped and fined for using a skinny for a journey other than to get the damaged tyre replaced - a driving test would be such a situation.
The first job for the instructor should have been a trip to his local tyre fitter.
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Shell have now got Diesel Extra aat my local station(Midlands).
Put first 1/2 tank top up today. Just wondering if anyone who has had access to it a bit longer has noticed any difference with performance/Mpg?? Read more
I agree BP Ultmiate Diesel did give a noticeable performance improvement, but Shell Diesel Extra appears to be no different to anything else.
Except Morrissons supermarket diesel....it's like driving with the brakes on....
Good morning to you, I am writing re the above as I am unsure which particular car to opt for. I am also unsure as to which particular model and engine size, I do have a rough idea but wanted some of your opinions. I know that the Vectra 2.2 is particularly thirsty and not too economical, the Citroen has some quailty issues and soem niggles but is very comfortable and provides good spec for the money. I am looking for a 52 plate onwards and have around £10k to spend, does anyone have a 2.0 DTI Vectra I would be pleased to hear from, also Saloon or hatch? thinking caps for a Saturday would be great.
Cheers all.
BM. Read more
Well that's al the Info I need I will speak to the Dealer when I pick up the car regarding the Rear Axle I had a Test Drive but i'm going a bit Deaf so if it was making a noise i would more than likely not have heard it.
I'm getting a years Warranty plus RAC cover for a year so I would assume this will Start from the end of Feb 2005.
Will confirm when I pick up the Car
Regards
Two weeks ago I took one of my cats in the car on a emergency visit to the vet. Unfortunately she sprayed the rear seat and carpet. I have Autoglyn shampooed the area four times with very little improvement. Any ideas please, only a clothes peg seems to work.
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Now, where is that sticker I used to have saying "Attack cat on board" . . .
Folowing on from threads on speeding and cameras which touched on the inaccuracy of speedos on most cars.
I've found that those automatic 'slow down' signs are triggered at exactly the speed limit for that particular stretch of road. When my speedo says 30 the sign doesn't come on but when it reads 31 or 32 it does. I've found this with various cars.
Cheers, Sofa Spud Read more
JBJ, I would imagine that police car speedo's are checked in a similar way to HGV tacho checking and recalibrating. Tyre size measured, strobe on tyre sidewall to measure wheel rpm, known speed of rolling road. I think licensed taxi's also have to undergo a similar taximeter / odometer check to ensure that the taximeter charges accurately.
I had a call from a friend the other day to say that her 51 plate Peugeot 307 Rapier diesel has just gone up in flames. Having been parked outside her house overnight, she got a knock on the door to say that smoke was coming out from around the O/S front wheel, at which point it burst into flames.
It's not been recalled for the sticky ignition switch problem, and she's never noticed any problem with the ignition.
She has spoken to Peugeot as it's still under warranty, but they are being very cagey and have told the dealer to say only that "the matter is in hand and peugeot are dealing with it". However the dealer has said that 307's do have a tendancy to catch fire in the fuse box or if an electrical connector near the power steering pump gets wet. Surely if there is a known problem with an connector getting wet and casusing a fire this should warrant a recall?
I'd be very interested to know if anyone else has heard of or experienced this problem?
Thanks.
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Good news. Peugeot have accepted full liability and are replacing the car with a 52
plate. They won't however say what caused the fire.
The oOnly thing left now is to get the dealer that collected the car on
behalf of Peugeot to drop the £50 recovery charge.
Hi - Did you make a claim with your insurance as well, or did they take the "Manufacturing Faults are not covered" line?
Forgive me if this has been covered before--I did a check.
I have it in my mind that speed bumps damage cars.
Rubber bushes I think.
Are cars built these days to cope with bumps better ?
Is there any make that suffers more than others ?
Are there any tricks to driving over bumps to minimize damage (apart from dead slow of course )
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As IanT stated, you need a car with soft floaty suspension for the most comfortable ride over these bumps.
Most French cars in my experience have soft suspension, especially Citroens with the hydronumatic variety ie Xantia, XM & C5.
My now elderly 95 XM 2.5TD barly notices these bumps at 30.
As most around my area are near schools I just cruise along at 20. This avoids having to break/accelerate for each one & so they have no impact on my already excellent fuel consumption on a big heavy car.
Hi all,
I would be most grateful for your advice/opinions:
I have an 02 Saxo VTR which I am planning on selling in the next few weeks to replace with a Honda Civic Type-R (hubba hubba).
The Saxo is in excellent condition, it's been super reliable, it's only done 14,000 miles and is still under warranty. However, when it was 4 weeks old it was hit whilst parked (oh, how i sobbed). The damage was mostly cosmetic - new bumper, bonnet, n/s wing plus a new radiator. The car was repaired by my Citroen dealer; I was particularly forceful with them and got what I believe to be an excellent standard of repair. As the car was not written off, this accident will not show up on a HPI search.
Being an honest soul, I do not intend to sell this car and deceive anybody, but I am concious that admitting to accident damage will put people off, no matter how good the repair.
So what is the best option for me? Sell privately and hope the buyer doesn't ask about accident damage. Perhaps if they do offer to reduce the price, even though the repair work is of a high quality? Or part-ex the car with the Honda dealer and avoid all the hassle, whilst losing money in the process? Would any of you buy a car that you knew had been involved in an accident or would you walk away?
Sorry about all the questions!! Thanks in advance for your help.
Abbie
:-)
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IF you are trully convinced the accident damage was repaired to
\"as good as new\" standard (and it seems you are) then
whats the problem?
Quite.
As well as this you mention the accident occured when the car was only 4 weeks old. As it\'s an 02 reg, that means you\'ve owned it for nearly 2 yrs after the accident. If nothing else that should tell the potential buyer that the accident repair hasn\'t worried you, otherwise you would have got shot of it a lot earlier than now.
Following previous postings, SWMBO was v.interested in a second hand, or should that be pre-owned, Lexus IS200. My 'boring' Lecacy (her words) is for sale due to my new business requirements for a van.We have previously run both older model C & E Class estates, and I was looking forward to the arrival of the IS200.This evening, she tells me that she has been to look at a Vaneo, as our two earlier Mercs were such good workhorses, circa MY 93 and 97.Oh dear.Never having looked at one, nor wanted to, are they as bad as I assume, or worse.
Please please quickly suggest alternatives, but she does not fancy the sensible Berlingo and clone HDI route, but Lexus build quality with versatile and boxy accommodation, which rules out A4 avants and their ilk.
Fuel consumption is not really an issue as she only drives 12k miles pa.
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I drove a Vito (on which, I believe, the Vaneo is based) for a couple of years and it was a heap of pink fluufy dice. Forget Mercedes build quality - I think they must be made in Malawi or Fiji or somewhere.
Just buy a Lexus and make twice as many trips.
Well VW's most recent Golf isn't setting the sales charts on fire. Nothing to do with it being completely overpriced of course?!
Why does every motoring publication rave about this car? For considerably less you could have any other medium hatchback on a like for like basis, Yet the cheapest Golf doesn't even have air con. Bargain? Not.
Yes the VW does depreciate less, but then it does cost vastly more. Surely a discounted 'A' class Mercedes is better value than a slim discount Golf?
Even more annoying are the Golf's 'understated' looks. From the front it looks EXACTLY like my Nissan Almera Tino, a car which was religously dismissed for being boring. Can't beat a bit of badge bias can you? If you don't believe me check out the next Tino you see and mentally compare. (If you can find a Tino that is..)
What do the rest of you think - am I being harsh and the Golf is that good, or do people feel as I do that if it had a Daewoo badge on the front it would be an unmentioned also ran? Read more
I can't remember VW ever offering free insurance.>>
Fully comp insurance for my Bora is £176 this year with DirectLine (unexpected premium cut as it was £193 last year) - hardly worth buying a new car for that sort of saving in my case...:-)
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So that's why they keep the backup braking system.
The point, in the end, is that the spare wheel doesn't come into that category. It is described as a get-you-home measure and is clearly different to the other four.
OK, so this frustrates some drivers in some circumstances, and rightly so. Nevertheless, it is a requirement that a car can continue despite a puncture so even if you have a full size spare wheel, once you have used it you are in any case under an obligation to repair/replace the old tyre.