October 2004
Dropped FiLs Picasso off today for its MOT - SWMBO followed me in the Almera.
Went to pick up said car - lift courtesy of SWMBO who waited until I was sure I could pick up Picasso.
It was when she had to manuvre around the car park to let someone else out that things went wrong.....
Apparently I was the only one at the garage that didn't hear the bump.....
The first I knew of anything amiss was when my beloved sidled up to me to explain that she had dislodged a light in the front of her car.
Well let me tell you, the NS indicator cluster was hanging out like an eyeball on the end of its nerve. The offside one was only in by a wing and a prayer, the headlights, although intact, were some 2" behind the bonnet, the grill was now a very loose fit and the bumper looks like it's taken most of the rest of the impact, apart from that absorbed by the near side wing, which now has a disctinctive 'modified' shape to it .... and she was only trying to park!
Apparently she mistook the brake for the accelerator (automatic) and, well you can guess the rest!
At this risk of HJ mentioning the dreaded left foot braking... I know but...
The garage mechanic suggested we did not open the bonnet "Otherwise everything will fall out".
She says she felt annoyed and stupid, or at least that's what I thought she said, when I stopped laughing!
Let's just hope they don't write it off. It's only done 24,000 miles from new.
H Read more
Daughter has a 1.1 Fiesta to which we had fitted a Goodmans radio.
Somewhere round the back there is a loose cable which is causing the power to go on and off.
I need to get the radio out of the slot. It doesn't have the little holes for the pullers like my Vx does. I can't see what's holding it in. There are some plastic clips which I can move outwards, but 1) they don't seem strong enough to be holding it in and 2) there isn't much to grip on (and I haven't got enough fingers, when pushing them out).
Any ideas what I need to do? Read more
The last Goodmans I fitted (albiet some time ago) had a false front panel that clipped in place around the edges of the stereo hiding the holes for the locking tool.
Don't believe the hype, Frostbite. An F1 driver's relationship with a team is purely business these days, and all about preserving your worth. Regardless of the Williams shenanigans, JB has proved quite capable of playing contractual hardball on more than one occasion.
Button wants to preserve his worth, BAT and Honda want results from BAR, Dave Richards is a professional. Short of a technical clanger expect more of the same.
The nearside alloys on my X-Trail are showing marked discolouration on the spokes. This first manifested itself on the front wheel but is now also evident on the rear. There is no sign of it on the offside wheels.
The wheels do not appear to have been particularly scratched and there is no pitting, just a dull, rough patch on each of the splokes. I've tried to clean the wheels with a variety of cleaners but have had no joy.
I should say here that I regularly clean the alloys with car shampoo so that the wheels never get too dirty.
Anyone got any ideas on why this should be happening, and particularly to the nearside wheels? Read more
I have noticed that my Fiesta (W reg 2000 1.4 zetec A/C) has a water leak in the passenger footwell. This only seems to have appeared after driving in very heavy rain. Are there any common things to check ?
Thanks
Des
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All sorted.
many thanks for the advice.
Took the car to my local garage (Prince Brothers , Twyford, Reading). They fixed it by clearing out the A/C plenum chamber drain tube. They reckoned this is a common cause. Took them 10 mins and no charge. Top marks to them.
Hiya,
I am new to this forum but have been on many others; mondeo, seat, bmw, audi, focus, peugeot, golf etc etc. I am on my 38th car and about to swap it for my 39th, but, what do I get next?
I wondered if I put my requirements on here, you lot out there might be bored enough to have a read and come up with some answers for me.
Heres what I am looking for:
Must have some go, not a fire breathing perol drinking monster, but still have a fair turn of speed.
Good handling as std, aircon would be nice and must be reliable and decent on fuel (30+)
3,4 or 5 doors, estates are OK too.
Small - medium family is perfect, not looking for anything as bi as a 5 series or anything as small as a Punto.
There will be 4 of us at most in it, two young lads (7&9) plus 2 adults, me being the biggest at 6'2" and 15 stone.
I don't mind what fuel it uses.
Good luck, hopefully someone will hit the spot with this one.
Thanks in advance Read more
I was going to suggest a Focus. But then I notice you appear to have had one of these. Perhaps you should list the 38 cars you have already tried and let us know whether you wish to exclude them from your list?
Andy
Apologies if this has been covered in the past few weeks whilst I've been away from the forums...
My parents ordered a new car in mid-July for delivery 3rd week of September. They are still waiting....
Part of the reason for delay has been, according to the supplying main dealer, that the car delivery (transporter) firm that the manufacturer uses in the UK has gone bust. Anyone know which firm this is? - and what happens to the new cars in their pounds awaiting delivery? Read more
Madux - no, it's not left-hand drive and wasn't due to be shipped to them via USA! It's now at the dealership - dad was there today to sort out paperwork (insurance certificate etc) and will collect it next week-end. Can't wait until it's my turn to have a go!
Just been listening to a very interesting radio programme featuring a car valuation expert. A chap just enquired on the value of an immaculate '04 Lexus GS430 sport? with 12k on the clock and fully loaded. IIRC he paid £42k for it about 10 months ago and today's valuation is.....
..... £26k!!!!
Ironically the owner bought Lexus in the belief that they retain they values well but apparently this car is not much in demand anymore.
The flip side of the coin is, though, that some lucky devil's gonna pick up a hell of a bargain. Read more
Or buy a Rover instead...(I'll get my coat)
or even how about buying Rover itself?
'ducks and waits for world war 3 to start!'
I live in London, and can not understand how we let the various councils charge us extortionate amounts of money in order to park.
They raise the price, we pay the price.
How can they justify it?
Surely some MP/Motoring Group should be asking them.
The more we pay, the more money it gives them to hire poor cheap labour to give us tickets, thus increasing their booty tenfold.
PS.
Yes, I have just had another parking ticket. Read more
Agreed, Bromptonaut. I was being cheeky!
But there is a sensible point. Most people travel by car, especially when away from home and therefore not familiar with bus routes, times etc. So, HMG:
(a) discourages use of cars in built-up areas. Limits to car parking, traffic calming measures, congestion charges on the way.
(b) moans that our town centres are dying and that ugly out-of-town developments are springing up.
Am I alone in thinking there is a slight lack of intellectual rigour here?
the chief of police are lobbying the government for more cash to maintain 'bobbies on the beat'
I can not rememember the last time I saw a bobby on the beat. Do they actually 'walk the beat' anywhere in the UK? Whilst driving, shopping, strolling in the park, commuting, etc. the bobby on the beat is an illusion. The local police launch has also been decommissioned. When I last saw a 'bobby' he was attending a motor accident, but of course he was informed by a passing motorist!
So if you spot a 'bobby walking the beat' please reply, and perhaps we can all visit this strange & rare sighting.
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Just more Cop bashing I'm afraid.
Yep. Thread locked.
DD.
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Well the wife's car is now back home.
Total cost to us was £120 excess plus £160+ that I spent having a deep scratch repaired on and around the filler cap.
A job that should have taken 1 week took over 3!
The reasons are as follows.
1) Damage to the slam panel was missed by the estimator but picked up when the car was being repaired, so the car waited 3 to 4 days whilst insurance authority was granted and the panel arrived.
2) The car was due to be delivered back to us last week when the bodyshop casually mentioned that the bonnet needed a quick polish, and then it would be dropped back. When I asked why they were not repairing the paint chips on the leading edge from where she hit the wall, they said they did not include these in the estimate as they weren't part of the damage caused by the accident. My head couldn't get around that logic.
I told them in no uncertain words that those paint chips were part of the accident and could easily be explained by virtue of the fact that the grill was knackered and both headlights had been pushed back about an inch and a half. they said they had to contact the insurance company for authorisation, which would take 24 hours as the insurance engineer was not in that day.
The insurers duly gave their authority. I stated to the insurers that I had asked for some unrelated damage to be repaired at our own expense and therefore was not in the habit of trying to pull fast ones on the policy. The insurance company were excellent that's Norwich Union for you.
Today I went to pick it up from the bodyshop, who I must say appear to have done a very good job. The nissan garage where I bought my van was on the way home so I popped in there to see if they could give it a quick look over to check it is how it should be but the expertees were at lunch. Oh well, another time, and I don't think there are any probs.
So the car now has a good front bumper, perfect rear NS quarter, no scratches on the wings, as they replaced the NS wing and had to blend in the offside wing. The only remaining issues are the OSR passenger door, where some panel deformation has taken place then been repaired badly in the past, and a couple of scratches on the OSR wing behind it.
We are so pleased to have it back. That Kia Rio we had as a courtesy car was a real lump to drive. Every time it changed gear it felt like someone was rear ending it. SWMBO thought that it was 'nippier' that the Almera. It was not, it just made much more noise and you really felt the road. When you shut the door it sounded worse than the one in my K reg discovery. It seemed that several bits of metal had been put in there at the factory and forgotten about.
So now wifey MUST be careful with it! We'll see shal we?
Just need to sort out the judder when braking hard. ABS seems to work OK. Over to technical with that one....
Hugo