December 2004
I have heard him speak at different events - he has the gift of engagement whatever you think of his views. He is not a boring man. ! Read more
Anyone any experience with their pads - now on set 2 in 2 weeks on my Corolla, after the first lot set the steering wheel juddering - but set 2 are still causing judder.... Oh, the discs are fine, apparently. Read more
Experience with my old K75 BMW showed that non-standard pads caused juddering.
Buy a pair of OEM pads and ask Kwik Fit to fit them.
If juddering goes, try asking for your money back!
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
Hi all, Mrs V. will be taking her test in a few months time and (hopefully) passing first time. When she does I'd like to get her another car to replace her ultra reliable Skoda Felicia which doesn't have power steering. Can anyone suggest a car of similar size which would suit. She probably won't be doing many miles or long journeys but it will need 5 doors and MUST be economical and very reliable. Could be auto/manual, diesel/petrol and aged up to say 5 years. All being well it will be a stop gap whilst she gains experience and accrues her NCB before moving onto something else a bit sportier. Looks and badge are relatively unimportant (which is how she came to marry me :) ). Read more
Thanks T, C & NW. Yes I suppose we are spoilt for choice and I suppose I've been a bit vague because the size isn't crucial except that the likes of the Yaris, Corsa and Punto are too small. We do have 2 kids and definitely want 5 doors. I'd say she wouldn't want anything bigger than a Golf really.
As for age and budget - well those are factors in the sense that it's only a stopgap car for an inexperienced driver until insurance costs allow us to acquire what she really wants. Have no reason to avoid a good reliable car that's more than 5 years old if it fits the bill. Budget up to about £4k I suppose but lowish insurance group preferable. Thanks all.
My 97 Vectra has become annoyingly slow to fill with petrol. I had a look in the filler but couldn't see the nozzle restrictor. I suspect it's collapsed into the filler neck and is restricting the flow. Has any Backroomer come across this or have a view on another likely cause before I take it apart? Read more
Hi,
HJ lists three firms of auction buyers at
www.honestjohn.co.uk/buy_sell/buying_used/BuySell_...m
Has anyone used any of these firms?
If so how did you find the experience? Any hidden extra costs ? How do they deal with problems with cars ?
Are they listed because HJ 'approves' them or have they paid to be listed or have they been recommended or is it just companies that HJ knows of ?
thanks
Mark Read more
Can you recommend someone similar who operates in the North? (Yorkshire)
Sorry a quote from the "4x4's in accidents" thread had made me rather cross!
it was discovered that there was absolutely no evidence of any
cases where a bull-bar had been responsible for increasing the seriousness of injury in any accident.
Sorry, that is the biggest load of rubbish I have heard for years, infact it makes me quite angry!!!!!!!! Just as it does when I see an idiot driving around with 3" diameter solid chrome bull bars for no reason other than they think it look good just ready to kill a small child who's head inadvertently comes into contact with them at anything more than a few mph. Read more
no problem steve.o as i say i keep it on as i find it usefull for my main use of the vehicle which is offroad but i honestly think the vehicle would be just as dangerous without the bar i think modern design is changing the safety aspect of such vehicles as well as normal cars i personally feel that it's not the bullbars that are the problem it's the fashion statement of people driving 4x4's with bullbars winches etc that dont need them . and i am not anti anything i just dont see the point of buying a big 4x4 for the school run or towing the caravan once a year different if you are making use of it. i know that if i hit someone while driving it i am going to do a lot of damage but and this is my point i feel if the same thing were to happen and i was in my van i would do as much if not more damage my van is not particularly pedestrian friendly either... not so much a rant for or against , merely an observation that there are a lot of vehicles out there which are not best suited to where they are being used (from a pedestrians safety point of view, and i know they should beon the pavement etc)..cheers ...keo
VW Polo Automatic(1999), 48K miles, full dealer history, always carefully driven (mostly motorway miles).
Gearbox suddenly refuses to engage 4th gear, gears 1,2,3 are fine! Gets to 50mph at about 3500rpm in 3rd gear, I just kept it at that speed for my last journey!
I'd appreciate any ideas as to what could be the cause of the 'missing' 4th gear.
PS: light which illuminates the gear selector console has also gone out.
Many Thanks
Tariq Read more
The car appears to struggle to run and blows out clouds of black smoke, could it be the egr valve or turbo or would the car run even if these were faulty, or is it more likely to be the timing or fuelling? Read more
I have tried turning the pump in the slots and the smoke has dissapeared, so i think the belt was out a tooth, cheers everyone
Did anyone see tonights 5th Gear? They conducted pedestrian impact tests using a Range Rover and a Rover 800. Basically the results indicated that you are better off being hit by the Range Rover. The large frontal area spread the force of the impact causing less severe injuries. The saloon car scooped the dummy up throwing it onto the windscreen and then onto the road.
This seems to fly in the face of the current anti 4X4 lobby.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\" Read more
"I also read somewhere that white vans killed the fewest number of pedestrians even though the drivers are prone to driving like nutters"
Probably because most white van drivers have enough miles under their wheels to be pretty good drivers. Experience counts.
V
Evening everyone. My Vectra (2.0T model) is now 13 months old and has 15k on the clock. Now it may just be me but it sounds like the rear brake pads may be getting down to the backing material. When I brake and gently come to a standstill the rear wheels make that noise similar to a dinghy being pulled along wet sand! but the brake action is positive and there is no squealing.
What puzzles me is why they would run down so quickly. Most of my miles are motorway - daily 100 mile round trip involving very little braking. The rear brakes are not binding (The car always averages the quoted 32.3 - 32.5 mpg and the rear wheels never get hot). Unfortunately the rear wheels do not have a pad wear sensor like the fronts so it looks like a trip to the dealer to get them checked, unless any other Vectra C owners can tell me that they all sound like this!
Marc Read more
Cheers Alvin, I'll read up on that in my manual and give it a try
Browse
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Daveyjp good point, however if public transport was free/cheaper id have enough money left over for a winter coat and an mp3!!! hee hee! The point I was trying to make is that public transport needs to get nearer to the convience of a car, everyone knows its never going to be the same as using a car because its NOT a car! But the benefits of public transport Vs car need to be greater.
FOR EXAMPLE.............. we often go to scotland walking and climbing, we fly from stansted to glasgow or prestwick,
we live 4 miles from Stansted, its takes 55 mins to get to glasgow instead of the 6 hours it might take by car, we both arrived chilled out and ready to start our break away instead of knackered after what has sometimes been a 10 hour drive, the flight costs between £1 and £30 when they have a deal on, the fuel in the car alone would be double that as well as wear and tear and the time it takes.
I wouldnt mind waiting for public transport if it was worth waiting for, in Turkey the tranport is cheaper and cleaner and more efficient than ours and it is worth waiting for, not that they have to wait for long!