February 2005
I have read with some dismay the posts regarding main dealers of most types. My son wants to change his MG ZR for a Mini Cooper S.
Can anyone advise tactics? We were abused by the Rover dealer 18 months ago and bought from JamJar and last summer a Renault dealer was as bad as they come.
The Saturday telegraph recently suggested actually selling to a used car dealer to keep the purchase as a separate transaction.
Any advice welcome?!
TimW aka Meldrew
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Footnote on Ch 5 news (no other explanation) said that the rise in oil costs had pushed Shell's profits up to £9 million (or was it £9 billion).
Please explain.
Just wish it had said "Rising cost of living improves PhilW's bank balance"
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And despite record profits of £1m per hour, their shares still
went down in value today.
Please explain.
in simple terms it goes like this:
1. the profits were not as big as the city analysts had anticipated.
2. shell has once again declared that its estimated reserves are lower than the oft-reduced figures published last year. which means that there will be less "money which grows in oil-wells".
3. or maybe they think motorists will boycot shell, or maybe fewer people will buy optimax at the premium prices in future ?
as for the profits, it is good news for everyone.
1. if you have a company pension.
2. if you are a taxpayer or have a state pension - the extra amount contributed by shell will mean gordy brown will need to dream up fewer new ingeneous tax raising schemes.
3. all money goes round anyhow. even if you buy gold bullion or stash it away in a swiss bank account or buy 10 ferrari cars. it all still gets back in to circulation. the only new wealth created is that from newly mined oil.
4. shell needs to spend even more to seek replacements for its dwindling oil reserves.
happy motoring. enjoy. drive shell.
Did anyone read the Ferrari Special edition of Autocar?
There is an interesting bit in the letters page about braking distances. The Porsche Carrera GT on road tyres with ceramic composite discs and eight piston calipers did 70-0mph in 52.1m with a kerbweight of 1472kg. The Land Rover Discovery TDV6 HSE on dual purpose tyres did 70-0mph in 51.2m with a kerbweight of 2718kg.
Rather puts paid to one of the anti-brigades main arguments that 4X4's have longer stopping distances!
As a Range Rover driver I may be a little biased, but it has to be good for all motorists to have some factual evidence as we are all under attack by the anti-car groups.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\" Read more
Well if he was to swerve we might avoid the pedestrian, but then again he might flatten the poor fiat panda comin from the opposite direction maybe?
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
A severe case of Petrol Head!
Petrol addict banned from shops:
A man with an addiction to sniffing petrol has been banned from every Asda store after being caught cutting fuel pump pipes.
Brian Taylor, 36, has also been banned from going within 15 metres of any filling station on Teesside.
Taylor terrorised supermarket staff and customers after sniffing petrol and cutting pipes at Asda in the South Bank area and dancing around the forecourt.
Teesside Magistrates Court heard customers had been soaked in petrol.
Cleveland Police and Redcar and Cleveland Council applied for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbo) which was granted at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Taylor, of no fixed address, was also banned from carrying petrol in a public place for the duration of the four-year order.
Supermarket CCTV footage caught him in the act and police believe he could have been responsible for around 50 incidents in the last two years.
Sgt Bryan Tams said: "The major concern is that when he has been cutting the pipes, customers have not noticed the cut and some have been soaked in petrol.
"There were obvious dangers involved in his actions and a risk to safety.
"We have concerns for his own health and are trying to find ways of addressing his addiction to petrol which doesn't get him into trouble."
Story from BBC News Read more
Im suprised he hasnt gone up as well Spud! Just make sure its not near the filling station!
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
Hi all,
Been a keen reader of this forum for a while, but apologies nonetheless for making my first ever post a cry for help!
I have a 1998 Honda Civic 5 door which is normally flawless in operation, but I noticed that as Mrs Plums dropped me off at work this morning that the brake lights were permanently ON.
Fiddling about this evening, the exact fault can be described thus:
brake lights work properly with sidelights OFF, but also cause the dashboard backlights to illuminate.
with sidelights ON, brake lights are always ON, but get marginally brighter when brake pedal pressed. Dashboard lighting works as normal.
I'm guessing there is an earth fault - probably where the rear sidelights and brake lights share a ground. Am I barking up the right tree here? Found the location of the likely grounds G503 and G504 here:
www.honda.co.uk/owner/CivicManual/pdf/23-a28.pdf
But there's also a ground in the bootlid for the high level brake light only. I think this may have been removed and refitted last year for an accident repair, so should I look at this first - not sure if it could cause the sidelight issue?
Hope someone can help, thanks for reading!
Cheers,
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A quick update - it was the bulb!
Both filaments were intact, but there were scorch marks around the inner glass bulb around the base of the filament holder. New bulb rectified the problem.
Thanks for all your help. Used the time set aside for wiring checks to clear up the garden and feed the birds, so your kind advice has made some feathered critters very happy!
Hi all,
We have an L reg Nissan Micra 1.0 that has served us well for three years. In recent months we have a problem with the engine stalling when we come to a rest - not all the time but maybe 30 - 40%. It starts and drives OK ( but sometimes does feel a bit starved if I am honest ). I have checked the common things ( filters, plugs, doped it with Redex, taken it for a motorway blast as it does mostly school runs etc ) but can't find any obvious fault or improvement. Just recently one headlight was out and the fault was tracked to a corroded fuse. The same fuse box houses the fuse for the fuel injector and suspecting similar I cleaned, WD40ed and replaced it - no difference either !
Can anyone point me in the right direction. I've searched the site and am worried about seemingly expensive airflow meters. Would I be better off sending it to auction ? Need a fix as I'd like to keep it at least another 3 months.
Many thanks in anticipation.
Pete Read more
Thanks - I am also reviewing the Aussie web site mentioned in HJ's forum. Seems to be homing in on this but anyone have any other ideas.
Hi, have a probelm with engine management light on. local garage diagnosed this is the EGR valve and are in the process of cleaning it to see if it cures the problem.
1) Can anyone tell me what an EGR valve does
2) Any idea on price for replacement?
Garage said Vauxhall couldn't give them a price!
Thanks in advance Read more
I think www.vauxhallspares.co.uk have a sale on at the moment; usually a good source of Vx parts.
I know there was a thread about Legacies a while ago - but does anyone have any info on real world difference between the 2.0 aqnd 2.5 engines - performance/economy wise.
Had a go in both today and have to admit that the difference in performance wasn't as much as I thought it would be. Wouldn't need to tow or anything.
Cheers. Read more
"...in practice the 3 litre is more economical than the 2.5."
This is not correct. When I bought my Outback 2.5 SE, I had a run in a 3.0 Saloon just to see the difference in performance.
The performance certainly was better, but the average ecomony was showing at 21pmg. The rep running the 3.0 as a demo was very clear in saying that the 2.5 offers the best compromise in econony / performance.
I know I have mentioned in this thread that the 2.5 is probably not much more thirsty then the 2.0, but this does not seem to extrapolate to the 3.0.
Like Nick says, if you are overly concerned about mpg, then Subaru should be avoided. I like them because they drive well, are built well, the dealers are good and they are slightly different. That's why I like my Mac compared to my PC.
jdc
We have a new shape Megane dci 1.5 100 bhp. This is our fourth Renault and first diesel and so far we are very pleased with it. At the weekend I was busy washing it and noticed on the door pillar a sticker detailing what options are fitted, for example the Comfort Pack. But there's also a sticker that says it's a dci 80 engine. But on the sales invoice it clearly states 100 bhp. So which is correct and how can I confirm it? I am a bit concerned because it's insured as a 100 but if it's an 80 am I running a risk? Read more
There's a long number at the base of the windscreen on the passenger side. This number contains BMR205 so my Megane definitely is the 100bhp model.
It seems that someone has put the wrong sticker on the door pillar in the factory. When it goes in for a service I willask them to change it to avoid another person in the future getting confused.
Thanks to all who have replied. I will enjoy the weekend more now!
Hello all,I'm new to these boards.
I'm trying to find out if it is possible to re program second hand 2 button 'plip' keys,(and where I can get it done) so I can have my remote central locking back on my 406.Can anyone shed any light?
Cheers for any help. Read more
There are different ways to do this depending on the car. Do a search in Google Groups for program+key+peugeot and you'll see several methods. Especially in the alt.autos.peugeot newsgroup.
But you may have to take it to a dealer to get the immobiliser chip (if it has one?) reprogrammed anyway, unless you have that from the old key.
I would suggest that if you try to do it yourself then you do while in a Peugeot dealer car park, in case it messes up and you can't start the car.
Browse
I believe that this is what all main delaers do:
They put your trade in car details onto a national database (i.e registration number, car model and extras, then wait for bids from other dealers (underwriting?)
They will either offer you less and make an extra couple of sovs' on what they get from an underwriter, or offer you the same as they are offered just to get it off hand, or offer you over but treat it as a hidden discount on the motor you are purchasing.