June 2005
I recently had the misfortune of hitting a kerb at an angle of about forty-five degrees at 20-25mph.
This caused a minor deformity to the near-side-front wheel trim and may now give the impression that I have got a buckled wheel, which one occasionally sees on other cars but can never see on one?s own!
There may, of course, be other damage which is not obvious to the amateur eye but I can say that there is no wobble on the steering which might suggest that the wheel needs rebalancing.
The vehicle is going in for routine service soon. Ought I to report this incident and have it investigated? What sort of other damage may I have done...the term ?toe-in? rings a bell.
I am very wary, in view of Honda dealer?s £icence to print money, to ask them to do anything other than the essential service. Would a specialist, such as a tyre depot be a better place to seek a remedy at a more affordable cost? Bearing in mind the stories one hears, I don't want to be a victim of paying for unnecessary work.
Your advice and suggestions would be much appreciated.
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Yesterday I was at a pre-trial hearing for a claim I am making in the small claims court (non motoring). I am not a legal person but the defendant (part of a public company) is using a highly qualified specialist legal firm based in a very expensive part of London. This does not worry me as I feel my claim is very fair and justified.
During the meeting with the judge he mentioned a case that he thought had gone to appeal about a claim for interest and bank charges. It involved a motorist being forced to have a repair done to her car. She could not afford this and had to borrow the money. Later it was found the repair was unnecessary. She was able to reclaim the cost of the repair AND the interest and charges for the loan. Unfortunately he could not remember the details of the case.
Do you know what the case was? I
Is there a somewhere on the Internet that I can access details to check if this is relevant to my own claim.
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I believe that even if you lose the judge can only award "fair" legal costs to the other side.
anybody know how to remove the trim around the handbrake - the bit that incorporates the cig lighter / cup holders ?
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The ever-vigilant "parking attendants" have billed me £20 but I would like to appeal. The circumstances are slightly unusual and I wondered what you thought my chances were.
There is a large roundabout in the centre of town, which I parked in. "No chance, then" I hear you say. However, consider the facts first.
1. The centre of the roundabout is tarmacced like a car park. Around this tarmac there is a metal railing. To enable you to get in, there is a proper entrance and an exit. It really does look like a car park. The entrance was gateable once, but the gate is long gone.
2. There are no markings to imply you shouldn't park there.
3. There are no signs telling you it is not a car park.
My supposed offence was (excuse the illiteracy of the programmer):
Parking Attendant 081 has reasonable cause to believe that a Penalty Charge has been incurred because being parked on a rural clearway where stopping is prohibited. Code: 46.
But if stopping is prohibited, why is there a proper entrance built to allow access to this area? Do they expect you to drive round and round without stopping?!
Whaddya reckon?
--
Mattster
Boycott shoddy build and reliability. Read more
Some roundabouts in the Newcastle under Lyme area are as you describe,the reason there is that a nearby engineering works produces very large transformers and the large vehicles carrying them are able to go straight across and not have to negotiate the roundabout.
ndbw
Guys,
I was minding my own business on the M1 very early this morning way down south (empty road) when I saw a small Peugeot 106 coming up behind me. I put my foot down (was going at about 85 in 5th) and to my horror, the 106 kept gaining on me - I had to drop to 4th and accelerate to 120ish before he couldn't keep up / gave up. As he passed me when I came off, I saw it was a GTi - is this normal performance for that car? I'd have thought I'd have far more power in my Golf but was seriously impressed with the Pug's acceleration - would that have been a factory spec car do you think? I know it's a lot lighter but you'd think a 150BHP 20v turbo 1.8 would destroy a 1.6 16v non turbo? Confused.
BTW, the road was totally empty for miles so please no criticism of my speeding please!
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Perleman Said: "Maybe you'd prefer to have a faster car with an uncool image, that's fine -- but think about this would you really regret buying your quality Skoda if some 17 year-old in a modified Cavalier worth 2k burned you off at the lights? Of course not, because your car personifies the values that are important to you!"
I'll be buying either a Skoda Fabia vRS or a Seat Ibiza FR diesel in a year or so's time - A fast car (faster when i've chipped it with my savings compared to a VW version) with (apparently) an uncool image.
Actually, i'd be quite annoyed if some 17 year-old in a modified Cavalier worth 2k burned me off at the lights - except that they'd be pretty unlikely to, as i would have a seriously quick car myself.
I'd have much more fun 'burning off' Mk4 Golf GTI's at the lights, as i know i would do - having not sacrificed speed for image. I'd also enjoy the red-faced looks i'd get from them, as the uncool-pretend-VW trounced them.
Thats how i'd feel, anyway
Showing my ignorance I know but where does "brake horse power" come from?
My bike is 95bhp - does it mean it could drag 95 horses down the road? Seems a bit improbable. Has anyone tested this claim by the manufacturers?! Read more
I always thought that SAE (Silly American Estimate) was measured at the crankshaft, whereas DIN (Probably something in German) was measured at the back wheel(s).
There was a report on the radio this morning saying that there has been a big increase in the number of people involved in accidents with police cars. One would assume these would include a lot of police cars that are involved in pursuit actions.
I was watching a programme about one county police force last week and it involved a pursuit of a suspect vehicle. Discussing it with my wife at the time, I questioned whether the risks involved were worth the apprehension of the driver and the recovery of the car. The longer the chase went on, the more risks the driver took. At the time I said to my wife that a collision was inevitable if the chase continued for long. Sure enough, the car being pursued was in collision with another car before long which, fortunately, did not result in injury to the occupants (at least I don't think it did). However, it could easily have resulted in death or serious injury to the both cars' occupants.
During the pursuit, the police officer concerned said that he had to make a judgement about the risk involved to the general public, and I wondered how he would ultimately decide when this point was reached. At the time of the collision, they were driving in an urban area, in busy traffic. I would have thought that the chance of an collision occurring was very high.
A government representative is reported to have said that the police must be able to carry out pursuit actions. I question this opinion, if the pursuit results in the death of an innocent person and the purpose of the pursuit is, for example, to apprehend a car thief. Read more
Seeing as there are now about ten ambulances on the roads for every police car it's not surprising that the ambulance always arrives first and the police have to hurry there from miles away.
My Micra will start and drive normally for around a mile then cuts out. The engine does not seize up. The plugs look normal and smell of petrol. The starter turns the engine well, but it will not start unless left for an hour or so, then it will start perfectly and drive for another mile ...
Some temperature sensor problem?
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Replying to my own message!
RAC man said it was the coil and that I would need a new distributor. New £250+, lots of offers from new and used part web sites for £90, got one in local scrapyard for £30. Works fine now.
I wonder, is there another place like okdiy (www.okdiy.co.uk), where you could just hire a lift and maybe some tools and service/repair your car yourself ?
In particular, somewhere in Surrey or around London would be excellent.
Kostic Read more
OK DIY have a place in Milton Keynes and their used to be one in West London. I looked at doing it in Kent (Maidstone actually) but couldn't find suitable premises, also the insurance coverage etc becomes a nightmare. But may do it later.
As a question what are you prepared to pay an hour. Abedeen is £ 15.
Jim
Hi All
This heat wave we've been having in Blighty is lovely. The trouble is it can get a bit hot, so it's nice to know that you can switch on your air conditioning and drive in comfort.
Well that's what I would have done if mine worked. My car has been seen by an independant a couple of times and they've tracked my problem down to the air conditioning module. This problem manifests itself by me being unable to swith my climate control out of 'Econ' mode - great for the environment - but not for me!
Audi quoted 518 + vat for the part so naturally I'm hoping to find one cheaper as my mechanic is quite happy for me to source the component and he'll fit it. I've registered with a few internet sites but no-one has come up trumps.
Given that I live in Surrey, can anyone suggest and good sources for a component such as this - either a breakers yard or something similar? Read more
Cheers Guys... I will give that a go!!
Browse
My thanks to you all for your sound advice.
I am taking remedial action without delay.