August 2005
Due to some quite disgraceful behaviour involving a jeweller's shop and my credit card the Girlie has agreed that I can buy a toy.
I want a soft top. I haven't had one for ages, and the Girlies Junior love them. Girlie Senior isn't struck, but hey I don't like jewellery !
Its only going to be a toy, so it would be a waste spending serious money.
It needs to be a 2+2 - which rules out all of the usual suspects.
Don't care about fuel consumption, don't care about resale value, don't care much about performance.
Do want pretty, do want fun, do want a little cred.
I don't regard a Rover 214 Softtop as the sort of thing I'm looking for. So lets forget all of those - golfs, rovers, etc. Boring, boring, boring. I want a toy.
I'd love an MG Roadster which would fit every point except the 2+2 bit. I seem to recall Stags were 2+2 so that's a definite possibility. The "+2" is only Girlies Junior so there doesn't have to be sufficient room for adults. And it will spend most of its life inactive in my garage, so it doesn't have to be capable of stellar mileages.
I do know one end of a screwdriver from another, so something which needs home maintenance isn't a disaster - although I'd rather one that didn't. Read more
If you had £3K (ok I know it's not a lot) to spend at auction, what you be looking out for?
Requirements are pretty general. Something with 4 wheels, at least 4 seats, looks ok, drives well, 0-60 in under 10 seconds so I guess 100-150bhp, sunroof, all mod cons etc. Something that's not too expensive when it comes to parts/repairs. Read more
A very nice silver petrol Mondeo Ghia X plate 80k, for £2800 on Thursday, looked good to me.
& this a Police car, too.
Sort of following on from earlier thread, the sale was a selection on behalf of National Crime Squad. So Audi, Mitsubishi Gallant, Rover 75, amongst others,even a Mazda 6,2.3, 68k, struggled at £6,500 ish - think they were looking for £7,000 seemed good value on 03 plate.
These were all covert operation vehicles, so no stickers n obvious evidence of blues n twos.
VB
tinyurl.com/cee5t
Ex Celtic player Stephane Henchoz escaped a speeding ban as his lawyer proved that the police did not calibrate the eqpt properly.
To calibrate it they used lengths of steel tape to measure out what they thought was half a mile!
Surely the police do not walk for half a mile down a road with a length of tape to measure it? Read more
It makes you wonder whether they just messed up giving eveidence or if there are a lot of drivers out there with wrongful convictions!
I have a J reg 850 coupe. It has a steering problem that occurs ONLY when the car is cold.
Basically it makes a horrible grinding sound when turning. On a hot day or 20 minutes after the car has been started the grinding dissapears.
I have had the steering box and the pump stripped and reconditioned to no avail, the problem is exactly the same. The garage I have been using have given up on it.
Can anyone free me from my expensive nightmare, with some what next advise ??? Read more
I would agree with the suggestions given the Colonel above - checking any filters is a sensible first check to make. Anything that restricts the flow of oil to the inlet of the pump can cause noise. As a quick test, I would undo the inlet pipe at the pump, and make sure that oil flows freely out the end of the pipe.
Not only can you get air entrainment, but also you can get cavitation if there is insufficient pressure available at the inlet (normally, this is atmospheric pressure, plus that due to the height of the reservoir above the pump).
Number_Cruncher
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/4181928.stm
Boy he hit lost both legs. Driver admits "showing off" and is given a pathetic five months. Read more
I think this has been done before.
I do not condone the crime, but isn't the sentence for the offence and not for the consequences of the offence?
I had my timing belt replaced two weeks ago on my 1800cc 16v laguna estate we and had done about 400 miles when the car lost power.
On initial investigation it looked like the fan belt had split and got under the timing belt and caused it to slip, the mechanic who looked at it initially was sceptical as to wether the belt had actually been changed due to the condition of the bolts that would have to be removed.
I have recovered it to the garage and they are replacing the rockers covers !!! as well as the timing belt. Is it likely that any other damage was caused, the garage says that te pistons are ok. When it happened there was no major noises exept the shredding of the auxillary belt.
Should the garage have replaced the auxillary belt when they replaced the timing belt ?
Has anybody had a similar experience, any input appreciated.
Thanks Read more
I would have thought they would have changed the aux belt as a matter of course. I know on some earlier renault engines the rockers tended to be sacrificial in the event of a belt failure to protect the valves but as far as I know the Laguna has the cams acting directly on the valves so it has no rockers, I stand to be corrected. You can easily see if the belt has been replaced as there are two round seals on the gearbox end of the head which have to be prised out to fit the cams locking tool. They have to be replaced so should look new. How do they know the pistons are ok? On other engines I have seen after belt failure the contact between valve and head has resulted in the top piston ring being pinched in its groove.I'd be sceptical and recommend you keep poking your nose in and checking whats going on. Ask them to keep all the displaced parts for you. Finally if they skimped on the aux belt did they fit new tensioner and guide rollers??
Andrew
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Simplicate and add lightness!!
After 3 years with my trusty estate I'm looking to change my car. I do about 25,000 miles a year, including at least a couple of trips through France and Italy. I ski and also do other "pepsi-max" sports, so kit-carrying capacity is key.
Things are looking up financially (whenever they do I find ways to spend it) so I've looked a little upmarket from where I am now. I've looked at the VW Toething and have heard that it isn't too reliable from other owners. The ML270 carries poor tales of reliability and the BMW is a bit too "soccer wife" for me. I was going to look at the XC90, but I heard a whisper about the Kia Sorento and test drove one at the weekend.
I was really impressed by the ride given that this is a 4x4 and the quality of the interior. The boot is cavernous and the 4wd is a bonus for the odd occassion when I can get close to the action (skiing etc). Fuel economy isn't that important, but it manages mid 30s on the combined figures. For £20,000 I can get a brand new one with all the toys, some £13,000 less than the Volvo or the VW.
Are there any other cars I should be considering before I sign on the line? Read more
Thanks for that Bradgate, greatly appreciated.
Is this a straight forward problem to sort out and why would'nt it be present ? Read more
A few weeks back I went to Blackbushe to see a 34k late 03 Vectra Elite 3.2, no log book present.
It went for £7k - wish I'd bid.
I suspect the dealers are less interested due to the log book hassle...?
Hi,
I just bought a cheap and nasty '92 Citroen AX Echo 1.1 for £250. Engine sounds fine and runs clean and it has just passed its MOT so engine permitting I'm hoping not to need to do anything to it for a year. However, I have noticed the car has a rumble from the front left corner when travelling. The garage told me the car had some welding work and a new wheel bearing in that corner to pass the MOT but it still rumbles. The rumble is constant and seems unaffected by cornering. Any ideas? Should I ignore it or could it be serious?
Thanks,
G Read more
Hmmmm. Will have to check.
Well this weekend I'm going to jack up each corner and check the wheels for play. If I don't find anything I'll check the temperature of the hubs (in case a brake pad is rubbing) after a decent run. Failing that, I guess it's just a case of keeping an ear open and making sure it doesn't start sounding worse!
Thanks,
G
This happened to me (again), today, as I was travelling down to Lichfield. I was about to overtake a lorry and was level with the back end of the lorry, when the lorry driver signalled to pull out to overtake the lorry in front of him. It had been raining heavily and there was a lot of spray, but I did have dipped headlights on, so he must have seen me. I flashed my headlights hoping he would have had the prescence of mind to realise the danger but, no, he just pulled out all the same. I had to brake to avoid a collision, which therefore put me at risk of being shunted from behind. I have tried using the horn before, but it is ignored just the same.
Before the lorry drivers in this forum say that I should be watching out for lorries to pull out, and car drivers are just as bad, there is no way one should have to expect it to happen when one is on the verge of going past another vehicle; the manoeuvre is just downright dangerous, especially on a very wet road. It happens to me frequently with lorry drivers and much less so with car drivers. Read more
I think everything has been covered in this particular discussion.
I'm locking this thread, as I'm sure next time someone else gets cut up by a car/truck/white van/ice cream float etc we'll all hear about it all over again ;)
Hugo - BR Moderator
Browse
You could always buy my 2+2 off me
Peugeot 306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet