Hello All,

I have recently purchased my company car, as it was well below book price. I intend to sell it on privately.

As I am no longer insured through the company policy, I have insured it on a 30 day temporary basis on an existing policy I have.

The company insists that as I am purchasing the car, I must have the log book transferred into my name. I do not want to have prospective buyers coming around, only to see there is no log book and as I only have 30 days insurance, I need to get it sold pretty quick.

I therefore need to know how long the return of the Log book is likely to take, and if there is any way to raise the priority with the DVLA.

Any help much appreciated
Cheers
Geoff

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While up in London for the weekend we used cabs a fair bit (SWMBO wouldn't go on a tube!) & I wondered how much they earn in a year (sad I know!!) It seemed even short journeys equated to £5 fares & I started to think what the net profit was likely to be in a year. I realise they have running costs (servicing, repairs, mot, licences, fuel, tax, insurance etc) but wondered what % overheads were as a % of total costs?

Anyone have any idea of typical London cab earnings/outgoings?

MM Read more

As mentioned in another thread I have just spent nearly £200 on two new front tyres, a couple of days latter I am checking the pressures at the local garage and I notice a nail in one of the rears $%&*@?! Get home, pull the nail out, a very narrow nail approx 6 or 7 mm long with a large head, hear a gentle sssh as it comes out, put a bit if spit on it, can see tiny bubbles of air coming out, hope that it keeps enough pressure to get to the tyre centre the next day.

Now the conundrum, according to my pressure gauge it has not lost any pressure in more than 48 hours, perhaps the leak is so minute it will take days or weeks for a drop in pressure to notice, perhaps only the very tiny sharp point of the nail penetrated the tyre carcass.

So what do I do, leave it, have it repaired, cant see that it is going to suddenly worsen, i.e. deflate at high speed.

Any thoughts? Read more

My Honda dealer has just switched from Mobil to Castrol, which means the Mobil semi-synthetic I've been changing every 4,500 miles (9k service intervals on my Accord) has now been replaced by Magnatec.

Out of interest, I called Castrol to ask if they offered a fully synthetic equivalent which would suit the Accord (Honda, Swindon, was insistent that I should use a 10/40, *not* Mobil 1 as I'd originally intended when I bought the car). They don't. But what was really interesting was that Mr Castrol seemed incredulous that I was changing my oil every 4.5. He could see no reason for doing it. Presumably, not even selling more oil.

Which leaves the question, does anyone who knows anything about oil have any opinions about Magnatec? Back in the days or Castrolite I was a dedicated Castrol man, but have heard doubts raised in recent years.

What's the Back Room's informed opinion on this stuff?

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Hello

I recently had the engine management light come on in my Accord (2000 X reg, 50k). I took it in to my trusted indie and he plugged it into his computer and confirmed what i suspected based on past posts in the backroom - Oxygen sensor.

He replaced it, but unfortunately the light has remained on. He says that the car may require up to 40 "cycles" of use before it goes out.By this he said he meant a start from cold, up to operating temp and switched off and left to go cold again (about 2-3 weeks use for me). He has has refused payment for the time being and asked me to come back in if the light does not go out.

So my question is, does this sound like rubbish to you guys? I know from posts by others in here that this model has a reputation for eating O2 sensors so i hoped someone may have some experience here.

One more thing i noticed, he has added a new wire under the bonnet! It runs from the battery neg terminal to what looks like the engine block or clutch housing area and is wrapped around the existing earth strap (i think thats what it is) which is very chunky. What might this be for? It is actually two wires with a crimped type connector on either end.

I will ask him about it anyway when i get the chance, just wanted to know what others thought first.

Sorry for the long post, Thanks in advance. Read more