October 2005
Hi, I need two new front tyres for my Renault Laguna dynamique 1.9 DCi, each costing approx. £187 plus VAT due to the pressure sensor. My question is can I buy non sensor tyres and what if anything happens if I do? Read more
The new length of A28 from Alencon to Rouen opened on 27th October. I chanced upon it on the first day. It's a lovely road, costs around 11 euros and saved me about an hour on the old N138. Read more
"the trek (often getting lost) around the industrial end of Rouen is a thing of the past?"
You'll be lucky! I'd just like it to be the same route signposted twice in a row - mind you it's a lot better than it used to be.
Phil
Hi All, I have just purcahsed a Calibra and have a few Q's:
1, the Oil level low light is on in the dash warning light display. Have checked the oil level and was fine and topped up to max level but the light is still on? however looking under the car there does appear to be a very slight leak.
2, the front brake pad indicator light always comes on in the dash warning lights. Again there seems to be plenty of depth left on the front pads.
3,Resonating noise coming from the passanger door area during acceleration ( i think it MIGHT be the window or window mechanism/runners??)
4, I have switches in the car for both A/C and Heated Seats but no obvious fitment of a/c under bonnet and button doesn't illuminate when pressed and the seats don't heat up! Is it possible vauxhall fitted the buttons regardless of weather the options were spec'ed or not? ie. didn't use blanking plates for option switches like other manufacturers?
Are any of the above common problems?
Any suggestions or advice VERY MUCH appreciated.
many thanks in advance for any help folks
fraz
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The dash is made up of many component parts. All those switches are in minor smaller sections of the dash that can be removed independently of the main structure as anyone who has tried to replace the pea bulb behind the heater sliders will know to their cost! So it is unlikely to be a complete new dash.
From todays Guardian - its nice to know where your tax monies are going. Motoring link is cost of taxis from Heathrow to London Central.
tinyurl.com/bs334
Not paying much tax at present thank the Lord : Phil I Read more
I wonder what the auditor's and the Minister's expense accounts look lile though ....
can anybody tell me if my june 2004 kangoo speakers are covered by the 3 year/60000 mile warranty? one isnt working and the other crackles if its to loud.thanks Read more
Yes indeedy they are.
I have been considering getting my cars interior re-trimmed in leather and at the same time thought, why not get rid of the useless lap belt in the middle rear seat? Having asked two people who should know, I have a yes you can and a no you can't.
What is the legal requirement? The car is a Toyota Celica GT-Four so the middle rear seat is totally unusable by anyone over 3'6" in any case.
TIA.
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if now that your seat in the back after the trim is still like two main seats and an occassional one in the middle? then it should have failed the mot
Help! The glass on my son's Bora appears to have detached itself from its holder. The car has electric windows. I have removed the door panel and been confronted with a metal membrane. Removed the bolts holding it to the door frame but I can't get the actual membrane to come out so I can reattach the glass. I can't find any more bolts, it moves sideways and up and down, but won't actally come out. Any clues please.
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Thanks for the info and advice. Will scratch my head a bit more and give it a go. Thanks again
A friend has had a Seat Arosa Sport from new about five years ago. He had the exhaust system replaced by a tyres & exhaust place, following which there were strange noises. He took it back and the response was "Must be something wrong with the engine".
The car failed its MOT on exhaust emissions, following which it was taken to a main dealer for a service and diagnosis of the problem. The dealer determined that not only had the wrong exhaust system been fitted but to make it fit the idiots had cut through the lambda sensor, hence the emissions test failure.
Next step is to present the tyres & exhaust place with the evidence, including photographs of the correct components and configuration. I'll let you know what happens.
You can't be too careful, can you? Read more
I think it would worth him sending copies of the photo's plus the dealers invoice to the exhaust centre's head office. If it's a large chain I'd be surprised if they refused to pay up.
I've stopped using fast-fit places, they're just all so terrible, and the exhausts they supply are never a patch on the OEM one. The last exhaust I had to buy was the back box for my wife's Clio. The Renault dealer quoted more or less the same price as the fast fit places, and it was as good (and as quiet) as new when done.
Have just bought a 1997 Micra with CVT (77k miles). I am thinking of having the CVT fluid changed, (last changed in 2001). Does anyone know a cheap and reliable garage in Glasgow? Anyone has any experience with this type of car/what else to change etc? Is the oil change interval every 12 months? Thanks in advance. Read more
£58 is very cheap for this job.
What is required is:
About a gallon of Dexron ATF
A new strainer
A new pan gasket
About 40-50minutes to remove the oil pan, clean it out. Clean gasket off mating face. Remove strainer. Then install new parts and refill with the ATF. Run engine 'till hot and check level.
If they can do that for £58 then that's cheap!
I was noticing an advert in VW's "Incredible, but true" series which told me that the price of the cheapest Golf Plus was less than that of the cheapest Ford C-Max.
I checked and discovered that this was indeed true - but that the cheapest Golf Plus had a 0-60 time of 16.0 seconds - slower than any model that Ford sells in this country. In other words, the answer to the question "How do they sell them so cheap?" is "They put a pretty powerless engine in them." The conclusion I drew was that the more powerful an engine is, the more it costs to manufacture it.
Hence my question: Is this invariably true? And if so, why does it cost more (apparently significantly more) to manufacture a more powerful engine? The difference in cost of materials between, say a 1.4 engine and a 1.6 engine, must surely be negligible. Or is it that more powerful engines are inevitably so much more complex? Read more
The engines that i imagine would cost more (and somebody who
knows what they're talking about may like to confirm or otherwise
this) are turbo diesels which must cost more to produce slightly
down to the increased number of bits and the return of
the investment in the recent advances. Whether they're a £1,000 more
is another thing.
I have been told by someone who would know that diesel engines do indeed cost more to produce than petrols. The manufacturers pass some of this additional cost on to the customer in higher prices but not all - the difference in cost to produce is greater than £1,000.


I had a V6 a few years back that kindly munched its way through tyres like they where 50p each, but even back then when they were brand new with these sensor things i had no trouble finding a tyre place that sorted the sensors out. Only time i had trouble was when one of the metal dust caps had corroaded and was stuck on the valve and they tried their best not to break the valve but did so.
£187+vat each for the tyres is a bit steep also, i think i roughly paid about £280 for a pair all in inc vat, but I would expect them to be a bit cheaper now as they are quite common.