November 2005
We are a company who offer a window tinting service in surrey
On Saturday we had a visit from VOSPA,who i quote are checked on the people fitting window tinting to see if its being done legally.
what they are doing is checking that "tinters" are NOT tinting the drivers and passengers windows on our customers cars as this is deemed illegal and would leave us open to prosecution.
Also if a customer has had this done and has an accident his insurance company could and will wash there hands of any claim with this stuff fitted.
SO BEWARE - ITS ILLEGAL TO FIT IT TO FRONT WINDOWS AND ITS ILLEGAL TO SELL A CAR WITH THE STUFF FITTED AND IT WILL BECOME PART OF THE MOT SOON !The station will refuse to test a car with the tint fitted.
So thats another part of the motor trade thats going to run downhill as more cars now come with it standard and not many people will want the windows just tinted at the rear because it looks so odd.
But i can see the safety benefits
Hopeful none of you will get caught as there enforcing heavy fines if you do break the law. Read more
Having a browse around Goodyears website ealier and I noticed that on the historic dates they mentionted the old Aquatred launched in 1991. Does anyone know if Goodyear still make them and if so are they available in the UK? Much appreciated. Read more
Is it really that long ago!
We had a long weekend in Lodz with mother-in-law this weekend so the car was ungaridged outside her block of flats. As wifey was brushing the snow off it this morning she noticed that both mirrors had been ripped off, metal brackets torn and a million wires hanging out.
I?ve had all day to mull this over so I?m pretty chilled about it now (naturally my first thought was to ring my brothers in England and have them pick some Pole at random, kick his teeth out and break his fingers), but my wife summed up my thoughts by saying "I just want to know if they did it to sell them or they did it because it?s a nice car with British plates".
I suppose I kind of hope they did it to put a meal on some kid?s table, it?s a poor part of the city, large unemployment blah blah but I really think it?s a spite crime and I tend to dwell on things like that a bit more. Ultimately of course, I?m going to replace the mirrors, forget it ever happened and carry on with my happy life (something I hope the perpertrator will dwell upon as he spends the rest of his miserable life scratching in the ground, pecking for food).
So I had an insight into Polish police stations today. I got a nice copper as it happens, he spent an hour and a half with me and wifey in his little office with a traditional old typewriter (bought with his own money) tapping away his report one finger at a time. Of course I know nothing will happen and he admitted as much but it?s illegal to drive without mirrors here so I had to report it. Then it was off to Peugeot to be told that the mirrors are 1,200 zloty each (£200) but I?ve hopefully managed to source some unpainted ones through my well connected wife for about £30 each. We?ll see. Anyway, I thought I?d share that with you and you?d all sympathise...
Oh and to answer another thread, temp sensors on a Peugeot 406 are in the mirrors. Read more
I work in Hammersmith but I live in Ealing. So west London basically, yeah.
Anyway - yeah, if you want me to receive them and send them on that's not a problem. You'll find my e-mail address in my profile.
----
Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
Hi group.
My motive for posting is this: I have to assume I am going to have a battle with a customer service dept and don't want to end up looking very silly.
I will keep it as brief as I can.
3 weeks ago the brakes on my car partially failed (whilst stationary thank goodness). Not being a mechanic of any sort I called out a well established breakdown company and they very kindly put my car on a flatbed truck and drove it to the local branch of a national brake and tyre place. Then staff were friendly and carried out a standard free brake inspection. The next day I was informed a brake hose needed replacing - I asked for a quote and was told the manager would contact me on the Monday. Monday came and I was informed the job couldn't be done in isolation and £570 of work was needed (i.e. change all the brakes - apparently this is a common thing with this establishment!). I said that the car would not be worth repairing in that case. The "manager" said that he knew someone who could dispose of it and he would get in touch. I wanted to do everything properly with regards to the V5 documentation. I heard nothing for a week.
10 days ago I saw my car parked in a residential street (on the highway itself). I thought this was most odd, so grabbed my spare set of keys to check it. It had been cleaned on the inside. I started it up (thinking the brakes must be fixed for it to get there). The brakes appeared to be fixed. Also the wheel alignment had apparently been corrected (it was previously quite bad). So I drove it back home - 0.25 miles - and very sheepishly.
I phoned the establishment. I asked if there had been any progress on the removal - I expected to pay a £25 recycling fee and deal with the documentation etc. I was told they still had the car. Upon mentioning that they didn't all I heard was "umm ummm ummm". I went round to the establishment - after all they still had another key for the car, and as I am on the V5 I am legally responsible for the vehicle in terms of fines, insurance, roadworthiness etc. It was of course not there. I later received several phone calls informing me that the car was unsafe to drive as the brakes had been fixed with "a botch job but I know what I am doing" - apparently half the braking system had been shut off with a clamp.
I phoned head office, who have put me in touch with the regional manager. I did fax them a letter stating I wanted the brakes check by an independent and they would have to pay (well, I can't really afford £195). They have said they will only pay if it shows up discrepancies.
This has now dragged on and on and I am still "sans voiture" - which is becoming painful.
Would you crack open your credit card and take the risk or would you push for them paying and I will reimburse...
...or am I just nuts?
I realise we made a verbal contract to dispose of the vehicle, but this was based on, what I now believe to be shaky ground i.e. I was told it was uneconomical to repair but then all of a sudden it's on the road again. It smacks of me being conned and I wants me car back!
Thanks in advance Read more
I don't understand this at all. You left your car with the garage. Some days later you saw it on the street and drove it home. You have the car then, so why are you now saying that you want the car back?
Surely you didn't take it back to them? I mean, they seem to have told you a bunch of lies (the car is beyond economic repair)when it now seems that it is not.
If you have the car, you are now no worse off than when you started. Take it to another garage and get another free brake check
My neighbours Escort heater fan does not work, we had a look today and it is not the fuse or the 4 position switch so the next plan is to remove the fan, can anyone advise how to remove the fan... bit chilly without it at the moment!!
many thanks Read more
Fans are usually buried deep and a fair bit of dismantling may be needed.A manual is a good idea,try your library for one,main library is best.Leeds central,for example,has two shelves of Haynes,very useful.
Hello all
Well, I fancy a change after months of dull but worthy Peugeot dieselling, and I actually fancy a Mercedes. Not a new one, but something like:
tinyurl.com/8jm5f
What do you think? It's nothing like anything I've ever had before, and part of me would rather like it.
Good points? Huge great engine, leather and stuff, cool in a non-flashy kind of way and capable of being a great motorway sofa.
Bad points? Ruinous fuel consumption, gold paintwork, and plenty of expensive stuff to go wrong and keep me awake at night.
Any thoughts? Fun idea, or a big gold Lexus in waiting? Would you give more than a grand for it?? I'm open to being talked in or out of it... Read more
I don't see why a Merc like this should have more in terms of electronics to go wrong than say, a 10 year old Mondeo. Mercedes equipment levels were fairly stingy 15 years ago and whilst you can expect all the basics to be there (electric windows, air con, central locking, ABS, engine management for the cat) I doubt there's a huge amount else on there.
What would put me off are the chrome arches (slightly illogical, I know, but they suggest to me either that the owner is covering up rust, or aspires to bling, neither of which I would want to be associated with) and the fact that he says he's selling because the kids are growing up so he doesn't need such a big car - even though he's only had it nine months.
It might still be worth a sceptical viewing though, if it's reasonably local to you.
(FWIW the DVLA shows only the date of last V5 issue, e.g., when it was updated into the new format, or when the owner moved house, but the RAC, which does show the date of last owner change, confirms this).
I keep returning to my '02 Omega to find it unlocked on a number of occasions. No good when park in south London.
I thought I was going mad at first and forgetting to lock it. This seems to happen whether I'm at work or at home so it's nothing to do with interference. It's not simply me pressing the unlock button on the keyfob my accident so I've eliminated that as well. The only way I car ensure that it doesn't happen is to manually lock the car with the key.
Presumably it's a fault with the central locking system. There does seem excessive resistance when you press the driver's door lock button down. Any thoughts ?
GP. Read more
Can anyone improve on what I found on the Auto Trader site? I coudn't find much to compare it with.
Apparently this is an import, hence the 2.8 petrol, as opposed to the 2.4.
Audi A6 SE 2.8 Saloon
30 500 miles
Registration X November 2000
Manual gearbox (5 gears)
CD radio (temperamental) 6 CD jukebox
Green/blue Metallic paint (some small repairs needed)
UK spec import
MOT renewed November 2005 - 12 months remaining.
A relative is looking to sell this soon, when the new one comes.
Thanks
H Read more
This particular one was imported.
Having said that I have seen older UK supplied ones with a 2.8L
I've just tried it, and it appears to work for my area.
www.petrolprices.com/ Read more
Wasn't that site posted the other day?
Ignore me - I'm having a bad hair day!
www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/car-tree-p1.php
{Sorry Pugugly. Link made non clickable as per all video clips. Copy and paste into your usual web browser URL bar to view. File size approx 400KB - DD} Read more
It was obvious from his reaction he thought the tree wasn't going to protect him. I am surprised it held too actually!
great vid.
Browse
My ex-Japan Mitsubishi Galant Estate has light tint on the windscreen and front side windows, but 'privacy glass' behind that. Looking at the New Zealand regulations, I was interested to see that only the windscreen has to have 70% Visible Light Transmission. All the other glass can be only 35%. Japan obviously has similar rules to the UK on front side windows. NZ will catch up with this rule some time, I suppose.