November 2005
On my way home from work last night a car pulled out in front of me from a side-road forcing me to brake hard...and then proceeded to travel at 20 mph. After pulling my hair out for a minute or two I pulled up alongside the driver at a roundabout and saw it was a very elderly gentleman perhaps about 85.
Ok I know people make mistakes and this sort of thing happens all the time with all ages but I doubt he even realised he had nearly caused an accident.
Surely older drivers should know when to call it quits, both my grandfathers gave up driving in their late 60's and this was 25 years ago when there was a lot less traffic on the roads.
Perhaps it is time for a compulsory maximum age limit - 80 perhaps and then it is "game over".....what do you think?
(Dons tin helmet....) Read more
Yes the umpteenth running of the world famous London to Brighton classic car rally is held today.
Isn't it time though they changed the entry rules though?
Cars must be pre 1905 in order to qualify. Maybe if the had a rolling 100 year minimum it would create more interest?
I'm sure there's lots of 1905-1910 onwards classics that would love to compete in forthcoming years?
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Just think. In around 100 years' time people will be turning out to watch a possee of Golf, Mondeo, Focus (sublime saloon in gold the highlight), Megane, Espace, Scenic, Astra, Vectra et al models slowing trundling along from the capital to the coast.
No doubt there will be the rare AR and Fiat owners busy at the roadside trying to cure electrical faults during the rally...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Hi all - back again.
I recently bought an 'N' reg BMW 316 - 1.6 Saloon. The car runs fine but sometimes has a problem starting. When i turn the key the car just has a whirring noise and doesnt start the engine. I then turn the ey back and try again until it starts - so its happening quite a bit.
I'm a novice when it comes to all this and just wondered what everyone thought it could be. The car wasnt moved for about a month so maybe battery? Spark Plug? any help appreciated.
Thanks
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hi - if i dont get this sorted now how long do you think it will take to be totally out of order? what other affects could this have on other parts.
Thanks
Morning All,
Yesterday whilst sitting in my car in the local supermarket carpark, a car went into the back of mine. No injuries, but the damage to my Vectra and the other party's Mondeo was considerable. The other party were an elderly couple.
The Mondeo was brand new they had only had it two days and it was an automatic, the first that the man had driven. He said he was forced into getting an auto because of ankle problems. He admitted that he had accidentally touched the throttle rather than the brake. (Okay easy mistake to make)
My point is that there seems to be a misconception that driving an auto requires less skill than a manual and that if you can drive manual then naturally one can drive an auto without much difficulty. Having driven both types I think that there should be some additional training/instruction given when somebody wants to drive an automatic.
Thankfully because of the low speeds involved nobody was hurt, but it does make you think. Any views on this. Read more
I occasionally drive an automatic and have no trouble adjusting to it. However, I can't get used to left foot breaking, it just feels awkward so I don't do it.
I was on the northbound M40 on Friday lunchtime in fairly light traffic. Suddenly the Discovery in front skidded to a halt(and I mean skidded - no ABS?) and swerved into next lane and all traffic came to a stop; after a couple of seconds everything moved off.
The reason? An old VW camper van was on fire on the southbound carriageway. It had obviously just happened as there were no police and not even a tailback on that carriageway.
Now I appreciate that Discovery driver was braking to avoid the car in front and the concertina effect due to reaction times had taken place, also that it is human nature to look at such incidents. However it seems to me that initially someone must have braked to get a better look at the van on fire.
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It's human nature to want a quick look. I feel short changed if I have been held up for 30 mins and don't get a quick peep.
OK it won't start. I know some cars don't like being started just to move them from one side of the drive to the other, but we have builders in at the moment and I had to move the vehicle from cold two days in a row without it having being used in the meantime. Now when I turn her over she won't start. It sounds like the stater motor is not turning the engine - I don'y know (not mechanical). If the cause is the two cold starts - how do you cure it? Read more
Sounds like your battery has seen better days,is low on charge and not getting any driving to recharge it.Either a new battery is needed or a battery charger.Or jump start and give it a good drive.
I have a Audi A6 quattro (1999)
I had outer front CV boots replaced because they were split.
When accelarating, I hear a knocking noise when I turn right only.
Does this sound like the inner CV joint needs attention also (like greasing up) or replacing?
Or do I go back to the garage and ask them to look at the outer CV joint?
Surely they would have looked at this when they replaced the outer boots?
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Along similar lines, at the Vauxhall dealership where I worked, if the boot was cracked, but not fully split open, we would advise that the boot were changed. If, however, the crack had developed into a split, with the possibility of grease leakage, and grit ingress, we would recommend that both a new boot and a new joint were fitted in one operation, to save the customer the labour time cost and hassle of having to do the job again if a knock developed.
Number_Cruncher
On the local stations up here, there is an advert for the above with a voice over from one of the guys from Auf Weidersen and Inspector Morse.
Anyway, it is advertising their free chip repair, as soon as you have a chip take it in and get it repaired. I am sure my insurance windscreen cover gives me free chip repair.
First question, probably a bit obvious, but I take it this chip repair is now turning into big business, especially if they are getting money off ins companies for it? I assume therefore that modern screens are much more stronger than older ones and therefore less breakage claims?
Second question. In the advert it states (not word for word) that a windscreen is part of the cars structural strength and, if it is chipped or cracked, it could affect the airbag activation!!!
How do they work this out? And how are they allowed to scaremonger like this on a radio advert? Read more
Agreed - from my experiences it is VITAL to notify your insurer first - and they will arrange fixing via their 'approved' repairer. Presumably they will have some sort of deal arranged and it would be simpler if anything went wrong. In our cases, they've sent a mobile repairer round to the house - all very straightforward.
I came across a franchised repairer who'd set up his kit on a supermarket car park. He seemed a very competent bloke and, after a careful inspection of my son's windscreen chip, was honest enough to say that a repair was not necessary in his case. He said that his work would be covered by an insurer, but again I wouldn't advise going ahead without first getting approval from the insurer. In this case it would mean resisting the temptation to get it sorted 'on the spot', but going home and reading through the policy.
on the 31st of oct I found a reminder to tax a car for 1st oct,oops been running a month without tax disc,however I managed to tax it online at 11.30pm having used the 14 days grace and a bit more taxing it from the 1st oct.does the automatic fine come in to force on the first day of the next month ,in this case november and would the fact that no new style log book/reg document has been issued for this motor have any bearing on this? Read more
thanks for the replys ,I hoped this would be the case.
having searched dvla site there is provision for 14 days grace but only if vehicle is kept of the road see www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/unlicensed.htm under heading what if I do not license or declare sorn ,it would not have helped me in this instance. phew half an hour to spare ,good job I found the reminder
The offside rear tyre (original) of my 32k Toledo TDi has developed a slow puncture (goes from 38 to 30 PSI in a week). With 4mm of tread remaining, it is uneconomical to repair it and I have therefore decided to replace it prior to driving to Cologne at the end of the month.
My question is this - my front tyres both have 5.5mm of tread at present. Should I switch the fronts to the rear and replace the fronts, or just replace the rear tyres and accept that the fronts will need replacing in the next 4k miles or so? I have never switched tyres front to back before.
PS current tyres are Pirelli P6000 - not a favourite choice I realise, but they seem to give a reasonably comfortable ride and are well priced in comparison with Michellins. They also last 18 - 20k miles on the front. Read more
RF - are you, by any chance, from Norfolk?
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...............or every two years between the ages of 17 and 29 ;)