Earlier in the week I mentioned that I'd bought 4 tyres for the 6 from Costco last year for £250. I checked my accounts at home this weekend and the details are as follows :
4 Michelin Primacy Pilote 205/55 R 16 @ £65.50 = £262. These were the same size and ratings as those they replaced.

And at the risk of boring everyone ad nauseam, a further postscript to my post last year about invented repairs by an Audi dealership. To cut a long story short, the Audi dealer advised that the LAMBDA sensors, amongst other things, required replacement because they were no longer functioning. Total estimate to carry out all their "advisory" work £956 plus VAT. I didn't believe them but without the expert knowledge available here I'd probably just have paid up in ignorance.

I had the A6 MOTd today - a year later - and the LAMBDA sensor reading was 1.01 in a permitted range of 0.97 to 1.03. I specifically mentioned the dealer's claims to the tester. He told me that if the LAMBDA sensors weren't working not only would he not be able to get a reading but the car would be driving like a dog too.

I never went back to the rotten Audi franchise in the deleted - {naming their location is the same as naming the dealership, thus naming and shaming, hence the deletion - DD} after that episode and when I do come to change it'll be for a Japanese car. So if Audi ever wonder - which I very much doubt - why I never bought another car from them after buying nothing but Audi for about 15 years, there's your answer. Still feel bitter today about them trying to exploit my loyalty and ignorance to defraud me. Read more

Am about to change the oil & filter on my c220cdi - is it done hot or cold or doesn't it matter?

{subject header changed from "Quick question?" to make less vague. DD} Read more

I received a reply from Cheshire Police (reproduced below) regarding LHD blind spots which provoked quite a few interesting comments (see LHD side swipe). What I would like to know is: just when is it safe to overtake a LHD? From what I have heard from various contributors to this column the answer to that question is probably 'hardly ever' as these vehicles seem to be totally unpredictable in many cases.
So; what do we do? Well, I would advise overtaking in the third lane in ALL instances. Never mind if you cause a brief interruption in the traffic flow, you may be saving your own life and also the possibility of a major motorway pile-up.




I am responding to your e-mail to our force web site in relation to your sons unfortunate collision. Thankfully he escaped serious injury.

We now have many foreign registered goods vehicles using our motorway system, which have their drivers positioned to the nearside. This restricts the view of the driver to the front offside corner of their vehicle.

I do not know what action we as a service can take to prevent this type of collision occurring as some responsibility has to lie with, usually, the driver of a saloon car overtaking the goods vehicle in lane two. The driver of the car should anticipate that the goods vehicle will soon need to change lanes from lane one to two as it approaches a slower moving vehicle ahead. Many drivers do not anticipate this manoeuvre and hence they become involved in a collision.

Better education of all drivers who use our motorways is needed to prevent this type of collision, which is far less common than other collisions, such as 'nose to tail' shunts caused by people driving too close.


Yours Sincerely,

R.J.Barnes
Inspector Road Policing Unit
russell.barnes'at'cheshire.pnn.police.uk


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Hi

A few days ago i took my VW golf into a tyre place and had the two front tyres replaced and the wheels were supposedly balanced as part of the price, however now when i go over 70 ish miles an hour i get vibration through the steering wheel, which to me indicates the two front wheels are out of balance.
Before i go back and complain and they try to charge me to get them balanced because of ( Fill in excuse here )any ideas of what to tell them? And am i mad or have they not done their job properly.

Cheers guys Read more

I have been looking to change my car, either for a new or nearly new one, over the last few weeks. I cannot believe the indifference and complacency around - if I was a manufacturer finding sales below par, I'd be fuming to know the quality of representation that is out there.

One main Seat agent who gave me a test drive last Saturday has not phoned me to confirm my p/ex price; the salesperson did not know her product or how to demonstrate/sell it and obviously can't be bothered. An internet seller I have applied to over the web is not prepared to honour its advertised price; it claimed a listed price to be for a new unregistered car, but up to tonight they are still quoting these as dealer supplied cars but in reality they would only do as pre-registered vehicles, and collected from 200+ miles away. Each time I've had to phone them, as they've not return calls they promised to make.

I've now sold my car privately and the Seat dealer has lost my business - they wouldn't have made a much easier sale. It's put me off the brand somewhat.

Are there still good garages about, competitive but professional with a respect for a customer?

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