Dear all,

I saw a Mondeo Y reg, 2.0 TDDi LX, wiht full main dealer service history (last service Feb 06), and a good colour (seal grey), with nearly new Pirelli tyres, for £2995, and offered the dealer £2500 straight off. He said £2650, with a new MOT, an extra £100 for a 6 month warranty.

Firstly, is £2650 a reasonable price, and secondly, is the warranty worth having, as I understand that dealers now legally have to provide a warranty for 6 months (sort of!).

Also, I've got a W reg Focus TDi with 140,000 miles on the clock, again with full service history good condition, nothing wrong with it, and p/x would be so much easier, but what 'cost to change' should I expect?


Any feedback very much appreciated.... Read more

It's a 1997 Vauxhall Omega Elite 3.0 Saloon

The Climate Control system produces no heat in any mode, auto or manual. All the blower fans can be heard working, the digital displays and switch illuminations all work . . . but no heat from the vents.

Your guidance, as always, very much appreciated. Thanks. Read more

My local rag has today a report on a driver who had been banned from driving 17 times, had been caught 3 times for drink driving, had 16 convictions for driving without insurance, 5 for TWOC'ing, and 4 for vehicle theft apart from that he was as pure as the driven snow.

He has now been banned again and sent down for 20 months.

His latest conviction was as the resultof an accident in which he (the offender ) thought he had killed a woman.

How can we stop these people driving? Read more

(FROM AOL FRONT PAGE)

Woman's Reckless Driving 'Beggars Belief'


A driver was fined £200 after she was caught on police video cameras using both hands to put on her make-up while driving at 32mph.

Donna Maddock, 22, from Mold in north Wales, was pictured with both hands off the steering wheel putting on her eye make-up.

Magistrates in Pwlhelli fined Ms Maddock £200 plus £55 costs after she pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving. She was also given six points on her licence.

A spokeswoman for North Wales Police said the incident "beggars belief".

She said: "A car is a dangerous lump of metal in the wrong hands.

"You need to be in control at all times and Miss Maddock's actions beggars belief."

Ms Maddock was pictured on police video cameras holding a compact mirror and an eye brush while driving along the A499 in Pwllheli in north Wales.

According to the Arrive Alive road safety organisation, based in north Wales, 41 people were injured or killed on the A499 between 2001 and 2003.

Roger Vincent, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, branded Ms Maddock "irresponsible".

He said: "It is frightening to think what could have happened as she was driving along without her hands on the wheel particularly as this is such an accident blackspot."

In other cases, a woman was fined £60 for holding an apple while driving, while a man was fined £30 for eating a sausage roll while waiting at a junction, the Evening Standard reported.

Are police too hard on drivers?
votes
Yes 1049 29%
No 2389 67%
Don't know 145 4%

Total Votes: 3583


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I have not seen an explanation in the Backroom to explain my own feelings of irritation at this stupid practice and after much thought have realised why it is so annoying to me.

The explanation is that it is blatant law-breaking.

If one drives at 35 mph in a built-up area, or 80 on a motorway, or is somewhat over the drink-drive limit, or is uninsured, then these factors are not immediately obvious to the casual bystander. Indeed excess speed has to be really over the top before it becomes noticeable to the average pedestrian and how can an outsider know if the driver is uninsured?

Fog lights are the equivalent of sticking two fingers up at everyone that the car passes by and that is what gets my personal goat.

All the usual disclaimers apply, namely I am not condoning drink-driving etc.

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