April 2006
Was pondering this on the way to work this morning (radio was boring me!).
Are the likes of Saab/Volvo and Nissan less reliable than they were before being swallowed up by the big fish? They have always been a challenger brand and stood for quality and reliability and went on forever. Doesnt seem the case now. Am I wrong? Read more
Can I put both Castrol SLX 0W30 Longlife oil (green) and 0W30 Longtec (brown) in my 2002 model A4 TDI which operates on a loglife service interval. It looks like the same stuff apart from being a diffrent colour. Read more
many thanks
869 miles in a week: rental Mustang Convertible.
Arrived after 99 days of rain. Yup, woke on Easter Sunday to the 100th! Stopped at 11:00a.m., tho. Guy at Hertz couldn't see why I wanted a convertible, and pressed me to take a Nissan 350z. If I hadn't read the weather forecast I might have been tempted!
Drove down Route 1 (including 17 mile drive) in bright sunshine. Magic journey; the sign the says "Hill and curves for the next 67 miles" doesn't fib!
Then up through Fresno (past James Dean Memorial junction) and on (through 2feet of snow either side of the road) to Yosemite. Driving through the valley with the top down was a magical experience! We then stayed in Oakland and took the ferry into the city from Larkspur, finishing off by driving over the Oakland Bay bridge in Friday Rush hour.
The car? ideal for the job in hand. Yep, "big brother" with the V8 would have been fun. The electric roof was handy (dropped it whilst waiting to pay to go over the bridge) and the view out with it down was much improved... the 'C' pillars are amazingly thick hood up. Car really screamed on kickdown, 5,500 rpm, but picked up to join the Freeway. Road surfaces produced some amazing potholes which I managed to avoid. SWMBO had a drive too, but wasn't comfy with the auto box.
Any regrets? Yup, that we didn't go for a fortnight. Icing on the cake for the holiday; got upgraded SFO to Toronto on return leg as it was SWMBO's birthday. Thanks to the guy who recommended Frommers. Excellent guide book steered us to perfect well priced hotels and good value restaurants. If anyone's doing the trip later in the year, email me for up to date advice.
Tim{P} Read more
Sounds great, I had a similar trip in a Mustang thru Yosemite in January a couple of years ago. Was fabulous!
Hello,
My wife drives the old style 'A' MB.
The car was taken by MB today and returned with it service book duly stamped for the ''A'' service.
What concerns me that the MB main dealer did not use Mobil 1 as stipulated in their 'warranty policy statement' but used another brand of Mobil.
when I phoned to book the car for her first service, for the money and becuase the car is under warranty, i automatically assumed it would be Mobil1 and nothing less.
Anyone help? Read more
Good idea - will email on Monday as I expect to spend at least 15 hours on the net!!
Thanks again - I will follow through but have a lot on my plate so small chance may not!
:-)
Hi,
Almera diesel 2000-5 model.
Know they look a bit dull but are the a good long term used buy?
Also does anyone know is the engine has a chain-cam or belt?
Cheers, IB
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IIRC the 2.2 uses a chain.
In the autumn I plan to change my car, SWHNMAE will take on my Renault Megane dCi since she uses it more than I do and has grown attached to it. Also it's only done 17K and seems too young to sell on. So I will be looking at a straight purchase with nothing to trade in.
My requirements are:
1. I have generally owned Renaults and VW's and have had good service from both makes. However I might consider something different since it will still leave me with two Renaults and a VW, I won't feel a traitor. But I am not a badge snob.
2. I only do about 9K a year but I like diesels.
3. Must have leather interior since the dog often gets on the seats and leaves mud around. Easier to clean etc.
4. Must be either a hatchback or estate.
5. Must be able to cruise at 80 mph with ease. (in France, not UK Mr.Officer). Maybe a six speed box would be useful.
6. Must have good seats since three times a year I do 650 miles a day when visiting family in France.
7. I am only interested in buying new or ex demo and keep for two years and 18K miles.
8. I don't like flash cars, I like to waft along discretely and in comfort.
So far my mind is thinking:
Laguna 2.0 dCi either hatchback or Tourer
Megane 2.0 dCi
Passat Tdi
Golf 2.0 Tdi
Accord or Civic 2.2
Focus or C-Max TDCi
Primera 2.2(not a fan of the styling but I liked the way it drove)
What else could I look at? There must be lots of cars I've not thought of.
Thank you.
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Don't understand: Why is my wife getting your old Renault?(!)
Every so often you see something that makes you smile for the rest of the day.
Picture the scene, silver Vauhall Astra being driven at 30 on a road that you could do 40 on were it not for the 30 speed limit. Fair enough.
Enter the picture a Toyota Landcruiser Amazon, determined to make the Astra go faster, mainly by driving 18 inches from its bumper.
Imagine my laughter at the traffic lights 500 yards later when the door of the Astra opens and a very annoyed plain clothes policeman gets out waving his badge and and proceeds to read the driver of the Toyota the riot act. Not sure if he gave a ticket as I drove off whilst the dressing down was still in progress.
And it's a bank holiday weekend coming up!
Lee -- You don\'t sell the steak, you sell the sizzle Read more
Yeah, its a yellow Civic CRX IIRC, theres a few nice cars featured, in earlier episodes he drove a BMW, but switched to SAAB mid way...of course, Jerry is a Porsche fanatic in real life! The DVDs are great, loads of features, just got to wait for series 7 to come out now!
Just for fun, in top gear style. I was wondering what ist he cheapest you guys reckon you could get a decent under 190 year old sports coupe?
And for the hard part, it mustnt! fall apart after a few miles drive! Read more
Calibra's are always cheap.
Neil Kinnock was banned from driving today.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4947284.stm
Just shows some politicians are not beyond the law.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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couldn't he borrow the Deputy Prime Minister's official car, which comes with a driver ?
Hi, i have a 1999 Peugeot 306 Meridain with a CD player in it, for some reason the rear speakers don't work, I've had the car a year and they have never worked, the jack plug is connected and their isn't a setting on the stereo to fade the sound from front to rear, i've included a photo of the stereo.
Can any of guy's help???
i3.tinypic.com/winjtj.jpg Read more
... in fact, come to think of it, the CD option was a boot-mounted autochanger. Is that what you have? - if not, yours must be a replacement. But I would have thought any CD system would be set for 4 speakers.
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It's actually a Joint Fiat/GM unit, unfortunately the unreliable ancillaries like fuel pumps, MAFs etc are supplied by Bosch!