April 2006
Are there any currently qualified driving instructors viewing this excellent site? If so do you attempt to instruct your pupils in the art of signalling to inform other road users of their intentions?
I ask because I am increasingly coming across drivers who appear to think that they are the sole users of the road; namely, failure to use direction indicators even when turning right across oncoming traffic,failure to make proper (or any) use of headlights in poor visibility or at night and complete disregard for convention when using roundabouts. There have always been the odd madman and silly old flatcap to contend with but I am seeing far more sloppy driving than I used to. Instructing novices should entail more than the mechanics of car control. If you don't already, why not suggest to your learners that they read the Highway Code once a year?
That little rant has done me good after a very hectic day. ;-)) Read more
Bit of a sticky situation that my brother's in. In two weeks he's going to be heading out to Hungary for 12 months to work there. In the UK he has a Renault Megane which he's been paying off, I think he's about 1/3 of the way through the payments.
Obviously, he can't take the car with him and he doesn't want to mothball it and keep paying. The finance company have offered him a settlement figure (circa 5 grand), which he doesn't have the spare cash to pay off in one go.
He could if he sold the car, but since it technically belongs to the finance company, he can't sell it...
Has anyone got any suggestions for what he can do in this situation? The finance company is Black Horse.
Cheers,
David. Read more
What's the car worth?
(Or failing that, how old is it, mileage, spec, condition, etc.?)
How much deposit did he pay? Has he got a PCP outstanding? What's the monthly payment excluding any insurance, etc.? Over how many months?
my dad had a little crash.. not his fault and not much damage fortunatly! but it damage a brake pipe. from the ABS unit to the rear brake. being a bit of a DIY man, hes replaced the pipe and manually bled the brakes.
now they stop the car fairly good, to a dead stop, but definatly feel spongey when compared with before. is there a method you have to follow to bleed the ABS pump?
haynes manual is on its way from ebay lol! Read more
I have always bleed abs systems just like non abs systems in the usual way, starting with the wheel furthest away from the master reservoir. Never had a problem with an Easibleed power bled system. I use to have terrible trouble as a lad bleeding the textbook way with the old jam jar etc. A VW mechanic told me that on the upstoke the system will suck in air via the nipple threads. I thought it odd, but when I tried next, it was true. If doing it manual the technique is...
open nipple
peddle down
close nipple
peddle up
open nipple
peddle down
close nipple etc.
I went over to Easibleed 15 years ago as it allowed me to do a solo job. Works perfectly.
I have a 2001 (Y) BMW 530I Touring, owned from new. In the last 15 months I have occasional flat battery trouble. I replaced the original battery in August 2005 to a high quality Bosch battery. I had to jump start this in March 2006 and had to call the AA last week when it failed in town. The battery is being recharged properly and there is no drain occurring (I have had this checked both by a BMW dealer and an independent).
The problem appears to be the nature of the cars use (high volume short journeys) and the manual indicates that in this scenario the battery should be periodically recharged. My questions are:-
1 I assume I can purchase a battery recharger from Halfords (any product recommendations?)
2 The battery does not have to be removed for this?
3 The engine must be switched off?
4 Can I recharge the battery through the connectors in the engine bay or should I recharge the battery directly in the boot?
5 How long does it take to fully charge the battery.
Apologies for the simple questions, but I have no expertise under the bonnet (check oil / change washer fluid / jump starts is as far as it goes).
Thanks Read more
How far is it to the supermarket, DIY shops, and dump. Regards Peter
With the mad rush for an Easter getaway, lets speculate where the biggest jam will be and on which day.
I suggest the M5 on Good Friday.
Where do you think?
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
Read more
I suspect the winner was the M6 from Junction 33 down about 5pm this afternoon>>
But that's not just sheer volume of traffic - it's caused by an accident/incident.
Mind you it happened, fortunately, after my younger offspring had got to work near Preston. He comes off at junction 31 after joining at Junction 29..:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Am I the only one who sat through this?. Just in case I am, think Max Power meets Saturday morning kids TV show, only alot more dangerous. Their "star in a fur covered car" came very close to losing her right hand when her car flipped over and she instinctively reached out to brace herself and nearly got it caught between the A pillar and the road. Could have been very nasty.
Top Gear must be pleased as they now look like a serious motoring programme. Read more
Caught it whilst Channel Hopping....
Same here. The eye candy was worth watching.
i have all of the wishbones , axle, subrame ,brackets etc to refurbish
i will be getting them sandblasted and then i could either pain them with something like por15 or get it all powder coated
anyone have any expericance of powder coated bits and a few winters use? the only experaince i have is seeing it peel off springs and arb's i imagine once its chiped thats it as soon as water gets in??
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yeah i already have 2 cars with sandblasted and por15'd bits...seems pretty good but i only did it late last summer
Hi
I bought a Micra Sport+ back in Feb and on slow bends and bumps could hear a creaking sound from the rear of the car. It stopped doing this for about a month, so i thought it had fixed itself but it has since returned.
took it down to the nissan dealer and they thought it was caused by mis-aligned panels. before they start messing about trying to find which panels might be causing it, i was hoping someone could tell me if it is reasonable that this could be the problem or might have any other suggestions?
Cheers Read more
Weather doesn't seem to make any difference - been quite wet recently and still does it. It doesn't really sound like it is coming from underneath
My friend has a corsa (y reg)1.0. The oil light came on today whilst she went shopping and a man came over and took the lid off and topped it up with oil for her, he said there looks like theres water in the oil. The oil light now stays on all the time. Anyone have any ideas??????
Many thanks Read more
The aa are on their way. Many thanks for all your help. They will have a look at it when they pick it up.
Thanks again
A question for all you young lads or for the insurance experts
My nearly 19 year old son is changing his car from the ancient VW Golf he had to practise in. He is looking at a 7 or 8 year old VW Polo - likely a 1.4 (please no comments about the car - that's his choice).
He is already planning ideas on all the things he wants to do to it. What I want some idea on is what effect these are likely to have on the insurance, he has to tell them the insurance is in my name with him as the main driver.
Thye first ones he has come up with are
1 Alloy Wheels
2 Upping the stereo including large bass in the boot
3 Changing the front seats for recaros or similar
4 Changing the back seats for 2 singles so that he can hear the stereo better!
Doubtless there will be more but that's what he's mentioned so far. Has anyone any idea what each of them will do to his insurance?
thanks Read more
Not entirely sure on the accuracy but this is how i understood it. Dad has company car therefore the insurance on that is not an issue, I learnt and drove for 2 years after passing my test on the policy that my brother now has. I was told that if i bent it, it was supposedly protected but the actual premium would rise despite this. Luckily I have so far not needed to make a claim (hastily grabs at something wooden!!!). Younger brother despite his chavish looks and mods is actually a fairly competent young driver, better than i was and i didnt do any modifications. True you can here him coming half a mile away but that just means you know how long it is going to take him to get home!! The fact that the new car is coming out of his hard earned wages will probably mean he will be fairly careful with it, plus the bit of sibling rivalry as to who can keep points of their licence the longest!
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Temporarily not a student, where did the time go???
Browse
Do not always blame the pupil. Recently I have seen 2 different driving instructors setting bad examples to other road users. On both occassions neither had a pupil in the car.
The first one was driving fast along a twisty country road with a 40 mph speed limit in dense fog with no lights on at all.
The second had cleared 2 inches of snow off the windscreen to make a large pile on the bonnet that was partly obstructing his forward vision.
So with instructors like these around to set "good" examples, why do we expect others to perfect.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.