June 2006
on monday i move to NZ with my wife and 2 kids. I need to buy a good sized 2nd hand estate/MPV. During my last trip saw loads of very reasonable examples of the following:
toyota camry
subaru legacy
toyota avensis
honda CRV
HJ's camry summary looked pretty good - very little wrong with it.
any thoughts? Read more
iv got this old atco standard mower it started for about 5mins and then it stoped and dose not start up agine? its a handle start.
dose any one have any ideas? Read more
thanks for all the info. i will see if i can get it started this weekend
We all know that tyre pressures should be checked when tyres are cold, but I would like to know how long it takes for my tyres to cool down after a 50 mile motorway run (175/70R13 tyres on a Honda Civic)
Any ideas?
Many thanks,
Ed. Read more
"So to raise the pressure by 20% .."
I am well aware of the gas laws, but am still rather surprised by how much my tyre pressure varies with changes in the ambient temperature (i.e. 'cold' tyres). After setting them during a cold spell, the pressure can rise by 2 psi when the weather warms up.
Greetings one and all.
I am soon to be moving to the middle of nowhere and am considering producing my own bio fuel through veg oil etc.
I have a renault clio DCi 65, anyone know if there are any problems with conversion of the car? Any advice would be appreciated.
Read more
Check this out and have a browse round the rest of the site:
www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?...6
Even if you did decide to try it in your Clio, it would be advisable to use the best quality biodiesel you can find, made to the EU standard. If making it yourself, can you guarantee it is top quality stuff and thoroughly washed and dried?
Personally I would not want to risk it in a CR engine, until more is known about compatibility. I agree with Greg, if you want to make your own fuel, buy an old pre- CR or PD car, so if it goes wrong it won't cost thousands to repair.
It seems like not many months ago I came on here asking for advice about choosing some grippy day-to-day tyres for my Volvo S60. I settled on Goodyear Eagles to replace the Pirelli P6000's I have had both on the Volvo and my previous Mondeo estate.
Well, the Goodyears were certainly very grippy - much much better than the P6000's which was what I wanted. But after 10,000 miles they are knackered and on the legal limit.
Compared to 25,000 I got on the P6000's this looks dreadful.
I have always prefered traction to wear as I feel that if I am less likely to loose control of the car (or it's place on the road) for the sake of a few quid replacing tyres sooner, then that seems obviously sensible.
But having to replace them after such short mileage makes me look like I must drive like a lunatic to our finance director and I am looking for a compromise.
I have read a few times in the Honest John section of the newspaper that Michelin Primacy are good and have the added advantage of being quiet.
Did I read this correctly? I am sure there was a question in the paper about this in the past month or so. Normally I clip out articles like this, but I had not expected to have to buy new tyres so soon so did not think about it this time!!!
The size is 205/55 ZR16 if that makes any difference.
Your help is appreciated!
Cheers! Read more
Good point Peter. It does have traction and stability control but I am not certain that they kick in immediately enough (on a country lane for example) to help keep me safe - if I hit a patch of diesel or slippery road for example.
The car is diesel and has a lot of grunt and I expect it is the high torque that doesn't help things as I tend to accelerate to cruising speed quite quickly.
I put 30% of the problem down to my driving style.
With the P6000's though I never felt as confident as I have with the Goodyears.
Hello
Havs anyone had there Astra (or any other car) converted to LPG.
If so, would should I look out for?
I have a quote of about £1900 to do the work. This is reasonable?
Thank in advance Read more
Cushed,,,,,,,I have asked a few "experts" and they seem to think that a 30%mix is fine as it would pass as "bio fuel".its only the dyed agricultural diesel that will get you in trouble??
Mrs P's car was hit by a juggernaut yesterday - who also failed to stop. Anyway, she reported it last night and was of course presented with a producer (HORT2 - requirement to produce driving docs).
The paperwork doesn't say what the deadline is. Can anyonelet me know? Also, is it ok for me to attend the police station with the form and her documents, or does it have to be her?
TIA Read more
If nothing else you can mention the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Motorists tend to forget that haulage companies, indeed all companies or businesses etc have a duty of care to the general public, as they do their employees, persons on site, young persons etc etc. I'm not sure off hand whether it would be the HSE or Environmental Health (probably HSE) that would have effective control. Why not contact them and ask?
Bad driving in any company IMO is usually a symptom of lack of safe systems of work.
H
I ordered my new Astra Sport hatch through a broker and have to say the service was very good. On my order form I asked for the CDC40 stereo upgrade, and was charged accordingly.
When the car arrived sevral weeks later, I had the standard CD30 stereo, but had the CDC suspension instead. The supplying dealer had read the options wrong.
I've now been told it is not possible to retro fit the CDC40, and their solution was to offer me a completely new Vauxhall aftermarket head unit and CD autochager. All good then except that it won't work with the separate display on the dash, and it will look like an aftermarket unit and that has probs with thieves etc. Also if I get the aftermarket unit I will lose the trip computer as this is part of the stereo.
So people what are my options? I want my CD autochanger, and everything else that I SHOULD have? Is it really not possible to retro fit the CDC40 (any Vaux experts on here?).
Your thoughts/comments please?
Have to say other than this the service has been great so far, well done discountcarshop! Read more
Why not just phone up the local Vx dealer and ask the question? I'd be very suprised if the upgrade is not possible; I wouldn't want to go the aftermarlet route for the reasons mentioned.
Chaps,
I'm looking for a six seater and like the Honda Stream. There are two 04 reg Streams at my local Honda dealer, a manual with 10k miles for c.£10k and an auto with 15k miles for just under £11k.
Does anybody have any experience of these cars? The CBCB is a bit short. An alternative choice would be the Corolla Verso.
All comments appreciated, good or bad
Thanks Read more
If you look on Honda website there is a 2004 Reg Stream with 10 mls on the clock - over budget but a 2 year old "New Car"
Well, I?ve now done 14k miles in the Accord, so I thought I would share my impressions of it now it?s had time to settle down. Overall, I?m delighted with it, I look forward to driving it, it?s fast, comfortable, and vastly better at twisty back roads than I could have ever imagined.
The interior has shown no signs of deterioration so far ? there are no squeaks or rattles, and for me the seats are fabulous, although my girlfriend doesn?t get on with them so well. They seem to be sized around a taller person, and she finds that the passenger seat doesn?t offer the back support she?d like, and it doesn?t have all the adjustments of the drivers seat. Another minor niggle ? why electric seats without memory? I don?t understand.
The heating system is another niggle for GF. She hates having cold air blown on her. The dual zone climate is brilliant, as she can always have it set to 2-3 degrees hotter than me, but there is no easy way to get it just to blow the air out onto the window, her default setting in all cars. Doesn?t worry me at all, but again shows how cleverer isn?t always better.
On the move, the main impression is enough power for rapid progress to be completely effortless. There?s loads of torque from about 1500 RPM, and almost no turbo lag from about 2000. Coupled with long gearing, back roads need nothing more than an occasional change from third to fourth to make extremely fast progress.
The steering is very nicely weighted, with plenty of feedback and good feel, although with the 17? tyres this goes a bit toward tramlining. I don?t find it a problem but others have. Handling doesn?t appear to be electronically managed either ? it has ESP as standard, but the light has only ever come on twice, both times to correct offside wheel spin when pulling out on a wet road with quite a bit of lock.
Cruising is massively smooth, the ride is a fantastic compromise between limo and hot-hatch, and the handling remains completely solid when empty or fully loaded. Road noise is a little more than expected, but I think that?s the big wheels making a difference, and it?s certainly not annoying on most surfaces. The fantastic stereo tends to cover it anyway, although there is no aux input for an mp3 player, which is annoying. I believe I can have one fitted for £100 if I decide that the 6-disc changer is annoying me.
Brakes are powerful, but need more of a shove than my last car, which I?m still getting used to. Saying that, when I first drove the Xsara I nearly head-butted the steering wheel first time I touched the brakes, so this isn?t really a criticism. I did get a little brake-fade when slowing for a fifth successive roundabout when FULLY loaded, which I was a bit surprised by.
So far, so good. What I wish I?d known about when I bought it was how thirsty it is. Despite several false dawns, I still only get 40 mpg. The engine has loosened up nicely, power reserves are huge, and I don?t drive that gently (or particularly hard), but on cruise on long trips I?d expect more. Feedback from Honda is that this is what they?d expect, and a full check reveals everything is working as they think it should be. For such a large, powerful car, on the face of it 40 mpg is great. But buy a Passat or a Octavia, and you?ll be getting 55 on the motorway. That?s a big difference. Saying that, I got 38 on a long trip fully loaded with hilly sections on A roads and with 2 bikes on the roof, so it?s not particularly sensitive to how hard you drive it or other factors, which is good. On the same trip in my old Xsara I would expect a 30% drop in MPG with bikes and load. And it has now completely stopped burning oil, as predicted.
Honda dealers have been uniformly fantastic so far, whereas I never even got to drive a Passat as the VW dealers I tried were rude and ?couldn?t be bothered? (quote in one case).
So, fabulous car, absolutely love it, no complaints other than thirst.
Gord. Read more
All rings a bell for me. Nice isn't it?
Browse
Some of my family are in Auckland. Nice old MG's are available, they have two in perfect condition and a Mini 1275 GT. Cars don't seem to rust so badly.