June 2006
In order to assist other motorists in identifying potentially dangerous drivers, it's now compulsory for anyone with lower than average driving ability to display a warning flag.
The flag (consisting of a red cross on a white background) will be attached to the top of at least one door of their vehicle.
For drivers of exceptionally low ability, additional flags are required to be shown. There is no upper limit to the number.
Made me chuckle !! Read more
Birmingham-registered Ford Fiestas top the league of motor insurance write-offs
BRITAIN?S MOST FREQUENTLY written-off car by motor insurers is a nine-year-old Ford Fiesta 1.3 Encore, in blue and registered in Birmingham.
Ford Fiesta?s distinction as Britain?s most written-off car is revealed by Market Value Manager, a total loss claim settlement system developed by CAP Motor Research, currently being piloted by leading UK motor insurers.
Total loss settlement data from August 2005 to April this year was analysed to determine Britain?s top ten motor insurance write-offs, by make, model, age, colour and postcode.
The figures broadly reflect the typical shape of the UK car parc, with Ford occupying the top three places, followed by Vauxhall, Rover, Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen and BMW.
Ford Fiesta was found to account for seven per cent of all claims during the period, followed by Ford Escort (6%), Ford Mondeo (5%), Vauxhall Corsa (4%), Vauxhall Astra (4%), Rover 200 (3%), Renault Clio (3%), Nissan Micra (3%), Volkswagen Golf (3%) and BMW 3 Series (2%).
Blue cars represented almost a quarter of all total loss claims, followed by red and green, with today?s most popular colour ? silver ? accounting for just 11 per cent.
Although write-offs were generally distributed evenly around the regions, Birmingham was found to account for the largest number, followed by Peterborough, Glasgow, Sheffield, Guildford, Newcastle, Reading, Nottingham, Plymouth, Leicester, Cardiff and Doncaster.*
Market Value Manager was developed to satisfy insurers? needs to meet their responsibility to return customers to a pre-loss position in an industry sector which previously had no commonly agreed benchmark vehicle values.
This potentially left insurers treading a fine line between overpayments and aggrieved customers. Growing expectations and reduced brand loyalty from customers has also led to more disputes, loss of business and longer settlement times - all leading to increased operating costs.
Time taken to reach final settlement is one of the thorniest issues in the industry. While a claim remains 'open' the insurer is incurring direct costs, such as vehicle storage, replacement vehicle hire and administration.
Delays also tend to increase final settlement costs as the customer's expectation increases over time. Market Value Manager mitigates those problems, while enabling the fairest and most transparent possible deal for the customer.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
BRITAIN?S MOST FREQUENTLY written-off car by motor insurers is a nine-year-old
Ford Fiesta 1.3 Encore, in blue and registered in Birmingham.
Tell me it's registration number and I'll give it a wide berth!
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L\'escargot.
Hi
I have a strange fault that on rare occasions my corsa dosnt fire/start. It just turns over with no sign of firing ( no matter how many times i try once its decided not to fire it will not start). If left for an hour or so it usually starts. No running problems once started.
Any Ideas?? Is there a stop solenoid in the fuel line i could check??
Cheers
Tim
Read more
Joe
Robcars is right about the crank sensors on these; they're notorious for causing this problem. The only other relevant common problem is the engine control relays playing up.
I have a Bedford Turbo horse lorry. B reg, SH suggests it has been cared for.
It runs no more than once a week, sometimes less, and is very slow to start. It has a new 95Ah battery but that does not have enough reserve to run the starter for the time it takes, so I have an older but serviceable 110 Ah battery that I charge and connect using jump leads. With this set up I can always get it started, but after a very large number of turns.
What should I suspect? My first guess is the injector pump. Read more
I strongly suspect Defender is right with No 3 on his list.
Its very easy to check out, if you can access* the hand priming lever on the lift pump, give this a large number (100 or so, to be sure) of strokes prior to trying starting. If the engine then starts straight off, then you need to find and cure the leak. The lift pump itself is a good starting point in this hunt, followed by the fuel filter seals.
* If it's a TL, then you'll probably need to put the cab up. If it's a TK, just hope the priming lever is towards the back of the engine!
Number_Cruncher
Brought a clean W reg Audi A4 1.8 SE in green, Fully loaded, Full Audi Service History, 2 Owners, 86k, New cambelt, Tax & Mot March 2007, £2000 privately, was well pleased with this! what do you think? Read more
Oh maybe not that high spec then!, it's got dig climate and the concert cd stereo as well as electrc windows allround, alloys & f/fogs, only problem i found was cat rattled on start up but it pulled well, well cuffed though, wasn't even looking for it, was looking for a car for a friend!
I have recently, in the last couple of weeks, had the clutch replaced on my 1998 Polo. Since then, the car feels totally different. The clutch pedal will sink to the bite point with no force at all, as if the cable is "slack", but feels firmer past that point. When setting off, the bite feels weak which makes pulling off very slow. Also, 2nd and 4th gear dont seem to have as much power. Second doesnt seem to do anything more than first and fourth just doesnt have any power.
Any ideas? Or do I just need to get used to the new feel of the car? Read more
i take a guess and assume that the clutch was replaced by a "fastfit clutch" type place? If so I would also take a guess that they have fitted a cheap type clutch; sounds like the cover (diaphragm) is weak.
Agree, return to garage and ask for their comment. post it here too?
A mate has offered to lend me his MINI cabio for a few days, as his back hurts, so he is driving his Mondeo. I was thinking...I fancy a small, cheap four seat convertible.
Apart from a 2CV and an old Beetle or even an old Golf cabrio, what else (please no Escorts or Astras, I would prefer some style and less car)?
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive? Read more
Seeing as you are based in Manchester, maybe you'd like to take a look? Let me know if you are interested
sk1975@hotmail.co.uk
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
wanting to buy a rear lip spoiler for my golf. £33 from volkswagon but they only sell the black plastic ones. do you think i could sand this down to get rid of the 'orange peel' effect so that i could paint it to be green like the colour of my golf? anyone know if i could get it cheaper anywhere or one that comes in pre-primed and what sort of sand paper to use? Read more
A MkIII spoiler is smooth, I have one. However they are plastic and require two pack bonding primers to ensure your paint stays on so go to a indi body shop and get a quote and see what it costs. Regards Peter
I am looking to buy one of the following Coupes: 2nd hand, around '2000' year of manufacture:
1) Peugeout 406 Coupe (3 Litre SE V6 or the 2 Litre SE)
or
2) Volvo C70 (not the convirtable)
I've heard informal warnings against the Peugeout 406 Coupe because of poor reliability, especially Engine Management Unit failures and Air Conditioning problems but I would value your feedback now please.
What do I need to look out for ? Am I likely to face seriously high hidden service & repair bills with these cars ?
Thank you in anticipation of your advice
IG Read more
If I had the room I would be very tempted to buy one of these and keep it as an occasional car for the summer. Bound to become a classic in the future like the 504 Coupe and Cabriolet. Why have Peugeot stopped making cars like these?
Peugeots are basically reliable cars, sometimes little electrical things can annoy but if you buy wisely checking everything works and have a good independent garage to maintain it then you should be in for happy days.
hey, the key on my 2001 1.9d 306 is stuck in the ignition, popped out to get some diesel, got to garage tried to turn key back won't go. fortunately it turns back far enough to kill engine but it is stuck in the ignition and doesn't go back far enough to turn of accessories so red battery light is still on. i have tried wiggling the steering wheel while turning key, tried moving adjustable column up and down whilst turn and have tried some wd40 none have worked. need some ideas sharpish please
cheers
chris Read more
I think the solution is going to be a new barrel don,t you think.
Browse
Ah'em.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=41...5
;o)