June 2006
BR's I just popped round to see my mate and witnessed a horrible accident.
His son was in the car playing while he was washing it.
He popped round the back to fill his bucket and came back to see his lad crying with a serious & horrible burn to his fingers.
He had activated the cigarrete lighter and pulled it out as curious children do.
I have checked my cars and they will not activate the cigarette lighter without the key in - clearly his did.
Maybe yours do work without the key - so if you let kids play in the car while washing - please be careful.
Read more
I saw an upmarket almost new 4X4 with a sort of bull bar fitted.
It was just like a big inverted U shaped tube that sort of covered the grill.
It made me realise than, certainly in urban S/W London / Surrey , they have almost disapperaed.
Have bull bars faded out in other parts of the country? Read more
I think they should be outlawed.
I thought that from a certain date (now passed) they weren't allowed on new vehicles.
--
L\'escargot.
What's the best way to get to Dover on time for a 4pm ferry, Saturday 22nd July. Coming from Southampton which would be two and half hours on a good day, I'm not expecting as easy ride.
Would the M2 and the M20 be equally bad as all the holiday traffic funnels into the port or can it cope with this sort of traffic.?
We're sailing Norfolk line - I assume all ships depart fom the same docks and join a communal queue.
If we play it safe and arrive early, what's a good way to pass a couple of hours in the vicinity? Any advice from experience is welcome - we've normally gone from Portsmouth or Poole which are dead easy.
thanks Read more
Why not travel up late the night before and book into a nearby motel. You can get rooms for about £50 for two people. A good nights kip and more relaxed for the journey. I do it quite often when I go and I only live an hour or so away. It makes a lot of difference to how you feel in the morning. If going P&O, have a big brekkie in Langans on the boat. Expensive, but it starts the holiday off well
Try and find a nearby hotel/motel on: www.laterooms.com I swear by it
Alternatively, a late night crossing the night before and an even cheaper motel on the other side before the long drive.
Aprilia - or others, if you have thoughts!
i have the chance of a 1999 V plate CLK 320 auto petrol, silver, genuine 27k, full dealer service history (overserviced, yearly despite low mileage). Everything seems to work, just had major service and 4 premium brand tyres (Total £1800 - which is why he's now decided its time to move it on!) One owner from new, chap in early 70s now. Car is absolutely mint inside and out and 'never been kissed'.
Any thoughts on value? (He's looking for £7k apparently, sounds good to me?) Or should I leave well alone...? Or take his hand of? Or...?!
Help!
Neil Read more
Neil
That model is smack in the middle of the maximum-corrosion era. The particular car may be one of the ones that hasn't suffered at all (they do exist, but appear to be rare). Do check out all the common corrosion points very carefully, including the front suspension components -- there's plenty of info on the Web.
At that price, it's certainly worth paying an expert a couple of hundred quid to check it over. 27k in seven years may seem attractive, but carries its own risks. Check out
ww.ccbenz.co.uk/16180.html
(not hot-linked, because it's an ad according to HJ's criteria).
If it is as good as it appears, it's a screaming bargain. Do let us know the final outcome.
How many years do you have to run a car before the pollution created by making a car, is taken over by the pollution it generates? Read more
>>..... there is a train of thought that suggests this might be and
the concentration by the government of persuading us into
cleaner cars is infact not taking into account the larger picture
( that building cars in very polluting, more so than running them,
by some margin) IF the enviroment is really their concern in their taxation
policies.
Building cars makes money for Governments; both in terms of investment and taxes etc. by manufacterers and those employed. It also create jobs in the area and will contribute towards local and regional economic growth etc. (I'm sure someone will come along and put forward the economic case far more eloquently than I've done but you get the picture).
Unfortunately, the environment usually comes second to these considerations.
Next car will be a Bora but I need good economy because the company I work for are tight with the expenses.Has any body got actual experience of real world MPG of a 1600 petrol.A TDi would be nice but it is just the thought of the govt' ripping us off so much with the silly price of diesel. Read more
The Vento is too heavy for the 1.6 IMO. Better as
a 2.0 petrol. Although I would have the TDi anyday.
Shame it looks so dire but then that's why it's cheaper.>>
The Vento is the model before the Bora; it replaced the Jetta big bumper model from 1992 to the late 1990s.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
A recent report... here:
www.virgin.com/news/default.asp?sy=2003&ey=2006&sm...=-
ranked 50 towns and cities from best to worst in terms of 'car-friendliness'. How did you fare?
Let's all avoid Cardiff and head for Dundee :D)
Read more
>>You pays your money ..........Especially in London :D(
The 'QUOTE' bit needs work.
Perhaps a last poster would work so you know if anyone has replied. Read more
As Martin123 says.
Thread locked - discussion over. DD.
I've just come back from Israel on business and was given a MAzda 3 by the rental co. I think it was a 1.6 with a four speed tiptronic auto.
Overall impressions were good. smart shape, good sized boot (if a little awkward to access), reasonably spacious inside (three grown men in for two out of three days). The ride was certainly acceptable on steel wheels and performance was fine, although it was a little breathless on the steep climb up to Jerusalem, when HGVs struggle to more than 5 or 10 mph. I did 500 miles and put in two tanks of fuel. That was a combination of high speed highway, very low speed city traffic and those hills near Jerusalem which really knock the economy. Alos it was 30 degrees C and the air con was on full. It had four one-shot windows, which is very good.
What didn't I like. The dashboard is too fussy, the dials are buried deep in tunnels and are not all visible with a quick sweep of the eyes across the dash, unlike my Subaru or SWMBO Hyundai. The radio seems to be very good, but as I had no manual , it was also complicated. Its the first time I have driven a Tiptronic except a Merc. I can't quiet explain, but I prefer the Merc system of flicking left to right when in D, rather than a separate manual shift section.
However, there was something appealling about the car, and I would have one of they did a 2.0 auto with a full on spec which included leather, air, cruise, sat nav (in other words a mini luxury car, one size below the Lexus IS220), as it has the external design to justify that idea.
Read more
i dont go on many motorways so i need to ask this question
today i went on the M11, some flashing signs were lit up stating 50...so i assumed that was a tempory limit, but over a 20 mile stretch not one car was driving under 70 despite 50 signs flashing every few miles
is it a suggested limit or compulsory? was worried about getting a fine, but i went along with the flow Read more
Worth bearing in mind that on the M25, the limits are circled red in places, therefore compulsary.
What has always made me laugh is the tiny gains you make by exceeding the speed limit - starting at Northampton and with a 20 minute lead, it took my dad right up to Winchester before he caught up with me - I was doing maximum of 65mph, usually less, in my little Suzuki van, he did 80mph in his Hyundai Coupe V6 wherever possible. I also had a full load in the back of my van so acceleration was even slower than usual.
From Winchester to Portsmouth with the same speeds, he arrived at the ferry port 10 minutes before me. So in the end, add half an hour to the journey and no need whatsoever to break the speed limit and risk getting points. Had I been in a car sticking to the legal limit of 70mph, the gains for my dad would have been even less. Hence I never bother with the battle in the outside lane and just plod along at 70 not worrying if theres a cop car on the horizon :)
Browse
have you not heard of a Mr Rooney - Despite beig the fan of a particular type of film, I never knew that Mickey Rooney ever hurt his foot.
Anyway more of comfort tip, I dislike the dehydrating effect of air-con. Found that this was greatly reduced on a recent long journey recently by what must have been the effect of the dog's water bowl in the rear footwell.