July 2006

Sunny22

Right then, time has come for a new car as i'm doin a 70 mile dailly commute for my new job! Really interested in the previous shape A4 but really dont know too much about them. Prefer a 51 plate upto an 02 but anything after that i prob wont be able to afford. I dont mind a high mileage, around 75-90k. So whats the crack with these cars, some have 5 speed, some 6 and what realistic MPG can i expect? Seen a few SE specs about but wouldnt mind a Sport version, whats the ride like is the sport, Heard Audi's suspension can be pretty harsh... Just need some help really, anythin would be appreciated!

Cheers.

Ps. Its got to be the 130BHP!

Pps. I've considered all the other cars like a mondeo (i know someone will plug it!) and the cheaper version like the passat so..... Read more

Sunny22

That would be great if ya could do that. Cant get hold of a brouchure anywhere. I admit the car looks better on 17" wheels, but the sports suspension doesnt appeal,but the rest of the kit ya get does ;)

stevenage

on a recent trip of about 140 mway miles the eng wl (not oil wl) came on for about the last 10 miles. no other symptoms and water and oil levels etc ok. weekend of pottering about and return trip did not produce wl. i'm not really worried just wondered if any ideas as to why wl appeared.
thanks
brian
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stevenage

thanks dave haven't a workshop manual so any idea how i can diy

trier

Has anyone experience of the Federal SS595 on a weighty car such as VolvoS80?
Thanks. Read more

fordprefect

Recently bought a Toyota Yaris for wife, car will be 3 years old in October. The aircon seems to take 3 or 4 minutes before delivering cool air and is not as cold as in my car, so I suspect it needs a re-gas. Would this be covered as a warranty fix or is it 'wear and tear' like brake pads?
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Dave N

The gas doesn't get used or worn out. So if it's reasonably low, then it has a leak (or someone stole it!).

Now if the leak is caused by a stone through the condensor, then the cost is down to you. If anything else has leaked, then it's down to them, but they may charge you up front for the recharge, but then reinburse you when the cause is known.

Old Banger Driver

Hi all, just found this forum & I hope someone can point me in the right direction?

Vauxhall Omega 2.0 16 V CD Auto 1995

I've had this car aprox a year, it's professionally serviced every six months & kept up together as best as possible, although I occasionally get niggling electrical (starting) problems & the Airbag light's been on all the time for a while (never been deployed).

ABS light came on for a day only. Mechanic say's it probably a sensor faulty & I'll need to have it plugged into equipment that will help pinpoint the problem. I can pay more at a Vauxhall garage or he can arrange this elsewhere cheaper. Then if its found to be a sensor, I've been quoted aprox £100.00 for the part & fitting on top.

I'm told it will fail MOT next time (only just been MOT'd last month) due to the light being on. They did not fail it on the Airbag light though this time. I'm told the ABS is additional to the normal braking system, which is all working fine.

Before I react & have it looked at & part with cash etc, if I test by braking hard and if the ABS kicks in and it's just a sensor malfunctioning, is my mechanic right that they will fail it next MOT if the light's on? How do they test the ABS different to the normal braking system on MOT? What are my options for getting this diagnosed elsewhere other than a Vauxhall garage?

This particular mechanic was great when I first met him, but the last couple of service visits have seen me starting to doubt if I'm getting a good service & value. He always seems to find something wrong and has twice changed parts without advising / asking me first.

I recently had two front fog lights removed to pass MOT (as one was broken & not worth the expense to replace at over £100.00) If my car did not have working ABS, but was ok on the normal braking system, would the same principal of removing that function apply? The cars not worth much, has a minor oil leak that's going to cost more than the cars worth to repair & I intend to run it until something else costs too much to replace & then scrap it.

Thanks for any pointers
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LeePower

Certain cars still have rear load limiting valves fitted in the brake circuit even with ABS as a standard fitment.

cockle {P}

Don't know whether i've missed this in the past but I've certainly not come across it in force on the road.
In tonight's local paper there is a public notice from Essex County Council announcing a temporary 30 mph limit on two sections of the A130 and one section of the A127 over varying distances of up to 5km to apply between the hours of 06:00 - 20:00 for any one day between 18/7/2006 and 10/8/2006 to carry out a TRAFFIC SURVEY! I really can't believe they are going to impose a 30 limit on NSL dual carriageways so they can count the traffic. Surely there must be more to it and do they really need 5km of speed limit?
Just glad I'm going to be out of the country for most of that period, it sounds like it could be fun, not. Read more

Dwight Van Driver

So you don't believe in LA's trying to collate information that could lead to better roads and routes AS.

Tut tut.

.......and while I am at you whats this one of your old lot putting a policeman's car in a ditch .

tinyurl.com/ftspo

double tut tut.

Can you image poor Plods Insurance claim on account of accident? Yeah like hell......

dvd

Forum Census
AshT

Driving into this morning and home tonight I went past two laybys where the boys in blue were pulling in vehicles - signs coming up to the laybys said "Traffic Census".

I can't recall seeing this before in 20 years of driving, so the question is what exactly is a traffic census? Random vehicle and doc checks by another name? As it's Avon & Somerset police I wouldn't be suprised.

Much to my surprise I wasn't pulled this time - driving an older car that's a bit rough around the edges (albeit legal and regularly serviced) I seem to get pulled more often than I'd like - they always seem disappointed when they have to let me carry on....
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mss1tw

It's me. Hello.

Thommo

If the mods deem this too non-car related and they remove it I will not object but I think it has a bearing on all taxes including those on cars and the Law of Unintended Consequences that always operates when governments try to rig markets.

No one likes paying any taxes so give any government an opportunity to charge you a tax or even tax on tax as we pay VAT on Excise Duty on petrol/diesel and tell you its for your own good and they will take it.

The current big target for the tree huggers is aviation fuel and the fact that it isn't taxed and that somehow this is wrong and it should be for our own good of course.

What they never explain is how difficult this would be and what the likely consequences would be.

The UK has the largest set of double taxation agreements in the world. All negotiated over many years. Every single one exempts our airlines from being taxed on fuel in other countries in return for us not taxing their airlines on fuel in ours. Thus inside the fence at Heathrow you have effectively a fuel tax free zone.

Now we can impose taxes on our home airlines if we wish but we have just bankrupted BA, Easy Jet and Ryan Air as we have just made them uncompetitive on price as they are being taxed and others aren't.

We would need to re-negotiate all our double taxation agreements to tax airlines of other nationalities and we are unlike to get this for free, they will want to tax us in return.

So BA flies from UK to say US. It refills in either location and it is taxed.

America Airlines if it flies to UK and refills is taxed as is Air France from Paris if it refuels in UK.

BA will be taxed wherever it refuels anywhere in the world but what is to stop American Airlines flying to Paris refuel (tax free under the US/France double taxation agreement) and then stopping off at Heathrow on its way back to US? Or more likely just flying to Paris and back to US.

Effectively the UK becomes a place you fly from to somewhere nearby to pick up your long haul flight. Understand?

Think this wouldn't happen? Think again. Whilst Terminal 5 was 20 years in the planning Charles de Gaulle is expanding exponentially. If we don't want the business others will take it.

To implement taxes on aviation fuel and avoid the Law of Unintended Consequence you need GLOBAL co-operation and its just not here.


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Vin {P}

Ah, I've just reread the entire thread Dalglish referred to.

He didn't make a single additional constructive comment after I asked him to address the main issue. He then (and he clearly is obsessed with this) quoted my reference to Mark Twain again as if it had some kind of relevance to the floods in New Orleans.

Clearly, Dalglish, this is your style of "debate" and I'm sorry to tell you I'm not going to get taken in by it. Make your unscientific axe-grinding hysterical doom mongering and your out of context quotations on your own.

Troll away, my dear thing, troll away.

V

Roger Jones

Just to remind you of a great classics event with no admissions charge for spectators, and plenty of pubs and restaurants on the periphery.

An early evening event, there were 2000 exhibitors in 2004 in glorious weather; 1000+ exhibitors in rotten weather last year.

www.classicsonthecommon.com/

Go by train if you can. If not, be prepared for long traffic queues and head for the large public car-parks in Bowers Way, Amenbury Lane, or at the railway station. That is, approach from the east or the west, if you can, as the north--south A1081 will be at a crawl.

I am not an official and have no commercial interest in the show. Read more

Vansboy

You beat me to it Roger!!

Am exceptionally pleasent way to spend a summers evening!!

VB

artful dodger {P}

Where is Adam?

It has been over 3 weeks since he last posted.


--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Stuartli

Adam is fine.


{now we've established that he's alive - thread locked -- DD}