August 2006
I could never understand the point of this. Why do bikes have their headlights on all day? When one approaches my car, why am I subjected to a bright light at pretty much eye level? It's slightly dazzling and distorts my perception of the rest of the traffic and surroundings.
So yesterday evening, I was pulled up at a t-juction not far from home to turn right. On a quiet country road, turning onto a slightly less quiet country road. I'm in brilliant sunshine, the road to my right is in brilliant sunshine, the road to the left is in brilliant sunshine for about 200 yards, then goes into a wood and shade. Look left, look right, look left again, look right again, nothing visible, and pull out. And suddenly 10 feet from my nearside is a motorbike approaching far too rapidly.
Fortunately, he had good brakes and I had good acceleration so there was no contact. He did make a series of hand gestures which he was pretty much entitled to make. In my defence, it was a black bike, he was wearing camouflage clothing, travelling well over the 60 speed limit and didn't have any lights on.
So firstly, if that was you, I'm really really sorry (I was scared so God knows how you felt!) and secondly, I am never ever ever ever going to wonder why (most) bikes have headlights on all day!
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Just bought a second hand corsa for 17 year old son. Most insurers wont touch him as it's got alloys and if they do quote, the prices are over £2k on average.
One insurer will quote but needs to know if the alloys are worth more or less than £250. I've got no idea. Search on the net for KBA 43048 which was stamped on the alloys, just brings up a German forum page. Alloys are 13" and have Vauxhall motif in the centre but I can't get any info from the Vauxhall garages I've phoned so far.
Anyone got any ideas of value or how to find out? Need insurance sorted urgently.
Cheers for any help. Read more
It would be fair to assume that the airbag was factory fitted, this is what most people would do and therefore wouldn't mention it to the insurance, so I can't see there being any problem in the event of a claim if you don't mention it either.
can public go?
is there an entrance fee?
if buying, do i have to pay commision?
is there a "general car day"?
can you have a good look at the car. i mean by this, can i start it up and listen,under bonnet, interior.
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As usual will highly recommend Joe- and know several people who rate his services very highly too. In fact friend is using his services at the moment so may be off to Blackbushe tomorrow.
what are the auto bmw like. looking at one from around the mid 90's. are the automatic boxes pretty strong and and last?. If they are to go , what would it cost to get done? also with autos is there anything obvious to look out for?
Subject header amended - DD Read more
Just sold mine last week.
1994 320 coupe auto with 114,000 miles. Had it from 40,000, still drove perfectly, if a little underpowered.
Changed it for an E46 325Ci.
Hello all (and thanks for all your previous help)
My Father in Law is now fast approaching retirement and is looking to renew is ageing V reg Diesel Peugeot.
He is looking to move away from his current 1.9 diesel engine to a smaller 1.5 Diesel engine so as to save every penny in retirement. (cheaper tax, cheaper Insurance, higher economy etc etc)
Having looked on the net the only suitable make of car I can find that produce the 1.5 Diesel lump is Renault.
Does anyone know different ?
Cheers Read more
Assuming 45 mpg from a 306 and 58 mpg from a replacement, it'd be about £200 a year in fuel at 8k PA.
So actually more like £25 a month. Now if he can find a car that will depreciate less than £2,000 in three years he may be on to a winner compared to his Peugeot. A lot of the more common extra repairs (like brake discs and pads) can be paid for out of the savings to be had using an "under-the-arches" mechanic instead of a main dealer for servicing.
Eventually the Pug will fall apart and need replacement and if he's counting the pennies, that's when he should be looking to replace. Otherwise he should buy whatever he wants and can afford and not worry about squeezing every last penny from his running costs.
Unfortunately I can't see too many private sellers getting £6k for three-year-old Fiesta tdcis or the like - and that's after a mahoosive broker discount to bring it within the outer edges of credibility at least.
I have just bought a 1996 punto 55 which I have just noticed there is a rattling noise coming from the front which occurs only when decelerating and the frequency of the rattles slows when the car slows. Any suggestions Read more
Regarding the cv joints diagnosis, the noise is related to the road speed but only occurs when decelerating and there is no noise during full lock thing as long as the speed is constant or increasing.
A friend has a 2 year old E class Merc. He's asked me to help fit reversing sensors but I think that the reversing lights are non standard in the sense that they do not use conventional bulbs (but possibly LED's?) and therefore may not have a normal 12 volt feed. The reversing sensors requires a 12v feed to be picked up from a cable going to the reversing lights. The handbook doesn't specify what, if any, bulbs to fit in any part of the rear light cluster and the MB dealer, of course, states that the job is far too complicated for amateurs! So I don't want to start pulling the trim off in the boot only to find a big problem. I'd be very grateful for some help on this. Read more
..dodgy bulb failure warnings are a common problem on Mercs.
I had a coolant loss issue and thought I'd traced it to expansion tank and cap (when engine hot coolant coming out of top of expansion tank by the side of the closed cap and from overflow at the bottom of the tank). Now replaced both tank and cap and after 150 miles it's still happening at exactly the same places.
I've had a garage look at this and they said there are no obvious leaks.
Could there be too much pressure in the system so the expansion tank cap is (correctly) venting this through the overflow? Does anyone know where I could start looking - I'm off on holiday in about a week and going to drive about a 1000 miles so I need to get this sorted asap.
All help gratefully received.
Cheers Read more
Carpets aren't wet - that was one of the first thoughts I had.
I'll get another garage to look at the water pump to see if it's leaking
hi i have been getting a knocking from o/s i think its coming from the leg its very much like when the antiroll bar bushes go but they are fine. has anyone had anything like this ,engine and gearbox mounts ect are all ok .cant see anything under car . please help. dave. Read more
thanks graeme citreon just replaced that but has not don anything,they say next step is to look at the leg or should i say the bit that the drop link comes from to the antiroll bar. its doing the same as you say .also vibrates if you are going to slow in the wrong gear.
The button on my key isn't working. I can still lock the car with the key in the door but when I un-lock it, the alarm goes off.
How can I stop the alarm going off?
Thanks. Read more
If it's just the outer shell of the keyfob, why not contact Vauxhall and ask how much a replacement is? Failing that, look on somewhere like ebay for a 2nd hand fob, and just use the outer shell from that - (obviously remembering to swap over the immobiliser chip and internal electronics) which ever way you go about it. You won't be able to use the internal electronics from the 2nd hand fob because that will first need marrying up to your car.
To stop the alarm going off for now, reach in via the rear offside door and press the button down on the drivers door, then close the rear door. Remember though, the car won't be deadlocked or alarmed, but at least when you return to the car you can open the door without the alarm sounding.
I take it you're aware you can turn off the alarm when you open the door by putting the key in the ignition and turning to position 2 (ie the dash lights come on)
Browse
Agree entirely. Yet again, the most vulnerable traffic on the road suffers.
Just like when they plaster the road with paint (slippery when wet).
Just like when they plaster the road with loose chippings.
Just like when they put manhole covers on bends.
Just like when they put speedbumps in the road.
And they wonder why motorcyle casualty rates won't fall.