January 2007
this is meant to be a 'clean' thread as well.
an item on the thread on minicabbing has reminded me of being a bored kid on long journeys and one particular game the old man invented to keep us kids interested
it was a spotting game and you recieved points depending on the quality of 'spot'
the points went like this:
1 point for... a front seat person in a car wearing a hat
1 point for ...a front seat person in a car sat on a beaded seat cover
maximum points were for a 'double beader, double hatter' which i'm fairly sure was never achieved. I think my sister got a 'single hatter, double beader' once.
Anyone else got daft games they used to play.
Some 35 years later i still look for 'hatters' and 'beaders'. Maybe i need to get out more.
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Hiya
I'm wondering if anyone can help me with something.. My partner has recently bought a Toyota Previa (sorry about spelling!!) with a view to do mini cabbing, our neighbour commented that he thought it would be too old (P reg). can anyone confirm how old a car can be before its too old for mini cabbing??
Thanks Read more
Thank you for all of your feedback it is much appreciated !!!
{Subject header given a more meaningful title than "I NEED HELP!!!!" - DD}
i recieved a letter about a month ago frm the dvla saying i am elegable to pay a £80 fine and tax or delare vehicle sorn if this is not done then it will be raised to a minimum of £1000. Now it also said that there is an address you can write to for any questions. i have sent a letter off and havent heard anything back. The problem is that when the vehcle was registered the DVLA registered as it something else!!! and everytime i went in to the post office i couldnt get tax as my insurance mot cert and V5 dont match up!!! now the end time of the £80 fine is up and i am waiting for a letter for the £1000. Is ther anything else i can do? everytime i phone they just say write to specified address and we cant help you ect... If it is there fault that it was registered incorectley then is it my fine???? Can i get round having to pay this unfair fine??? If it did go to court then what do you think the outcome would be??? Read more
Having read this earlier and given it some thought I find DVD has posted much the same answer as i came up with. As earlier post says it would be helpful to know a little more about the discrepancy, how/when it arose and the previous MoT history of the vehicle.
The £80 penalty issues one month after tax or SORN falls due and OP says a further month has passed since he asked for help. Seems therefore we are talking about tax that expired on 30 Nov, or possibly earlier. The £80 is a slap on the wrist for failure to comply with the regs on continuous registration, further offence of using the vehicle untaxed may also be being committed for which greater penalties including confiscation might apply.
The conversation with DVLA local office needs to be had asap backed up with readies for the overdue tax and possibly a degree of contrition if the owners action (or inaction) have lead to this position.
I have a 97 1.4 Renault Megane, the cat was rattling about and the guy at kiwk-fit suggested I get it replaced so I did. Went to collect it and he said he had done an emissions test on it with results;
HC 5ppm
CO:0
C02 14.06
02 1.96
RPM:0
Lambda 1.10
He said the HC should be about 30, 02 about 0.1 and lambda 1 and said my ECU must be on its way out, Do you guys agree with this? Is it a simple reprogramming or would I need a new unit, how much would it cost?
On a side issue the car hasn?t been starting very well, so on Wednesday I removed the battery to charge it in case it was that (which didn?t really solve the problem just reduce it). Went to drive to work Thursday morning and the clutch was slipping (high revs every so often, no acceleration) do clutches go this fast? I put the hand break on and attempted to pull of in second gear and the car will stall with no slipping it just seems to slip when its being drove. Does this sound like a clutch failure or could it be something else?
Cheers
James
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Cheers for the replies..
Well from the sounds of it theres a good chance he messed up installing the cat and there could be a leak or something, I'll go and get that checked out somewhere tomorrow. Sounds cheaper than a mess up EMU anyway!
I've put a new battery in it this afternoon hopefully that will solve the starting issues as it only seems to fail after a number of short sucessive trips out this hasn't been a problem in the past.
The clutch is very odd, I just cant understand how it has gone so fast in the space of two days. I checked the cable which has an automatic adjuster behind the peddle and it seems fairly slack (I can pull it out an inch or so). The clutch fork which it connects too has about 1-2 inches of movement so maybe if the clutch cable was longer it would disengage more I am not sure. It just feels like its not disengaging fully like the biting point has become higher, and every now an then when driving, more often than not, it slips getting high revs with no extra acceleration. Long shot but does any one know of a decent clutch specialist in the lancaster Area?
Cheers again,
JAmes
ive been a named driver on my partners insurance for 4 years,"we have 40% no claims,can i use this to my benefit ie transfer it to a new policy under my name or would i have to start from scratch? Read more
I am with Direct Line.
My partner got my full 65%? NCD and got to keep it after 1 year claim free.
If you do select Direct Line, watch the automatic renewal price for the following year.
They have sent me renewal notices at vastly inflated prices for both car and house insurance.
Easily sorted by cancelling and buying on line or a phone call quoting the web price though.
Very happy with the service and price. I suppose you can't blame them for trying to make extra money from the forgetful/lazy.
will driving without an mot ie ( failed test but driving around for parts and stuff to fix it) get points on ones licence? Read more
Even if the car fails an mot but still has a current mot; then the current mot still applies.
However, you have a duty to ensure your car is roadworthy, so although it may be in poor condition (unroadworthy) it is still covered by the old mot.
89 Nova - OS front wheel got very hot on a five mile journey. Jacked up the front, and the OS wheel is very sticky to rotate compared to the NS.
Clearly the caliper/piston is failing to return - is this a simple case of stripping out the pads and working the piston a few times, or is the slave assembly suspect, and in need of replacement? Car is for sale....
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Cheers chaps - after a couple of attempts I got quite quick at the cycle of jack, support, wheel off and pads out to lever the piston back in. Seems to be behaving itself.
LY
Hi all, just bought a Toyota Picnic and thought I'd spend 10 minutes changing the stereo. 10 minutes turned into a couple of hours and I ended up wrecking the existing stereo trying to get the old one out.
It appears that there are two kind of plates which screw into the stereo at either side near the front and it looks as though the surrounding facia needs to come off to get a new stereo inside.
Also the wiring loom for my stereo does not match the one in the car.
Therefore I ask the following questions:
1. How does the facia around the stereo come off?
2. Can you get replacement plates that screw stereo into place?
3. Will a new wiring loom be expensive?
Thanks for all your help being unfamiliar with the car and the dark weather wasn't very helpful to me! Read more
Thanks, yes when you know about the system is very good lol
And yes the sony stereo is quite an old one, shame I mangled the tape deck, got no stereo at all at the mo!
Thanks for your help
Hi
Nissan Micra automatic 1.3
I'm trying to sort out a problem on a Micra. Basically the owner's been having the engine management light come up on the dash for about a year now and has had the fault code read at expense. Memory of owner is a bit vague but something like 'garage said it's a problem with the "sensor" but don't know whether it's back or front, or both'. When I heard back and front I immediately thought lambda sensors but do they have two on this? Also the garage has quoted £150 each sensor, this seems a little steep for lambdas. Unforunately I haven't got the right equipment otherwise I'd read the fault again myself to double check.
Secondly, can the light be reset manually or does it require a code reader? Would leaving the battery off for a few hours sort it?
Thanks for your time.
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Mike Farrow Read more
Hi Screwloose
Thanks for that, unfortunately it didn't work, nothing flashed.
I guess this one's too new.
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Mike Farrow
I read today in the Telegraph that police in Manchester refused to chase two motorcycle thieves because they weren't wearing helmets, and might sue the police if they fell off the bikesduring the pursuit!
How not to get pulled up after a bank robbery- stick a sign in the back window of the getaway car - 'Driver and passengers NOT wearing seatbelts'...
P. Read more
One half of me says 'so what, chase the so & so's and if they come off and kill themselves tough! But it's not as simple as that is it. There is the safety of the law abiding public to consider. How would you feel if an accident happened and killed your son/daughter/wife etc who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also there is always some preditory lawyer ready and willing to file a law suite against the police (read us, the tax payer) claiming mega compensation for an infringement of human rights or something. We live in a complicated mad society!!
Browse
Pub cricket was our family favourite in hte 60s.
We played in turn though with an "arms" ending your innings caught and putting the next child in to bat.
Used to have lengthy arguments over scores for stag and hounds etc - final decision resting with the umpire (mum).