January 2007
Apparently proposals are being reviewed to ban most pre 1996 cars and all pre 1992 cars from Edinburgh City Centre as they do not meet current emission standards. This will obviously be enforced through (yes you have guessed it - fines)
It strikes me that that there cannot be many of these vehicles left on the road and therefore their impact on emissions must be quite small and getting smaller every year as more and more of these vehicles are scrapped. I would personally never drive a Classic car myself (too much hassle) but I do like seeing the old cars still around and I do appreciate the enormous effort their owners must put in.
Is this just another new tax or will it really help emissions in the longer term. Read more
Does anyone know if my
Vectra 1.9 CDTi 150 54 reg, early 55, would have a chain or a belt .If a belt, any idea at what mileage it needs replacing?
Thanks Read more
TheOilBurner,
That *maybe* true, but one of the many reasons for setting the 40,000 / 4 yr interval across the range was not only to cut down on the amount of belts snapping, but to also simplify service schedules so that people and garages alike didn't have to remember one set of intervals for one car and another set of intervals for another.
Looking at the VW thread on cambelts, it would appear that they have also adopted this policy.
My Discovery 300 tdi 1994, M reg has developed an engine fault which occurs at about 50-55 mph. Black, not blue nor white, smoke comes from the exhaust. I had injectors tested - they all tested at 170 bar which was low and this type you can't adjust, so I fitted a brand new set, but unfortunately I have this same fault. I have also replaced the air filter.
My engine does not use oil, and I am inclined to think it is a diesel problem.
Can anyone offer some suggestions? Read more
mate,
i work on these cracking vehicles all the time. i also help maintain 6 rally 300 tdi too. we tend to have a problem with the lower flexi hose coming away from the intercooler. i does sound like a fuel problem, does your still have the eegr valve on the turbo/mainfold? could some1 have adjusted your FIP incorrectly? also check the colour coded connections for your eegr valve should be mounted on the bulkhead somewhere. hope this helps
...or will the real Honest John please stand up?
Is the photo of Honest John, Honest John?
I thought Honest John was a consortium of car experts who write for the Telegraph, but since there seem to be posts from a member called Honest John (HJ) I'm a little confused!
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Colin-E
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What I keep wondering is whether the chequered hatband in the most recent photo is some kind of coded signal. No offence of course HJ. Feeling nicely mellow I trust in the charming far east.
I need to replace the rear bush (the one that bolts through the floor) on my standard 106 left front 'wishbone'. Are they difficult to remove from the wishbone and do you need a special tool as my manual suggests?
Thanks for any tips
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I would agree. When the wishbone busges went on SWMBO's Fiesta, I just swapped the complete arms out. Having had nightmares pressing bushes in on various cars, it really isn't worth the hassle when the complete replacement arms are so cheap.
Cheers
DP
Just wondered because my Suzuki is a constant battle against rust spots and my next door neighbours Sprinter and Master vans both have rust around fittings ( not from impact damage ) and in the seams.
It seems like a very common thing, so are these vans getting rust protection thats the same as cars? I cant see that they are as ive not seen many rusty 5 year old Renault cars, but their vans are a whole different story judging by the ones ive seena round and the same goes for Merc
( but then thats much less of a suprise! ). Read more
I bought a car which had been waxoyled 25 years previous and topped up every 5 years when it dried out - car was a Talbot Avenger which rust like theres no tomorrow - the car was completely rust free except for in a couple of frontal impact areas which were painted, not 'oyled'.
So i have confidence in it.
I use Hammerite to do stone chips on my van and after a year, the chip that was down to bare metal is still showing no signs of corrosion since I applied it, so again, it seems to work.
Its like anything - you tell people that Renaults and Mercs are rubbish and someone will always have had one that was perfect! Ill stick to what I know but thanks for the suggestion!
Why oh why does my insurer claim that THEY will do all the work regarding my no-fault claim with my van's rear end shunt?
Why claim this is I have had to intervene twice now to keep the process going?
Heres how its gone so far:
2/12/06 - Accident happens. 3rd Party admits liability to their insurer that day and I informed my insurer also on this day. So far so good.
4/12/06 - Called my insurer just to confirm a couple of details.
Also received a call from the repairer asking me to bring my van in to be assessed and booked in.
I took my van in the same day and was told their fax from insurer said assess only as there was a hold up. Fair enough, they had a look and said they would send the info to my insurer.
5/12/06 - 3rd party insurer phones to confirm details and offer their help as they do.
12/12/06 - I rang them to find out what the hold up was. I said that my repairer had been told to assess only - my insurer said that cant be right, they should have booked it in. They then admitted a clerical error on their part and said they had just faxed the repairer telling them to proceed and within a few days, I should hear from the repairer.
Right I thought, all in hand...
Today - I ring up and enquired why i still had no repair date - my insurer said ' we thought it was already being repaired'. I said no, I havent heard from the repairer since they assessed it on the 4th Dec.
So my insurer rang the repairer, who first said that I had not brought my van in to be assessed yet - I said I damn well did on the 4th!
My insurer also said the the hire car firm should have contacted me aswell, which they havent - hmm....
So my insurer goes back to the repairer and low and behold, they find the paperwork this time.
Now ive finally got a repair date so hopefully I will get my van fixed by the end of the month.
Now all that remains is to see whether the hire car firm actually phone me tomorrow as Ive been told they will... like the phoned me last time they were supposed to!
Is this typical of how it works? The insurer seems to have little idea whats going on and if I had not kept ontop of this situation and 'Let them do all the work', I dread to think how long this could have dragged on?
Im not going to name and shame, but im sure anyone who saw my original thread will remember who my insurer was.
Im just wondering why they go to great lengths to tell me that I wont have to do a thing, including sending a reassuring letter to the effect, when infact, Ive had to intervene twice to keep the process moving?
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Some companies are great and some bad. It's all about the management and the systems they have in place.
Many many years ago I made a claim with Direct Line for vandalism and they were fine. They were always very professional. I also found Its4Me very good.
A few years later I made a claim for a broken side window. The repairer turned up the next day so the car had to sit in a car park overnight with no side window, and it filled up with damp The repairer was a local cowboy who left bits of broken glass all over the place. The broker was based in Manchester and the staff were uniformly unprofessional and untogether. The term sloppy sums them up.
Some time later I had a minor bump (my fault) and the other persons insurer was Manchester based. They left me a phone message, and spoke so fast I could not understand the number or the firm's name. I eventually worked out the number, but no-one answered any of my 20 or so calls. I found another number on the internet but it was dead. Then I got a message threatening legal action if I did not contact them. I eventually traced the other party and rang her to get the number. The insurer was Manchester based and they had the same sloppy untogether manner, like a character from the Catherine Tate show.
From "Automotive News":
...........East European suppliers win big with C class : Top seller will get more parts from emerging markets.......
Mercedes-Benz is shifting a sizable portion of its sourcing for the next C class (......) to eastern Europe, joining other automakers in an industrywide search for high-quality parts at a lower price.
I'm an East-European myself, but can't understand one thing: why those Stuttgart execs can't cope with quality ? GM-Opel in Gliwice plant obviously can. Their Agila and Zafira have been awarded with some prizes for quality in 2006.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy. Read more
Oh, and check this out:
www.motorauthority.com/news/videos/video-developme.../
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
Could somebody please confirm if one contacts the local Police Authority to contest a camera NIP and whether the specs camera operating near Exeter Services is programmed at 50 mph (Speed in slip road from the services) or 70 mph for the motorway section within the camera checking section ??
Thanks for any help. Read more
Yes, as things stand. Applies to each camera pair, if there is more than one measuring distance, then you would have to do it each time for each one. Home office don't need legislation to change this, so could do it at any time.
My Berlingo Multispace HDi is coming up four years old with 45K on the clock. The passenger side rear door rattles more and more annoyingly. The dealer and an independent body shop both say Citroen did a cheap fix putting in the sliding doors - "it's just a van, you know" - and there doesn't seem to be any adjustment to tighten them up when they wear. Anyone got any ideas? Read more
Browse
I think this a slight overstatement. Every time I read an article on classic cars or watch a programme on them, I learn of the huge investment the owners make in terms of time and money. I also cannot believe that the reliability of most Classic Cars is on a par with modern vehicles as they were not that reliable when new. I am old enough to remember my parents owning vehicles that are now "Classics". There was a 1969 MKII Cortina 1600E (which was a reasonably desirable car in those days), which had so many problems, particularly electrical, that when they sold it in 1973, they never bought a Ford again. This view was not helped by the Ford Zodiac they owned up to 1969, which apparently was even more unreliable.
You may be creating a generalisation from your own good fortune to date.