April 2007
Is it REALLY possible to chip a car in a way that isn't detectable to either the people servicing it or the insurance company?
I know we have a forum of dads here, but I don't want the 'don't do it, it's naughty, and it's not even your car' lecture.... just interested to know if it's truly possible as I am truly bored of my Golf to the extent where I'm seriously thinking about paying the £1500 to get out of the lease and get something more fun.
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I have an opportunity to buy a Peugeot 206CC on a 52 plate with 26,000 miles for £4,500 - £5,000 from a friend. Cars with comparable miles and age are advertised for £7,000+ on the AutoTrader. The car in question has a couple of dents (lives on a street in Bath) and is an ashtray inside. Still, a good valet later, it ought to be presentable.
The car would be used for short journies, mainly one up, but occasionally Mrs mare and I and a 8 and 6 year old will use it to go to the beach etc. I will probably keep my old Almera for work, and we're replacing the C3 with a Mitsubishis Grandis to get the vital sixth seat.
I'm sorely tempted, and buying from a friend issues aside, i'd like to hear any comments about these cars.
Thanks
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Update
i've had the car for a week on a "looking after it while friend's away" basis. It's on the drive now as the tax ran out yesterday, but having driven it for a week:
It's a hoot! Pop the roof and off you go (it's my first convertible, can you tell?)
It's got leather seats, it's not as much as an ashtray as i expected, and the rear seats are a joke. But we can get the kids in. No spare tyre either. Hmm.
The air con doesn't work (the light comes on, but nothing else happens) but everything else works, including the roof. There is a 80's 12" CD stuck in the stereo though.
I think that i'm going to get it, if i get fed up with it, it's worth £5,000 as a part ex. In the meantime i'll enjoy it as a pootling about toy.
And yes, i have been asked if i do perms. i don't BTW.
Hi I am hoping somebody may be able to help. I have a 1998 Rover 200i (bubble shape) and just recently the sidelights (front and back) have refused to go off when the ignition is on, even when they are switched off at the stalk on the dashboard. I have checked fuses etc. and all seems OK.
This seems to have started happening just after I replaced a blown fuse for my rear brake and reverse lights, although this may be coincidence.
Does anybody know how I fix this problem? Thanks Read more
You could always swap the Rover badges for Volvo ones...;-)
What a saga, but some progress at last...
Its a 2003 Zetec TDCi.
Feb 2005...rust to bottom of both doors on off-side - Repair only under warranty.
Jan 2007...return of rust to bottom of door on off-side and now also rust on near-side doors.
April 2007...Ford offer to replace doors on off-side (at last), but will still only repair the first time rust on the near side doors.
I guess that in two years time I will return to Ford for new doors on the near side as these WILL have gone rusty again.
Allen Ford of Northampton have been brilliant and are equally frustrated by Fords bizarre warranty procedure regarding rusty doors.
What irritates me is that I have to persist with the body and paint inspections and that I have to keep going back to Ford at my inconvenience to get their manufacturing defects rectified. Read more
Can`t understand why Ford have not quietly without fuss just replaced all these rusting body
parts warranty or not.
Because it would cost them a lot of money....
For what it's worth Practical classics has reviewed 3/8" torque wrenches (for the lower end of the torque range) and come to the conclusion that the Halfords model (£49.99, 8-60 Nm) is best, followed by Norbar (£80.22, 8-60 Nm) and Tri Torq (£38.41, 20-100 Nm), plus Draper (£19.73, 10-80 Nm) as Budget Buy. Read more
When I was at college we were shown how to do it by clamping the
½ square drive in a vice and then hanging weights off the handle of the
torque wrench at a measured distance.
Now where did I put that set of weights and the weight hanger my employer gave me as a leaving present when I retired? ;-)
--
L\'escargot.
Going to look at a Punto 1.2 16v Active sport today. 05 yr 54 plate. 24000m. When does the cambelt need changing. I did read that the Panda needs one at 36000m/3 years. Seems short, is the Punto the same interval. Read more
As the owner of a 2001 8v I can tell you they are best avoided. A mate bought an Alfa 156 at the same time as I got the punto, and we both say "....never again an Italian car..." He's in a Toyota now and I will only buy a Japanese next time.
I've been driving around in an old-version Yaris recently and it's a world away from the Punto.
cheers
I saw a report, in a recent issue of the Daily Mail, that three members of a mega rich family (father, mother and son) have been given jail sentences for perjury, regarding two instances of speeding involving the son. It appears the family were advised to lie by a certain well known lawyer, who specialises in representing the well healed members of society in cases such as this. He is now facing a charge himself, it would appear.
The family appealed against the original sentences and how now been given reduced sentences, owing to the fact that they were advised to lie by the lawyer (as if they didn't know what they were doing). Read more
Well well, Nick Freeman in court for allegedly conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Surely not? The fact that he gets so many people off speeding charges with elaborate and far fetched excuses has always seemed very suspicious to me. However, I guess he must remain innocent until proven to be a dishonest lying toad, oops, I meant to say "until proven guilty".
I have just returned from a trip to Australia where I spent some time in Brisbane. Around Easter is the holiday season with consequent focus on road conditions/accidents etc. Aus has a much more proactive approach with strict drink/driving laws and random testing is common. A couple of weeks ago the police ran a weekend check on all the roads in and out of Brisbane and checked a large number of drivers. They found that 1.03% of drivers were over the limit, well into three figures, although the limit there is 0.5% versus ours of 0.8% (I think that's right but am open to correction). They found drivers up to 5 times over (their) limit. The reporter in the local paper said that he himself had been stopped three times that weekend so I imagine it was pretty thorough. I myself have seen several spot checks in various parts of the city when all the cars on the carriageway are lined up and the drivers tested. It just makes me wonder how many drunk drivers there are in my local town where parts of it on friday and saturday nights are pretty much no go areas with drunks reeling around all over the place with all the accompanying unpleasantness that entails. I cant help but think that 1.03% could be on the low side. Whilst I am concerned at the creeping intrusion of government into every aspect of of our lives (ID cards, biometric passports, chips in dustbins, road pricing and consequent tracking etc) I cant help but think that a purge on drink driving similar to that on speeding would contribute more to road safety.
MGs Read more
"I cant believe anyone with any sense would risk a drink when driving there. The
limit is literally 1 small beer and thats it."
ABERDEEN
A motorist who thought he could drive after eight or nine pints as long as he wore a seatbelt has been jailed for causing the death of a friend.
David Curry, 35, took a car without permission and offered friends a lift to a party, despite having no licence.
Curry crashed on the outskirts of Aberdeen in September 2005 and Gregor Allan, 23, died of his injuries.
Curry, who admitted causing death by dangerous driving, was jailed for five years and seven months.
Hi all.
mark 1 galaxy key has an immobilizer chip in the key section separate from the fob. i have just paid £100 for a new key and fob and they want another £90 to programme the immobilzer chip.I am wondering if i could save money by taking the old immobilizer chip out and fitting it in the new key and therefore save the money.Anybody got any ideas if this is possible......i have to be careful as i only have one key that presently starts my vehicle. Read more
try this link you will have to do some searching but ultimately i think your answer will be get it coded or take a chance
www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=7886
Was passed at speed today by a motorcyclist with flashing blue light , siren, and headlight flashing on and off . The bike was not marked from what I saw of it and the rider was not wearing a uniform, just dark waterproofs. Any idea what organisation he might have belonged to. Read more
'Blood' bikes are clearly marked, are white and look just like Police bikes to make it easier to get through traffic. Stealth, for a blood bike, is not what you want.
The bike you saw was almost certainly an un-marked police bike. These bikes are to catch high performance cars and bikes that are speeding.
As a previous poster mentioned, the rifers of these bikes wear a much lighter weight protective kit.
Most people are aware of unmarked cars but not many people think a bike could be an unmarked police bike and I'm sure it catches quite a few speeders. Gloucestershire, maybe Avon, have a Suzuki GSXR1000 - you don't want to mess about with that baby!!!!
Browse
Having thought about it we are talking "firmware" here.
The mapping chip (EPROM) just carries an image which can be updated or replaced in total - the ECU however may store values elsewhere (more than one device in an ECU) which would indicate it had been done. I would suggest that no-one except (possibly) the ECU manufacturer knows how many of these there are and where they are stored - they WILL know some of them.