April 2007
how do you know when your tyres are below the legal limit ?
{multiple posts of the same question deleted, and any replies moved here - DD} Read more
In order to add a little light relief to the Backroom after recent sad news, I wondered if people would like to develop a thread which summarises good deals that they have managed to secure when purchasing a car (or any other motoring related item)? Hopefully, this will give us all confidence that the screen price is just a guide and not the price one finally ends up paying!
So, who starts?
TT
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Top Turkey - the fastest hands in Brum Read more
Obviously we are all 'fans' of HJ but I can't help thinking that you have just put a stop to this thread - unless there are any 1007 deals going on!
Posted knowing that other BRers are bikers and in case I'm not alone as a BRer booked to take my bike abroad with Speedferries.
A friend coming on the same motorcyling holiday to the South of France in June advised me yesterday that Speedferries are cancelling all reservations made by motorcyclists. This turned out to be true, and initially as "tour organiser" I pursued the line of getting Speedferries to swap our whole group to another cross channel operator. In the end though, travelling with P&O was so cheap (£45 each, total return fare) and the timings so close to our Speedferries original crossings that I took the refund offered and rebooked manually; It wasn't worth the risk of hanging a holiday for everyone on a matter of personal principle!
Speedferries have only been accepting bikes for a short period of time, and I don't like the way their way of keeping a lid on the news, informing riders on a rotation basis rather than en-masse to maximize rebooking options (however much this will deluge their call center), and updating website by stealth (quietly removing bikes as a carriage option rather than adding a banner to "read more" if you're a biker), but for info here's the reply I was given:
Please accept my deepest personal apologies for having to cancel your motorcycle booking with SpeedFerries. Unfortunately, we will have to stop carrying all kinds of motorcycles from 1 May 2007. I am really sorry to have to take this step, which I sincerely hope will be a temporary measure only. However, with the present concept of port turnaround time and loading/discharge and even more importantly the lack of safe lashing for the bikes onboard I have to take this decision. At the moment carrying motorcycles is loss making for SpeedFerries due to the above mentioned problems and due to a vast number of huge claims for damages. I ask for your understanding as the present concept is unacceptable for our motorcycle customers as well as for the company and I promise to revisit the options again as soon as possible.
Curt Stavis
Chief Executive Officer Read more
What's the problem?
That mangling of the English language, actually...
Unless you can explain to me how you 'make' a loss?
Chaps
where can I buy these tyres, as they are to match the existing.
this is on a classic kit car based on Triumph Vitesse.
many thanks,
Kev
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Try
www.mwsint.com/Info_tables/Classico.htm
I have no difficulty getting 185 R 13 s for my 2000. In theory any decent tyre dealer can order anything, but in practice it is easier to get tyres online.
Been driving a Toyota Avalon rental car for the past two weeks. Very comfortable cruiser in California/Arizona/Nevada. It had a 3.5l engine, 268 bhp (SAE) and a 5 speed auto box with a (partial) manual over- ride.
I noticed that when I hit a decent up hill stretch of freeway at 75mph on cruise control, it would drop down two gears. This caused noticeable torque steer to the right - which must be downright dangerous in slippery conditions and was pretty alarming at times.
This happened even after selecting 'top gear' in manual mode.
Most UK spec manual cars could maintain this speed in top gear so is the Toyota auto set up peculiar?
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I wasna fu but just had plenty. Read more
It's a cruise control thing, if the Accord I drove last week shares any gearbox traits. As you approach the hill, the car starts to slow, so the computer pulls the throttle cable in. However, the hill gets slightly steeper, but the throttle isn't depressed enough yet to keep the speed up. So the computer continues to reel in the cable but the time lag causes it to hit the stop and the kickdown point before it starts to accelerate appreciably.
Hitting kickdown on the motorway usually causes any autobox to drop to 2nd gear (maximum power at about 5000RPM), explaining the abrupt jolt. I suppose it could be a fault with the kickdown sensor though, or the whole system could be badly designed. The Accord never had enough power to induce a torque steering effect. (*David runs out to hug his turbo diesel*).
Basingstoke council seems to be preoccupied with making life annoying for car drivers. Besides all the nonsensical unused cycle lanes and humps etc they now seem tp be going round iliminating every little bit of useful free parking. I don't mean a place to park all aday but those places where you could stop near town for 20 mins or so to go into the bank or the like and then leave. What have the powers that be got against car drivers or am I being paranoid? Read more
Went to Spalding today - a mixture of very nice and not so nice BUT they want you to go there! Multi storey carpark in the middle of the town with the ground and first floors giving free parking for 2 hours. Get a free ticket from a machine and display. It can be done if they want your business and I bet multi storey costs a lot more to build and run than an acre of tarmac with white lines on it!
Having just bought a 1995 Pug 306 turbo diesel for £notmuch I am considering renewing the timing belt and water pump mysalf mainly because I've no idea when it was last done. Have any backroomers done this? I have the Haynes manual which I would follow to the letter although my spannering skills were last used on rebuilding a Cortina engine.
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only other thing to add is, for the cam and fuel pump timing pins the bolts for the intercooler are the correct size so ideal to use, as you can also replace the intercooler seal which quite often fails. the pin for the flywheel i use a 6mm drill bit
chris
Just been informed that the wifes new shape Fiesta's steering rack seals are leaking, which means a new rack (apparently!). Car's only done 42000m. Quoted 'around' £200 for a refurb rack with £250-300 to fit.
All very scary, particularly as it's got an mot coming up in a few weeks (plan was to sell it and buy something bigger) Is the quote accurate and is it a definite fail (it's only seeping slightly)
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Don't worry about the stop leak, it's just a lubricant with a solvent in it to help swell the seals back up & thats why it stops the leak.
Here's a question I hope some of you may be able to help me with. If any of you recognise me as working at your company from the below, I will buy you any drink of your choice not to grass me up!!!
I am currently working in the motoring industry, and due to a combination of factors: itchy feet/boredom, desire to do something before I get old/earlyish midlife crisis, simple desire to earn more money in a different culture, I am looking at jobs abroad.
A favourite, as an emerging economic power and also having travelled it widely; is China. Dubai is up there, although I have a feeling it would be a "bit much" for me, but I have friends who work there who love it. Europe as well obviously; I speak French and German, I am degree-educated and currently a Customer Manager and also have some Marcomms experience. The car industry is the obvious choice as I love it as well as work in it, and have done for 7 years.
Any advice/tips/suggestions from experience?
Just thinking aloud really and you lot always seem to have sage advice on most things, even when I go off on one of my rants! Read more
If you work for the company in your profile, and depending on what you actually do, enquire about working abroad for them???
I know one of the IT service managers there (he works for my employer now) and he has told me many interesting tales based on him moving around years earlier, e.g.
- Very rich American walks into a Rolls-Royce dealer in the USA with a big ribbon tied as a bow. Asks "have you got anything to fit this". He bought (for cash) a RR, and his minder came back with the bow to fit it, have it loaded onto a low loader and take it away. It was a present for his wife.
- RR/Bentley used to have (and might still do) have a dealer in the far east (could well have been Dubai) to service the vehicles of one of the royalty. He was the only customer!
In fact they used to rotate staff through the operation in the middle east. And there must be more. May have changed under VW though.
Please can anyone give me some advice :
I need to be in London - Borough Market area - on Saturday week at around lunchtime. I'll be driving up from Gloucestershire on the M4 and intend to find somewhere reasonably safe and secure to park up and easily access a tube station to proceed on to London Bridge station. Or possibly I could get to London Bridge via a Thameslink train if any of the stations on that line are more convenient.
I'm thinking initially of Uxbridge (Metropolitan line) or possibly one of the stations around Hounslow (on the line that runs to Heathrow)...............but I've no idea which stations have parking in or around the immediate area.
It doesn't really matter where I park as long as it :
a. is easily accessed from the M4/M25/M40 without hitting too much congestion around 10-12.00 on a Saturday morning
b. is somewhere where I can park close to a station cheaply (or free) and is reasonably safe/secure to leave my car for the day - until 8-9 pm.
Many thanks in anticipation of some useful advice from "locals".
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>>if the advertised prices on the back of National Express coaches you'll have less stress
Travelling by coach, with the dregs of society who also travel by coach? Less stress?
Browse
Would I be correct in saying that the condition of a tyre deteriorates due to environmental factors. That is to say the effects of sun and other road pollutants will "age" the tyre.
With this, a 5 year old car car may have all of its original tyres that are still well within the legal limits. People will expect these to be just fine. Think of it this way, would you be happy to buy a "new" tyre that had been sitting out in the sunshine for 5 years. Tread depth will be as new, but what state are the sidewalls etc. in.
Particular problem for spares on 4x4s when displayed for all to see - better to have a cover!!