July 2007
My wife inadvertently failed to notify her insurers re the fitting of after-market alloys to her Grand Vitara some 4 years ago. The original tyre size was 235 / 60R16 100H and the after-market spec was 255 / 55R16 103V. She recently changed insurers and notified them of the modification. They consequently added £50 to the premium! It would appear that by not disclosing the modification to her original insurers she has been 'uninsured' for the past 4 years!
One wonders just how many 'uninsured' vehicles there are on our roads particularly with regard to the purchase of used vehicles whereby the purchaser may not be aware of modifications such as wheels and engine chipping / re-mapping etc which will undoubtedly void the insurance cover.
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I can cope with middle lane hoggers and tailgating but the one that gets me most is the guy on the roundabout who dosen't indicate left. You sit there waiting for them to come past you and they suddenly turn left without signalling. It happens at junctions too and is just as galling. What gets you going? Read more
People who don't belt up their kids on the school run
Smokers puffing away with kids in the car
Usual roundabout buffoons, yellow box ignoramuses and fog light twits
Fake blonde, fake tan, Prada phone to the ear, 4x4 (X5, ML) women drivers
Letting someone out in front of me and despite many opportunities them refusing to do the same for someone else
Can anyone advise me as to how much this problem is likely to cost.
I took my car(v reg vauxhall astra 1.7td) into the garage as there was a problem with the starter motor, thats what the aa told me when i called them out. the man at the garage told me that yes it was definately the starter motor and he quoted me £143 for a new starter motor including fitting.
I said yes thats fine and left the car with the garage. anyway that was on friday, he said he could do it on friday. anyway i had a call from him in the afternoon on friday thinking that the car was repaired but the mechanic said that he had ordered the wrong starter motor and that he said that he wouldnt be able to get it done until monday i said fine but he said that the reason why the starter motor was not working was because it was burnt out.
he said that there is an oil leak in the engine that must have leaked onto the starter motor and caused it to burn out. he said that unless i get the leak fixed the next starter motor would burn out also obviously if oil is leaking onto it.
What id like to know if anyone has any idea of what part of the engine is leaking onto the starter motor and ifso how much more than the £143 he quoted me for a new starter motor would it cost to get the leak fixed too?
Thanks Read more
Cant comment on the oil issue but I changed the starter motor on my Diesel x reg Astra (Isuzu engine) and what a pig of a job that was. Having to undo three bolts plus the electrics all by feel if I recall correctly. Mind you, everything about that car was a nightmare : o (
Hi
MY ABS warning light on my Ford Galaxy TDI 1999 stays on. I had a diagnostic check which indicated a sensor was faulty. The faulty sensor had a open circuit and wasnt showing any resistance although was giving a voltage .
A Ford garage has told me that if I replace the sensor the light will reset on its own. This is not the case, after fitting a new unit the light is still on. Both front sensors now show a resistance and a voltage when the wheel is turned by hand.
Does this now mean that I'll have to let Fords get their hands on it to reset the codes and charge the earth.!!!!
Can anyone please help
Thanks
Dave
{Car details added to subject header to catch the eye of possible Ford experts who might just happen to be looking in - DD}
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Hi
Thanks for everyones advice.
After driving the car for approx 200 yards the warning light went out.
Merlin Tech - The system is from a 1999 Galaxy so hopefully the voltage surge shouldnt be a problem.
Thanks again
Dave
Topped it up today. I had checked it last week and was just above min mark so was going to up this week. Sadly the light beat me to it. Is is bad that this came up or was it ok if i topped it shortly after? Read more
It'll be fine
Hello there, can anyone help me?
I recently bought a ford focus 1.6 LX T Reg, and it has a 6000 cd RDS radio installed (the one with the rocker switch volume control). This is not working with the steering column radio controls, I have been told that it can, but the original radio which was installed was a 5000 radio cassette type.
Can the steering column remote control work with the 6000 series CD / radio? If so, how do you get it to work?
Also, where can you get the removel tool for the radio?
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Try a Ford dealer for this one - unfortunately an adaptor between 2 different Ford wiring setups will not be a standard part available from a motor factor. I'm surprised that the new stereo doesn't have the same plug as the old one did.
I have a Saab 2.2Tid 2001 model and it is suffering engine management problems. The engine management light came on about a month ago and I took it along for a diagnostic check. The results were pressure in turbo (burst hose, replaced now) and Map sensor (now also replaced). Now when driving I have a lost power, the car runs fine up until just over 3000rpm and then the engine management light comes on, I come off the power and the light goes off again, if it happens in 5th gear the light comes on earlier and stays on( kill ignition to reset light) The Saab dealer says it is likely to be the air flow mass meter (£122) but i am unsure. any suggestions, I don't think it is the turbo as I can hear it spinning.
Dave
Subject line slightly tweaked - PU Read more
I just want to make sure that I understand something correctly.
We are thinking of down sizing from a large estate car to a small car as we only really need the size to transport bikes nowadays. And, our daughter is getting bigger so having three bikes in the back of the car looks like it might be a bit unstable.
We have been considering a car with a maximum nose weight of 55kg. So, does this mean that I can use a bike rack for 3 bikes as long as the total weight does not exceed the weight of 3 bikes and the carrier? I was thinking of the type that support the bike by the cross bar rather than the version that you slot the bikes into and secure by an upright post.
Also, is there anything else I should consider if using this method of carrying bikes? I do appreciate that boot access would be difficult. Any help would be greatly apprecaited!
Thank you. Read more
This is the recommended downward force permissible on the towball so if your rack is mounted on the towbar then 55kg is your lot. I've used the type that has six webbing straps to secure it to the tailgate for years and never had a problem - in one 'emergency' situation' even had five adult bikes (and the five adults) on/in a Fiat Uno ( only for a couple of miles - sunny day suddenly turned to a torrential hail storm). If I was buying again I give serious consideration to the roof mounted type.
Hi all,
The head gasket went on the wifes 1998 Frontera a little while back. When the garage fixed the head they sheared a bolt off the heat shield (the heat shield which covers the manifold I think - to the right of the engine when looking in).
This now rattles all the time and drives me crazy when driving it! Vauxhall dealership told me this can be taken off and was removed in the future models built after this one. I took it off, lost the rattle but when I lifted the bonnet I got a bit worried everthing was getting a bit too hot so put it back on. Does anyone know if it's safe to remove this heat shield?
(I don't trust main dealers!!)
Thanks all. Read more
Funnily enough it went to vauxhall about a week after for a seperate problem with the alarm, the garage did the usual vehicle checks and noticed this bolt was sheared and suggested I remove it as this shield isn't necessary.
The garage that actually did the head weren't interested in fixing the sheared bolt, told me to go away and stop being pedantic!! It's not them who has to listen to it all weekend!!!
Currently running on AOL motoring channel:
1-10: tinyurl.com/3ynspm
11-20: tinyurl.com/39rv7p
21-30: tinyurl.com/ywogsy
31-40: tinyurl.com/2ov2ud
41-50: tinyurl.com/3bnvbn
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It's AOL. What do you expect? Balance?
madf
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What is most insidious of the non specialist insurance companies, is that if they will cover you with modifications they often wont cover the modifications themselves.
Thus charging you more, but not giving any more cover.