August 2007

smokescreen

Hi,

I've just made a few calls for cars im looking into , and some of the places are offering a wararnty supplied by "APA Customer Protect" for non wear and tear faults on the car. Tried looking through the site and using google and co, nothing has come up.

My first thought on these used warranties is 'yeah , as if they'll cover anything!'. Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with APA or such 3rd party warranties before? In particular, common rail issues.

Thanks in advance Read more

OldSock

Maybe things have improved, but many used car warranties in the past had limitations on 'consequential damage'. In other words, if the oil pump failed they'd cover the cost of a new pump - but not the rest of the damage caused when the engine siezed (naturally, you should have stopped the car the instant the pump failed, sir). Similarly, some would have quite severe limitations on how much would be paid out per claim, and in total. Others had strange ideas on what was 'fair wear and tear'.

That was some time ago - but I've never bothered with them, then or now.

Greg R

Hi

I have a chrome exhaust on my bike, and rust is starting to go through.

Can anyone suggest where I can buy chrome paint (preferably heat paint) which would be shiny.

I have tried the usual (halfords, b&q, homebase etc).

Thanks
Greg Read more

bathtub tom

I gave up on the chrome on one of my bike's exhaust, and used cylinder black instead. It needs a bit of careful preparation, but it lasted some considerable time. The bloke that bought it commented it must have been an edition he didn't know about.

aahbarnes

Seen this word attached to motorway bridges around the country and always wondered what it means? Any ideas? And why put it on a motorway bridge? Read more

BB

Eg. "All I want for Christmas is a Dukla Prague away kit", "Hair like Brian May Blues" and "£24.99 from Argos"

Half Man Half Biscuit.........Class

barchettaman

With apologies if this has been covered loads, can someone explain to me why, when replacing 2 out of 4 tyres, the new ones should go on the back?
It seems to me (as a complete non-expert) that the new ones should go on the front: better grip under braking, more tread to clear water in the rain and clear a path for the rears, and if you rotate them at half-life, then probably more even wear. Plus aren´t the rear brakes only used during extreme braking?
Let me just say I´m not advocating this, I was just wondering if anyone had an explanation as to why the opposite would be recommended.
TIA for any enlightenment. Read more

barchettaman

Thanks all - interesting stuff.

cortinaman

Ignition light flickered on for a few seconds then went out a mile from home.
Got home, switched off, and turned igition back on (position 2) - no ignition light. (Other lights on ok).
Engine starts ok, go for five minute test run - other electrical stuff seems to be ok. Still no ignition light, engine running or not.
Have'nt driven the car si nce - but now (4 days later) battery is nearly flat. No lights or anything left on.
My guess is alternator has died - am I right?
Thanks for any opinions!
BTW, car is a 99 1.8lx estate
Read more

milkyjoe

ive had the problem with the diode pack on a fiesta , but in my case the battery charge light stayed with the ignition off thus indicating that the battery was draining into the alternator because the diode which is basically a one way electrical valve had broken down causing a reverse flow thru the alternator windings

Stuartli

Those of you who have had the odd parking fine might be interested in this link:

tinyurl.com/2jdbgp

Just be thankful that you have a PA..:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by Read more

Dalglish

too late, already psoted this morning:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=55...6


You beat me to it - locked this one continue discussing in t'other - PU

tomandjerry56

was wondering if any one can help how many kilometres there are to a mile Read more

Avant

No arithmetic - promise - but (maybe I'm being pedantic) it does annoy me when people pronounce kilometre to rhyme with thermometer: it should be as in millimetre, centimetre etc.

US influence I fear, where it's spelt like thermometer.

brg190 pete

Today I visited a main dealer to test drive the petrol and diesel versions of a car I am interested in. Made an appointment in advance and arrived at 2pm as agreed.

When I got there, it was very busy, so I stood waiting for 30 mins. I asked to speak to another salesman but none were available - even though other staff were around. Just about to leave and the salesman I had spoken to comes over and said he would try to find another salesman to accompany me on the drives.

So I eventually get to see another guy. We don't get off to the best of starts when I say I want a car with the ivory leather interior. I know these are rarer than those with the black interior but there are some around. He says it will be very difficult to find and you don't want one of those as they lose their value very quickly. I find this statement contradictory. Anyway, I thought the customer is always right!

He asks for my annual mileage. When I say 14,000, he says you definitely want a diesel - I know for a fact that, at that sort of mileage, the choice between petrol and diesel is marginal.

Before we go on a drive, I ask him to fold down the rear seats so I can see how much space there is. After 5 mins trying, he says the seats don't fold. I know for a fact they do, so he trys again and eventually succeeds.

Off we go in the diesel. No fuel, so off to the fuel station. There he meets an attractive young lady and talks to her for 10 mins. Gets back in the car, no apology, and says that she works for Audi, which is where he also used to work, and they get better company cars. Considering he should be trying to sell me his company car, this seemed an odd comment!

He drives foot to the floor at all times, but this sort of behaviour just puts me off and makes me resolve never to buy an ex-demo car (oh dear, my current car was a demo!). He then remembers my interest in mpg, so he zeroes the counter - which is showing an appalling figure -then tootles along in too high a gear and remarks how good the mpg is.

Back to the showroom. I was expecting the hard sell now, but he just could'nt be bothered. He did ask if I had made an appointment for the test drives (as if to say what a waste of my time this was!)

I said I would find it difficult to choose between petrol and diesel, so it would come down to price. What is the typical price of a 3 yr old car? He says we have none of those and he can't give me typical prices, as all cars are different! I would need to decide what I wanted and then they would try to find me one.

I have been keeping an eye on the manufacturer website, so know there are cars at other dealerships. So I asked about getting a car from elsewhere in their system. I would have thought there would be 2 profit margins to consider and this concerns me. Don't worry, says he, they would pay sticker price to the first dealer and make no profit themselves. Why would you do this, say I? Because you're the customer, says he.

Frankly, I really liked the car and will definitely buy one, but no way from this dealership. The salesman knew less about his product than I did, and some of the things he said I just didn't believe. Perhaps the problem is that the car is in demand and the salesmen don't really need to try to sell their cars. Read more

injection doc

Well I tried all the internet sites & dealers all around the south east & south west & they all said the same thing, there are loads of 3drs but not 5dr with climate & technology pack & power mirrors etc. We hopefully now recive ours Saturday week. The dealer has rung to say its finally in the country. Its been in the dealers interest to get the car because they have had to stick to the deal & the p X is now 6 months older & done another 5000 miles, so they have been trying
Doc

Pugugly {P}

On tonight after the Secret Life of Motorways on BBC4....bearing in mind the interest generated in the recent DeLorean thread may be worth a watch. Read more

Lud

It occurs to me stevied that you must suffer a lot to give us all the benefit of yr posts... :O)

milkyjoe

hi, i recently changed a broken throttle cam on a weber tdlm 2v , i religously took my time dismantling and reassembling the parts involved but now on the odd occasion the throttle sticks open which is a bit of a pain in traffic , should i have lubed any parts on the rebuild im thinking a bit of wd40 in the throttle cable casing or would that cause more problems , thanks

Totally re-written subject line to include car details and elaborate on why the throttle was sticking - PU Read more

milkyjoe

thanks all much appreciated , will take on board the info, have a cool bank holiday( sunny) we hope !!!