October 2007
Always worth a try it would seem.
tinyurl.com/2b6bml
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Followed a small MG sports car looking thing ("R" reg.) this evening. Two exhaust tailpipes, only one showing signs of emitting anything. Was the other a dummy, or had the driver got something stuck up it? Read more
Italian motors. Don'tcha just love'em?
Mmmm, flat-plane crankshafts...
Saturday last, travelling East from Cambridge - passed by a BM doing over 100MPH. His bonnet was up on the "safety catch". Passed him in a lay-by about 10 minutes later, making a 'phone call. Passed by the same car a few minutes later - again, 100MPH+. I didn't care to pursue him, valueing my licence. I wonder whether the bonnet popped up? How can one not notice this when driving? Read more
In a similar vein was passed by an XJS last Monday on the M61.
A mile or so later I had to avoid two black panels laid on the carriageway (one outside lane, one just inside the middle lane about 10 feet apart.
1/4 mile later the XJS was sat on the hard shoulder.
Wonder if he got his targa panels back undamaged?
Hi all. Basically my rover 400 (1999) gearbox needs replacing but I have a question you may be able to help me with.
What I need to know is, "Is the 1999 rover 400 gearbox the same as the newer rover 45's?
If it is I can get a newer rover 45 gearbox with hopefully lower milage with a better chance of it being ok.
Thanks in advance
Wayne Read more
As long as its not the facelift model 45, these had a ford box fitted.
If yours has a k series engine it should have a gearbox which will be the same as a 45.
Ok guys, I'm off to buy a car this weekend. Nothing over 1 year old and more than 5000 miles. I want something reliable, slightly sexy looking and fun to drive. Have a budget of around 8 - 9k. Like the look of the Renault Clio and the Peugeot 207 but have heard nightmare stories regarding French reliability. Is this true? What about Fiat? Have been advised to stick to a Yaris or something but not sure how inspiring they are to drive. Any advice? I'm not sure when I'll next have 8k to spend on a car so want it to last..... Read more
You could try a SEAT Ibiza- could get a nice 1.4 sport model for that. But then I am biased.
;-)
2007 SEAT Ibiza TDi
Why travel locally by car when you can do it much more expensively by train!
OK, Shenfield to Seven Kings is not like going from Lands End to John'O'Groats. It is a local journey. Tonight I thought I would do a regular journy by train and leave the car in the garage. Got to the stattion (only a 7 minute walk) and found I cannot buy an overnight return. Have to buy a single to destination, and a single back the following day. £9.20p in total.
My car will do the same (return) journey on less than a tank of diesel and in far more comfort. I can play music as loud as I wish, spit on the floor and scratch the initials of my latest beau' on the windows.
Afraid I won't be letting the train take the strain. Oil buner for me. Read more
Von
Deal called groupsave, 4 adults for the price of two and kids for a further £1 each. Another £5.50 for car parking (unless you know the exactly what time attendants at Northampton knock off on a Saturday).
I was the fifth adult in the party and I pay £3400pa for a season and another £180 a quarter for parking - still better than driving or trying to live and bring up kids nearer the smoke.
I loved the programme as usual. They are being a bit more mean to James than seems necessary but I'm sure he will get his own back somehow.
Had a quick search for microcars and it seems like some chap on the IOM is making up to date copies of them, hurrah :-) www.modernmicrocars.co.uk/
Shame they're about 10k for a new one... got all the range though.
teabelly Read more
>>Sure Honda won't be too happy with his verdict on the new Type R!<<
I'm not so sure they will be too bothered.
They intentionally set out not to enter the horsepower race and clearly knew that it would not have independent rear suspension.
It still beat the Golf GTI round the track and in just about every hot hatch review I've read, most reviewers have positioned it at number 1.
I'm not reallly a hot hatch person so not that bothered about trying to defend the Type R but clarkson was his usual selective self when it came to offering his views.
He failed to mention that Honda set out to make it less 'hardcore' and in that respect they succeeded - and as I say if you spot where he positioned it on the lap chart - it also beat his beloved Golf.
I think hamster got the plug in that Honda would have approved off - and that is that with the old model being a Honda - it will never let you down and last forever.
hi there i have a remote key entry system on my car and the batteries were dead so bought two new cr 2016 batteries as advised on this site but when i opened the key to put them in the batteries flew out lol now i have no idea how to replace them again have tried various ways but to no avail please can someone help me out with how the batteries go into the fob what sides are down and up lol
thanks in advance Read more
Hi, not to sure what way the batteries go in but i do no that once the batteries go flat or removed for ten mins you have to re program the remote key,(not as bad as it sounds) you should have a red key which you have to start the car with then you start it with the remote key you then have to turn key in a patern. This is all in the hand book if you dont have the book i could type it in from my girlfriends one.
hope this helps
getting a c4 piccasso grand.
was getting a 1.8vtr+ at 26mpg around town but also now thinking about 1.6hdi at 35mpg urban.
the deal i can get makes the diesel £500 more. my annual mileage is c15000 split between urban in the week and motorway at weekends.
how many miles would i need to do to make the hdi worthwhile. Read more
Having recently had a 207 1.6HDi as a hire car (which admittedly could have been the 90hp, not the 110 version) I'd want a Picasso for a weekend test drive and see how it copes with a full load.
My review here:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=56489&...f
One of HJ's old columns has a story about someone getting hit by an untaxed English registered car in France.
HJ then says you can only use a British registered car overseas for 6 months on any 12. But where does it actually say this? Does that mean my brother who works 4 days a week in Belguim has to re-register his car? And what if he goes to Germany for one of those 4 days?
Before I moved here, I spoke to the Swedish vehicle registration people, and as far as they were concerned you could keep it here for as long as you liked, as long everything was in order. They said the 6 month rule only applied to cars from outside the EU. I know a lot of people that live in Sweden and work in Denmark, commuting each day in their cars, but Denmark doesn't insist on re-registration.
He also says an un-MOT'd car will mean the other driver's insurance would be invalidated so they wouldn't be able to claim from the other driver. As far as I'm aware, there's nothing to stop another person claiming from you, MOT or not, tax or not, overseas (in Europe) or not. Read more
Everyone quotes the 6 month rule, but the above text in the first paragraph uses the word 'usually', then goes on to say 'A visitor to the UK may use a vehicle displaying foreign plates, provided that all taxes (including vehicle excise duty) are paid in their country of origin' with no mention of a time limit. Also no mention of MOT's etc.
But then under EU vehicles (aren't they foreign as well?) it then mentions a 6 month rule. Of course, it's easy for us to say produce ferry tickets (or Channel tunnel, I guess), but the rest of Europe doesn't need ferries, so the car could spend 1 month in each country, thereby somewhat difficult to prove anything.
Browse
Top Gear the other night had an item about the utterly carp new pay-by-phone parking that Westminster has (and I bet it's not alone). They said it didn't work. It didn't for me either as I couldn't spen ten minutes texting because my phone had gone onto that ridiculous intuitive thing where it doesn't say what you want it to. I explained all that, but the carp council said it was granite.
I do believe that doing nothing further, certainly not sending the carphounds any real money, may be the right and cheap thing to do here.
Down with hizonner and the monstrous regiment of carphounds!