October 2007
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
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.
Glow plug light went out a week ago when trying to start it.a mechanic changed the glow plugs and solenoid to bypass immobiliser,to start it now a wire is put across the relay and glow plug light comes on in dash.the van will start,this has to be done even when engine is warm.is it the relay at fault?would be grateful for help thanks
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Well something finally broke on the Honda - the nearside headlamp bulb went in France and was replaced by my spare. Interesting job in the dark. Now I want to fit two brand new bulbs.
Question
Other than being a toddler with considerable upper body strength how do you change the offside headlamp bulb in the current Honda Accord? I can touch the cover that goes over the back of the bulb housing but cannot get my hand in far enough to turn it, never mind reach in to change the bulb.
Would have been an interesting discussion with the gendarmes if the offside bulb had gone in France! Read more
Managed to work this out last night - on a Diesel.
Remove the bolt holding the top of the washer bottle filler (needed a flexible drive and care not to drop the bolt.
Pull off the top part of the filler tube - top 2 inches comes off, lower part might pull out as well but I managed with just the top part removed.
You can now move the tube over allowing (me) just enough room to get my hand in. If you have large hands you will struggle. At one point I thought we might need the fire brigade to get my hand out! Next time I might get the wife to do it!
Refit the washer bottle filler tube. I did drop the bolt but luckily it lodged on one of the many pipes there are down there so was reachable - just.
hi, my mk 3 fiesta has developed a hairline crack on the core plug and is weeping coolant , is it a simple task to remove/replace it ? thanks mj Read more
just think though every time you lift the hood the eyes of the realm will
be watching you
i was pondering that dilemma BB so i had the foresight to have the fleur-de-lis on display
see how many drivers will be driving home from work tonight with out lights on, happens every year on this particular monday Read more
........ courteous to allow joiners in either by moving over or adjusting your speed.
During my 14 years M62 commute I did it for my own safety, not out of courteousy!
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L\'escargot.
As a corollary to a current thread about power steering, I think that more advantage could be taken of it in respect of steering gearing. My 1929 Lagonda was geared to about one and a half turns lock to lock, which was very handy for getting on opposite lock fast when roll oversteer set in and generally gave satisfying handling. It was possible because of a decent sized steering wheel, narrow tires and all of the engine weight behind the front axle, but it was a heavy car. Nowadays, as pointed out in the other thread, many cars are so heavy to steer without power that it has become a necessity. However, low geared steering often seems to persist so that one requires too much twirling of the wheel to get the required movement of the front wheels; this is perhaps a legacy of the latter years of no power.
But I ask, given that power is required anyway, might it not just as well be used to afford higher geared steering again?
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"DIRAVI"
Thanks, OS. There is a surprisingly good article about this on Wikipedia. One of the listed advantages was that 'steering becomes an extension of thought process', which is quite a large claim (!), although having used it, I do know what they mean. It added to the 'magic carpet' feel of the car, although I always felt that it needed more cylinders to complete the illusion.
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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.