October 2007
Hi - just a quick question (as done a fair bit of research but unsure what to do)
jsut recevied a NIP today 24/10/07 where it states the offence was carried out on the 04/10/07
now i know this is over the 14 days (most probably due to teh post stike) but there is no post frank on the letter so i can't tell when it was posted.
now the other thing i've noticed is that the date at the top of the NIP says 19/10/07 which to me is 15 days after the incident.
the only thing i can come up with is that this is a lease car and they would have had to get the details from the leasing company - although i wasn't driving as the missus was as the time.
i've checked the camera to make sure it's calibrated and it is but is it worth taking the 3points/£60 or have i got something to go back to them with and stand a very good chance of winning?
thanks Read more
I have recently had a rental Gran Punto 5 door for 3 weeks. I did 1300 miles in it and found it OK but not compelling. My first impressions were good. The styling is smart and the grille is reminiscent of better Italian cars of bygone years. The boot proved surprisingly large and was able to swallow two 60cm suitcases standing up with room left for a couple of smaller bags. Inside the seats were comfortable and seemed better than average for a budget car. It had lots of little storage areas however they weren't a very useful size. I ended up having to put my sunglasses in the door pocket because there wasn't a suitable dash space. Same when I wanted to put a bit of small change handy for bridge tolls. The interior looked smart but didn't seem as practical as my Mazda 323.
The engine was a 1.2 with a 5 speed manual. Much to my surprise it managed reasonable performance in town provided you revved it hard and used the gears. On the motorways and A roads it could keep up with the traffic and cruised ok at 70mph and even 80 in places however there was no power left for overtaking. It could do with a bigger engine. It was also a bit noisy at speed but that has to be expected from such a light little car. I didn't keep fuel consumption figures however I was pleasantly surprised by how little petrol it used. Another pleasant surprise was that the rear visibility was quite good.
Dislikes - it didn't come with a users manual and I had trouble figuring out how somethings worked. Unlocking the fuel cap in a crowded service station on the A1 proved embarrassing. Eventually I got the hang of it but I still think it unnecessary and complicated. If someone wants to steal your fuel and the cap is locked he will just put his tin under your fuel tank and bash a hole with a screw driver. Lockable caps are a waste of time. Same problem with the radio. I could get it to switch on but not to switch off. I spent 3 weeks with the volume at zero! Either it was broken or it was over complicated. Then the seal on the drivers door fell off and the grille became loose.
Conclusion - I wouldn't buy one. Poor assembly and lack of quality control. The woman at the Hertz desk said the same and she has seen dozens of them. Read more
My GP 130 Sporting was bought new in June. So far I've done 8,000 miles. Not much to report. Fit and finish are good - nothing squeaks or rattles. Car hasn't missed a beat. Performance and handling are pleasing but economy could be better; around 45 mpg.
Dislikes? There is a little bit of dead travel at the start of the accelerator pedal travel and I'm not too fond of the speed-related intermittent setting on the wipers, I'd rather have control over that myself. There's not much throughput of air into the cabin without the fan on. Otherwise... that's it.
My new 420 D has a squealing pulley - by the looks of it, the bearing has gone or its just loose - it is on the route of the alternator belt ( also water pump? ), which looks like it runs off the engine, so my question is really, should I worry about the pulley in an urgent way as it appears it could affect the cambelt if the pulley gave way altogether?
The surface of the pulley is worn almost to a chrome finish whereas the others are dull, so I think its not a new problem - could it also affect the belt?
The car does seem to be affected in the way it runs by this but should I keep driving it or lay it up till monday when its going in for servicing? I dont want to invite disaster! Read more
its for the fuel pump that sits on the front of engine, change this belt at same time.
My son's 1.6L 'L'plate occasionally doesn't allow him in - just can't unlock it occasionally! Is this a known problem? [the other night he left it unlocked and the low-life stole....a rear door! ]
Is there any way of turning it off and just turning the key in the lock? Read more
Many thanks for your help - [the plus side is it hasn't rained much...]
Has anyone got recommendations of where to source:
- 'Peg' for parcel shelf that the string hangs off of so the back shelf is pulled up when the boot opens
- The 'Badge' on top of the Gear Stick with the diagram of the (6 plus Reverse) Gears
These bits of Trim are difficult to find on the usual Web sites and VW want £106 and £38 respectively.
Cheers,
Matt. Read more
Specialist Breakers like Volks-a-part etc have a look in the VW magazine or exchage and mart.
Changed the engine on my pug 306 4/5 months mainly thanks to my mate. I particularly remember what a pig the aux/fan belt was to get back on.
In the last few weeks i have been getting a whirring noise coming when idle. Yesterday this sounded worse, also a clicking could be heard when turning over engine. I was concerned that a bearing could be going on the diesel pump or a/c pump ( sounded like noise was coming from there). Had a quick look last night in dark and sprayed a bit of pen oil on the pulley bearings where accessible.
Started car this morning noisey again at first, went 100 yards and aux/belt went.
Does it sound like bearing has caused the problem, caused by overtighted belt or do i just need a new belt.
My air con leaks anyway so dont want to get a new pump if i can help it.
Any help would be great. Many thanks Read more
I expect the tensioner wheel has a worn bearing, common XUD point.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Having done a good deal of research we ordered an Smax titanium 2.0 tdci and are expecting delivery in the next few weeks. It was one of the few cars/suvs/mpvs that had three individual second row seats that eventually swung it for us. (Three boys 15,13,10)
With the anticipation of receiving the car we started looking at the forum to get advise as to the running in etc. We were quite concerned to see all the problems with Mondeo III 2.0 tdci we understand it is the same engine. There is advise on running in a diesel in the FAQ section, but we wondered whether somebody could give us the definitive on engine care.
i.e. Should one avoid supermarket diesel, use any additive, frequency of oil/filter change and any other tips anybody might have? We live in the country and so most runs are 12 miles to town to ferry kids.
This is the first new car we have ever had and have bought it for the long haul. we do wonder whether it was such a good idea to go for the diesel option. If we get to the end of the 3 years should we change?
I apologise if this is going over the same subject but we could not find all of this information on the forum or in the archive.
Many thanks in anticipation Read more
Not sure about the Mazda 3 but for the Volvos, the 1.6l and 2.0l are the Ford/PSA units, not the 2.0l found in the Mondeo III.
I recently watched a local bicycle policeman ride across a road, across the pedestrian divider across the other carriageway onto the pavement on the other side and away, around the local shops. I wonder if he's taken his cycling proficiency test? Read more
Motoring link is so tenuous as to be invisible. Locked.
mileage 80k
I recently changed the cam belt tensioner etc , all seems well , starting ok power ok. But i have noticed that the car blows smoke when pulling away at low speeds or accelerating from 15-20 mph following an overun period. Also the fuel consumption seems worse according to the computer (which was reset following service). It seems to be a little high on oil , could that do it ? I have only done very short runs since the belt change .
Read more
Overfilling PD engines with oil is potentially harmful to the catalytic converter - on mine there are two notices warning against this.
The recommended air filter change periods for this engine are, in my view, wrong. If you allow an air cleaner element to stay in the engine for too long, the inlet tract to the turbocharger operates at significant negative pressure under conditions of high air flow. This causes oil to be pulled into the engine both via the breather and via the turbocharger compressor seals. Unless you live in a very clean area, 20k miles is the absolute limit for an air cleaner element - 10k miles would be better.
When you changed your timing belt, did you use the correct locking tools and adjust the vernier on the camshaft wheel? Doing a straight belt change and not setting both the tension and position of the belt and camwheel with the three vernier bolts slackened will result in the camshaft timing being wrong. This is bad news for this engine as it also influences injection timing.
659.
>>The Scottish sales performance of car manufacturer Mazda over the course of September >>has set the company up for a good 2008, it has claimed.
>>According to the firm, it delivered a 3.8 per cent market share in the country during >>September, with it having already sold as many cars this year as it did in 2006.
I have a Mazda and I am delighted with it.
Maybe because the Mazda outlets did so well this year was the reason the sales staff in 2 x Mazda outfits did not get a sale. Ignored in 1 outlet (he did not get out his chair when asked for the price of a car in the showroom) and not given the attention I thought was required at another when I asked about a test drive.
Neither asked me how much I was planning to spend I was looking to spend £15K or a bit more however their views of me were coloured by my 7 yr old/90K mls Civic in their car park (immacualte for yr & mileage).
In the end I bought Japanese and not from a franchised outlet but from Motorpoint.
The chap was very pleasant, showed me what I wanted to see, gave me the approx T/I value other franchises offered and sealed the deal in 90 minutes.
3 weeks later I am delighted with the car and would recommend Motorpoint Glasgow. My son bought a Goldf there 12 mths ago and had equally good service. Read more
I recall that Renault have also done extremely well in Scotland in the recent past. As a Scot (living in England) I can't really see why there should be a marked difference against the rest of the UK in mainstream car choice. Unless its a lingering bias in England to perceived "British" marques (Vauxhall, Ford especially). From a Scottish viewpoint all cars are foreign built. More likely company car registrations - which still I guess show the same bias for a range of reasons, not least fleet pricing and will tend to be registered top an English address even if used in Scotland. Either way I'm not sure Scottishness is the reason, rather its an indirect effect of other factors. Hillman Imp (last mass produced Scottish car) anyone?
Browse
Surely it would be better if "kept" and "keeper" were changed to "owned" and "owner". Then there would be no ambiguity.