October 2007
Our Ebay special AX failed its MoT on numberplates being illegible. Having failed to identify the reg. mark properly from the seller's photo of the car, I feel the MoT man had a point. But, having replaced the plates, I now have a front and a rear number plate from a car of very little value but with current tax and MoT. How concerned should I be about disposing of the original plates? Can I just drop them in the wheelie bin, or should I take an angle grinder to them or immolate them in separate bonfires on Nov 5th?
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land Read more
I'm not sure whether this has been covered before but I'm still confused about using a hand held mobile. I understand that the law prohibits the use of a hand held when moving and also stationary with the engine running. Someone has now told me that it may be rather foolish to use a hand held when sitting in the driver's seat with the engine off. According to this 'someone' the police may assume that the engine was swiftly switched off when the driver saw an officer approaching.
BTW what's the situation over using a mobile when riding a horse on public roads? Not such a daft question as I saw a girl the other day doing just that and certainly not paying attention to controlling the horse! Read more
" I think that if you have the ignition key on or about your person you are deemed to be driving."
No. As I said above there is a definition of driving in the RTA. Over the years this has been refined and focussed with caselaw. You can actually "drive" a car (within the meaning of the Act) without having the keys anywhere nearby. The old Section 5 (Drunk in Charge was the Police term) is different, having the keys in your pocket may then become a situation where you are in Charge for the purposes of that chunk of legistlation......Driving as the Act understands is'nt that simple.
I have been in hospital for 5 weeks and as I am the only driver my car, a BMW120d, about 12 months old, has been standing in my drive.
I am now home from hospital and may be able to drive in a week or so. Could you advise me what is the best way to get the car ready and what to be checked before I take the car on the road.
Thankyou
Corrected poster's error at his request Read more
>>I'd be surprised if the battery still has enough charge in it to start the car
I'd be surprised if the battery didnt have enough charge in it to start the car,should last longer than that without a problem!!!
Had a recent trip of a few weeks in Japan and took the opportunity of driving a rental Impreza. Had the car for a trip from Shinagawa, Tokyo, to Osaka and back. Going via Nagoya.
The car was an almost brand new Japanese-spec 2.0 150PS (non-turbo) model.
I expected to be very impressed with the car - but unfortunately it didn't meet expections.
Car looks a bit better in the metal than in pictures - but the styling is not distinctive. Interior is not too bad (many aspects borrowed from the Legacy).
The car is wider inside and the front seats didn't 'nip' me like the ones on the 2007 model do.
A fair bit more legroom in the back.
The engine is more muffled than in the old model, but it does feel a bit 'remote' and didn't sound as nice to my ears as the outgoing 2.0RX. You prod the pedal and there is a well-muffled roar from somewhere in front.
On the move the clutch and gearshift are fine. This model has electric PAS and unfortunately has that slightly wooden feeling that many of these systems have - it feels a bit like a BMW Mini in that respect, to be honest. Not nearly as nice as the steering of the old car.
Japanese roads are very smooth and well graded - so its hard to comment on the ride as it would be experienced in UK.
Handling is definitely set up to work with the (standard) stability control and it feels a little 'dead' - - with the expected gentle understeer. There is a lack of interactivity between throttle and steering and you can't balance the car on the throttle, as you could with the old car. If you switch the ESP off then the car feels decidedly light at the back end and does not inspire confidence in fast curves.
Brakes are much as per the current model and fine.
Overall its a car that the Focus/Mazda3/Astra driver will be more than happy with. IMHO it lacks the interactivity of the current ('old') version and does not feel as fluid on a winding road. Bit of a disappointment really. Read more
Very underwhelmed spoke of poor fuel consumption below parr
performance (this was a Top of the range n/a 2litre) so-so interior. Liked the brakes
& handling.
The one I had in Japan seemed fine on fuel consumption (around 30-35mpg equivalent). Performance was quite acceptable and much the same as any other 2-litre hatch. It was the handling I was less keen on.
>>Certainly everyone I've known of with non-Turbo
versions of the old ones have had problems fuel consumption being one of them. Reliability
as they get older has been average as well.
The 'non-turbos' were fitted with a variety of engines, but the old SOHC EJ20's have been incredibly reliable - you can't kill them. Crank sensors about the only thing that gives problems. The turbo's tend to be a little more troublesome simply because they are under a lot more stress and are quite a bit more complex, but all are very reliable by the standards of most other brands.
The newer (post-06/2005-on) non-turbos use a version of the quad-cam EJ204 (also used in Legacy and Forester) which is a very good motor and well proven for many years on the Japanese home market, although latest version, being Euro-IV, has a lot more sensors on it. They are much better on economy (at least in the Impreza) and not heard anything bad yet about reliabilty, although most will still be under warranty.
EJ25 as used in Legacy 2.5 had problems 1999-2002 approx due to liners fretting the head gasket - probably Subarus only 'problem' engine. They claim it was fixed 2002-on, although the jury is still out for another year or two I guess.
Hey there,
I am getting ready to trade down from my mk2 Focus TDCi 110 to a mk1, but am having difficulty deciding between two models. The 1.6 Ebony 03 with heated leather seats, parking sensors, loads of xtras, or the 1.8 TDCi Sport 53, which has less equipment, but does look a little more special but has the advantage of diesel economy and power...both have around 40,000 miles.
The crux of the matter is whether the TDCi with it's alloys and slightly mroe special styling inside and out, is worth the £1200 over the 1.6. Am i right in thinking it's a very expensive engine to repair, without being particularly reliable (the 1.6 was very reliable that I had before the mk2 Focus)?
Thanks
SLT Read more
I have just got the old Cat off. In the new fixing kit is a sealing ring to go between the two flanges, this appears to be made of a sort of compressed wire material presumably to allow a bit of flex together with the spring mounted bolts.
Read more
Screwloose. The whole is actually in the pipe just in front of the weld, I hadn't thought about seeing if it could be welded, I will look in the morning to see how bad the pipe is.
My local pug place do the Cat for about £110 + vat about the same as GSF.
For a laugh I asked Peugeot, they want about £280 +
bell boy. I was told that wasn't an option as the 2.1td was only fitted for about two years and they all had Cats
Hi all - I'm not having a lot of luck with my car recently..!
Driving over the flow plates into my work car park this morning, the front o/s coil spring snapped.
I'll book it into a garage to be replaced tomorrow; is it essential to replace the n/s spring as well?
Also does anyone have any idea of how much I'm looking at for the part and labour?
Cheers
Dan Read more
Thanks very much Screwloose.
I got a court summons yesterday because earlier this year I parked on a stretch of road where there was an unbroken white line in the middle of the road. I was delivering a boot load of food and stuff for a friend's christening and was thinking more about parking close to the house than the finer points of parking regulations and in the hurly burly of setting things up for my friends forgot to go back and move the car before it had been spotted by two CSOs.
I didn't get a ticket but a week and a half later two uniformed officers were in our lane looking lost as we left to go out. We stopped to offer directions (we live in an area of scattered farmhouses and often see people looking lost) they handed me a letter containing an NIP. I had to explain to my two young kids that I wasn't being arrested
The NIP simply asked me to confirm if I was the driver at the time of the offence. I completed it and posted it off in good time.
Now I face a court appearance with a potential for a fine and already there are £35 costs against me.
I find it staggering that a) the police can waste so much time and money running around hand delivering NIPs and b) that a parking offence can go straight to requiring a court appearance without a fixed penalty being offered. The summons has required the two CSOs to write formal witness statements and I have been required to fill in a detailed questionnaire asking me to detail my weekly income and outgoings down to the level of asking me how much I spend on cigarettes and the lottery each week. This is simply demeaning.
I am writing to offer a guilty plea by post and am contesting the award of costs.
Sorry to rant on, but this is simply insane.
Read more
So I guess nobody'll complain if I lock it then.
One of our family cars is an old(L Reg) Peugot 106 diesel ,We've had it about 7 years. Thieves broke the dropglass opened the bonnet and stole the battery and the face of the stereo foolishly left under the seat. Informed the insurance company and they've come and removed the car because its not secure,and tell me its a write off.I'll be contacted tomorrow so they say. I'd rather have the car made good. We know the history of it , have spent money on brakes etc recently and it has a top range pioneer stereo with a 6cd stack, car does very little mileage.Anyone got any advice? Read more
Ah, that explains it! :-)
Blue
Can anyone tell me how to access this to test/replace it?
Omega 2.5 auto 1997
Thanks! Read more
Browse
Snap them in half and throw them away. Thieves don't go scouting in bins for bits of old number plates to clone cars, they can easily get any number plate they want made up without hassle.