October 2007
Morning all
Am currently in negotiation with insurers regarding repair of my wife's car. They want to use pattern parts to reduce the costs. While I don't have a problem with this per se, the mechanic who I use said that pattern body panels may not be a very good fit. Am I within my rights to insist of genuine mazda body panels, but other bits (like headlamp and front panel) can be pattern. The engineer who assessed the car obviously has a duty to save money for the insurer as do we, but does that mean we have to sacrifice quality of repair?
The problem we have is, if I insist on genuine parts, the car likely to be uneconomical to repair and will be a total loss.
Thanks
Jonathan Read more
My new girlfriend lives 120 miles away and im thinking of seeing her weekly, so having looked around, ive found a nice example of the Jetta TD.
Just wondering if anyone has had experience of them, ie what are they like to drive, esp long distance and is there much to look for mechanically? Read more
>>Very few Jettas about on the market that I could see>>
The Golf always outsold the Jetta, Vento and Bora by at least three to one (people here prefer hatchbacks in most cases), whereas it's the opposite in the States and other countries.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
According to the WSJ
Jaguar brand is killing production of its struggling X-Type model for North America, the auto maker said.
Jaguar has decided to cease production by the end of the year, the company said, amid declining profit margins and a competitive, saturated U.S. luxury segment. Jaguar will have enough stock of the X-Type to support sales through the first quarter of next year. The X-Type will continue to be sold overseas, mainly in its home U.K. and other European markets.
In those markets, Jaguar will market a new diesel version of the X-Type for the 2009 model year, which will feature an automatic transmission for the first time, according to a letter from Jaguar management to dealers reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. That powertrain isn't compliant with stringent U.S. emissions regulations but Jaguar believes the vehicle will prove popular in Europe, the letter says.
The X-Type has been a sales loser in the U.S. Sales of the sedan and wagon are off 43% and 66%, respectively, so far this year, according to the most recent data from Autodata Corp. Overall, Jaguar's sales have plunged more than 27% through September.
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Interesting they now only offer the 3L petrol as an estate in the UK - in the US the 3L engine is the only one offered, with auto as standard.
With the weaknes of the dollar, the 3L (auto, I presume) saloon lists at about £18000 before tax.
Hi, Trying to get around a problem on a mates P reg petrol xantia, I think its been through various owners, so the code on the keypad is anyones guess. He got it with the 1111 service/ valet code but would like to be able to put his own personal code in, does anyone know how to do this without knowing what the last personal code was, or is there a way of by-passing it completely, that won't cause any future problems, i.e if battery is ever removed. Read more
just remember to keep the keypad in the boot in case you are in a strange town with a flat batt
i know you shouldn't laugh but the service manager says he is gutted,maybe hes in sympathy with the building then?
tinyurl.com/yrjmrh
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Apart from knocking professional trades I can't see the point of this thread. Locked.
One of my alloys is badly scuffed, what kind of a job can I expect from a mobile repairer. I have heard some use filler that doesnt last the next tyre change.
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a bit of silver alloy paint blown on at six inches can make some scuffed alloys look new to the uninitiated
the article about breaking the tyre bead on one side only (i havent seen it as i dont buy the book anymore )sounds not ideal for many reasons amongst them getting swarf and debris inside the tyre casing and more importantly its very difficult to seat a bead on a rim if one side only has been knocked off
edit.i should have added that taking the tyre off completely gives the fitter the opportunity to inspect the inner casing for any damage as well
My dad went to pick a Sprinter up today. Being on his own he didnt want to leave his car at the sellers house. So the van seller offered to drive to 20 miles to our house and drop the van off and we give him a lift back. He followed my dad for 10 miles and suddenly did a u - turn and sped off in the opposite direction. My dad tried to catch him up but he was long gone. Dad gave several thousand pounts cash at place of sale and in return got V5, MOT, other paperwork and a spare set of keys. Dad rang police and after 4 hours dealing with this they are going to finger print all docemrnts and keys and trace the reg plate. We also have guys mobile number but it is not being answered.
The VIN number on van matched the V5 and the tax runs out next month so it will hopelly resurface then. We have since found out that returning to the house it has been tried to be sold again. The address on V5 does not match the address we bought van at.
Any ideas on this, we are gutted and many thousands of pounds out of pocket. I know that you can tsay too much whilst an investigation in is place.
TIA Read more
obviously a new way of doing business for certain people,cant understand why all the notes were counted prior to delivery though?.
I usually get a deposit, deliver the car, get messed about at the persons home while they count their money into sad £100 rolls with one note folded over for the 60th time and ask me to count it again ,it always upsets them when i refuse and wang it all in my pocket (i once made an extra £60)
a warning for everyone ,as said hpi? did log book tie up with house number? did man come out of the house? no landline number? all these things are or were mentioned in buying a car via autotrader.
Was the van a bargain price then ?too good to miss? non of that vat nonsense eh?
questions questions
Just seen on the local news that Hampshire have made a horlicks of positioning road signs, speed limits/camera warning signs etc. on the south coast. Looks like they will be paying megabucks back to motorists going back a few years and points will be put back on licences! there is even talk of compensation. Bet some poor so and so working for Hampshire CC gets it in the neck. Read more
There were 14 cases dismissed by the Hants court this week not just one.
Each case related to the same "enforcement" zone but it is more likely than not for each of these drivers, that their entry routes to the "enforecement" zone were different as differing routes (3 listed in the press report) into the zone are listed as being improperly signed.
At the end of the day however I am afraid the courts and CPS have chosen to disagree with your view as to how these motorists should be punished.
The law says that if improper signage is in force then the scammers cannot use that area as a cashpoint.
As always
Mark
Son has just announced he is going to take g/f to open day at University in Falmouth tomorrow (Saturday).
He wants to leave at 8 am - I have suggested the get up EARLY (if that is possible....) and leave very early so break the back of the journey before others are about.
Last time I went there were horrendous road works en route. Anyone know the present situation? Thanks. Read more
Many thanks for the two replies . both helpful. The trip will now be at a later date as yesterday evening son fell down the stairs and injured his neck - fortunately not as badly as originally thought. Now he is minus the head and neck restraint and back board he is much happier! Few chipped bits off the bones but just needs rest and no driving for a while.
Hi Folks,
I have just been informed that I have won a car through the RAC's "Great car cover up", a competiton they ran to promote their vehicle check service. There are 3 cars under covers, ones a Porsche (presuming Boxster), ones a 'headturner' and one is a complete dud (which you dont actually win). Ive won car A, and I go to pick it up on Wednesday- If you fancy speculating about what it might be- visit www.thegreatcarcoverup.com then let me know, the suspense is killing me!! Im fairly sure car C is the Porsche, so naturally a lot of my eggs are in the 'Headturner basket"
Thanks guys! Read more
Hey! It was my dad who won the porsche! Just looking around to try and find the link for the reveal again as I lost the vid and his face was a picture. The car was sold after he played with it for a few months!
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Just get him to quote then, using Mazda parts and see what DL come back with.
What happens if I want to use my own repairer?
You can use a repairer of your own choice but doing so means that we can't guarantee the work and you will need to obtain an estimate for us to approve before work can commence.