December 2007
Just released.
1. Goodyear Hydrgrip
2. Vredestein Sportrac3
3. Continental Contipremium-Contact2
4. Michelin Primacy HP
5. Bridgestone Turanza ER300
Size tested is 215/55/16 V or W rated
More from autoexpress website. Read more
In the papers and on a previous topic it was said that BMW are to limit discounts on their range of cars.
BMW make rules for their dealers- Type of Premises, Workshop setup etc
I would have thought that fixing prices would be beyond the limits that BMW can insist on. According to a newspaper article the limit of discounts will be 10% - this is to stop Brokers getting a BIG Margin and eroding the "forecourt price" and future Resale Prices with higher depreciation.
The article in the paper said that BMW can set max discounts as part of their T&Cs.
I would have thought Competition Rules of the EU would put a stop to Fixing Minimum Resale Prices!
How can BMW GB set Forecourt Prices?
I used to work for a large manufacturer of electronics - if the authorities even smelled "maximum discounts on sale" then we would have been in court in no time.
Why is the motor industry different? or Is it? Read more
Mega QuoteSNIP
The extra 'bonus' was worth about 20 times the loss on the car sold.
>>
I stand corrected then !
Evening to all in the BR (says hello back)
Yesterday I was having a chat with a friend who owns a Diesel engined Leyland/DAF 400 and we got talking about running Diesel engines on SVO & WVO. My friend was adamant that you cant run a DERV unit on either unless you have a card that permits you to do so. And my argument was that as long as you
A) Do not use more than 2500 litres per year then you have nothing to worry about
and
B) Keep a accurate record as to how much goes into the tank along with the mileage that goes with SVO/WVO useage.
then you can run a Diesel engine on both as long as you keep to A & B above. Anyone know for sure? The government website is about as much use as a chocolate teapot on the matter
Many thanks - B&E Read more
I have a '97 Lucida, it runs quite happily on 50/50 SVO and Derv in the warmer months without any mods. You could probably use it all year, but I'm using straight Derv at the moment due to starting work early in the morning - I don't want to risk fuel waxing problems. Veg oil isn't that cheap any more; although it is cheaper than Derv.
I know there was a thread on waxes and polishes but I could find no reference to the Bilt-Hamber range.
Does anyone have any experience of their products - auto-wash, clay bar and auto-balm.
Thanks in advance. Read more
I've used the wax after the Practical Classics magazine recommendation. Frankly, I thought it rather fiddly as you must follow the instructions pretty closely & the finish was no better than Autoglym Super Resin polish in my opinion which is a doddle to use.
I have been suprised by the number of cyclists on the road in the dark early evening that have no lights. I saw one tonight although he was wearing a hi-vis vest. Best bit was that when I looked at him in more detail it was a police man !! Read more
I think with cyclists, like any other road users there are good and bad ones.
I see alot of dangerous mororcyclists and think to myself if they continue riding like that they won't last long and, to a certain extent, they "deserve" what will ultimately come their way.
During the summer there I cycled to work quite a bit and found that from my bed to my desk was quicker by bike than it was by car (12 miles). I also found that I had to be a bit "brave" at times. Sometimes you need to assume to a certain degree that other drivers can see you and are aware of you. If you had to check every time you moved slightly to avoid a pothole, some glass etc then you wouldn't get far.
Regarding traffic lights, if they are at red I won't race through them. However if I am in a queue of stationary traffic at the lights, especially if I am near the front, I will bump onto the pavement and go that way. Yes it gets me there quicker but also it helps the drivers as, for some reason although they are willing to drive past a cyclist at 30mph, if you are setting of from stationery there seems to be a reluctance for drivers to overtake, especially if it is a lorry or bus.
Also on my route there is something like 15 sets of traffic lights and it is in no one's interest for me to be fighting with the traffic at each set. If I can get onto the pavement and then back onto the road then thats what I do.
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2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
Hi I'm new here but could ANYONE help me I stripped my mondeo 1.8 turbo diesel down as headgasket went (I was ripped off by cowboy mechanic ) so I decided to do it myself anyway put the engine together started her up sluggish but realised the timing was out done that timing is now perfect BUT greyish smoke and takes about 20 second get the engine started I if I rev it up smoke gets a bit thicker after reading a few blogs here and there I got to thinking is it the ADVANCE SOLINOID there is 2 wires RED and BROWN what do you think I have checked Air filter its NEW the air charger cooler is a little bit dented when I took it off the smoke is still there any help would be welcome please reply to though I will be checking on this site
Duplicate post deleted, subject line tweaked and your e-mail address removed for your own good ! Read more
before and after
On the right, in the news section, there are two stories today regarding winter driving.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/item.htm?id=4109
Winter vehicle health advice 'ignored by drivers'
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/item.htm?id=4111
Seat checks 'to avoid winter discontent'
This leads to two questions in my mind.
1. Would the Seat winter checks satisfy the concerns expressed by Motorpoint in the first article?
2. The motorpoint article says "now that the Met Office has predicted this year's winter to be one of the coldest in recent memory." However, on checking the Met Office website, all I find is:
www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/seasonal/winter2007_8...l
"For the UK as a whole, winter-mean temperatures are more likely to be above normal than either near or below normal."
So where is the scaremongering about "one of the coldest in recent memory" coming from. Incidentally, similar stories have appeared in the last two or three years warning of sever winter conditions, but the predictions were usually issued by "non-MetOffice" forecasting organisations .
Read more
and no talent.
Oh Michael! Devon can't be that bad, can it? ;)
I have just sorted the non starting Polo that my daughter runs around in for the second time in 3years the HT lead to the centre of the Distributor cap has burnt away at the dissy cap end (leaving only the outer insulation boot of the HT cable holding it in place).As its happened again I wonder if anyone else has had this or similar.I check that the HT leads are pushed home and tight often , I did this only a few weeks ago for the MOT check and did not notice any burning ect. The fact that it has been arcing has burnt not only the HT cable but the centre pin of the dissy cap so new cable and a new cap.
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rustbucket (the original) Read more
I have now dissected the burnt moulded end the crimp is good well made and trapped all the strands of the conductor. What has failed is the carbon resistor encapsulated within the moulded part and has burnt not at the cable to restor crimp but at the resistor to sprung clip part that connects onto the dissy centre contact.Not that this solves the problem as it is still a failure of the assembly, but definately the week part.
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rustbucket (the original)
What do you think of new Kia Pro_cee'd? Is it already avaliable in UK?
Here are some images of it: www.kia-world.net/index.php/2007/11/23/kia-pro_cee.../
What do you think? Some people say it looks similar to Audi A3, but I find it quite different design when looking closely. Read more
What do I think?
I think the cars might be OK.
But I think the lame old tactic of using an 'enthusiast website' to invade an independent motoring chatroom is as hackneyed as cheese on toast.
Go and do your advertising somewhere else, cheapskates.
Hi
we have a problem with our ford that no one seems able to diagnose.... It judders badly whenever we go over about 50 miles an hour. garage suggests it might be drive shafts but say they can' t tell unless they actually change them. Wheels have been balanced etc so not that. Its a diesel estate and has about 80K on the clock. We can't really drive it at the mo as its quite an uncomfortable ride - anyone out there know anything????!
(No age of car or engine size mentioned despite the sticky asking people to include this, so have taken the info from the drop down menu when you made the choice of make/model) Read more
Lexy welcome to HJ.
There are two people on this site who really know what they are talking about, they are Screwloose and Aprilia. Take note of what they say and good luck with your wobbles and judders.
Browse
I suspect the final ranking has a great deal to do with the weighting attached to each category - change the weighting slightly and the ranking would change considerably.
Excellent point!