May 2008
Had to change a stop light bulb on a Ford Fusion today; 1st time I have had reason to touch the rear lights and had to comment on the design.
To release the light unit from the car involves 2 self tappers (outside of car) a plastic screw fastner (inside) and a ball socket (unreachable). Any 2 of these would have been sufficient to hold it securely in place!
Then to release the bulb holder from the light unit there are 6 plastic clips; all of which have to be released at the same time, making it very awkward to do by your self! Again, 2 clips would have been sufficient!
Why do manufacturers make theses assemblies so hard to do? Considerable cost savings could be made (pennies per car admittedly) by a simpler design, so why the extra costs?
Any other contenders for over engineered design? Read more
I couldn't believe my eyes the other day. I saw a 56 reg Focus - virtually brand new as far as I'm concerned - drive by me in an absolutely terrible state. Rubbish was piled up to the roof in the back of the car and the exterior was filthy, the front bumper had a chunk missing from the bottom and there were dents and scrapes all over the front wing and driver's door. The alloys were absolutely wrecked from kerbing. Whoever's responsible for the upkeep of that car ought to be ashamed of themselves.
It is not the first time, I've seen a few new cars go buy me that are in such poor condition my old banger puts them to shame. If you don't care about the car, why buy an expensive, shiny new one in the first place? Read more
Observations of colleagues and employees over several decades of company-car use have convinced me that the attitude to and treatment of the company car is entirely consistent with the attitude brought to the job as a whole. As ever, behaviour with cars is merely a manifestation of the intrinsic nature of the individual. Having inherited one company car from a departing colleague, I'm proud that the company mechanic said it was in better condition when turned in than when it was given to me, and that wasn't for lack of use as at times I was doing over 30k a year.
In the supermarket carpark today I saw an 07 plated Nissan with numerous scratches round the lock and the white primer showing through the black top coat. Leaving aside the issue of a remote on the key, it seems to me it's easier these days to go through the paint of a car and more common to see a light primer under popular dark colours.
Any thoughts? Read more
Change your forum name to Pessimist ;-D tinyurl.com/3hnxdx
I saw five broken down vehicles. One elderly Korean car (at least 10 years old - probably a Hyundai) and four French cars all less than two years old.....
I also moderated my speed and mananged to keep to about 60mph for about 100 miles in four bites and averaged just over 31mpg. Not bad when I usually get 15mpg for purely urban driving and an average of 20mpg around suburban Manchester.
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The Simca Vedette had a Ford based V8. It appealed to an eight year old boy in 1965. If I ever get one I had best avoid motorways!
Quite an amusing writeup:
www.topgear.com/blogs/planettopgear/124-new-series.../
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To swerve back towards the thread subject, a quarrel over pay, one assumes that even the derisory BBC offer would sound all right to most people, and no doubt some sort of compromise will be reached. It is doubtful though that the figures are anything like the salary deals reportedly paid to some of the beeb's top presenters which are verging on football player or racing driver wages.
Apart from one's natural bitter envy, one cannot help wondering whether the corporation always spends its money in the population's best interests. Two of the presenters getting these colossal salaries, Jonathan Ross and that camp Irish chap, each undoubtedly intelligent, talented and well-informed, have shows whose main point seems to be a stream of very vulgar, not always funny sex jokes and highly offensive, not usually funny remarks about public figures. Where they find the brainless puddings to bray with laughter in the studio audiences is a mystery.
Should our licence money really be lavished on this sort of thing? It is corrupting and subversive where the impressionable are concerned. Of course no real adult would bother with that stuff although Ross is quite an astute movie critic.
I saw a morris ital this morning while l was out driving.this got me thinking that next week my son will be six. i remember when i was that age BL was a mass producer of cars in the 70's and looking back at them imho they were all a load of rubbish allegro,princess marina,TR 7 the only one i would duff my cap to would be the 3.5 v8 sd1 not cause of the car but the fine engine.my dad back then had a mk1 cortina which to me wasnt a bad car neither was the escort and vauxhall never made a car as bad as BL so my question is what car maker today will be looked back at in 30yrs time as turning out carp like BL did. Read more
What was the headline in the Local paper?Was it"Knicker Nicker Nicked"or "Pantie Pincher Pinched"?
Which is the definitive most reliable car on the market ?
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As said you'll hear stories of really good and really bad owner experiences for any car (Look at Shoespy's experiences then compare that with others who have had problems with Mondeo TDCI fuel systems).
Warranty direct I thought was based on cars which are out of original warranty (ie older than 3 years old) and may not cover "niggles" like squeaks and fast wearing tyres, brakes and clutches. (If I am wrong on this someone please correct me!).
I always look at all the surveys and also compare that with owners online reviews. Doing that you'll narrow the choice of most reliable car down to a few, then it is a question of which is the best to drive and how good is your local dealer.
Mixed messages from this BCA subsidiary. I'd seen it mentioned in the HJ Telegraph column, so, now our S-reg Peugeot 306 is off to pastures new, I thought I'd give it a go.
The helpline number was very helpful, but they wouldn't deal with me directly. I had to call my local BCA - in this case Blackbushe, Surrey. And there a bored and uninterested girl on a poor phone line gave me a totally different story from the SureSell folks, and really made me feel like not bothering. Fewer sales than SS had told me. Not even willing to discuss a reserve, because of the age of the car - so I might end up only getting £50 for it
Which is a problem, because I'd really like to avoid all the hassle and visitors of AutoTrader. Strikes me they only really want to deal with the trade.
Anyone else any experience of BCA/SureSell to share? What should I do now? Read more
Last November, I tried to sell my car via BCA?s SureSell service. I rang the national free phone number for SureSell and the person who dealt with my call was very helpful, but she then put me through to my nearest BCA auction, where the staff were clearly unenthusiastic about dealing with a private seller. After another phone call it became clear that, at my nearest BCA auction, the SureSell sales were fully booked for weeks ahead anyway.
I eventually took my car to an auction that is not part of a chain. The car sold first time out and I was taken aback by just how easy it was to sell a car using that method.
If you?ve got an old car to sell, I?d recommend using an auction, but not BCA. Like ifithelps, I can?t see the difference between the SureSell service and the service that just about any motor auction will be able to offer to any private seller.
Can anybody advise how to renew the bulbs on the speedo lights. Step by step instructions gratefullyb recieved due to having trouble getting a manual. If anyone has one lookig for a good home in York area please contact me. Thanks Read more
Some of the least obvious things can attract someone to a car. For example, I can remember having a Volvo where the heater could be at a different temperature for the passenger. That was good. Other cars have had good economy or handled well or depreciated more slowly. All of those things were good too. Some have proven more reliable or had comfortable seats or better loadspace. Very pleasing. Some were paid for by employers....excellent!
Overall, though, when it comes down to it, my favourite thing in a car is a sunroof. Whether or not you have the benefit of aircon or climate control or whatever it may be called this year by the marketing department, a sunroof is just such a pleasure. I have had full convertibles, which can be very nice, but can also cause other compromises in terms of loadspace or security. Sunroofs are the thing which transforms the most mundane of cars into a joyous thing to drive. Ultimately far more suited to the British climate than any other form of toplessness by virtue of being a source of light even when closed and on the dullest of days. Sunroofs give you a private little window to the sky which I really believe contributes to a feeling of well being. They can be opened or closed at any time depending on your instant circunstances and at moderate speeds they cause little or no intrusion.
Therefore, my vote for the thing I like most about my car is the sunroof. What is your favourite feature on your car? Read more
Well obviously there is the sunroof, but also the whole roof that folds away (it's an EOS). But more suprising, is the nearside mirror that folds down for reversing and back again. Rear visibility is not the best in a coupe.
Things I miss, are the automatic lights. I thought they were a gimmick until I had a car with them for some time. Never could get the wipers right, but the lights were great.
Slow depreciation and excellent economy are a given.
regards,
daren
You should try changiong the rear bulbs on the old shape (B6) Audi A4 if you want a real challenge !