May 2008
I'm thinking about buying a Lotus Elise 1996 - 1998 with the Rover K series engine.
I know that soft tops sell better in the summer, but the prices in Autotrader seem a little higher than I was expecting.
How much money could I potentially save by holding off till the winter to buy one? Read more
This is a general question about terminology. What is a leading shoe and a trailing shoe?
My theory, and I may be well off the mark, is that the leading shoe is where the piston pushes on the leading edge of the shoe and the trailing shoe is pushed on it's trailing edge. Correct?
Does it then follow that in days of old when drum brakes were fitted to the fronts and had twin cylinders, that both shoes were leading? Read more
Thanks John S for the explaination.
I've got an 02 Saab 9-3 Tid at the moment.
It's the family car, but I also use it for a daily 70 mile round trip to work.
I get between 45-48mpg and it never lets me down.
My other half is hopefully getting something Focus sized on a lease which would take care of the family duties, leaving me with a pretty big car just for getting me to work and back.
What with the price of fuel and the increase in road tax I was thinking of maybe getting something a bit smaller - more suited to carrying one bloke to work.
I've been looking at Peugeot 206 HDI's. There's a 1.4 that gets over 60mpg apparently and is a lot cheaper on tax too. Anyone any experience of these on the motorway (maybe 60 out of my 70 miles a day is motorway). Would the 2.0 be a better bet?
Or are there any other suggestions. Is the Pug pretty reliable?
I'd like to do it in the next few months as the Saab still has less than average miles and they are piling up.
Cheers. Read more
I'll look into it.
I think there's a 115bhp version that can be done.
Mine's the 125bhp.
Evening folks,
as above having problems with the abs on my 535, basically the story goes, removed the rear axle to replace some bushes and also run some new brake lines as the old ones had corroded. once reassembled everything was fine but then after a couple of days the abs light came on. i assumed it would be a piece of dirt had come lose of the hub rings and got onto the sensor causing it to flag an error, removed the sensors and sure enough there were a couple of large bits of rust stuck to the sensor. removed them reassembled again and the light was out so thought all was well. a few days later i ran the car up to warm on the drive the other day whilst bleeding the coolant and after about 10 minutes the abs light came on so now im back to square one. it could be some more dirt on the sensor but im not sure, or could it be ive got air into the abs unit when replacing the brake lines? ive fully bled the brakes several times and can't get any air out but there culd be some trapped in the various valves within the abs unit. the brakes themselves work quite well but the abs is very easy to set off without having to stamp right on the brakes so im sure something isn't right but not sure on what step to take next.
cheers
chris Read more
i presume you mean as in remove the sensor connector and put a piece of wire across the connector? if so why, and what would i be looking for happening?
chris
I went past a strange camera tonight and unluckily for me i was probably doing about 10 or 12mph over the limit in a 50 after overtaking a tractor.
I probably didnt slow back down in time.
Anyway, the camera i have never seen before. An unmarked completly normal VW passat was parked up just off the road ahead. It was parked side ways and the drivers window down and facing me oncoming.
Outside the drivers window was a tripod and a small device on the top, seemed to have a case on it with a thick blue strip on the side or the device itself had a blue strip but it wasn't very big; didnt look much bigger than a normal digital camcorder really.
Anyone any ideas what this might have been and if it could have been a speed device capable of recording me and auto issuing a NIP?
Cheers,
Read more
"Oo-er... what next an income tax camera? How would that work?"
Already in the planning stage.
It takes a reading of your speed, multiplies that by the emissions/km number, multiplies that by the value of your car to the nearest £1000, and that number is then multiplies by your marginal tax rate. You'll be randomly checked at least once per year, and the highest reading will pertain for the year. It'll be automatically put it on your self-assessment form.
Don't believe me - just wait. It'll happen.
No, that's not a typo.
British police are looking into acquiring the new Caparo T1 (£250,000) as a quick response unit.
Yes, this is the car that recently burnt Jason Plato whn he tested it on 5th Gear, and was plagued with problems when Jeremy Clarkson tested it on Top Gear.
tinyurl.com/5daz8z (links to bleacherreport.com)
Going on its reliability to date, I don't think joyriders will have much to worry about.
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Is
there anything it can do that an Impreza can't?
Very little that's any use to the police. On the other hand a real car like an Impreza or Evo can do a lot of things that it can't. Like contain four or five people for example. And go down farm tracks and over speed bumps and through chicanes and so on.
My Brother dropped his car round saying it had a rattle. I soon found out what it was when the Aux drive belt fell off.
The Crankshaft pully! He Chose a new economy one from GSF £49.50+ Vat. GSF's other one was £84.50 + vat
The problem is that I'm not quite sure on the correct positioning or routing of the new belt.
Best ask a silly question if it prevents a silly mistake.
Has anyone out there got a picture of the correct routing or positioning of the Aux Drive belt Please.
Many thanks in anticipation.
Read more
Hi Whisky,
I'll let my brother know and I'm sure he'll feel better knowing that your GSF Crankshaft Pulley is still up & running after 60k.
The Auxilary belt was a bit of a pain to fit but it's up and running now, purring like a pussycat.
Thanks for everyones input.
All the best
Steve
Hi, a couple of months ago, i brought a used car from a used car dealer, the car did come with waranty but this doesnt cover the cost of the repair.
I had the car for just over 3 weeks when it developed fault and its now been over 6 weeks now since first left the vehicle with them to repair it.
My question is i know the bill will come to more than what is covered by waranty which came with vehicle, how do i stand in regards to payment. do i have to pay ie like the difference or do the garage pay??
Read more
thank you for the info.
Hey all,
I hope someone can help me with this. I am looking to buy a car from a garage, so please no advice on getting a better deal by going private!!! (hee hee!!)
I have been searching for a few weeks on autotrader online and after viewing a few lemons i think i have found the car i am looking for. However, on autotrader website, you can normally click a link that takes you to the dealers website, and others all you see is just a mobile number. The car i have seen is listed as been sold by Priory Direct in Doncaster, but i cannot find a website, nor does a goole search show their garage. A search for their postcode brings up a residential estate, yet they are listed as traders on autotrader.
They have offered me 3 month warranty as oppose to their standard 1 month and when you call you are greeted by "Priory Direct".
Can someone eplain this, as i was hoping to turn up to a garage with a forecourt.
Thanks!! Read more
heh heh. :-)
No, I can't work out why you'd protect the personal information of a car either. If you were asking for the name and address of the person they invoiced, then perhaps.
Cheers
DP
Makes that car sound pretty delectable, unfortunately not just to those with the income to sustain one. No one rich needs to feel guilty about 25 mpg, or nearly.
The thing is handsome too although fairly Euro-anonymous.
But isn't that knob-controlled transmission similar to something BMW brought out a couple of years ago and that people complained about? Read more
shopping mall in the US last week
- a Maserati Quattroporte was also on display.
Of course the contemporary Maseratis - the coupe too - are the most beautiful cars being made just now. So beautiful that they might make one feel a bit self-conscious, although perhaps one could force oneself to get used to it. I find myself becoming more retiring as I get older. There's something comfortable about more or less total anonymity. It doesn't incense passers-by as much as the other thing.
It would be interesting to see how they would compare with the Ford-made Jaguars for general reliability and economy in use. I would expect the Maseratis perhaps to be thirstier, and perhaps harder work to drive and live with (not that that would be a problem really).
On Jaguar aesthetics: the pushrod-engined pre-XK Mk V, and before that the 3.5 and 2.5 litre models, were indeed sort of poor man's - or anyway bookies' - Bentleys, and rather looked it. The Mk VII to IX cars always looked a bit too porky and roly-poly to me and the Mk X was indeed a bit of a dog aesthetically. The twin-cam engines were hearty and tweakable but Jaguar brakes were always regarded as distinctly iffy (really effective drum brakes being very expensive to make and finicky to maintain). But Jaguar made up for it by developing disc brakes for automotive use.
There are a couple of threads about this going on seloc at the moment. The general view seems to be that they are at about the lowest that they are going to reach. They can be prety economical if you stay away from main dealers and shop around for insurance. Parts are cheap and readily available.