May 2008
Hi Folks
Just back from hol's to find my parents new meriva rolled away with h/brake on & demolished a garage wall & severly damaged the rear of the car! Now I said why wasn't it in Park as its an Auto & they have told me it doesn't have Park. I haven't had a chance to do any research yet but do these new auto's rely on just the hand brake or should it have a locking solonoid in the auto box?
When they found the car it still had its handbrake on but had obviously built up some speed whilst rolling back. I am aware of vauxalls publicity over handbrakes but does it apply to meriva's
many thanks
Doc Read more
bad parking???
I ask this as I parked really badly when I dropped a friend off at the train station. I knew this so I ran back to find british transport police parked up against my car. I immediately apologised and told the officer what I was doing. The officer told me I was parked very badly and left it at that. I will not be trying that again for sure.
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Parking on zigzag lines on a pedestrian crossing will also get you points ISTR.
I wish some of the ******** round here could get points for parking on the pavement.
Been trawling the classifieds on e-bay today - some excellent misuse of language:-
A white Supertouring Vectra.
"I deserve the right to end this auction at any time due to the fact it is advertised elsewhere" Read more
Ebay item 300224058557
Bid now!
Hi to all you Pug experts.
Can anyone give me some tips in changing out my Alternator on my 51 Pug 206 Hdi 2.0 ltr.
I have removed the top and bottom black plastic covers but there seems very little space to remove the alternator. I'm sure some Pug experts out there can assist.
Regards
Chris Read more
Took a visit to the local Audi dealer today to see the new cabrio. No idea what it drives like, but it looks quite smart, very quick roof (but only on the top two models), has plenty of room for two adults in the back seats and has a good sized boot, roof up or down, alloys on Sport model are pleasing to the eye.
Downside - the price.
Three models - standard, sport and S-line. Standard has a semi auto roof, which I think means you have to unclip it at the front before it opens electrically.
Other two models have fully auto roofs and for me that would be a must.
The spec across the range is very basic and you need to tick a lot of options to get many features which I have come accustomed to on my A3.
I priced a sport with a spec as close to to my A3 Sportback SE and it came in at £28,000 - this only had a 140PS diesel, no 170PS yet so this model will be even more - touching £30,000 and this without the expensive options such as leather, sat nav etc etc.
A well specced 2.0TFSi in the showroom was over £35,000 and this wasn't a full spec.
At this price I don't expect to see many.
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At this price I don't expect to see many.
The A3's a nice car, and no disrespect intended, but can it ever be worth £35k?
A colleague of mine recently picked up a new 330Ci SE for £35k on the nose.I can't see who wouldn't quite honestly. If you were comparing A4 with 3-series, at least it's a like for like comparison.
Maybe the real world prices will be cheaper.
Cheers
DP
A recall notice from Renault's Director of Services and Quality was received by registered post this morning. Apparently there is "a potential for an immobilising breakdown caused by a blockage in the air conditioning compressor" which has affected some Scenic models, and they're asking us to book the car in with our local dealer at the nearest opportunity for a free inspection and any remedial work.
They then go on to explain how they got our details from the Renault UK customer database.
Problem is, the letter is titled "Scenic - injection reprogramming", and the registration number and chassis number of the car are wildly different to ours.
I will be calling them Monday to check, but if they've got these details wrong, there could be other cars affected whose owners are not being notified.
Just a heads up for other owners. Might be worth a bell to Renault customer services to check.
Cheers
DP
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Parkers have a useful "find the VED cost" search engine on their site. Useful if you're thinking of trying to save and don't want to find you haven't.
tinyurl.com/5snmn3
tinyurl.com/6pftx5
{link corrected. One too many forward slashes after the http bit} Read more
Beaulieu Autojumble is next weekend - May 17/18th - and this year, for the first time, a whole field is being devoted to Landie enthusiasts - everything from a washer to a complete vehicle. This is being re-located from its normal venue at Newbury. Read more
Electric windows rattle when anything other than fully up or down. I think it's because they're quite large and little supported at the front because of the door shape.
Any thoughts on a fix, permanent or temporary?
Thanks. Read more
Does the recall include the keyless entry ones which have an ignition switch but you don't put a key in it.
Thanks.
The folks out here are starting to hurt with the fuel prices. Here in Placerville the cheapest regular unleaded is now $3.98, with premium at $4.45...diesel is also $4.45 US gallon. There was a front page article in USA Today yesterday about how the latest increase is having a major impact on how people are changing their driving habits...big trucks sales are taking a hammering, and even my friend with her 2.5 Outback now remarks on how expensive it is to gas up.
If only it was as cheap in the UK!
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You have to remember that while some in the US earn very good salaries, there are large numbers who don't. It's accepted that in the UK many items will cost in £sterling what they cost in the same number of US$, and that's because for many people in the US a salary of $30,000 is not bad.
Remember, in the US they've had cheap Latin-American labour for far longer than we've had cheap East Europeans, and before that they had cheap Afro-American labour.
I have a 04 1.6 Meriva, I have just had it run away down a hill in London whilst the handbrake was on causing damage to whole side of vehicle and the car it hit. Yes it was parked with its brakes hot after a few hours driving, apparently 2 hours after being left it rolled on its own, with no apparent cause.
For further information at its last MOT in May 08 the handbrake had to be replaced as it couldnt hold the car to appropriate standards.