May 2008
A German court has ruled car maker Volvo has to pay compensation to a man who claimed his feet were too big to use the accelerator on his new car.
A judge said the car makers should have catered for Michael Herzog?s size 12 feet. The court ruled his feet were not abnormally large and the judge said the dealer should give the German five per cent off the price of his new car.
Under a court-supervised settlement, Herzog obtained a £1,350 refund to pay for a specially made pair of shoes that allowed him to squeeze his foot into the space.
He was also compensated for the time spent changing back into street shoes each time he got out of the car to meet clients.
Taken from www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1163340
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This might be a dumb question.
I keep reading about a drain hole in the intercooler. Does this mean that the intercooler leaks its pressurised air to the outside world?
{subject header made less vague} Read more
Yes; that thread is a bit ambiguous. I recall draining the intercooler on a Volvo some years ago after a blocked engine breather filled it [and the exhaust] with oil. [I still obliterated 5 miles of the A24 blowing it all out....]
IC drain plugs are rare; even a tiny air leak spits oil - not usually a problem, there's a lot of air to lose.
HI
Someone hit my poor little 1.4 astra tonight as i was leaving my local co-op petrol station.. i was going to the left and looked to the right and nothing went to turn and bam a women drove into my front near bumper.. she got out and said sorry i was at fault i didnt see you as i was watching another car reverse..
I put the claim in and now she said to them she is not accepting liability?? and my husband was a witness and we had another witness give us her details but she seemed to side with the women?? but i just recently changed my car insurance to 3rd party as the cars only worth 500.0 and didnt seem worth fully comp any more..??
help what can i do???
Lou Read more
Along to your solicitor - sharply worded letter pointing out they are to blame and this will be added to by the cost of any further Legal bill and Court Costs.
the threat of a court hearing will bring her to her senses.
I had a simlar experince yaesr ago - woman ran up the back of the car behind me and it bumped into me. She admitted liability and recanted after speaking to the boyfriend. Court date was set and she remembered her culpability!
Looking for the BR's educated opinion on this deal :-)
Not concerned about whether the car is the right choice, just whether the relative prices make a good deal.
The car for sale was an 07-plate Toyota Avensis 2.2 D4-D T3-X 5-dr in Met.Blue with c15k miles at a franchised dealer. The price £10944.
The trade in was an 04-plate Honda Civic 1.6 SE 5dr in Met.Jade with c26k miles, in excellent condition and with FSH (last service not at Honda dealer). The trade-in offered was £4944 for a round price to change of £6k.
I have my own thoughts on the deal, but interested to here what others think, especially anyone with access to Glass's Guide/CAP etc ;-)
Cheers Read more
Hmmmmmm like asking a polotician a straight question and hoping for a straight answer...
Asked several of our "experts" ( I dont get involved in this side of the business anymore) ref the FSA v GAP question and as far as they were concerned that under FSA we as a dealer have to make our customers aware of GAP along with proteced payment insurance and other releative insurance products.... like your pension man we must do a key facts sheet also !! (which I wasnt aware of)
BTW GAP insurance can be also purchased by cash customers as you have 2 different types ... the finance type which covers the shortfall and the Back To Invoice kinda GAP which does as it says on the tin.
So none of the wiser really however my personal take on the situation is that ALL buyers should be told about the GAP product .... Whys that then I hear you asking .... well over the last few years I have seen lots of people that have benefited from their GAP cover after their car has been written off .... you should see the releif in their faces when GAP does what it says it will do..... also its the only insurance that I as a motor trade person would buy along with all of my colleauges so if we would buy it it must be good LOL. ........ however you can either pay what the dealer quotes or shop around either way just buy it
What's happened to Ford's 1.6 Duratec Ti-Vct engine?
It's missing from the current Focus range, but the last brochure described it as 'fresh and exciting' and 'leading the engine line up'.
Not such an anoraky question as it sounds, because the extra 15/20 bhp over the standard 1.6 made a big difference.
The Ti-Vct also used less fuel, so it seemed to be a winner all round.
For those interested, Ti-Vct stands (stood?) for twin independent variable camshaft timing.
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What's happened to Ford's 1.6 Duratec Ti-Vct engine?
Is it fitted to any model, or has it been dropped completely?
hello I've got apetrol astra estate that i would like to get to 200k (it's on 190) just to see if i can and because it's in quite good nick and i'm skint.
Anyway.. It was running fine until it went for an MOT recently and has come back running like a dog. It judders when I pull off, and sounds uneven when idling, feels like it's not firing properly. I've ckecked the leads are on ok and it shouldn't be damp as it's roasting for a change. The problem receeds after i've been driving for a while??
Could something just have been knocked during MOT??
Would appreciate any ideas with much gratitude.
Fraser. Read more
changed all the spark plugs and is running back to normal thanks very much for generous help. On the way to 200k. cheers fellers. f.
The Black things that click into white female bits on the inner door panel. Mine refuse to fasten, despite having got new male bits at a silly price from Halfords. 2.5. {note correct way of spelling Halfords!}
The previous owner had a disabled wife, and the door card was removed to help her sit more comfortably. I suspect that the white bits have simply become worn out, as the dealer I bought the car from five years ago had spent some time trying to get the card to sit back in place properly, and probably taken some inner diameter off them. They are probably only designed for ?one shot? anyway, I guess.
Does anyone have any tips on these? On my 405, I drilled a hole and bunged in an unobtrusive self-tapper out of sheer frustration...
I?ve tried PTFE tape, insulation tape, etc. Can the white bits be bought new separately?
It?s been one of those ?one step forward, three back? jobs:- I finally worked out how the forwardmost steel retaining pressing engages with the door skin and handle bolt (after over five years of owning the car?)
But the rest of the skin now flaps about around the edges?.
rg
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I would think a scrap yard would be the best place, that's where I get most of my spares. there are also several being scrapped on ebay. I bought one for spares but it was so good I decided to repair it! otherwise I could have helped you, I've got three now! Also try 'club-xm.com' someone on there may be able to help you.
If the Americans can do it - or plan to - rather than certain local Stateside authorities making handsome speed tickets financial gains, seems no reason why the UK speed limits can't equally be uprated as and where appropriate:
www.thenewspaper.com/news/23/2356.asp
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That's because the UK police have generally given up going outside their little offices and
100% tosh.
I've been in the Old Bill for well more than 25 years and the work rate has gone up through the roof. At times it's absolutely manic. You scratch the surface on most things, fail to attend others, leave people waiting for 3 days etc, etc... because there quite simply aren't enough people to address the workload. I have got some very good officers and most work very hard. That's the truth, it's as simple as that.
My 10 year old (standard) Ka is up to 114k miles, and as much as it is coming to the end of its life it has been a good servant.
Recently though I have noticed that at apparent random times, it has lost its acceleration. It doesn't do it every time, perhaps twice in the last week (and I drive it every day). After cruising at say 45 in fifth it will just lose its poke (ie pedal to the metal in fifth and it's still decelerating) and I'll need to drop down to 3rd to get it back through the gears - till it gets back into fifth and I have to begin again.
At the same time that this is happening I have noticed a slightly plasticcy burning smell coming through the vents. They haven't happened separately, they both happen together.
Luckily, both times it has happened I have been near the end of my journey. Next time I start the car up, it reacts and drives fine.
Anyone got any clue based on these symptoms what might be happening?! Read more
I'd say the exhaust is blocked, most likely the catalyst. Loosen the frontpipe and drive it round the block. If it goes like it should do then you've found the problem. Don't forget that it will sound like a racing car, so I hope you get on well with your neighbours....
I've got one of those jump start packs with a couple of leads and a self-contained 18AH sealed lead acid battery inside. Unfortunately I've lost the little charger for it, so thought I could charge it from a regular charger connected to the jump leads on it.
But when I put the charger on it, the charger meter hardly moves, and the voltage is only about 10 volts. I tried the charger on a reasonable well charged car battery (or two, in the case of the Landcruiser), and the meter moves up to 2 or 3 amps, and the voltage is nearly 14 volts, which seems normal.
Any idea why it doesn't seem to be charging the battery in the jump pack? Read more
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Agree with Pendulum. People who say they can't control being fat always seem to lose weight after having a gastric band fitted, funny that.