July 2008
According to the news new car sales were down 6% last month but the trade predicts only 3% over the year. Smart car sales have gone up by leaps and bounds while Jeep have been in serious decline. Read more
my sister in law bless her drives an imported(from the US) chevy avalanche, this is one big truck, i saw it for the first time today and it completly blew me away its a beauty but when questioned on the specs of the truck she gave me that look that only women can give in response to anything automotive or sport related.
so i just did an online look see, it has 5.3 litre engine, its book MPG is 11 in the city and a whopping 14 on the highway...............0-60 on a full tank if your lucky(ok i made that one up)
now when i say she drives it i mean she drives it everyday its her main vehicle......so considering the ever increasing fuel costs does anyone know the name of a good asylum we can have her committed to.
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in 09 when they'll all get the max rate irrespective of capacity
Oh bother.
Thats definately put it back 2 years now.
I've had 2 LHD US motors, once you get used to them its fine, i never had any bother and would do so again. Parts were eye wateringly cheap, and made me realise 20 years ago just how bad rip off Britain really is (2 rear dampers on Chevy camaro £32)
It makes you reasses your overtaking on 2 way roads as you learn to hang back further and take advantage of looking up the inside on slight left curves (which no one seems capable of any more), and its a far better way of overtaking with any car.
The only time i found it disconcerting is when you are travelling on narrow winding roads, as you come round a left hander you get very little warning of any obstacle because of the angle of the bend, pedestrian for example, but then you get a better view on right handers.
I had a mirror fitted to the inside of the screen on the offside facing forwards, it gave a good view with a little fine adjustment around a vehicle in front.
A van door mirror is good for this purpose.
I don't blame you wanting a mustang, very handsome looking motor, ride too hard for old me though.;)
Have a good look underneath any though, as i found no paint on the rear axle or suspension parts, so would be a good chassis wash and heavy waxoyle prospect.
Any tips on removing a stubborn layer of car wax? I've been using a glass cleaner detergent to soften it, then rub it away. But there's a patch that just ain't budging.
cheers! Read more
My last new car has a layer of oversprayed thick rustproofing underbody wax on the bottom of the front bumper, rubber spoiler & plastic parts. Car polish (Autoglym Super Resin polish) removed it from the paint & Autoglym Bumper Care eventually got it off of the plastic & rubber parts - some elbow grease required.
If it is just dried on ordinary car wax for paint I'd use more car polish - let it soak in & buff it off.
.....as opposed to hand/brush painted?
Also, if spray painting was introduced at different times around the world, I am interested in UK cars in particular.
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Day off, so what better way to spend half of it than at British Car Auctions in Brighouse?
Playing my usual game of 'guess the price' resulted in a few over-valuations, which tells me prices may have come down a little bit.
A 56-reg Focus Tdci Ghia which looked OK to me failed to make £7K and I thought a couple of Saab convertibles were cheap.
Both around two years old, 1.8 turbos, leather, so good spec, £10K anybody?
Similar age drop-top BMWs and Mercs were making £5K more.
Had no idea what an 07 Mini Cooper would make - £10K exactly is the answer.
I over-priced a couple of Honda Accord diesel estates, thought Hondas were meant to hold their price.
There was an 06 Audi hatch with nearly 100,000 miles on the clock - some people must live in their cars. A 55-reg Audi estate with similar mileage made about £8k.
The bling-bling car of the day was the 57-reg BMW 6 series convertible in gangsta black.
It books at £42K and attracted a bid of £35K, which the auctioneer described as ''very provisional'.
A word of praise for the cafe, ifithelps lunched well on steak and kidney pie with roasties and vegetables, and the staff were polite and friendly.
I would be interested to read comments on my market report - particularly from those on here who, unlike me, know the used car trade.
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I tend to go to BCA Bedford fairly regularly when I'm between contracts. I always go with a mate of mine who's a dealer and he's usually after a few cars each visit. I usually chose my own cars when I'm there and it also gives me a good idea of what will be available should I need a new vehicle when I'm working away somewhere and don't have a chance to buy one at auction.
I know a few of the traders who are always there so I've always got a few people to have a netter with when nothing interesting is going through.
However, unless I was looking to buy, if I just had a single day off work then I'd not go, but to break up a four month break between contracts it does a reasonable job of getting me out of the house for an interesting cheap day out.
Hello,
I have just been advised by my local dealership that I will need to replace a driveshaft in my car, have some bearings replaced and have the gearbox repaired in order to fix the faint knocking sound that occurrs sometimes when accelerating. The price they want to charge is making me think that I have got to the point where I should think about trading it in since, if I only do the minimum amount of work, I will have no guarantees of not having more issues with my gearbox in the future (which was a re-con one fitted a year a go). They are trying to tell me that I really ought to fit a completely brand new gearbox to be sure of not having more problems in a years time or so. I think part of the idea in telling me this is to shock me into buying another car, so what I'd like to know from someone with technical knowledge is:
a) is it safe to just leave this problem alone - it may already be causing vibration through the steering wheel at 70mph (wheels definitely balanced ok).
b) would replacing the offending driveshaft and bearings (diff??) buy me much more time in the car?
c) Am I being had?
The car has 116K on the clock, has had a new clutch and flywheel and a recon gearbox in the past 18 months.
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So it wasnt gearbox last time either?
If other garages cant hear the noise it cant be too bad surely?
Any other symptoms? Cornering? Under acceleration or on braking?
Could it be suspenion components etc?
after being reminded of a lorry on a recent episode of road wars, it brings me to ask;
with the combined years of motoring everyone here has, you must have seen drivers do some bizarre things, but what is the most stupid thing you have ever seen a motorist do? Read more
About a year ago on the A12 heading to Ipswich. Two transit trucks snail-racing. Chap in a Golf GTI became increasingly impatient and ended up overtaking the two of them through a busy lay-by. By busy I mean there was a caravan selling food, all that stuff. Even worse, the guy took the next turning. I learnt the meaning of the word "gobsmacked" that day.
There's something about the A12 that seems to bring out the worst in people.
We had a history teacher at school who failed to put over history as an interesting and relevant subject, despite a war memorial nearby with several of our classmates surnames on it. (uncles and grandfathers)
The playground rang with stories our fathers and grandfathers had told us about the Great war and the -almost-within-reach- Second World war ending only 14 years previously. `Old Brown` as we knew him, in the village, had actually gone over the top at Passchendaele.
Despite this, the teacher droning on in class on hot Summer afternoons about the 100 years war and so on. (never making a link with our common experience) At that age the fording of the river Somme... and Crecy, Agincourt seemed as distant as the pyramids being built.
Except now, pushing 60 you realise the the Middle Ages are not that far back in time, relatively speaking.
It was memory of something said in class all those years ago that took us to Normandy, to Bayeur and the Tapestry last Autumn.
We also stood at the top of the cliff at Gold Beach (and the others) appreciating the magnitude and losses of D day.
We have seen the Atlantic wall blockhouse and museums and looked at High Wood and surrounding battle ground.
tinyurl.com/5gco7o
The van was parked at the Memorial on the above picture this spring.
I find that reading Military History is one thing, but field visits add another dimension and the van has proved ideal for these trips, attracting no attention at all.
Regards
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Found it interesting Lud. Thanks.
My RENAULT ESPACE SPECIAL EDITIONS 2.2 dCi The Race keeps cutting out when braking and turning corners. I often have problems starting the engine. It's had the cam/crank sensor replaced recently but still the problem keep occuring. Any suggestions Read more
I think should be in the technical section - you'd get more answers.
{yes, kicking across there right now}
From "The Daily Telegraph":
tinyurl.com/6k7jqk
referring to a report by the World Bank. "The report says: "Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate."
The price increase isn't so apparent here (except in the price of actual vegetable oil, for instance, which has risen in price by around 550% in the last few years), but somewhere in the world... Read more
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It might be insoluble in the short term to us mere humans but long term
nature has ways of solving problems like this.
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Perhaps. Drought, famine and disease. What a way to go.
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My boss has just bought a new Range Rover Sport HSE - not cheap at £45K, whilst the other boss is getting a new Jag Cabriolet, again probably about £50K....
I think people are getting more sensible about buying cars, and realising there are some good used deals about