August 2008
I have 4 alloy wheels and a steel spare.
Suppose I have to use the spare. Is travelling any distance with one steel and one alloy on the same axle something that isn't worth thinking about, or is it the height of stupidity ? Read more
Saw a Ka on the M5 this morning - Registration O35. Definitely not 03S.
Did not think O was used. Being driven by a lady and was a basic KA.
Is this a legal number? Read more
O was the original Birmingham mark, so O 35 would have been the 35th Birmingham registration. Probably originally issued to an existing vehicle when registrations were introduced in 1903.
Apparently, a car callad a "pontiac aztek" is the ugliest car, as voted for in "The Daily Telegraph". I've never heard of or seen one, 'spose that's the power of the INet...
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motor...2 Read more
Interestingly, the oily bits are pure 1.3 Yaris (and that's good, very good). Toyota aren't stupid so there must be plenty of Japanese (aimed at women in their 20s and 30s) who prefer that extraordinary shape to the normal Yaris.
OK, the 2cv was ugly - but it was at least functional. This thing doesn't seem to do anything that a Yaris can't.
I'm sure there'll be someone along soon who thinks the WILL VI is the most beautiful thing since sliced bread - but then I'm not too keen on sliced bread....
There may even be someone who knows why it's called WILL VI.
Main dealer has quoted some £600 to replace all disks and pads on thie vehicle.
It is a LWB Primastar on a 54 plate and has the 1870cc diesel turbo.
I'm thinking I can get it done cheaper at the local independent garage. I've just checked on the Car Parts Direct site and they are quoting £152 for a set of rear disks.
Are these any better than the ones the main deler would fit?
Thanks
Hugo Read more
>>NC - I take your point
Sorry Hugo, I wasn't suggesting that you *should* do the brakes yourself, just saying in passing that *I* would. It is in the labour where you might be able to make the largest saving - but, if you are using the time to earn money at a better rate, and don't have the space/facilities, then, of course, it doesn't make sense.
My main point was to make sure that you fit good quality parts, from a known source. Again, for *me*, it would have to be genuine parts from a dealer, but, I know, as YB says, that brands like Ferodo, Mintex, and Delphi are OK too.
At last, some "man maths" which actually stack up ! As some of you will already know I have been running two cars back to back for a month. One is my older (02 )Mondeo diesel estate, the other is my recently aquired, albeit second hand, 2.2 petrol Signum.
This has been an especially busy motoring month and I have managed to rack up 3000 miles in both cars.
The Mondeo has used 69 gallons of Diesel. The Signum has used 80 gallons of petrol. These figures are real and measured using brimming rather than on board computers.
Given the diesel / petrol price differential of approx 10% at present it starts to become quite marginal which is the more economical to run even on high mileage.
If you then take into the picture that the second hand price differential between same model petrol / diesel cars is markedly in favour of petrol variants it makes even more of a case for petrol.
Now, as I said, this has been a particularly busy month and should not be taken as typical but the reality is that I shall probably do about 40k in the next 12 months.
My back of an envelope calculation tells me that if I use the petrol car for the next 100k miles that when you take all the numbers into account that the cost works out about the same as if I had chosen to buy another diesel one. Read more
>>If you predominatley drive in town then diesel scores for the above reasons.
But, doesn't the particulate filter on later (Euro 4/5) diesels need a regular long quick run to avoid it getting blocked up? Even then it might be an issue...
If you're paying the bills, and not a gambling man, petrol has to be the way to go.
Hi,
I've had a Nissan Tino (auto) for three weeks now and it's been great to drive. However, there seems to be a fault developing and wondered if anyone could shed any light on this please?
When I turn the ignition key to the point where the dashboard lights come on, the car often does one of three things...
1. Starts normally (approx half of the time)
2. Sounds a quick beep of the horn and starts normally (approx half of the time)
3. Lights all warning lights on dash, windscreen wipers and washer fluid come on and horn sounds continuously ALL at the same time! (only happened twice - the second time this morning!)
This is an ex-mobility car, in case it matters. One thing nobody seems to know about is that on the pillar between the windscreen and drivers side door and almost at roof level is some kind of electrical device. It's a tiny (approx 2cm square) black plastic box fixed with velcro to the pillar inside the car. It looks to have an LED embedded into the centre of it, although this has never been lit and there's a black wire coming from the box and going behind the trim to goodness knows where. The dealer didn't know what it was. I wondered if this is the cause of this electrical (fault?) or if there's possibly another explanation?
Thank you in advance for any help or pointers.
Regards,
Jim Read more
Hello there Jim ... You've picked a good car there - I've had an 05 Almera 1.8 auto for about a year and a half now + its an ex-motorbility car, as were my previous 2 cars, a Focus and a Clio ... I buy them all from a dealer in Cornwall who specialises in ex motorbilty cars which are one owner low milage jobs.
I would recommend that you treat this as urgent (just in case), try to contact the previous reg. owner, try to contact the garage that carried out the motorbilty conversion, failing that, I'd recommend you contact an auto electrician pronto !
Good Luck - Dog.
I was involved in an accident about 9 months ago and I didn't bother repairing my car afterwards, I just had it scrapped. I didn't make any insurance claim myself as my insurance was third party only, but I informed my insurance company as there had been another vehicle involved (and also because I'd scrapped my car). I received a letter from my insurance company asking me to forward on any correspondence to them. Later, I got a letter saying something about damage to a fence. But now I haven't heard anything for ages; the accident was back in November. My insurance policy eventually expired (in February) and I didn't renew it because I didn't get a new car. So, what happens to my no claims bonus? As far as I know, I haven't made a claim, or at least I haven't been informed of one... Is it even possible to keep a no claims bonus after a period of not owning a car / having any insurance? Any opinions?
Cheers :)
J Read more
I would ask for a letter confirming NCB. This what I did when I went car-less for a while.
I have an older car I don't use much. The battery was running low so I removed it and trickle charged it on a ' clever ' charger until it was fully juiced .
On connecting it back to the car , suddenly smoke emerged from the engine bay - I quickly disconnected it... I investigated and saw that a cable ( no more than 2mm core ) covered in red insulation and feeding the starter solenoid off the main loom had begun to melt ... or rather the red insulation begun to melt and expose the cable
I will call the 4th emergency service out, but beforehand , anybody got any tips on what could have been the root cause and what I can do to cure it ?
many thanks Read more
I think you might need to check that the alternator is actually charging, and all 3 phases are still working.
Hi all! I have a mazda 5 Ts2 08(facelift model) 2.0lt petrol which I plan to tow with.I carry in the boot space a fair amount of disability equipment plus a 1000w generator when out with my caravan.I have been told that the suspension on the mazda 5 can be a little soft and that I might need spring assisters.Is this the case and if so what size would I need? I know that I would have to measure the gap on the coil when the car is raised to get size but my disability makes this impossible for me to do.My son says he will fit them if I get them.Please can anyone help? Read more
Give Grayston Engineering a call on 020 8974 1122. They are the premier manufacturer of rubber spring assisters.
My wife's Punto has developed an issue where when you brake hard the red handbrake warning light comes on sometimes for 5 or 10 seconds and then goes out.
I've checked the brake fluid which is OK and the the handbrake lever was fully down when this happened. I can't see any other issues that this could relate to according to the manual.
As far as I know the 1.2 Active model does not have brake wear indicators but I may be wrong and it could be this.
Does anyone have any ideas please? Read more
Having had a closer look it looks like the feeder filter is partially blocked hence the actual fluid level is less than it looks.
Browse
The 306 Meridian comes with alloys and a steel spare, perhaps to remove the point of nicking an alloy spare. Sensibly there are no special bolts, but the steel wheel incorporates metal 'pads' round the bolt-holes so the thickness matches the alloys. But it isn't intended that the steel spare should stay on any longer than it takes to have the faulty wheel repaired.