August 2008
Our daughter departs for Uni in a few weeks. Her car will remain at home. As for any 18 year old, the insurance cost is high and she can't afford to continue to pay for that whilst away. The simplest solution would be for the car to remain taxed and insured but not used. But her insurers seem unable to oblige in providing cover whilst the car is not being used and only offer a 'suspension' which actually provided no cover at all but preserves the no claims.
Another option may be to look at a multi car policy where my wife and I can use any of three vehicles, and my daughter can be added to the policy to use her own car for holiday periods. I recall an instance a while back where a car enthusiast had a number of vehicles and obtained insurance for all of them under one policy on the basis that he could only ever be driving one at a time.
Does anyone have experience of this type of situation and what the possible solutions might be?
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Hi,
Having been considering buying myself a Toyota Verso I was a bit shocked last night when I came across the proposed Govt increases in road tax from next year and 2010.
OK, it might not be such a shock to most of the people on here but I was amazed to see that the Verso's tax, both for diesel and petrol, is almost doubling in price! So much for CPI inflation!
It occured to me that probably millions of people have not fully realised just by how much their cars are going to increase in tax alone. I am not talking about a big 4x4 here but simply a 1.8 petrol and a 2.2 diesel which, I expect, millions of people have as the engine range in their cars.
I just wonder whether people are going to figure out what the increases are until the new tax bill drops through their letterbox from the DVLA? No wonder some of the Versos I have been looking at have dropped 7K to 9K in just 12 months.
T. Read more
but the days of cheap fuel and motoring costs are now well and truley in the history books.
Is this really true?
Expressed as a percentage of average earnings i suspect buying and running a car is now as cheap as it has ever been, hence the number of cars on the road and the number of famiies with two or three cars.
My mum, bless her, put a gallon of unleaded in her diesel Kia Cee'd earlier this week.
She realised the mistake, didn't start the car and it was pushed to the adjacent workshop - a Honda franchise - and the tank flush job was done satisfactorily.
My question is what would be a reasonable charge?
I'll post the actual figure later today, but I'm a bit concerned the garage may have taken advantage of a 70-year-old woman in distress.
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screwloose, yes i realise that is the case so maybe the much maligned vw's have something to offer although the new common rail engine will nulify the benefit. jag.
Children at a village school could be forgiven for making a few spelling errors when they start the new term.
But a sign painted on the road outside Cumnor Primary School could leave the youngsters even more confused.
Road markings should read "School Keep Clear", but a painting blunder means the letter 'a' of 'clear' has been replaced with an 'e', leaving a message saying "School Keep Cleer".
tinyurl.com/6aqb3u (link to thisisoxfordshire.co.uk)
(lets hope PU doesn't correct the speeling mistake in the titel) Read more
I'm gonna kill you dead drbe...
I believe some people have survived lynchings, although of course many haven't.
Hi
can any body advise! have lost my full beam headlamps,(I know very careless of me)LoL fuses fine lamps fine stalk/switch appears to work as the full beam lamp comes on (dashboard) help! any body got a wiring diagram for this car?
Phil
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Hi all thanks for your help! Problem solved, whilst playing cops & robbers last week I grounded the front of the car on a speed hump and damaged the wiring loom not too badly though as the full beam light cable was the only damage one! (yellow in case you wanted to know)
Thanks for all your help
Phil
My brother has managed to buckle the front wheel of his 2005 Primera 2.2 DCi Primera and has had to fit the spare. He urgently needs another wheel as a spare while we locate an alloy (10 spoke 17"). Does anyone know of what car wheels will directly fit the Primera 5 stud hub to keep in the boot as a spare 'spare'? Thanks Read more
BBC Reports on garage chains miss-selling PPI insurance.
The type of Ins cover that pays, (SOMETIMES!!) the HP when you are ill/unemployed etc
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7574666.stm Read more
My Vectra failed its MOT (again - 2 years on the trot!) becasue one of the exhaust mounts for the rear section had rusted though and is completely missing. The other one does not look ike it has too much life left in it and the one just ahead of the rear axle looks pretty ropey too. My car is the estate version, not that I beleive this makes any difference.
by Vauxhal dealer wants £150 to fix it. The repair looks like I need a whole new rear section of exhaust which otherwise looks OK. I was quite shocked to see such corrosion on a 4 year old car.
Is this common, and does this sound like a fair price?
Thank you! Read more
Common fault with all vectras get someone to weld a new bracket on it will last another good few years.
I am having a problem with the Lambda light on my Volvo.
I purchased the Volvo for £1200 from a small dealer in North London in February and it ran well until a parking company {name generalised - DD} at Gatwick returned it to me at 12.30am with the Lambda light on. I did not realise the significance, otherwise I would have complained.
Since then I have had the car come to a dead stop (all dash board lights on) quite a few times. It will not start immediately, (I assume neat petrol is flooding the hot sensors) so one has to wait 1-2 minutes and then it starts easily and on we go, with heart in the mouth, waiting for the next time.
I have had taken the car to the garage, where perished air hoses have been replaced and the fuel system (carburettor??) inlets/jets have been cleaned.
The problem appears to happen when I am "freewheeling" i.e. my foot has come off/partially off the accelerator (obviously still in gear) as one is going down a hill, slowing for a speed hump, approaching traffic lights etc.
There appears to be no logic as to when it is going to happen. After being in the garage for the carburettor(?) to be cleaned, the garage owner took the Volvo for a protracted test drive, no problems; I collected the car and 400 metres later slowing for a hump I lost all power?? The garage owner suggested a long drive would ?blow it through?.
The next day (Thursday), having reset the Lambda light (by disconnecting the bty) I drove to Manchester. The car went beautifully. I did lots of starts and stops and I thought "hooray". The following morning (Friday) it started perfectly, more stops and starts and then, when coming to a halt at the traffic lights at the bottom of a steep hill I lost all power. Embarrassing!! After a minute or so, the car started.
It then went perfectly for 3 hectic days and then, out of the blue, stopped twice within a mile, on my way to join the motorway: It was inside lane and ?heart in mouth? all the way back to London!!
Suddenly, again out of the blue, when crawling in slow moving traffic (motorway road works) the tick over revs dropped from about 750 to 480-500. Lots of handbrake stops whilst keeping the revs up at around 750. It carried on like this all the way into London and then, having negotiated Marble Arch, going down Park Lane the revs suddenly returned to 750-800 and have stayed there ever since.
Since arriving back in London I have left the Lambda light on and thought that was it, ?cured? when on the way to the garage, slowing for a speed hump, all stopped again.
Any suggestions as to a cure would be welcome.
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Thank you for your advice, the fault may be cured.
The car "died" on the garage floor and the mechanic went back to basics and started fault finding on the electrics. Took off the distibutor cap and found it was worn beyond belief.
A new cap and new plugs and "touch wood" a weekend later all is well
Hi ppl, wondering if you can help me to find a website, or shop that sells parts for Subaru Forester 1999y. I'm looking for fog light covers, rear lights left block and hm mine english isnt so good and i dont realy know whats the name of this so i will try to explane- front lights just underthem there is like a small tower for water, mine is broken and looking to find replace. Thz in advance for answers and advices.Cheers
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I would call them front headlamp washers.


If it's secure at your house, and not on the road, it could be covered by your household insurance (but you may have to make extra provision if it's "valuable").