November 2008
You notice it as soon as you go out in the white (Punto) van. The courtesy of other commercials - in particular the other vans. You`re let out from junctions by white vans, sometimes a fellow van will stop and hold up a whole line of cars, just to give you priority in a difficult situation.
There is a comradeship of eye contact and waving out - tolerance of creeping along the inside lane and never ever being carved up by another white van. It also seems `invisible`to cars, beneath their radar and attracting no snorting or any attention at all.
The `same regiment` courtesy extends to other commercials too, to some extent.
Pop out in the other, car version of the Punto though and there`s a marked difference - it seems to be visible in the pecking order of cars and no longer a comrade to commercials.
The odd neck turns in traffic with the old Punto car and you occasionally detect that supercilious little lip curl of self satisfaction of being embedded , commode-esque, in the comfort of a `proper car`.
;)
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this is my first question so apologies if i get something wrong!
I have just ordered a new Honda jazz and was offered gap insurance(rti)through honda.
I know i can get this cheaper online but who best to insure with??
Must this be a seperate insurance from the car insurance??
anyone have any knowledge/experience on this subject please??
{made non make/model specific from drop down menus} Read more
thanks for that-much appreciated and successful!
I assume that some dielsel powered vans use car derived power units. I also assume that they are bought using the head rather than the heart and that they experience much less TLC during their life. Do any vans use common rail engines, or come to that VAG PD units?
If so are their any stats/experiences regarding their reliability etc? Read more
In vans is the best place for them. High mileages in a short time and almost zero chance of being mis-fuelled. Perfect for the job.
It looks like Darling Brown doing temporary a U-turn on VED:
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/3429019/Labour-U-turn...l
Plans to charge millions of motorists increased vehicle duty will be delayed as part of the Government's tax-cutting package to revive the ailing economy, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. ........
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Yes we have and we've told her - however as you say its become tedious and we're locking the thread. Maybe now people see why we hate this post quoting business.
I have a friend who works in a car dealer and I won't say which but it is a PSA one. Apparantly they have been refusing to take in SUVs as part exchanges as they have too many of them they just have not been able to sell.
This seems a bit extreme has anybody else come seen this happen else where? I did watch a Tonight Programme where a dealer offered £5k for a 4 year old M class. Read more
OK NW - I see what you meant now.
By the way - GO TO BED - time of your post is 02:24 (and I got up at 3.30 to go to work!!)
I will keep an eye on your posts in future to see if I get up before you retire!
Regards
Phil
Had one as a loan car today and onto tomorrow. I know its just been replaced but its the first time ive drive one!
Good points: Spacious up front, handles nicely, reasonable interior quality, boot is wide, noise suppression is good, brilliant gearbox, steering and brakes very nice.
Bad points: 1.25 engine is a useless, gutless wonder devoid of torque ( actually tested it back to back against my Charade and it lost badly, thirsty, boot is shallow, rear seat space poor for size of car, quality doesnt extend past the dashboard with lots of hard plastics everywhere else, suspension was already creaking on my 5000 mile example.
Overall, I loved its general feeling of calm when driving, but it is let down by a terrible engine that is quiet but obviously not suited to the Fiesta - a low-pressue turbo would have sorted this Im sure. Its a bit average really and the problem I have is that to get any performance in the petrols, you pay at the pumps. Read more
>>With such a low powered engine 3rd in 30 zones is a much better option<<
My Charade has no problem doing 30 in 4th AND it is higher geared than the Fiesta which is already doing 2000 rpm in 5th at 40 mph.
I dont think its too much to expect a little flexibility in an engine, esp when in a small car which shouldnt tax it too heavily. Ive driven countless small cars over the years and ive not, until now, come across such a weedy engine application.
Tell a lie - Rover 200 1.1 - rare model for obvious reasons but that was a big car in its day and more suited to the 1.4 K-series.
Our 2007 Focus 1.6 Zetec is on 18000 miles and it's time for a change. But we can't decide what to replace it with as it's such a great car and hasn't needed anything doing to it, not even a light bulb. The obvious choice would be another Focus but might there be something else that would provide the same qualities?
There are a number of criteria that must be met:
1. 5 door hatchback.
2. Good ride comfort and space for four adults plus luggage.
3. Sharp handling
4. Slick gearchange.
5. Good build quality
6. Reasonable fuel consumption (>30MPG) and servicing / parts costs
7. No diesels.
Any advice much appreciated.
TMS Read more
This seems to be the most ridiculous waste of money I have ever encountered, as HJ himself said once, it is like wrapping a brick in £50 notes before throwing it into a river. A focus isn't exactly a car to get pasisonate about (apart from maybe the ST), it is a class leading, functional vehicle with a good build quality and service life of over 100,000 miles. A model at 18,000 miles is going to be pretty much like new, why bother trading it in for another one, which will be exactly the same? I'm just about to buy another Boxster, and for £19k now I can buy a 3 year old 3.2 S with 280 BHP, that will also be just about run in, that cost £45,000 new, and will look & drive like a brand new car, thanks to this type of lunacy! Fair enough if you want to realise a dream of owning a particular vehicle, like how some people want a Jag or Golf GTi or whatever, and fair enough if you hate your ride or it is uncomfortable / unreliable but what is the point of incurring all that loss for no actual difference? 8k could buy you a lot of other nice stuff. Like a nice weekend toy, like a Smart Roadster, convertable Mini, Lotus Elise, BMW Z4?
ive had my 1.2 sxi corsa for 2 and abit years its been back to the garage 2 times already 1st for abs recall and secondly when it was there they smashed the back of it so had to back again to the body shop..and now at 31k miles the camshaft has snapped in two.im in a sticky situation because the car has no records of service...am i rite in thinking vx should foot the 1000 pound repair bill because there is no way i am paying. vauxhall used to be my preferd car but not for much longer i feel unless they help me..it could of been alot worse because i was driving it with my wife and grandson at the time lucky was only doing 40 .... help ... Read more
How can this happen.the car is 3 years old and just out of warranty.
Murphy's law? Cars go wrong all the time, it just hurts more than if it was still in warranty.
Can you be sure the oil levels were OK before the camshaft snapped? When were they last checked?
OR Is there no oil as the dealer claims or are they just wiggling out of it?
Good luck either way, hopefully Vauxhall will contribute if you've got full service history and you find a dealer willing to co-operate.
On the back of the previous tyre threads. The Michelin tyres I currently have fitted have worn out after a very poor 14000m. (They're 215/55 R17).
So I need some recommendations for a decent long life tyre. The Contisports on my Vectra lasted 24000 miles, but what others to consider. Read more
Ooh those lead footed plods...;)
There's not a great choice in rubber on that size as you probably know, but Continental do the premium contact 2 in your size.
I do take note of the defleet VX's that i carry 12 to 15K, and as a rough view the Conti's seem to wear better than most in 17".
I had a quick nose on Mytyres and they are showing the Nokian Z in your size too, high quality Finnish made tyres, if you click through onto the Tyretest link, they are very highly rated by users including wear rate.
Hi
The glow plug light on my Octavia 110bhp Tdi sometimes does not go out as it should when ignition is switched ,engine starts fine and when started light goes out but idle speed sits at about 1200rpm. Local garage ran diag and no faults reported but say it may be ECU fault which could need replacing. Has anyone had similar fault
Thanks
Bigtone Read more
Two sensor element in the same phyical device thus the 4 pin connector. Regards Peter
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I have to admit the Skoda has this feature.