December 2008
Another little gem voiced by the government to get rid of a few more motorists, and not just your 75+ drivers. It's backed up with the usual "it's voluntary, but if you're caught and found deficient/medically wanting, you'll be fined" stick attitude.
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/4016444/Drivers-to-ha...l Read more
I will be replacing the passenger door window in my daughters Ford Ka this coming weekend. (Window was smashed by a drunken moron)
Does anybody know if this is a straight forward job or are there any potential problems I should know about.
I am a reasonably competent DIY mechanic and have changed windows and doors etc on various cars in the past.
I would appreciate any tips you may have. Read more
Contact your windscreen company;if your screen is insured so is your side window and your £50 excess will be less than the cost of the glass.
The end of freedom of the roads?
But what if (as a carrot) participants were given a complete exemption from speeding offences - putting responsibility for speeding into the hands of those implementing the technology?
That would seem to give the freedom to relax while motoring - watching out for road and traffic hazards - rather than cameras and speed limits that switch repeatedly between 30 and 40 on certain `revenue` roads.
tinyurl.com/ay5h2t Read more
So what would be good would be a switchable speed limiter that can be over-ridden in an emergency
When trials for this system were announced, it was said:
"Each time the limit on the road changes, the driver will be alerted to that change.
The accelerator pedal then vibrates when the limit is reached and the car cannot exceed the limit - unless the driver opts out of the system by braking, stopping or accelerating.
Driver opt-outs are allowed by using buttons on the steering wheel of using an over-ride kick down on the accelerator pedal. "
I have not been able to find details of the system referred to in the first post here, though.
Have driven about 1200 miles over the past 3 weeks. Mostly evil roads! Hills, blind bends, inverse cambers, poor road surfaces, no crash barriers, poor signage...! None of the locals seem to complain though - it seems that half of the roads weren't even tar-sealed until about 25 years ago.
Local past-time seems to be running over possums at night...
Good news is... diesel at 45p/litre and petrol around 60p, and this in a country which has to import all its oil! And more amazingly, the pump prices have fallen by around 45% since the summer oil peak! How much have our UK prices gone down by? 10-15% tops? What a con! Makes you realise just how much $$$ our darling UK Government makes off us at the pumps! Clearly the NZ government don't tax fuel (much), but the motorist just has to put up with "challenging" roads. What would you prefer?! Read more
On the fuel tax situation,
If the NZ govt were trying to police half the world, and subsidise the other half whilst under the delusion that their country is still a rich world power, they would have to rob as much money off their working inhabitants (the good old motorist, he'll do, we can fire a load of green flannell to make him the bogeyman while we're about it too)as ours do.
Sorry chaps, its the way i see it in my simple way, i'm no doubt misguided.
Happy New Year to those in NZ too.
my boot on my 53 reg Mondeo will not close/lock
it looks like the catch is turning on the pin but it will not stick in place
could u help by letting me know
1) what the likely problem is
2) how much it is likely to cost
3) where i am best to take it (main dealer, independant)
any q's let me know
thanks in advance Read more
I had the same problem on a 53 plate Mondeo a few years back. It needed a new boot lock. That fixed the problem. For me it was under warranty.
It would not lock at all... left with Ford garage at the time for security whilst the part arrived.
I live in a leafy avenue in Surrey. I saw the chap over the road today who told me that on Boxing Day night one of his sons, who sleeps at the front of the house, was woken at 2AM by a noise, looked out his window and saw two groups of men on their in/out driveway with the bonnets up on their Fiat Punto and Ford Escort. He shouted at them and they fled in cars parked further down the road.
He went outside and saw each car had a side window smashed, their bonnets up and engine parts in the process of removal.
They phoned the Police who came a rather spritely 45 minutes later to see what had happened. As they stood outside at 3AM two unlit cars full of men drove slowly up the road, past the house and away again. It was suggested they could just be the criminals, to which the Police replied there was no reason to assume that and they refused to give chase.
Two questions:
1. The deeper one is why do we have a Police force no longer interested in catching criminals?
2. The curious one os what were they nicking, I mean why remove things from under the bonnet of old cars?
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"as they were disturbed in the process and made off i very much doubt that even had these police officers stopped the car that passed by there would be any reason to detain them or do we not use evidence to determine guilt anymore?"
Sufficient grounds to stop, detain and search the vehicles and occupants for evidence in relation to the offence. (Sec 1 PACE 1984).
Having done that there may be evidence of other offences or 'Going Equipped'. If nothing else names and addresses for an intelligence submission which would link to ANPR and these individuals might turn up again.
These types of offenders are usually committing motoring and drugs offences as well.
Basic coppering.
Can anyone help with saving my engine without a complete stripdown to fit a new crankshaft. This engine has completed 13400 miles and has always had oil changes every 7000 miles. However after shredding the auxiliary belt, I was informed that the crankshaft pulley was damaged and had caused the woodruf key to fracture. It was temporarily repaired using lots of loctite apparently to keep the car going until a decision was made as to its future!! Even though the crankshaft is damaged, would the fitting of a new crankshaft pulley, if possible, keep me out of trouble and keep the car on the road. I am a bit shocked that this problem involved an old traditional diesel engine and my faith in diesel longevity has been shattered. Read more
Thanks for your advice and also Peters. Do you think my local garage could cope with this repair . I used to do a lot of car maintainance but now limit myself to oil changes and other relatively minor jobs ! Is this liquid metal readily available for DIY use or is it a garage trade item only. Again many thanks and my trusty 406 may have a reprieve hopefully----- after repair do you feel it could cope with 300 mile motorway trips
how do you change the air filter on 2005 ka.i cant figure out how the plastic casing comes off. Read more
hi honest john
I was doing a job on my car today with the tools i got for xmas. I had to change the coolant, change the thermostat and flush the matrix of my rover 75 cdt.
The problem was I started the job at 2pm and it was dark at 4:30pm and I'd not got around to refitting the heater matrix. So I've left the car on the drive with no anti-freeze in and it's just struck me what I've done.
Please anyone?
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well when you say to someone in the pub you drive a rover 75 it doesn't hold much kudos.
but everyone who see's it or actually gets in is well impressed.
particularly people who don't know what sort of car it is.
Hi,been looking for a medium or largish automatic,and its probably come down to either
an Avensis or Vectra,2005 or above.
I have also test driven a Citroen C4 auto which i liked,and there is some very cheap ones around!...but their reputation is not very good,particularly autos.
Anybody have one of these cars and could offer some ownership experience please??
I have seen the above Vectra,2007,16,000 miles for £7,800.
Cheers....Phil. Read more
Yes it is the CD70.
Yes - you're right. You can enter the first 4 or 5 characters of the postcode as the 'city'. This narrows the search down to a few roads.
Browse
My bus licence requires me to have a medical at 45 (am currently 37) then every 5 years till I turn 65. Then every year from 65....
I think there's a generational issue here. My parents are now in their 60s - baby boomers - and are the first generation which have held driving licences since their 20s.
Requiring a driver to take responsibility for their ability to drive - and offering a certification process for borderline individuals - makes a lot of sense.
Young people miss things because they're impetutous (the worse sort are those who pass their test first time and then are full of false confidence - I mean they're pink fluffy dice great drivers because they aced the test....)
Old people tend to miss things because their powers of observation and reaction times slow. My Father-in-Law is in his mid 70s. He won't go on motorways any more, but is ok around town....