December 2008
I'm looking for the cheapest way to get a car for a 3-month period in a foreign country. I'm assuming that the regular rental companies will want at least 300 quid/month?
I'm reluctant to buy an old car and resell it when I leave. Chances are some greasy dealer will sell me a 6 year old Hyundai/Toyota for about 4000 quid and only offer me 1500 when I bring it back....
Any suggestions? TIA. Read more
My head unit has an AUX socket (3.5mm jack). I'd like to get an audio device that plugs into the lighter socket and has a 3.5mm line out that I can plug into my head unit. The device would read MP3s from either a USB drive or an SD card.
There are lots of devices almost exactly like this, except that they use a FM transmitter to pipe the audio from the device to the head unit, rather than a wire, e.g.:
www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/12937.htm
Of course I could use one of these, but I'm worried that the sound quality won't be very good with FM. So has anyone come across one of these devices that has a line out?
Thanks
Read more
Battery life of an iPod Touch is very good.... and nice big touch screen controls. Mounted in a cradle..... and can be charged via cigar lighter to USB connection if needed.
I have a 1994 M Registered 1.8 diesel van and my Indicator stalk is not self cancelling. By that I mean that when you flick the Indicator on to turn a corner and you turn the steering wheel, when the wheel returns back around, the Indicator stays on. The stalk does not flick back up again automatically. The stalk is the same as the one pictured here
tinyurl.com/4y3yca
I have a spare stalk which I have had fitted, but the same problem still exists.
Is this problem likely to be solely due to the stalk unit or is there like a cam type of system on the actual steering column. I find it unlikely that two stalk units have the same problem so I am assuming that it may be something else causing this.
If anyone has any suggestions on what my problem might be and how to resolve it then any responses would be appreciated.
I would also be interested to know how the self cancelling feature actually works. I assume most cars would be similar, regardless of model?
{Link made into a TinyURL one, Rob (Moderator)} Read more
sorry for not being clear, I was changing the whole switching unit as in your link for ones from breakers, I even asked them prior to buying if they were in working order!
I found a brand new pattern one on ebay for about £30 I think, the Ford one is quite expensive from memory.
I want to express my beliefs in these products after 40 years of usage. If you believe in the magic of the micro chip and viagra then read on. In 1969 I worked with a company in Monrovia California called Justice Brothers. Still in business. They had an engine oil additive that incorporated PTFE resins. These resins would free up anything that was gauling instantly with a decrease of the coefficient of friction of the fluid upon increased pressure on the surfaces. Nothing else would come close. Yes, bonding to the metal is what occurs. For how long is undetermined. Other companies have taken over and the marketing campaining award goes definately to 'SLICK 50'. note:Keep the vicosity low enough for proper drain back in the engine. The vicosity low enough in the transmission for ease of shifting(manual trans). With a vigorously shaken bottle of Slick 50 add just a little to the trans and diff. I wouldn't use it on limited slip or anything that requires high coefficiant of friction fluid. It has done wonders for me over the years especially my Honda Goldwing m/c. I have a noisey differential in my motorhome(gear noise only)
I will try some Slick50 gear oil add in my diff if i can find it. It is not on the shelves anymore. I may use the engine formula. I will write again if it works. A little dab will do ya. I enjoy reading your opinions. Thanks, Pete. Read more
Yeah right - E-mailed you OP !
Hello, does anyone know what the coloured dots indicate on new tyres. On my tyres there are two red dots about an inch apart, then further around the tyre on the same side is a blue dot. I used to think you lined the valve up to one of dots to aid balancing but now I dont know. The tyres are uniroyals. thanks. Read more
And you might find answers here too:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=69519&...f
Including Dave's link above.
I want to upgrade the dipped headlights on my 2007 Toyota Avensis as I'm not happy with the performance of the existing bulbs.
Is it okay to use high performance bulbs which I've bought from Halfords ('Extreme Brilliance')? In HJ's review of the model he mentions the incidence of bulb holders melting. Read more
Using brighter bulbs you can expect for them to last nowhere near as long as the proper spec ones. Cannot comments on the holders melting. I've only used the correct spec bulbs in my cars.
Oh Lordie!
December 16 is a holiday on this side of the world, and accepted as the 'first day of christmas holidays'. So it is a favourite for weddings, as it is a great day to get all the friends, family etc from all over the land to join up, and witness you getting hitched.
In fact, I attended a wedding on Tuesday, and a fun time was had by all...
However, I digress... here's the story of the week!
A driver hired to transport a groom and bride to a wedding was arrested for reckless driving after clocking 170 kilometres an hour in a residential area, Cape Town metro police said on Wednesday.
Principal Inspector Merle Lourens said police arrested the driver on Tuesday after the BMW he was driving was caught on camera three times doing 164km/h, 154km/h and 170km/h in a 60km/h zone in Goodwood on Saturday.
"While the bride and groom were tying the knot, the driver decided to take the car for a spin," she said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Travelling at such great speeds in a busy residential area is reckless in the extreme and seems to indicate that this young man has no respect for other road users or even for someone else's property, because he was driving a hired vehicle." A police docket for the three separate charges of reckless and/or negligent driving had been opened at the Goodwood police.
Latest news is that the bloke was arrested at home yesterday morning.
I know the road he was on - and it IS not safe to do 80, let alone 170!
Read more
Another one...
Woman on way to church, being driven by relative in a borrowed Merc AMG... Driver lost it, bent the car badly... wedding postponed, as bride is now in hopsital with a broken leg...
That ad to the right for the book seems to suggest that the inventor of the mini-roundabout has 'messed' up Britain.
I've never really been driven to frustration by them. Has anyone else here? Read more
mini roundabouts are mostly ridiculous and an excuse to paint the road in even more stupid colours. Friend of mine lives near Mort Lane, Swinton, and there's a big main road with a steep incline. He comes out of his estate onto a MR on the main road. OK you might complain that "people should know how to deal with them" but the **reality** is that drivers flying down the main road think they have right of way over the ridiculously sited MR. I know he has had a few rows with ignoramuses when he has eased his car into the MR when they think he should have stopped, as if there was a "give way" or a "stop" sign.
I blame the EU, as usual.
my fiesta is over reving when i free wheel or inbetween gear changes, ive changed the airflow sensor with no joy, quite strange because it only happens when free wheeling,
any ideas??
thanks Mark
slt Read more
It could be the road speed sensor, I've not tried this on my dads which has been suffering from this problem but a lot of people have suggested it works.
The original report @
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7790336.stm
I had to read this twice ... amazing.....
...the 21-year-old said she had felt there were times when using a phone while driving was acceptable.
She told the court: "I didn't think I should be chatting away when manoeuvring roundabouts, but in the right conditions..."
Prosecutor Alan Blake replied: "In the right conditions on the M40 at 70mph?"
She added: "I probably would have slowed down."
(......had made the two-hour journey to Oxford on a dark evening when the roads were wet and after a shift )
How on earth can the message get through to a single brain cell ??
Today
'Texting' crash driver convicted
After the jury found Curtis guilty of causing death by dangerous driving on Friday afternoon, Judge Julian Hall told her she would "almost certainly" receive a prison sentence.
Read more
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/790951...m
Texting death crash peer jailed
Snip... another thread on this.
Browse
About £25/day... not unreasonable for a daily rent but talk to a hire company direct. But then HA do very cheap CDW.... I wrote off a car (Fiesta auto) and was not out of pocket. List price was about ?14k!
Whatever you do please make sure you have full cover. If you did buy you have the problem of insurance as well - or 3 months only.