January 2009

Falkirk Bairn

Five members of a "car-ringing" gang who stole, sold and re-stole dozens of cars in a £1.2m scam have been jailed.

The gang stole 37 cars, forged their registration details and re-sold them. They then stole the cars again, selling each car up to three times.

Mastermind Nokhiaz Khan, 31, from Hornchurch, Essex, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for fraud and conspiracy to convert crime proceeds.

Four gang members were jailed for up to two years at Southwark Crown Court. Read more

Fullchat

"I've seen career criminals in tears at the prospect of going back inside again and I've seen countless barristers near beg judges to allow their client to keep his liberty."

But they still keep volunteering for another stretch!

moon

Hi there, I am not motor minded at all and today I changed my first battery! - but since i have done this the ABS light on the dash board has come on and stays on, with this cold weather I don't want to risk driving it if there is a potential problem with the brake system - but I am sure it has something to do with the battery change as it was fine before - does anyone know of this happening or how to cure it? I am a single mother and would really like to avoid spending too much money on a mechanic!

thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.

(ps I don't know the engine size so I just wrote anything!) Read more

elekie&a/c doctor

Whilst changing the battery did any leads/cables become detached from the main battery terminals or is it possible that one of the thinner wires(usually with a black outer sleeving)has been put on the wrong battery terminal?hth

Mapmaker

I quite fancy a new (to me) car. But Glass's informs me that prices are dropping 10% per month in the c. £1,000 car market. Kind of blows my depreciation-free strategy out of the water when a car I idly looked at at the end of November books at £250 less than it did then. Ouch!

(And of course, hope of getting anything at all for my own motor recedes rapidly towards the value of the tax - I guess I might be able to sell the tyres on eBay... A very nice man offered me £100 as px on Sunday...)
Read more

pd

Guides are totally useless on sub-£1k stuff. Condition and whether they work or not is all that matters and prices are all over the place.

To be honest the sub-£1k market is probably the one area where prices and demand haven't fallen much unless they have huge engines. At this price point whether it belches smoke and has a MOT and 4 good tyres is far more important than what model it is to most buyers.

My gut feeling is that there has been such a big drop that apart from the newer 1 year old stuff prices will stabilise and maybe even rise going into 2009. Buyers are out in strength looking for bargains with sensible price cars selling well.

carlwest

hi,my renault kangoo immobiliser is playing up, what happens is when you turn the key in the ignition the red light should stop flashing and go permanent red then the car should start, but it doesnt, but if i turn the key backward and forwards a few times in the ignition that does it i.e it the light goes permanent and it starts !! any ideas please,thanks carl

latest : immobiliser light flashing all the time and wont start at all,

what could it be !! Read more

oilrag

I have a grandstand view due to window design (from the sofa) of the approach on a residential road over around 500 yards - cars reach the dead end and have to return the same way.
You have the regular routine of people departing to work by car and foot.
There is a lessor pattern of activity through the morning - but in the early afternoon nothing moves. An hour can go by like this - with just the odd group of rooks flying over from nearby fields.

Then you see it - an older car coming slowly up the road and several men inside looking into houses and up drives. They never actually stop - but you`ve never seen such rubber necking - same interest on their return back down the road. Now over the years I`ve seen this scenario several times.
We`ve had break-ins around here and while our place is pretty secure with security grills around the back - others are much more `see through` regarding the large windows we tend to have.

A thief exited a local house in mid afternoon recently and apparently got into a waiting car - another incident led to a car being fully loaded and driven off this time in the early hours.

There`s more than this.. but confining it to cars and `motoring` have you ever seen similar? What may be a sussing out of property vulnerability by car. Read more

midlifecrisis

Making a call about a suspicious vehicle often leads to a report being placed on PNC. We regularly stop vehicles (often after activating ANPR) days later and have very good results. It's very easy to suss the legitimate from the dodgy once they're stopped.

roks

Hi,

I am looking to get a spare key cut for emergency.

Is it just a matter of getting a blank key and taking it to the locksmith to cut or am I missing something.

I called one place that sells the blanks, but the lady says I need to program the key once cut. Otherwise it wont start the engine. Is this re-programing same (turn key 4 times then take out, put new key in) or something different?

I've also seen blanks on eBay, with a blue dot, which also says it has 'transponder chip' inside it. Will the re-programming working on these?

Please can someone explain to me how this works and the cheapest solution.

Thanks Read more

roks

Aplerton Ford dealer, wants £115 just for programming, £180 including new fob/key.
When asked what is it that you actually do? The guy says "we have to hook up our expensive million pounds worth of kit to down/up load the key code.

Anyway, I'll keep the garage offer to hand as I'm still waiting for the key to arrive (damn postman, 13:30, no singn of him, once upon a time you could set your watch by him...08:30 shap).

shonkers

hello every one im a newbie and am looking for advice on where to buy a transit minibus ive already looked on autotrader there are a few on there but not that much choice, ive also looked on car supermarket but they dont do minibuses any ideas anyone Read more

henry k

Traffic report said a couple ramps closed at the M25 / A3 interchange roundabout due to over gritting.

I have never heard a report of this type before.
The report said something about "shingle?" effect.

Anyone else come across this? Read more

grumpyscot

What gets me is that, when the temperature drops, motorists are advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.

Just how many seem to think it's absolutely necessary to go into work, or drop of the kids at school, or a morning trip to Asda....

And how many drivers ever go for training in how to drive on icy roads?



I'm beginning to rant................!!!

Chris White

Hello,

I'm thinking of changing my vehicle for a petrol Vauxhall Zafira, I have up to £3k to spend and am after opinion on best combination of engine and gearbox for reliability. Don't mind manual or automatic.

I do mostly town work but with the odd long journey. I'm a gigging musician and like the fact that the Zafira isn't that big on the outside but all the seats fold down to give me a big flat load area.

For around £2k I can get a 1.6 litre with 60-70k miles and FSH but if I spend my budget of £3k I can get a 2.2 litre with same mileage and history.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Chris. Read more

Vansboy

Have you thought of...

Spending a bit more, going to auction, buying in Motability sections - they have a good number of Zafiras, there, usually.

Or, for the budget you mention, finding a Mazda Premacy, instead?

VB

lju00dt

My little 2000 (77,000 miles) Punto recently went to the garage as it was overheating badly and some suspected damage had been done to head gasket.

Garage said it was more than that but didnt specify anything - just said it needs new engine.

I dont know much about this type of stuff - but is it worth getting a new engine for an 8 yr old punto or scrapping it and getting a new one. Rest of car is in decent condition and was working fine up till 2 weeks ago.

i found an engine on the web - 31,000 miles done, delivered to my door for £430 with 12 month warranty.

How much would i be looking at to get a new engine fitted?

Is this just a really bad idea in general.

any help would be appreciated!! Read more

bbroomlea{P}

I would get a second opinion by someone who knows a bit more. The headgasket went on my Rover 214 some years ago (no real surprise there!) and after chugging to a standstill on the motorway the oil light flickered when ticking over. I braved a new headgasket and radiator (cause of the headgasket!) and it ran for another 50,000 miles.

If its got very hot the oil is probably past its best or even really low and thats why the light is flashing - low pressure! It could of course be because its got too hot and the bearings are shot - in which case the engine is scrap. In which case, it may be worth fixing if you can get it done for £600 or so - you will loose a lot more on a new car and another second hand car might be dogged with hidden problems.