January 2009
FYI, a tabloid today is running a prominent story comparing diesel costs with petrol costs when buying and owning a car.
The article highlights the extra purchase price, repair bills and takes several cars and points out that, for example, at 10,000 miles per year it would take 24 years miles to break even for the additional cost of diesel over petrol, etc, etc.
I mention it as the article is prominent in a mass market paper and will no doubt be a wake-up call to many car owners.
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Keep it tie related in there !
Any thoughts about architectural salvage places ?
A friend got a tile she was short of (!) for her bathroom by placing a Wanted ad on E-bay.
Watching this on TV, want to describe a scenario.
Police following a newish Honda Civic driven by a young bloke. Driving carefully but the plate is coming up as "Not found" on the computer. They suspect the car is stolen, especially as it was just reported for bilking.
They flick the lights on and as he pulls onto the hard shoulder they pull in front and stamp the brakes on. He nearly goes into the back of them. Before the car's stopped the policeman's out and running over to the car, reaches in and pulls out the keys and then tries to pull the driver out while screaming "You're under arrest" etc.
Driver somewhat surprised by this, gives the policeman a shove back. Bearing in mind this is on the hard shoulder the policeman is a bit scared and gets even more abusive, dragging him out while putting him in an armlock. Escorted and elbowed into the police car.
Turns out it's a clerical error and on top of that, the petrol station was lying. His card wouldn't work in their machine, so he left the card, his name, and address and promised to come back. Barely out of the place when they called the police.
He's a bit upset and even more so when the police dole out a £30 penalty. No apology. Am I missing something here? I'd have been demanding a copy of the tape and making a formal complaint.
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When did the bobby turn into the slobby? Really interesting article in today's Teleg, and see the website for all the reaction, much of it from both serving and ex-coppers.
Hey all,
My Astra, W reg has not long had both its radiator and water pump replaced, yet two weeks after having the pump fitted, the water/coolant had gone down to about 3/4 of an inch full.
I'm getting a bit annoyed now as its getting too expensive to run if it keeps having these issues.
There is no gunk under the oil cap so I'm thinking and hoping its not the head gasket, but I have noticed some water coming out of the exhaust (trickling), not sure if that's normal/relevant or not.
I need some advice really, so I can return to my local mechanic armed with some info.
Any recommendations on things to suggest or ideas of what it could be?
Thanks. Read more
Why did the rad and WP get changed?, did you see leaks from them?. Did you put newspaer under car overnight to see if leaks were present?.
Someone is just guessing and taking a round about route to the problem, ( which is a nice earner) which is most likley the HG all along .
Check for leaks overnight before plunging into the HG chnage which will be expensive.
Coolant cannot just vanish- it can go into steam of course.
My car has just failed its mot becuase the fron cross member has corrosion and need to be replaced. The car is quoting me £800 for the job. Does anyone know if this is a good price or not.
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That seems way too much. I would have said £200-£300
The part is around £40. I replaced one on our 98 Micra.
It is quite a job. It took me a couple of days but it was my first time.
There are some spot-welds that need drilling out. I did not weld it back on as there are several large bolts attaching it to the chassis.
A few pics
www.photobox.co.uk/album/28638068
I painted in black stone-chip paint rather than the original colour as it can't really be seen, being behind the bumper.
Ring around some local body shops for better quotes. It is a very common problem on the Micra.
I've a 5 door Fiests Mk4 1.25 Zetec. I noticed that the sills underneath the doors are rusting out. One is very bad - just about managed to punch a hole through it the size of my fist. I'm assuming these have to be in good nick as they are part of the strength of the car? Any idea as to the cost of getting new ones fitted? I thought the days of getting cars welded was over....I guess not. Read more
I did this job on my '96 Fiesta for its MOT this time. It is disappointing to have to do this when so many other manufacturers seemed to have overcome the problem by that build year.
Every other time I've welded a car the hole has been much worse by the time I've got back to sound metal suitable for welding to. This was the first time it wasn't so bad and I regrettted cutting off a mostly sound sill. I'll definitely just patch the other side when it needs it.
Sorry I can't advise on price. The sill was a few pence short of a tenner but obviously, it's a high labour job.
Let us know the outcome.
Here is my dilemma. Beetle's oil warning light has came on, orange not red, so according to handbook this means low oil level. A check with the dipstick seems to back this up.
My wife and Beetle are off work tomorrow but I am away from early on. Now I know that you have to be very specific about the oil that goes into these PD diesel engines and the handbook only gives the VW part number for the oil.
So, should my wife
a. Go to Halfords (its closeby) and ask them for a litre of the correct oil for the PD engine and they would know what one to use?
b. Go to a local motor factor and would they know?
c. Go a bit further afield to the nearest VAG dealer (Seat) and ask them for a litre as I assume they would definitely know as Seat's use the same engine?
Either way, car is due a service so will get a full change then, just need some top-up but I ain't going to be around to do it but I know that these engines are very specific about what oil they need.
Any thoughts much appreciated as well as a note of the "high st" spec of the oil required as opposed to VW's part number?
And lastly, I assume that 24hr Tescos or Petrol stations won't stock this kind of oil so that I could get some tonight? Read more
The Castrol Edge 5W-30 is 504.00 and 507.00.
The 507.00 is for VW diesel cars and the 504.00 is for petrol VW cars.
The Castrol website recommends Edge 5W-30 for Mk4 Golfs, but I have a suspicion that you can use a cheaper oil for petrol Golfs, but I am not 100% sure of this.
Is it possible to fit alternative tyres to the expensive and uncommon 215/45 18 tyres fiited as standard to a Volvo S40 with 18" alloys? My Volvo dealer has stated that it's not, however a number of tyre fitters believe that the more common (and substantially cheaper) size of 225/40 18 is a potential alternative.
Many thanks. Read more
Why not post this question on the Volvo owners website ?
I've taken a look and it appears that this question has been raised previously; the consensus being that 225/40 18 is an option, the only shortcoming being (as expected) a slightly firmer ride.
Hi
On the Mondeo, mine is the TDCi 03 it is possible to press the mileage reset and then swith on the ignition/start the engine whch shows the dashboard codes (note this is not a full engine diagnostic). Sometimes you have to do it a couple of times before it works.
I know what some of the bits mean, dial function check, bulbs, revs, engine temp, etc, but has anyone got a full list of what all the bits mean.
I am sure that there are some useful things in here but cannot find a full list.
ITman Read more
My mother does. I don't think I know anyone else who does.
Most garages are full of lawnmowers, bicycles and junk.
There is a famous house in Devizes where the builders realised that the drive was too steep to get a car into the garage - so they built a flight of steps leading up to it, on the basis that nobody wants a garage for a car these days. Read more
There should also be a minimum garage door width of 8 feet, or 2.4 metres. Having got to appreciate an 8 foot door I would be loath to buy a property which only had a 7 foot wide garage door.
Browse
In essence I find many of them flat, over-silenced and lifeless. They sound and pull the same at 6k as they do at 4k, throttle mapping seems to knock the response out of them in favour of smoothness, and there's just no joy to be had from working them hard. The rev counter might red line at 6.5k but really it's pointless going there.
In use, and from inside the cabin, the noise levels of diesel and petrol engines are largely indistinguishable to most people, and that as far as I am concerned is the end of petrol's big advantage. I hate the sound of a diesel engine, but now I no longer have to put up with it unless I'm ticking over with the window down. Otherwise I have a gutsy, responsive engine that shrugs off my NCAP weighted bodyshell and the four big geezers riding passenger in a way that an equivalent petrol engine simply wouldn't.
Hope that makes at least some sense. :-)
Cheers
DP