February 2009

1964johnr

Can anyone tell me why it is recommended that you disconnect the negative battery terminal before taking the MAF sensor out for cleaning ? Read more

elekie&a/c doctor

Makes no difference with battery connected or disconnected.What could make a difference is if the maf is un-plugged with the ignition switched on.hth

thehazards

Arnold Clark (see website) currently have £605 off the fixed RRP of a Fiat 500 1.2 Lounge, which works out much cheaper than even adding a few extras to the very basic £8100 Fiat 500 1.2 Pop.

This deal seemingly does not apply in conjunction with Fiat's PCP deal where the price then reverts to £9500 costing £146 for 36 months (£900 deposit) and a Guaranteed Future Value of £4505 on 8000 miles. Any dealer will offer you this. It still works out cheaper than a 6 year loan of £8895 though.

With the worsening euro exch rate the cost of Fiats and other imports can only go up.





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oldtoffee

>>get her to test drive a panda 100 hp bet ya she would change her mind

In my albeit limited experience (one wife - to date) many women don't buy on the basis of how the car drives on a test drive. SWMBO has never test driven a car she has bought - she's had me drive it and sat in it (in her 500 the back of it as the sales guy wouldn't sit in the back!) She fell in love with the looks and her Picanto was gone! Didn't look at anything else, hated the looks of the Panda and the MINI and the Clio and the Yaris and the Jazz and .... Last thing I was going to do was guide her towards a car that might be a bit quicker or a tad more composed over a bump and have her regret not going for the 500 every time she got in the car for the next 3 or 4 years.

FWIW I disagree with the comments about impossibly bumpy ride and no guts - SWMBO's 1.2 goes well if you keep the revs over 3,000 - it picks up really well from 4,000 and is rapid enough with an excellent gearchange and light controls. OK in town you don't drive it like that but its fine and a comfortable, bright and quiet place to be. Perfectly at ease on the motorway and enough torque to accelerate from 70 mph if you need. I wouldn't have one myself as I do too many miles and the seats are short on squab and when you lower them the back of the seat base dips but not the front leaving an uncomfortable hole where something should be supporting. The C pillars are too wide making reversing much more difficult than it should be but helping the rigidity no doubt. None of this matters to SWMBO she loves it as much as her 2CVs from yesteryear.

Waino

I note with interest that Hyundai have tried to answer the question of insufficient toilet facilities along our road network. The new i20 is described as 'commodious', though I think we ought to be told which seat has got the hole in it ;-) Read more

NickS

Monring All,

Just hoping somebody might eb able to offer some advice.

My Sister is currently at Uni, and is insured to drive my mothers Polo when she is home. During one of said trips home (18 months ago), my sister is alleged to have knocked somebodys wingmirror off along a narrow road.

The first we knew of this was a lteer from the Police saying she had been spotted at the scene. She responded to them, denying the claim.

Next a letter arrives fromt he Insurance company, detailing the claim and saying that they will be treating it as a fault incident. A quick phone call to the Insurance company revelas they have an independent witness and a picture of my mother rear numberplate. Whilst my sister still denies it, and a picture of somebodeys number plate seems scant evidence, my parents feel theres nothing more they can do, other than admit fault and let the insurance sort it out. Presume all is well and carry on as usual.

However, on saturday morning a letter arrives from Northamton County Court detailing a small claims court summons, for £1200! The claimant is after £690 for a hire car, and the rest is repair cost for the wing mirror.

Supposing my sister is guilty, my two main questions are these......

1) Why would you need £690 worth of a hire car for a smashed wing mirror on a v-reg golf GTI?

2) Whay have the insurance companies not settled between them, and why has it gone to small claims?

Thanks in advance

{sorry, pet hate of mine where cars are still referred to as having wing mirrors, hence the edit in the subject header. DD} Read more

turbo11

I would have your day in court. My sister has twice been to court due to car accidents,and won.This was despite her insurers originally wanting to settle 50/50. she has refused and gone to court to prove her innocence. In both cases the cleverness of her barrister soon unravelled the pack of lies the other party told and had them tied up in knots and contradicting themselves.If your Innocent, the truth will out.

illy28

Hi I have ford focus 2.0 tdci and what i have noticed recenlty is a loss of power in third gear at 3000 revs, the car suddenly feels like it is going to stall and losing power. It suddenly kicks back in and is fine again. It is always around 3000 - 4000 revs, but more often nearer the 3000. any advise would be appreciated
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Forum ANPR
BobbyG

Part of post snipped because it was no longer in context once I'd tidied up the thread - PG



I personally think ANPR is a great tool if it helps rid roads of uninsured drivers etc etc but I also feel it is a very reactive system. We let people buy and sell cars, drive cars etc and its only when they happen to pass through ANPR that they get caught and really, the fines etc are not a deterrent at all as can be seen with the number of repeat offenders.

There needs to be a better system of car ownership, the car is yours until DVLA know otherwise. That is supposed to happen just now but how many times do we see that a car has no registered keeper? Read more

woodster

Discuss ANPR not each others' thoughts etc

mrwantinfo

Hello
I currently have a 1998 Vectra Hatch and was looking to either replace it with a newer model or a different make altogether.
I like the boot space size because i can comfortably carry my equipment in there for my work without having to pull down the seats and take out the parcel shelf.
i was wondering if i changed make would anyone know if the Nissan Primera (old and new shapes) boot space is the same size or bigger than the vectra? also poss. considering a Passat or Mondeo as well. Any help on this would be appreciated thanks.
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retgwte

how cheesed off am i?

there really must be something better than paint on steel for car exterior?

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L'escargot

Did you do it, or was it done deliberately by someone who was jealous that you had got a brand new car?

marley

got a problem with the galaxy, when on idle the revs go up to 4000rpm and obviously the economy is well down and its very annoying and i don`t want it to do any damage to the engine. some one (in the pub) said it could be some dirt on a sensor but i`m doubtful (we were in the pub!) any advice or things i can check before i head off to the garage? also the electric window on the drivers side has stopped working and the fuses are all fine. Cheers! Read more

bikerider

It might be worth checking that you have'nt got an air leak on the induction system some where.Check the c/case breather hoses servo vacuum pipe if one of those is leaking it could well be the source of your problem.

Douglas13

Evening all,

I'm looking at putting my Micra back on the road. It's been SORN for 18 months or so. How do I go about taxing it? Obviously I don't have a tax reminder and I'm not sure if there is anything on the SORN itself. Sorry I can't check, but it's in Scotland and I'm in Cambridgeshire.

The car has did about 100 miles after it's last MOT before it got taken off the road, so I'm not anticipating a lot needing done. However I'm got a bit of a tight wondow, I was hoping to MOT it on a Monday, and then hopefully tax it straight away that day. Does anyone know hoe long it takes for the MOT to appear on the DVLA's systems? I suppose I can always tax it the old fashioned way at the Post office

Cheers

Douglas
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1400ted

Douglas, Hi. As soon as your MOT is done it will be on the database as the MOT inspector uses the DVLA system. However, Just take your new MOT, Insurance, V62C and V10 licence application to the Post Office and that's it, sorted. If you do it on line or by post, you'll have to wait for your disc.
Ted