February 2009
From The Daily Telegraph.
www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/0...g
Molten metal runs from a car destroyed by bushfires in the town of Steels Creek, southern Australia Picture: REUTERS
An indication of just how nasty circumstances must be there. Read more
The dealer from whom we bought the used-vehicle is recommending we keep up with the 6 monthly fuel system cleaner treatment at 12.99/time. Is it worth it? Read more
I would just use a branded fuel, Shell, BP, whatever. If it is a couple of pence a litre dearer then it will still be a long time before you have spent £12,99 extra.
I currently run a Focus 2, tdci which apart from a flat spot that was never fixed & poor brakes is largely ok. However for the next car I really fancy an auto ( it's my age ).
I?d be shopping in the B or C sector and am after something reliable, economical but with perhaps a bit of go if needed.
Looking at the market in the 1300 ? 2000 cc range there?s not always the choice you might think since auto?s are only available on some engine ranges, and not many diesels.
However I?m a bit indecisive about the best auto to look for, the pros & cons appear to be :
?Conventional? hydraulic box with torque convertor ( eg. Hyundai i30, Citroen C4 )
Pros: Been around a long time, so reliable & fairly responsive. No clutch as such so nothing to wear in dense stop / start traffic.
Cons: Soaks up a fair amount of engine power so not good on economy.
CVT ( eg. Honda Insight, )
Pros: Smooth, good around town. Should be reliable. Might have fluid or plate type clutch ?
Cons: Lots of revs if you need to accelerate. Economy so so. Some reports of short service life.
DSG ( or Ford Powershift ) ( eg. Golf, Leon...etc. Focus )
Pros: Generally very responsive, Good number of ratios, ( 6 or 7 ), economy good.
Cons: Can sometimes be jerky, complex, expensive. Clutch drag in traffic?
Automated manual et al. (eg. Punto, C3, Colt ...)
Pros: Relatively inexpensive, efficient.
Cons: Complex, unknown reliability and durability, slow reactions, jerky shift.
I?m sure there are more points than this, but these seem to be the main concerns.
What do others think? For me it seems to be pay up & smile for DSG & hope for reliability, or go for hydraulic & accept the trade off in economy???.
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Ifit......
I did consider the Focus powershift. The trans is in effect the Ford / Getrag version of VW's dsg, and would I think be just as good.
The premium for the Golf dsg over the Focus powershift was about £1300 comparing the Golf 1.4 tsi se, to the Focus Zetec.
I would hope to recoup this at trade in time.
My thoughts were that I had lived with my flatspot & really poor brakes for long enough. These don't seem in evidence with the Golf.
Seriously, the brakes worried me, even after fitting new pads there was no "bite" in the Focus brakes. This was with rear drums, which seem to be the cause.
Some of this is rationalising my decision of course, but I did worry that I would not be able to stop rapidly in a true emergency stop.
The Golf is due mid march. Ill post my thoughts as I get it & run it.
Hi All
I currently drive a Astra G
When I get home I don?t have a driveway the road outside my house is approx 1 and a half car width.
At either side of the road before the foot path is a grass verge about 1 foot in width, because of width of the road to prevent people clipping past my car i have to put the car up onto the grass verge (which it more of a mud bath this weather) thus putting the car up over the kerb which is approx 3-5cm high
some of the neighbours do have a driveway but thanks to a inconveniently placed telegraph pole I cant drive down the grass and safely onto the road instead every day Im up and down this kerb to keep my car of the narrow road (which everyday is a slalom with all the other cars there) it has to go onto the kerb because the people in the houses at the other side of the road get home before I do, and they leave there car fully on the road, which means mine has to go on the verge otherwise cars (and more importantly fire engines) will not be able to get through.
I enquired about getting the kerb taken down and the crass concreted so it gives me a access driveway onto my property but The council want £25 just to ?come and have a look? and I have heard that they charge upto £1000 for this type of work which to benefit someone else when I sell the house in 2-3 years* I simply cant afford
My real concern is the likely damage to my car, as it?s the left hand side front wheel that has to do all the climbing, I take the car up very, very slowly but I don?t know what damage im going to be doing, can anyone advise me.
Thanks
{dropped make/model from subject header} Read more
I honestly dont think climbing the kerb daily is doing any damage. I have been doing a similar manoever most days for the last 4 years and no damage has been done to the suspension.
Reuters report:
"Executives of Kia, led by Kia President Eui-sun Chung, have had discussions with GM over the Saab premium brand, three sources with knowledge of the talks said."
That should rattle some cages. Read more
Looks like Saab will be free of GM soon, from the report released to the US Government last night:
"Sweden/Saab?The Company has conducted a strategic review of its
global Saab business and has offered it for sale. Given the urgency of
stemming sizeable outflows associated with Saab operations, GM is
requesting Swedish Government support prior to any sale. The Company
has developed a specific proposal that would have the effect of capping
GM?s financial support, with Saab?s operations effectively becoming an
independent business entity effective January 1, 2010. While GM is
hopeful that an agreement can be reached with the Swedish Government
to support this direction, the Saab Automobile AB subsidiary could file for
Reorganization as early as this month."
Hear that: " effectively becoming an independent business entity", who'd a thought it?
No clear hints on what might happen to Vauxhall/Opel yet though. I think the outcome there will depend how much money is stumped up by the various governments to keep local factories running.
Have just read the review of new Abarth. I was owner of a 500 Pop last year. I have to say that the car was a big disappointment. The looks were superb ofcourse but if ever the phrase only skin deep was appropriate this was it. I had to sell in the end, journeys were just too painful. The ride is terrible and it is such a poor drive. If you enjoy driving at all I would not touch the basic 500. (Infact the Panda is a much better choice)
This Abarth sounds like all these issues are sorted and I cant wait for a test drive. I have always loved small Fiats and it seems theyve scored a winner with this one. Read more
Do you always wear a hat, HJ? Even when you are not being HJ?
Can anyone recommend a vehicle capable of accommodating three baby seats in the back as well as 2 adults?
Our daughter is expecting twins. Reliability, economy, price and ease of access are the priorities Read more
Hi kgl.
I don't know what your budget is but for around £3-5k you can get a 3/4 year old Nissan Tino. They are very similar to a citroen picasso in design and size, are well equipped and good value used. They have 3 seperate rear seats and were designed to fit 3 child seats in the back but this may depend on the size of the child seats. We have one and found it a reliable and spacious car. It's not a drivers car and being quite heavy returns only about 32mpg around town (1.8 litre petrol) but it is comfortable.
Good luck with your search.
I suspect the head gasket is beginning to go on my son's car as it needs half a litre of coolant every hundred or so miles. It's done 120,000 and there is no sign of a leak anywhere else. The dipstick is still pure oil but there is a bit of hard mayonnaise on the oil filler cap.
My question is, is it worth trying something like Holts radweld at this stage...or just wait for the inevitable progression?
Also, is it worth cracking then retorquing the head bolts to make a better squeeze of the head onto the block and perhaps squash the possible microscopic connection between water system and cylinder? Read more
The confusion is because they are 2 different tests.
The gas analyser (as used in the emissions test at mot time) will detect unburnt hydrocarbons, and wrong co if the engine is not running correctly.
The coolant test is basically a "sniffer" test of the coolant to check for the presence of combustion products and/or oil in the coolant.
really dont know about the litmus paper test.
M3 was solid between J4 and J2, and M25 anticlockwise from 11-15. The cause was reported on the radio as a broken down crane partially blocking the exit slip road at J11 of the M25. Then a short while later it came across the radio that the crane was not actually broken down, but was in use, repairing some road signs.
Was this so urgent it couldn't have waited until the end of Friday morning rush hour? This poor planning directly caused about 15 miles worth of queues across two roads. Personally speaking to get from J4 to J2 of the M3 took me well over an hour this morning, against the 15-20 minutes I would expect it to take on a Friday morning rush hour. Colleague coming from Watford is still sitting on the M25 now.
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In my neck of the woods, a well used main road has been closed for several months for work to be done. There is a well sign posted diversion. Sure enough, two weeks in to the closure and road works ( non emergency ) appear on first one part of the diversion route and in the last two days, on another section. Result double the congestion, wasted fuel.
Nice one Mr Councillor in your Ivory Town Hall.
Why have the telegraph reduced Honest Johns Column, it was/is the the best part of the Motoring Supplement I only ever read that and James Mays column although sometimes James talks about something completly uninteresting so I don't read that.
Come on Telegraph sort yourselves out and get HJ back to two pages, it can't be expensive getting him to write a few more answers to questions and while your doing it why not allow him to write the head lines in the rest of the paper. Your circulation will go up and it should produce some amusing complaint letters from the busy bodies in the letters page.
Any one else got any comments on this.
P.S If you have never read his column, buy the Saturday Telegraph and get with the program Read more
This has been discussed and answered before. So look at the old threads. This one is now locked.
If HJ wants it unlocking he will.
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One of my Australian pals who lives in a rural wooded area has a rather unusual fire extiguisher, A Honda petrol pump fed by his (big) swimming pool. He admits it would not be much use in a serious fire but might buy him some time for help to arrive.