February 2009
Heading to Oslo in a couple of weeks' time, in a rental car. Oslo has a London-style congestion charge doesn't it? Do I need to pre-register? Anything else to watch out for? I guess all the roads and drivers are fully prepared for the ice and cold. Read more
Yesterday Toyota launched the new Sequoia in the Gulf... 5.7 litre V8, 2.5 tonnes, obviously the Landcruiser just isn't up to the job...! toyota-mideast.com
Can't see it coming to European shores anytime soon! Read more
Don't think they get those kind of storms in the Gulf, madf! The Palm has already withstood some surprisingly heavy rain and storms over the past year though. Dubai's roads do flood easily though, at which point your low-slung Lambo or Ferrari ain't much good...
Aside, about 2-3000 people per week are emigrating to Dubai from around the world, so their is a steady underlying demand for houses, cars, infrastructure etc. Besides, the UAE Federal government will quietly bail-out any overspend in Dubai! BTW, there are no bankruptcy laws in the UAE..!
Just read a sobering piece in Mail On Sunday. Someone bought a £3k vehicle after responding to a scam ad' in Autotrader. The warning given was never send money abroad. Read more
... usually due to a loophole in Britain's moneylaundering regulations .. >>
Britain is not alone, apparently.
This story www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/30/texas_lawyer_scam.../
from Friday 30 January shows that even clever folk such as Lawyers can be taken in bigtime by scammers.
"'I'm a capital 'D' Dumbass', admits fleeced victim of Lads from Lagos
A Houston lawyer is suing Citibank after being taken for $182,500 by email scammers ... "
Just washed three cars. Not sure why given this weeks weather forecast and that they will all be out in it. Couple of thousand miles to do between them before Friday night.
Usual checks, oil, water, tyres etc.
Increased concentration of screenwash in all of them. squirted some through to ensure that new concentrate levels have reached the nozzles. Topped up again.
Checked function of all lights. Bad weather + faulty lights = asking for trouble.
Located ice scapers, shoved one behind each driver's seat. Kitchen roll in each. Great for getting crud off mirrors, lights, plates and windows when far from home.
Gloves, hat and old warm coat stuffed in behind passenger seat in all three.
Bottle of water and some cereal bars etc in each glovebox, oh and a spare packet of fags in the two I'll be using.. ;-) Wee torch in each. Mobile phone charger cable in each.
Right, bring it on. Lets go to work and see if there's anyone left out there with any money to spend..... Read more
Absolutely nothing... but you and I know that! :)
I've had my 2005, 55 , Renault Espace for 9 months or so. I cycle to work, so it seldom gets used apart from @ holidays and if we go out in at the weekends. These last few weeks been cold & icy so not been out in it much at all. For the 2nd time in 9 months it needed a jump start from my trusty old 1991 Volvo 940 Estate. We've left the Volvo for 5 weeks in the past without using it, then it still started first time.
It appears that with the Esapce, with all its security SYSTEMS and key less entry, this must drain the battery and so after a few weeks the BATTERY is all but flat. Once its been on a run for a hour or so, its fine and starts no prob. The alternator is charging at 14.5 V.
Does anyone else have sim probs with 'modern' cars with all of these fancy electronic systems draining the battery ?
I think if i bought a new battery {£120 + I bet !!} it would still be the same? So nowt wrong with my battery ? Cheers.
Read more
Excellent advice. Thanks.
It's been OK since.
I did a 70 mile trip at the w'end and a 60 miles 2nite.
No probs.
I do not exepect to use the car again until Saturday.
On my bike tomorrow and all week.
I think I'll measure the batt voltage {DVM} each night this week and see if it drops at all.
I think the kids left have left some of the lights on in row 3 for a few days too.
Hard to see when they do, as all windows on apart from the windscreen and front doors are heavily tinted.
Ever been put off a car for a wholly illogical reason?
I have.
I took a test drive in a new Seat Ibiza which had the radio missing.
The gaping hole in the dash and all those loose wires really put me off.
If I bought one, it would have a nice radio, I kept telling myself, but the missing radio still nagged at me.
More recently, I had a look at an X-type Jag.
The boot carpet was ill-fitting and looked like it had been thrown down in the dark.
And underneath you could see part of the wiring loom, which was held to the boot floor with bodge tape.
Lovely car in other respects, and I might still buy one, but the boot trim really lets it down in my view.
Stupid really, when you consider how much time you spend looking in the boot.
Any other examples of irrational car rejection?
Read more
Auto lights, wipers and dipping mirrors.
Hi
Giving our car a thorough clean yesterday, noticed something when tackling driver's footwell. You can see about 6 inches of the steering mechanism between the bottom of the column/dash trim and the floor. There's a UJ and I noticed what I take to be surface rust on the part which can be seen between the UJ and floor.
Is this something I should get checked out? It's got a Ford Direct warranty running out soon.
Cheers Read more
Whenever I've looked at the steering column on any of my cars (not Fords), there's always been a little bit of rust.
Sounds normal to me. I assume that there's no water leak into the cabin which could be causing a problem.
The idea that there is a conspiracy to rip off motorists is a recurring theme in the BR.
In this case there was no room for doubt -
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7862893.stm Read more
can anyone help.Have replaced both drop links but still have knocking noise when driving over small bumps and pot holls, have been told to check the spheres but not to sure.Thanks R.M. Read more
A knocking noise is unlikely to be the spheres - when they fail the ride goes hard. The track rod ends tend to make a soft knocking noise when they go,and they can be difficult to find as the play goes out of them in high suspension or when jacked up - check for play 3 - 6 o'clock with the wheels on the ground. Bottom ball joints and wishbone bushes can also be sources of noise. It is possible that the strut tops might be rusting out, which might make a knocking noise - check to see that the strut gaiter is still attached at the top and the bottom of the strut top is not misshapen.
The criteria I have been set that it must be an automatic with a reasonable amount of power, i.e not a 1.2litre auto clio like she drives at the moment. It also needs to be reasonably high for ease of access, but preferably not a 4x4.
I'm thinking about a Mercedes Benz B Class which seems to tick all the right boxes, but any other suggestions would be welcome.
Also any feedback on B Class ownership would be appreciated Read more
I had a B200 CDI for 18 months and 29,000 miles until I couldn't stand it any more. It was perfectly reliable and had lots of room for people and things, BUT the combination of 4 cylinders, diesel and CVT automatic was just too noisy and vibratingly unpleasant to stand. Performance was pedestrian as well and handling rather ponderous.
If you would like a B-class, do try it first on an extended test drive. The petrol ones may be fine, although road tests are unenthusiastic.
Try all the other MPVs which are available as automatics - I'd probably go for the Toyota Verso, Mazda 5 or Ford C-Max, but I'm not sure which engines are available with automatics.
Browse
I drove there ( from Goteborg , coming off the Newcastle ferry ) in 2005, and there was no congestion charge then. The city is on a kind of grid of sorts, and easy to get around, with most drivers being considerate.