March 2009
I am going to Sorrento in May and want to go along the Amalfia Coast/Drive. I went to www.viamichelin.com to check the route from Sorrento to Ravello. When it came up, with turn by turn directions, on the left of the screen, many of the turns called for had a camera symbol beside them, between the route instruction and distance stated. Clicking on this symbol gives a Street View of the turn, as seen by the driver of a car going along the route. Useful for route planning but not while driving!
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My lovely aprilia habana 125 has just died. I need to buy a new bike. Have been looking at Vespa 250, Suzuki Burgman 200 & Yamaha X Max 250. Anybody had any experience of these 3 bikes? I have ridden the Vespa & loved it, but I know Piaggio are not famous for reliability. The Yamaha was impressive but relatively slow off the mark & a bit blowy round the face from the windshield. haven't ridden the burgman, hard to find. I'm torn between the cool factor of the vespa against the practicality of the other two....what do you reckon? Read more
Have a look at a Honda Pantheon FS125.
I use one for an 85 mile round trip to work each day.
Performance on a par with a 250 commuter bike.
Fuel consumption less than 4 litres a day, say 95mpg in mixed town/country/London run.
Very comfortable : described by our workshop mechanic as "a motorised armchair".
TPFT insurance £85 pa.
Good headlight (I do 20 miles each way on unlit roads).
I have, however, removed the screen to cut out the wind buffeting: may replace it with a smaller screen at some time, if I get round to it.
Hi All,
I have a 1.8tdci with 60,000 miles on the clock, serviced regularly with a new cambelt in November. Over the last month or so the engine has developed a noise when starting from cold. The noise sounds like something is pumping up to pressure?! The noise is definately not a squeak/squeal as I would expect from a knackered belt. It doesn't increase, (either in volume or intensity), when the engine is revved and usually disappears after 20 seconds or so. It is coming from the drivers side of the engine around where aux belt etc is.
The battery light has stayed on once and very occasionally the engine revs fluctuate by up to 200rpm either side of idle. The revs only fluctuate while the noise is going on and settles once the noise has stopped. I don't know if these are related but thought it was worth noting them anyway. Other than this the car has always driven fine with no loss of power or smoke etc.
Any help would be much appreciated; I'm not a complete novis but am certainly no F1 mechanic either!!
Thanks. Read more
I had a similar noise to this after a cambelt change on my 1600 petrol Escort. It turned out to be the auxiliary drive belt slipping. This could tie in with the battery light staying on. It recommends in the book that if the auxiliary belt is refitted to make sure it travels in the same direction as before.
I have recently replaced my cam belt again did as recommended and have had no problem.
It could also tie in with the colder weather.
Could be worth trying.
Hi,
I'm trying to locate the frontal area of the Qashqai and wondered if anyone hapened to know it??
I realise this is not usually the kind of request for this forum but I've looked everywhere!
Thanks for your time guys. Read more
Now that has got your attention it is not about car insurance but health insurance for the driver and passengers.
From 01 April 2009 - ( Not a joke) "Britons travelling to the Channel Islands will no longer be covered for medical treatment should they become ill or injured, after a decision by the Government to end the reciprocal health agreement between the UK and the islands."
From the Daily Telegraph today.
tinyurl.com/d65wx2 Read more
Smiley person - you have done twice as well as me then! That said the telephone renewal was really easy, see earlier post. They are going to have to send out millions of renewal notices over the years. DVLA can afford it as the cost can be factored into their charges. EHIC is "free" but the postage costs will have to come from somewhere.
I have a problem with my Mondeo mk2 1.8TD LX. Recently I have had the lift pump(?) changed as the seal went and lost pressure and the car would not start. And more recently the pipes between the injectors have been changed due to a diesel leak. Now I have a problem whereby the car will rev by itself. This can occur when idling or when driving and can gradually rev up to 3000rpms if idling. When this happens the car seems to have more power (it a bit flat otherwise). After a little research I understand that this may be some sort of vaccuum problem? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome as this is occuring more and more.
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Due to expand this summer, I was led to believe and perhaps as popular here as a slug in a salad - but...
Don`t you just long for them? The guy who tends to do 50 on our 30 mph inner city ringroad and brakes hard for the cameras. Those 90/100mph (and more) outer lane teflon chancers . What else can you call them? I know if I go over the limit I get a ticket.
It`s as though some form of alternative reality is operating as you see these cars cruising past at a good 100mph , seemingly with impunity.
Let`s hear it for average speed cameras then - fair dispensation of points to all, with lady luck removed to where she belongs - the national lottery.
(Incidentally, I`m using the Eee PC - Opera, with no spellcheck almost exclusively now- so apologies for future errors) Read more
I think you've hit on something.
But what you really need is a chip that turns off any television in any premises licensed for the sale of alcohol.
It never ceases to amaze me how many tales of woe you hear which could have been avoided if only people had read the vehicle documentation before buying a used car. Read more
"tough luck".
I've asked for the odd clause or two to be deleted from sales orders / contracts in the past, although I've not yet found it necessary when buying a car.
I suppose it depends on how much they want your business.
Clk Sec
Hi BR's
After 3 relatively trouble free years with my L reg Audi 80, an unfortunate terminal subframe cracking and rusting which will cost nearly £500 pound to fix will render my car only fit for the scrapper. Shame really as bodywork wise and mechanical it is fine.
So...... I will be needing a new car
I have up to £1000 including any scrap value for mine to spend. Trawling autotrader and ebay with my budget reveals some suprises including
Rover 400 diesel 50,000 miles, very tidy and top spec
Vx Vectra 1999 SRI again tidy and pleny of Ford Escorts 1998-2000
I would love an Audi 80 Coupe but on my shoestring they have all been chavved or are in bad nick.
Diesel, petrol not bothered really. Would like under 100,000 miles as gives a few years use. I have 3 months tax/test on current car so have time to find a nice one before time is up.
Any suggestions to aid my search? Read more
I picked the R Reg Mazda 626 2.0 GSi up on Monday. I thought I would give you a short review/first impression;
Bodywork - Fantastic silver paintwork, shines really well with only minimal stone chips and only slight marks on the rear bumper.
Ride - Again years ahead of my old car, comfortable over the local rutted roads.
Engine - Much smoother and quieter than old car. Bit far to say that it feels nearly new, but not far off. Performance is big step up (134bhp). Fuel economy seems same as old car. It does not feel like an 11 year old car.
Interior - Unmarked interior (seats, dash) in light blue colour with exception of gear Nob which is badly worn (letterings). Velour seats very comfortable. Great layout of dash and centre console, aircon works as expected. Indicators on same side as European makes which is surprise for a jap car.
Insurance no different except for "admin charge"
Only bad point is the rear visibility is poor with the high back and spoiler but apart from that perfect.
Thanks for all your time and replies/suggestions.
I have an Astra 1.7 (GM engine). About 2500 miles ago I had a noise and the car stopped. It was the water pump. I changed it and also the cam belt and everything worked fine BUT I started to have a tapping noise, which is mostly audible when inside the car windows closed. My mechanic told me it may be the camshaft. Any ideas please?
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year added and given a free bump up the page
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Nice clip of the drive on Long Way Down when the boys' trip nearly came to a premature end.