April 2009
We are of to Ullapool (from Wigan) later this year and are looking for somewhere to stop over on the way - any recommendations in the Fort William area appreciated.
I'm also thinking about Glencoe, but my experience of it is limited to youth hostels, camping and the Clachaig - does anybody know how easy it is to find somewhere to eat in Glencoe of an evening ?
cheers Read more
I've just had a prang :(
I can get a new unpainted bonnet in battleship grey for £90.
How much would it cost to get it resprayed metallic green by an independent paint shop?
Its either the respray route, or get a £50 one from the scrappy that is the wrong colour.
Thanks
Mike Read more
The quote was higher than I expected, as its a labour-only job.
Mike
Have just got off the floor from fainting, Requested a quote from BMW dealer for the installation of a towbar inc electrics, it was £1300.00. On top of that they have now told me that all E70 X5 models require a new larger cooling fan to be installed when towing. This fitted is another £700.00. Surely having factory ordered the car we should be told that a retrofit towbar is going to cost you £2000.00 and not just £600.00 if factory fitted.
Also no where in a bmw x5 manual does it say that the car requires additional extras ( engine part upgrades ) to be able to tow a caravan other than the obvious towbar.Surely this makes the standard car not fit for towing purposes., even though it states towing weights.
Any body else had a similar experience.........
I have suggested to BMW that i could get a third party towbar fitted for around £500.00, but was then told that i would void the warrenty if i had engine problems caused by overheating due to the excess load caused by towing. This is why they insist that a larger capacity fan is installed, but why then is the current fan not replaced as part of a product recall. I need some advice on where to go next !!!! Read more
I have fitted tow bars for years including electrics & I would certainly recommend you go with the genuine tow bar & especially the elctric kit.
If you fit non standard tow bar this gives the manufacture the get out clause they need should any thing go wrong.
I would certainly go by the advice for extra cooling, you can never have too much when towing.
My Jaguar tow bar & jag electrics kit cost me £500 but fitted them myself & then the service manager at the Jaguar dealer assured me if I had any electrical problems there would be no warranty just because I fitted them myself dispite being a qualified vehicle tech & sparky but they were going to charge £500 to fit & it only took me 2.5 hrs.
It was the last jag I bought & never went back to the that dealer for a service
I now have Freelander2 Auto & factory fit detachable bar & elecs was £350 fitted & extra large oil cooler for autobox is now standard.
I towed a twin axle 8m van through the Alps in Switzerland & down through the Ardech & back up over the Central Massiff no problems at all.
Vote with your feet & forget BMW. I hate the way BMW Audi Jaguar & Merc are so un helpfull & know how to bend the wallet.
The service I have recived from landrover from initial enquiry to purchase has been 2nd to none & a lot cheaper than Jag or BMW.
So what ever you do go by BMW's advice. From 07 onwards BMW have a new protocol on there can bus system & only BMW can tackle the electrics at present. Aftermarket electrics may cause you a huge issue.
My wife's car is a 1.25 Ghia Auto and the rear windscreen wiper has suddenly stopped working. I have checked fuse and earth are okay, and wiring connections appear sound. With the wiper stalk in the on position, manually 'helping' the wiper arm to move across screen shows a feeble attempt to return to the parked position, which suggests there is power. The washer pump operates okay too.
Before shelling out on a £40 ish replacement motor, any opinions as to whether there's something else I ought to be checking first? Any advice gratefully received. Read more
Thanks for the advice all. Established that motor itself was okay and bad earth definitely the problem but still wasn,t working other than intermittently.
Someone suggested to me that partially knocking out the tailgate pins and then back again might help. Tried this and cleaned off surface rust, a smear of copper grease and hey presto its all back to normal! Would never have thought of that myself.
If it reoccurs will definitely run the seperate wire to body earth, but am hoping this has now done the trick.
Cheers all!
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 3 *****
Just announced in the budget
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I expect it will all be resolved by May 2010 - just as the scheme ends...
Hi all, first time poster here so please be kind.
I remember reading a while back on here about scams in supermarket car parks, and i can't find the thread after searching on here. I've recieved a Parking Charge Notice as my vehicle "returned during the 'No Return' period" at the location. The notice is from what appears to be an independent parking services company.
Normally i wouldn't be worried about this, but it has photographic evidence of my car in the form of two pictures clearly showing my car entering and exiting the car park, as well as the date and times.
The "contravention occured on 5/4/2009", and whats adding to my worry is that i've been back to the location a few times since and might be guilty of this each time i've been there! Call it stupid but i don't go searching around car park's each time i visit a restaurant, you just presume you are welcome to come and go as you please!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot. Read more
I bet that the OP asking the question over a year ago isn't watching this thread for an answer ;-)
Hi
I've been caught for speeding by a parked up police laser van iin a 40 zone doing 48 and I asked to see the evidence. The photo is of the front of my car but at the time II didn't have a front number plate (was damaged in a shunt) so the registration is not visible in the photo. I presume they got my reg from the rear plate using the ANPR camera in the front of the van - or a plod was quick with his notebook - but my question obviously - is this ticket legal given that at the point the speed was measured by cars indentity could not be known and should I plead not guilty , or could they use the ANPR evidence to back it up even though it won't have a speed readout?
Thanks for any help
Read more
You're right.
I have had a 2008 Mazda 6 diesel for a year. The fuel consumption in general is very good until the car decides to rev higher than normal. I keep the computer set for average fuel consumption because of the infuriating problem the car has. On a long journey the mpg gradually increases and then all of a sudden it starts to drop. This can occur after a hundred miles or so and there is nothing I can do when it happens. If I drop the engine into neutral the engine will tick over at approx 900-950 rpm. If I set the computer at present fuel consumption the car is shown as running at 27-30 mpg at 60 mph. This happens about twice a week. When I took the car back to Mazda the car was checked out and no faults were found .... because it behaved itself (typical).
The car is driven fairly steadily in general. Has anyone experienced a similar problem?
Thanks in anticipation. Bill Jones. Read more
What is fuel consumption is the car actually giving you ignoring what the computer says?
But it's not only what the computer is telling me. Even after 60 or 70 miles, when the car is stopped, the car will tick over at 950 rpm, or 200 rpm above normal. This cannot be correct.
I have checked the accuracy of the computer. I filled the tank to it's maximum, drove 500 miles and then refilled the tank once again. I calculated the figures and they tied up with the computer within a gnat's whisker.
I'm looking around to see what to buy once I've passed my practical test which hopefully won't be too long as I've left it later than most (I'm 46). I've been comparing CO2 emissions and safety charts as well as prices until my head spins but I feel most drawn toward the Hyundai i10 followed by the Suzuki Splash (although it's a bit expensive) or maybe even the Alto as I like the fact that it's got electronic stability control as standard.
Just wondering if anyone has had experience of one or more of these cars. It's basically just for my daughter and me (she's still at schol) for me to drive by myself for shopping and local errands and to pick up said daughter from friends' houses when it's late, that kind of thing. So mainly for use in London although I'd like to be able to drive us to visit family in Hertfordshire and Norwich or even take short holidays now and again. I've read some negative comments about luggage room in the i10 but wondered if it would fit the bill for the odd week away for daughter and self plus a couple of cases with the back seats down?
Of course if you've got any other suggestions I'd be very grateful too.
Many thanks! Read more
Following on from TurboD's suggestion for a used car:
for similar money to the above 3 new car choices, you could get a tidy 2007 Toyota Yaris 1.0 T3 from a Toyota dealer (typically with 15-20K on the clock). Well equipped, great image, solid and a decent drive.
Hopefully there won't be any 'bumps and scrapes' as a new driver though!
Hi,
Im a new member but have been an active reader for a few months :)
My question is I have seen a Volvo S40 diesel for sale. Its a 2000 w reg. 163000 miles with full history. Looks clean and tidy. Asking price is £1450.
are these cars any good? I dont know where I read it or heard it. ...are these renault engines?
Are these as well built as the larger volvos we always here about with starship enterprise miles?
Any known problems or anything to watch out for?
I need the car for a 100 mile daily commute so a cheap reliable diesel is the way forward (I think)
Any opinions from current / past owners?
Cheers Guys
newguy Read more
I have a long motorway commute too - although not quite 100 miles each way and not often five days a week, thank goodness. I do it in a six-year-old Volvo S60 D5, which is pretty well perfect for the task and does a good job of making it tolerable.
I have to say, though, that the S60 is in a different league from the old S40 / V40. I've driven S40s as dealer courtesy cars and didn't like them at all, and certainly wouldn't fancy spending four hours a day in one.
Assuming this is a new job, so you've not yet tried out the commute to see how it affects you, I'd advise you to be very careful in considering your options. If you must drive every day, you need a car that is comfortable and capable - not just the seats, but the noise level and the ability of the engine to keep up with the flow on a busy motorway without leaving you frazzled by the effort of keeping it going. Without all these, you'll be little use to your employer or your family, and you could be a hazard to yourself and your fellow road users.
But I agree with the others here that if you have to be there every day, you should look into staying away at least a couple of nights a week. If you work normal office hours, I also fear you're deluding yourself if you think you'll be home in time to deliver more than a bedtime kiss to your under-fives. That's been my experience over the last two years, so I do stay over from time to time.
Personally, I put up with the long drive because I enjoy my job but would rather live where I do than on the western fringe of London where I work. I can also work at home, and I travel abroad on business, both of which reduce my driving time. And finally, the job I do pays me enough to cover the cost of running a car that's up to the task of getting there. I obviously don't know your personal circumstances - and I don't mean to pry - but this seems an awful long way to go for a job that leaves you only £1,000 to spend on a car.
DP will be along in a minute to tell us how he picked up an old S60 for a song and is delighted with it. You could probably have my D5 for not much over £3,000 if I had any inclination to part with it - by which I mean to say that there are comfortable options available for not much more than the budget you've set. You might even find a Citroen C5, which would be wonderfully wafty and probably very cheap. Look carefully, and make sure you're comfortable. You're taking on a tough assignment and I wish you well with it - but if your original question was 'Should I buy that old Volvo?', my answer would be 'No'.
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oilrag
things change, things stay the same
the rib trips out of Elgol are a new development, but the other boat trips out of Elgol to Lockh Coruisk are still being run by the same bloke who took me out there on our school field trip in 197?
I've no doubt that the manky school minibus we were in at the time deposited more than its fair share of detritus on the roads of Skye, but at least this time I wasn't staying in the manky, damp youth hostel at Uig
big rant ?
at the best of times, sightseeing drivers annoy me. It's a road. Drive the car. If you want to enjoy the scenery, get off the road and out of the car. This applies, in triplicate, to the power of n, to gentlemen of a certain age in Boxters and SLKs doing sub 40 speeds on roads with a 60 limit where I can quite easily acheive 60 in my 1.5 diesel estate - oh, why isn't there a mimser death ray ?