May 2009
In light of the Governments recent proposals to slash the national limit to 50mph and to 20mph in towns, I was wondering if anybody could think of some more intelligent ways to save the c300 lives the govt. are talking about, preferabley without sacrificing any vital freedoms.
I have a few proposals;
- Big crackdown on uninsured, drunk, drugged drivers. Surely must account for a vast no. of fatalities.
- Give every new driver a demonstration on a seatbelt simulator to give them some idea of the forces involved even in a low speed impact.
- Better education in car maintainance for those sitting test. Learn the finer points of motoring, not just how to operate a car. Read more
www.thule.com/Thule/Page____90595.aspx
this diesel Astra is getting nowhere near some of the mpg figures posted on here a short while back on the fuel economy thread...:-)
Read more
There was a long discussion about this here, a long time ago. In broad terms the best fuel consumption is obtained by driving with the engine at the rpm that gives max torque. Presumably as a diesel engine has a fairly flat torque curve (true?) it can give good fuel consumption over a wide rev range? I have started driving my 307 in 4th instead of 5th, when driving at 50 mph and I find the computer displayed fuel consumption unchanged.
Source BBC news: tiny.cc/GY4ap Read more
Good for him I say.
I'm considering buying an o8 plate Peugeot 206 with just under 6,000 miles on the clock but have just learnt that it's an ex-contract hire car. Should I be wary and should this put me off? The asking price is £7,500 - but I'm more concerned about the possible history of the car than anything else - is it likely to have been ill-cared for in the past or should I not worry given the age and low mileage? Thanks. Read more
There are 09 plates on autotrader which im surprised to see.
Very old design now and one of the worst gearboxes/driving positions ive ever seen.
Stick to a 207 for that kind of money, far better car and full of safety kit.
The 206 is a very old car now.
My Rover 200 is experiencing an intermittant high pitched screech from what I believe is the front driver-side wheel or brake. It seems to start when I have not used the brake for 5-10 minutes, for instance when driving on the motorway. As soon as I apply the brake (a gentle tap does the trick), the sound immediately stops, but soon restarts after a minute or so.
It sounds like grit trapped on the disc for example (high pitch rather than droning/whirring sound), but this has been happening intermittantly for over a month now, and I have had the wheel off to check for anything that may be trapped.
I would appreciate any advice anybody may have.
Read more
You could try taking out the pads and cleaning the back of the pads, pins and all around. If the outer edge of the disc is rusty, give the wheel a spin and clean that too with an old screwdriver pressed on. Reassemble with a smear of copper grease ON THE BACK ONLY of the pads.
Usually stops these annoying noises.
Have just bought a mint 94 E34 BMW 520iSE with a year's MOT. Alas the mileometer and odometer do not show though I can get a reading with a torch shining. The MOT states 101,565 earlier this week and this matches what I can see. I've checked fuses and all okay so I am confused as what I need to do. Would be nice to check MPG etc. Thanks Read more
If there is a reading from the front with a torch,then it is very likely that the backlight illumination bulb has failed.Access to the instrument pod is easy on these.At the top of the pod are 2 screws ,then carefully ease the cluster forward and release the multipin connector blocks(usually 2or 3 )all colour coded.The bulb/holders on the lower part are special fittings and you may have to obtain them from Bmw dealer or specialist.hth
Hi All
Need some advice.
Father in law is getting a newish car from a dealer and my missus looks like getting his one - 4 year old C3 for x amount of money.
Anyway - I was wondering - do dealers allow taking in cars part exchange that are not owned by the person buying the car from them, but from close relatives? Or is it case we must transfer ownership to them beforehand?
Also - do dealers when buying a newish car (father-in-law is looking at a 1 year old Honda Jazz ), take in more than 1 car part exchange?
Many Thanks
Scott Read more
We traded in a Mondeo and an Accent together last year against a used Megane and got the Parker's guide price for both.
Both happened to be registered in my daughter's name but I don't think it would have mattered if they had been in different names.
I have an old Mazda 626. After a visit to a specialist aircon garage to get the air con fixed it developed a diesel leak. Not sure if this leak is related to the mechanic trying to fix the aircon as the leak is where one of the fuel pipes enters the engine block. It doesn't seem likely this area could have been disturbed but it is a bit of a coincidence that the leak started when it did.
Anyway I then took the car to my normal independent garage. They took the head off and decided it needed a new fuel pipe and injector - cost £392. I gave them the go ahead about 10 days ago now. Yesterday I thought I had better chase them as SWMBO was getting restless what with no car and a 2 year old daughter... Turns out the injector had arrived but no fuel pipe as this is on back order. From talking to Mazda myself it seems that they have to go to the original supplier in Japan to get the part, hence a 6 - 8 week delay which is not acceptable given my family needs. The garage said that they would put the car back together and try to seal the leak. This would then give me some time to find a new car. I picked the car up today but almost immediately noticed it was still leaking diesel much as before.
Is there anything I (or a garage) can do to fix the diesel leak so I can keep running the car for another few weeks/months until the new car arrives? Read more
Thought I should update this thread with the conclusion incase anyone's interested..
Well after a long chat with a mechanic at the garage I decided to fit the new pipe with the old injector. The reasoning being that the injector pipe was likely to be the part that was faulty and the injector was the harder metal of the two so a new pipe should seal.
Unfortunately the new injector pipe didn't cure the diesel leak although it wasn't as bad as before. I was now faced with getting a second new injector pipe and new injector at considerable expense, plus another long wait while the pipe came from Japan. The garage advised that to guarantee the seal a new injector pipe had to be fitted with the new injector.
I couldn't wait for the parts to arrive so decided with a heavy heart to trade the Mazda in for a nearly new Merc. It was sad to see it go as it had been a very good car until the last few months. Just hope the Mercedes is as good.
hi i have a 2001 citroen xsara 110 hdi and the indicaters dont work on the outside and also the sidelights now. i have changed the indicater stalk but that did not work. please help Read more
I put the window down on my Honda Civic and it wont go back up. There is no noise when i try and operate it. I took it to the honda garage and they are quoting me £!60.00 to fix it. They said it was the regulator. Is this the same as the motor lifter unit? Read more
my mate had a 125cc bike for 9 omnths before he stuck it in side of a car, totally there fault you understand thats why he never got any compensation or another bike....buys a car a couple of years later he's had about 7 or 8 crashes without needing to involve the insurance (friends, familes...and cash in hand).