August 2009
Hi all,
I'm looking to get a tiny runaround as a second car, and I am just wondering if anyone reading this knows of any great lease/HP/PCP deals currently running??? I am looking for something around the £100 p/month price and ideally the car will be a:
Fiat 500
Ford Fiesta
Peugeot 107
Toyota IQ
....or something in the same market- ie small, economical, and most importantly CHEAP!
Any suggestions out there?
Thanks! Read more
The Nissan Note 1.4 is not a noisy car but I want to improve the interior in this respect.
I am technical and understand that an increase in noise power of 3dB indicates a doubling of noise power (which is just about perceived by the logarithmic ear) and that an increase of 10dB gives a perception of a doubling of "noise".
The noise power measured near my ear in my car is about 70dB at 50mph and this is an acceptable level. What I'd like to do is to add sound reducing material in a scientific way, aimed precisely at the noise source, which in this case is mainly road noise and engine noise when accelerating hard but mainly road noise when cruising at motorway speeds.
The "specialists" in this subject of whom I am aware seem not to be all that technical and apply a one-size-fits-all approach to sound reducing, rather than analysing, even briefly, each case in order to apply a specific solution.
Is there anybody out there who has or knows of somebody who has experience and has a scientific approach to effective sound reduction? Read more
On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence) is 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. Here are some common sounds and their decibel ratings. As has been said, road noise is the enemy then engine bay sound insulation. Then perhaps an underlay sound proofer under the carpets or buy and Audi A6. Regards Peter
I have a 2001 Mondeo 1.8
I had my clutch replaced less than 3000 miles ago, today driving to work I lost gear selection no movement left or right.
The clutch was replaced at a Ford Dealer, as such I got it recovered back there.
I was told it would be covered under their repair warranty if it was found to be because of the clutch change.
Surely if they had changed the clutch they would have needed to remove the gear selection equipment and may have damaged it on re-fitting?
Just seems like a big coincedence. I'm certain they will just deny it and try to get some extra cash off me.
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Heard about this on the news this morning and sure enough it is one of the 6 Veyron's listed on Autotrader - at £899k.
Then I thought - prices of the six vary by £300k - and they are all similar age so would I really want one? After all colour can't have that big an effect - you will get a very good re-spray for £300k.
Also listed on Autotrader today are
Ferrari Daytona 365 Spyder GTB at £240k (red of course) and possibly free road tax!
Mercedes E63AMG Estate at £72k (silver of course)
Lamborgini Mucielago LP640 at £140k (yellow of course)
Leaving some change for a brand new MX5 for inconspicuous fun, a new diesel Golf for winter and nearly £400k in the bank for insurance, upkeep and fuel.
Would you buy the Bugatti???????? Read more
change Ferrari cambelts every two years whether the car
is used or not. What do they do crumble to dust?
sounds like you have not discovered the joys of owning an italian vehicle.
wires made of coloured pasta, electrical connections made of cheese and plastic chrome that still rusts. ahh hours of fun.
Perhaps a "copy-cat" event, referring to the recent "Tory politician's wife in botched suicide attempt " case?
From "The Daily Telegraph":
Having made the ?compulsive? decision to commit suicide, he climbed into his Peugeot car and set out for the M60 in Greater Manchester.
Over the course of several minutes he caused a series of crashes and forced dozens of oncoming drivers to take evasive action.
....
Ul Haque was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving. Judge Jonathan Geake also banned him from driving for 12 months."
He caused several crashes, but no serious injuries.
I don't think that the punishment fits the crime - do you? Read more
Hopefully they'll let him keep his belt and shoelaces so he can do us all a favour.... :-)
Just been reading some of the posts on here about letting the Turbo in a diesel engine cool down before turning the engine off. I have a turbo petrol engine, so I guess it is the same for me to. but how long should one run the engine before they turn it off?.
Made make/vehicle non-specific and subject line expanded.
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Can I also stress the importance of good oil and regular oil changes for a turbo car.
Hi Guys,
I`m stripping off the top manifold/cambox cover on the old 1.9D at the weekend and at the same time want to try blanking the EGR to see if it`s causing a slight hesitancy at low speed.
The question is about the actual thickness of material to use to make an EGR blanking plate, rather than any other issues around doing this.
Where would you blank it? the easiest option by far would be to insert a plate straight after the EGR valve - on the intake side.
But what to make it from and how thick? I know I could snip out the shape from an old Gunk can for a test - but what If I want to leave it in.
How thick? (I don`t have a micrometer so in terms I can understand)
Many thanks, I`m doing it this Saturday if the weathers OK. Read more
Thanks, bellboy and jc2.
Arrange these ten British cars in order of greatness, with no.1 being the supreme champion. You do not have to give a reason for your decision, although it would be nice if you did.
My list:
10. Austin Allegro
- A stylish and sophisticated small car for its time, marred by poor build quality, industrial strife and bad publicity.
9. Austin Montego
- The Maestro's attractive cousin, a solid design that was more than a mach for the crude Sierra. Would have been a world beater with a Rover badge..........
8. Jaguar XJS
- A true stunner that matured with age, an imperious cruiser with the refinement of a Bentley.
7. Rover 600
- Based on the supremely competent Accord but with elegant design and that British feel-good factor.
6. Range Rover
- A relevant concept when new, corrupted by the lifestyle SUV fad and luxury car pretentions.
5. BMC Mini
- Very innovative and of the moment, but grossly over-rated and should never have lasted so long. Cult status to blame.
4. BMC 1100/1300
- Everything that was good about the Mini, but in a bigger and more relevant package. A true FWD car for the masses.
3. Rover P6
- Light-years ahead of the competition and anything Rover built before it. Brought the executive car into the modern age and trounced Volvo for safety.
2. Rover 200 series (89-)
- The best Honda collaboration, brought together the strenghths of both companies and showed the opposition where to go....
1. BMC 1800/2200
- Nicknamed the 'landcrab', this was a truly under-rated piece of engineering excellence from a time before marketing men designed cars. So much space, comfort and stability in a car no bigger than a Focus. Issigonis' and the British car industry's crowning achievement.
There we are then, a few gems have been left out such as the Maxi and XJ6 but there simply wasn't room amongst that lot! Read more
>>>British Leyland would now own SEAT, Skoda, Audi and VW
If BL had got their incompetent hands on VW/Audi the whole lot would have gone bankrupt many years ago. I wonder what I would have been driving now?
I'm recovering from swine flu, Rattle you've made me laugh. Thanks.
118d Sport. Just purchased from auction, so no comeback, and out of warranty. Alarm seems to go off for no apparent reason, so far about every 3 or 4 hours. Anyone experienced similar problems? Looks to be a standard car, although appears to have tracker fitted, from info in wallet. Read more
Could well be the bonnet switch located on near side bulkhead. Has been an issue for many, especially in warmer weather for some reason. About £8 to buy and easy to change.
Hi everyone, I could really do with some advice and a reality check as I'm torn between two options for buying a new car.
I'm after a cheap but decent new/nearly super-mini for around-town driving and occasional longer motorway trips; anticipating a yearly mileage of around 7k. I'm coming from a '99 Mazda MX-5 which while very fun to drive is becoming increasingly impractical, expensive and has depreciated faster than I've been paying it off. I'm hoping to strike a balance between value, practicality and just enough 'oomph'. I've got about 8k to spend plus the MX-5 which is scrappable or worth about the same as part-ex.
I'm looking primarily at either a new 2010 Hyundai i20 1.2 5dr Comfort or an ex-demo March '09 Toyota Yaris 1.33 5dr TR. The i20(+paint) works out at £7750 inc. scrappage and the Yaris offer is £8000 inc. part-ex.
The direct link to the actual Yaris I'm looking at is:
www.toyota.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=600673982
I've driven both and the difference to me was negligible, the Yaris having a higher seating position but a little more oomph in the engine.
The Pros and Cons seem to even out too: Yaris has no ipod connection but does have Aux which is good enough, has a nicer interior but a few less minor features. Difference in MPG seems negligible as do insurance groups, eco ratings and average service costs. The i20 has 5 years warranty, 2.5 left on the Yaris. i20 has a 12 week wait (not that that should matter). A Toyota has more kudos but will probably end up at the same depreciation in the end.
Any corrections or general advice would be really appreciated!
Best regards Read more
yes those scare stories were spread around and written about years ago, my current premium is very competitive versus yaris/auris et al
so the insurance companies clearly voting with their quotations
remember the car safety industry is not totally unbiased or always sensible, one of the classics being the need to have a seat belt warning buzzer to get a high star rating - personally i know when the belts are on I dont need an annoying buzzer, but hey for the greater good i put up with it, but this mandate clearly does not make the cars any safer for folk like me who routinely put the belts on and get passengers to do likewise
etc
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That sounds like a good deal, but what's the balloon payment and how much will the finance cost you? You have to be careful as it can be a lot!
Also remember that you can't get out of a PCP deal until you've paid more than half the value (of the car or the agreement?? Someone will know). I know this to my cost, I got made redundant 3 months into a 3 year deal. Not nice.