Hi. I suffered a rear end shunt into my car this evening. The impact was quite hard but there didn't appear to be any real damage - his reg plate was cracked and there was only a small scratch to my car at the point of impact.

Do you think I should get my car checked over?

Stupidly, I didn't get his number plate or details, as after checking there was no damage, I wanted to get away from the scene as soon as possible. I am a single business woman, he was a guy in a hoodie and although he was apologetic I still felt threatened as it was in a not very nice area and there were drunks jeering me nearby. It was a one-way street which had been backing up as we had been stationary for 15 mins waiting for a HGV to turn in the road so drivers behind were already impatient.

I now regret not getting his details in case there is any damage. Do you think this is likely, and do you think it will be costly to repair?

Cheers.

{minor edit. The OP has been informed why} Read more

I was wondering if anyone had ever taken a dealership to court and represented themselves?

I'm facing an uphill battle but having fought this far I may as well follow it through to the end. I bought a little FIAT Panda new from a dealership and followed the warranty requirements to the letter. The car developed a misfire and by 12,000 miles I reported this to the garage but they were unable to find a fault.

This went on, each time the car went in they couldnt find a fault, they even had it overnight once and....no fault!

Then at just before 48,000 mile service it went back in an again I reported the misfire and also a smell from the engine. They were unable to find a fault...or so they said...I have now had a copy of the mechanics notes stating...oil in the throttle body...cleaned out..customer should monitor...Unfortunately the finding was not reported to me nor was I told to monitor anything..that said I wouldnt know where to start to look for the throttle body...

Then when my car just went outside of the warranty mileage the engine started misfiring really badly..they took it in and looked at it and found oil in the throttle body...this prompted them to carry out a pressure test and they discovered that the oil was coming from the valves....blah blah (technical speak) and now they say it needs a new engine or an engine rebuild.....I believe they should have carried out this pressure test back at 48,000 miles....or before...

I was completely gutted as FIAT wouldnt even offer me any goodwill towards the cost of the repair/new engine.....and described it as "fair wear and tear"..I decided to have the car independently assessed and although they did warn me to be prepared for a wear and tear pb but they found that the problem of oil in the throttle body was down to the valves leaking (past seals) for quite some time...(hence misfire from before 12,000 miles)

Sorry if this is going on.....hope you are still with me....so I am now faced with paying for a massive repair which will end up costing more than the car is now worth or attempting to fight my own corner and at least getting some contribution from the dealership...who I believe didnt investigate the engine problem well enough..and so missed the opportunity for me to repair it under warranty.

So back to my question...have you ever represented yourself in court...I am a Geologist so know absolutely nothing about engines (except the oil, water, levels and tyre pressures)! and I am afraid that I will be bamboozled with technical speak from their expert witness and end up looking like a complete....well blonde (no offence intended to blondes...I am one myself!!)

If you have represented yourself do you have any advice? I think I will just be me, get all my notes together beforehand and explain what has happened. Its not iminent though...have been without my car for 4 months and have a court date of March 2010!!! so have plenty of time to prepare!

Any comments gratefully received!





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Just wondered what peoples thoughts are on high mileage hatchbacks?
I have the chance to buy an 03 plate ST170 with about £170k on the clock. It's about £1000 cheaper than an avergae mileage equivalent.

I'm told it's motorway mileage but is it a bit risky being that it's a Ford?Petrol?hottish Hatch.

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I have water after heavy rain in the front passenger foot well which appears to trickle down the wall between the back of the dashboard and the engine compartment.
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In the long-gone days of my youth, it was legal to ride a moped along a designated cycle path; not a footpath. Can any of our BiB experts please tell me if this is still the case?

Reason I ask is this; my route to work takes me down a road which is OK for all traffic one way but is has the blue "cycle" sign t'other, along with a narrow track which physically deters cars.

We are downsizing to one car, and considering buying a scooter for me to commute on. Bottom line is, if I use the route described above it would save me a detour on the homeward route of about a mile and a half and also avoid a fast and busy dual carriageway.

I've done a search on this but advice seems a little ambiguous; some say you can't do it any more and others that provided it is a genuine moped it is still legal. I would be buying what is nowadays defined as a moped not a motorcycle, in fact I've considered one of those electric jobbies. If I cannot legally use this route I will probably buy a faster and more powerful commuter bike and go the long way round, but it'd be good to know for certain first. Read more