October 2009
Ok, the gearbox is doing strange things. essentially, first is playing up. It is notchy and is very, very stiff when attempting to get it into first. Changing down into first is a particularly difficult thing. However, once properly warmed up, the problem is less pronounced.
Ideas? Read more
I am thinking of changing my Peugeot 307 for a Prius as most of my driving is at low spees around the outskirts of London with occasional (approx monthly) squirts down the M4 or M3 to Wales or SW England.
My only real concern is that HJ continually tells people not to turn the engine on for very short periods as this reduces considerably the engines longevity. I suspect that if I drove a Prius, the engine would fire up for less than a minute several times on a journey. Would this not encourage internal corrosion?
Anybody know? Read more
Hi,
If you have an iPhone, I can recommend the Road Trip app. It basically calculates all of your motoring costs so you can see how much you are spending per day, or week or month. It shows your mpg over time, how many miles you cover per day.
It's all the same sort of stuff a spreadsheet could give you, but handily displayed on the phone's screen.
I find it fascinating and useful. Read more
Hello everyone!
Some time ago my Clio failed it MOT (reasonably spectacularly!) and ive finally got round to sorting it out.
The largest potential expense, which will determine basically whether i scrap the car or find a new one is the failed emissions test, with a new cat costing well over £100. That isnt the only worry, as i could go and replace it to find out that it hasnt been fixed.
Ive just had a hunt and saw this post which seems similar with some interesting advice. My values are different however, so i would be interested if the same suggestions apply to my car;
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=63031
The emissions report is as follows;
Description Min Max Actual P/F
FAST IDLE TEST
RPM 2450 2850 -
CO 0.3 2.223 F
HC 200 105 P
Lambda 0.970 1.030 0.971 P
SECOND FAST IDLE TEST
RPM 2450 2850 -
CO 0.3 2.712 F
HC 200 118 P
Lambda 0.970 1.030 0.926 F
NATURAL IDLE TEST
RPM 750 900 - -
CO 0.5 0.498 P
Now, some things about the car. There are no holes or anything on the exhaust as far as i know, certainly no blowing noises. There is however some corrosion around the distributor cap/plug lead connection, caused by water. This may or may not have anything to do with the car, just after starting (i.e. cold) having a tendency to bog down when accelerating. That is presumably a result of a weak/non-existent spark or something. I had read somewhere that this can contribute to emissions going through the roof. I should point out that all of the spark plugs looked fine and were recently changed, along with filters and oil. They wernt torqued properly, through lack of a torque wrench, but they were about the same tightness as when they came off!
If anyone has any suggestions i would be glad to hear them. I suppose changing the distrubutor cap and sticking some new plug leads on wont hurt. Any questions, feel free to ask. Read more
faulty lambda
or the earth to it is poor
4 wire?
How many goes should be allowed?
Should it affect the insurance rating /costs to insure
As in I am suggesting that there are those driving at the very limit of their abilities,
despite having passed the test
I appreciate that there are also who suffer from "nerves"
thus being competent /good drivers DESPITE requiring multiple attempts to pass their test
food for thought
M
{made non make / model specific. If your question doesn't relate to any particular make of car then you DON'T need to select it (for the discussion forum), just select the category instead} Read more
Let people have as many goes as they want. When you pass it is because you have convinced the examiner that your driving is of the required standard, what does it matter if it is on the first or tenth go?
Now if someone could produce the figures to show that those who passed after multiple attempts had more accidents then fair enough, but there aren't any and it is rather an arrogant assumption to think that people who took longer to pass than you end up being inferior drivers. Of those I taught to drive, it was always the quick learners who passed after minimum lessons who ended up buried in a hedge after a couple of months.
Recently, my sons 98 Escort was sideswiped whilst parked, causing O/S panel damage to front wing and both doors and also fairly serious front suspension damage.At the time, the other driver didn't leave any details at the scene so we had to pay for the suspension repairs ourselves. Subsequently however, the other driver had a fit of conscience or something and their insurance company has got in touch. My problem is this. If we carry on with the claim, the car will almost certainly be written off . Reasonable market value of the car would be around £650 but we've already spent £225 on repairs. No way can I buy an equivalent car for £425. Any suggestions?
{made non make/model specific} Read more
If we carry on with the claim the car will almost certainly be written off . Reasonable
market value of the car would be around £650 but we've already spent £225 on
repairs. No way can I buy an equivalent car for £425. Any suggestions?
Not sure on what you base your figures, but talk to the insurer and say what's happened. If you don't know who did it, it's reasonable for you to want to repair it yourself. If it's repaired to your satisfaction, that's that - claim for £225. If it's not repaired to your satisfaction, change the claim. Talk to the insurer and see what can be done about your halfway-house repairs and costs in that case. If you don't get satisfaction, then sidestep them by using the county court small claims procedure.
Have you ever been stopped by a police car when you've been innocent?
In 50 years I've only been stopped once, and that was to be (justifiably!) given an SP30. Read more
S163 Road Traffic Act allows Police to stop any vehicle on a road - don't need a reason to do so.
Intermittent overrun rattle - completely separate from engine activity. No effect on revs. Sounds like another little diesel engine doing its own thing. Engine performamce readings on testing equipment are normal. Anyone got any ideas? Read more
(less lubricant) and can be
assisted (cured) by liberal helpings of quality fuel additives.
That's very interesting, are you now destined to be a Millers/Forte or similar user for the life of the vehicle, or will buying premium fuels suffice?
Was there any repair performed or just the additive cure?
Hi all,
I have a problem that I need some help and advice with.
My wife recently had a very unfortunate incident whilst travelling in a friends car. This suffered a high speed tyre blow out and she called the Well Known Breakdown Company on her membership card. They sent a patrolman out who changed the wheel for the spare. The damage to the original tyre was pointed out and he even commented that it was a "nasty gash". Well the "nasty gash" was infact a cut around the entire circumference of the tyre. This was caused by a faulty brake shield (anti - rattle shim according the the repairing garage) that had become loose and jammed under the hand brake cable touching the tyre.
Approximately 3 miles down the road (on the A1 motorway!) the same thing happened again.
Fortunately no one was injured, but the vehicle now had to be recovered as it had run out of tyres. Because of a series of cock -ups (the WKBC twice apparently sending recovery to the wrong location) this took over 3 hours before they were eventually rescued.
So obviously we complained to the WKBC. After a couple of weeks they wrote offering to pay for the second tyre as full and final settlement. The exact wording said that they would not be raising liability for the damage to the second tyre as an issue. So not quite an admission of liability. We rejected this and they then said we could cash the cheque as interim payment. They said that they would consider a claim for loss of earnings whilst the car was off the road, but my wife's friends employers paid her anyway (out of goodwill!)
I am aware that we don't really have any other material losses that we can claim in a court of law, however I would have thought they would offer some goodwill or ex gratia payment if only in lieu of the botched recovery (which they have not mentioned in correspondence). Considering what could have happened I think we and they, got off pretty lightly so need to do something.
Especially considering that the 3 people in the car were all individually of the WKBC members. My wife only made the call because she found her card first.
Many thanks
Best wishes
Peter
Read more
BP,
quite right. A "whoops we got it wrong but we won't do that again" would go a long way but managers who realise that they are there to set, maintain and even improve standards, and motivated employees seem to be few and far between. Hence some of the mega disasters like MOD procurement and social service scandals. Same thing, bigger scale.
Meanwhile back at the OP I agree with the "get over it" advice as, short of reprogramming everyone on the planet, you're wasting your time and causing yourself stress. And anyway, I'm analogue :-)
JH
Hi, does anyone know of a site where I can find the historical list prices for cars? Specifically, I'm looking for list of an 02 Astra - highish spec. Read more
for example in October an astra 5 door 1.6 LS 2002 02 had a list
price of £12590 its recommended retail today is £2550 its trade value is £1425 with
70 000 miles.
Thanks Tony - the info you have given me is fine, I'm just looking for ballpark figures for future depreciation so I can judge if 'Gap Insurance' is worth doing. In my case it isn't.
Before I read your comment I was working on 50% loss in 1st 3 years, then £1k pa down to the banger zone - that seems to tie in pretty much with the LS figs you gave.
Obviously Mercedes and Yugo have differing figures!
Browse
.jpg)
I just want to say thanks for all of the replies. Every one was helpful and informative.
I think I'll probably go for a Focus petrol auto.
Most of my journeys are short, and my annual mileage is low, so I will stick with petrol. I am only expecting to buy about £1,000 worth of petrol so the extra cost of a nearly new Prius will take many years to recoup in petrol savings (and I suspect that a similar argument could be made for carbon savings). I also like to use independent garage servicing, and feel that this will be less expensive for a Focus.
Thanks again for everyone's help.