November 2009

Statistical outlier

A little advice needed.

Someone recently parked my car in an airport carpark. Despite the signs being quite clear, the driver didn?t see them at 5 am and left the car parked in what turned out to be a 10 minute bay for three days. In (weak) mitigation, a whole line of cars had tickets for having done the same thing, so clearly a common error.

Given the above, I would in some ways say the driver is bang to rights, and they should pay up. Thing is, NCP want £100, reduced to £50 if paid in 14 days, which seems excessive at 5 x the parking charge.

So, what should the driver do? NCP are clear this is a ?Parking Contravention Charge? resulting from an ?offence? or ?violation? of parking for longer than 10 mins in a restricted bay, so they are not trying it on in that way. They are clear it is a payment for breach of contract. The notice was served on the windscreen of the car, and the driver leaving the carpark was not recorded as the barriers were out of order.

So, should the driver pay or ignore it? As the registered keeper, am I under any obligation to act?

Advice, legal and moral, invited.
Read more

concrete

I would do several things in this instance. I would write to NCP stating, correctly, that you were not the driver of the vehicle and are therefore not responsible for the actions of someone else, and that you do not feel it appropriate to provide them with any further information regarding the incident. I would also point out that it is in their own interests to clearly indicate beyond doubt the restrictions on the said parking spaces in question, this would have the effect of reducing the instances of this situation and also increasing their parking revenue. State that in view of your suggestion which is free advice and to their advantage that they should consider the matter closed and not even bother to thank you. Anything else regarding what it would have cost you is irrelevant, you are not responsible in law or morally for the actions of someone else unless you are directing them. However you did receive a pecunious benefit from the situation so it might solve the moral dilema if you informed NCP that as a gesture you will donate an amount, say £25 to a charity of their choice. Concrete.

jrheaven

I have a problem where I keep getting the smell of petrol inside the car when the air vents are on and not recirculating. I just had the pollen filter changed in case it was that and also had the exhaust checked but it is still happening. Please can someone point me in the right direction. Read more

Dynamic Dave

it's now down to having a really good inspection of all the fuel tank the filler neck the cap the pipes and fittings to check for any leaks.


Also lift up the rear seat, peel back the carpet that's already precut, then remove the plastic cover to expose the fuel tank sender unit to check the seal isn't leaking there.

I take it there are no tell tail damp patches on your driveway or wherever you leave the car parked up overnight?
jakey

hi there, i have a 1999 t reg peugeot 106 1.1 petrol, recently it has been struggling to start in the morning and it will not idle, when im pulling up to junctions etc the engine stalls.
it has had a new coolant temp sensor (green one)
and also a new idle control valve,
it has been fully serviced also.
had a diagnostic check carried out using peugeot pps diag equipment, no faults present
im completley stumped now, someone help me please Read more

jakey

ok thanks for your info, i will give this a try and let you know how i get on, cheers

Dynamic Dave


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Read more

Rattle

Feel a lot better tonight thanks :)

leslie1013

I have a Volvo V70 D5. Can someone confirm if there is a diesel fuel filter in the engibe bay, and if so, where is it? Or does the car only have a diesel filter near the fuel tank? My car has done 115,000 and as I am changing the other filters I wanted to change the diesel filter too. Any comments appreciated. Read more

prm72

Its just in front of the rear wheel, drivers side.

Brentus

I was inspired to start this thread by Armitage Shanks who posted recently on the current situation in France. Firstly may i say having done both the Hull to Zeebrugge trip and Dover to Calais many times, coming from East Yorkshire i have now favoured the route to Zeebrugge. I take the car, what we do is wait while P&O have their 2 for 1 offers on. That means 2 people get 2 nights on ferry with a day to do what you want on the continent it also includes taking the car. from Zeebrugge the world is your oyster, Calais 50mins away, Lille 40mins away, Ostend 15mins. We always book an evening meal on the overnight trip thats about £15 each way. When we went earlier this year i didn't realise things would be closed, but not the beer n wine places in Calais. So we drove there no problem all motorway easy access to calais hypermarkets. We went to Pidou and Majestic. I downloaded thier French store price list and studdied it before purchasing when getting thier. If you were to order £300 of goods prior to arrival they will even give you a free ferry crossing from Dover via seafrance or the equivilent in money. So thats worth knowing and quite a saving. On the way back to Zeebrugge we first stopped at a place called adinkerk got some baccy, then on to Ostend. What a pleasant suprise this was, i never expected it to be so big well worth a visit. Previous trips from Zeebrugge i have been to Lille and that was brill as well parking right in the city centre in what appeared to be a huge underground car park below the Eurolille centre. i think there are still savings to be made for 1 duty free on the boat and remember the french don't pay as much in alcohol tax as us so i would say it is definately worth the trip to take the car enjoy some motoring on the continent. If in Calais have a look at the Majestic price list they have some very good offers on. From East Yorks obviously i save a fortune on Diesal not travelling to Dover, never mind the 5 hours or so trip and the major risk of getting points on licence (speeding). However i have enjoyed my trips to Cite Europe from Dover by the ferry and like Armitage have used the massive Carrefour there. For sure the beer and wine is cheaper in Both Tesco and Carrefour even at todays current exchange rates. I keep promising myself i am going to do Zeebrugge to the Champagne region i am told it only takes an hour and a half , does anyone know that to be true , anyone done that trip let me know. I am also considering the Brittany ferries route to spain going to Santander and driving to the Rioja region anyone done that. The write ups say the food on the Brittany ferries very good. Read more

Brentus

Paulvm:- Thank you kindly for this info. Yes you do what we do when on the Hull-Zeebrugge route. Always a meal in restraunt in the evening, then breakfast is usually a coffee and croissant. Ready to be called to disembark. Well i have to say i didn't expect such a short distance or Journey time, will definately do this trip. Should be a really comfortable trip in the CRV. I know Lay & Wheeler well and over the years have purchased from them, i shall have a look. Ive seen pics of that hotel at Marques de Riscal impressive. It will be a while before i go but i will definately use this valuable information you have given thanks a million. What i would like to say on the spain issue is. Many people go to Salou on Holiday. A few years ago i looked at the wine producing areas around here. You are spoilt for choice. The penedes, Priorat, Tarrogona all just on the outskirts of Salou. On our last visit we went to Villafranca and visited the famous Torres vineyard. You get the usual tasting at the end, but what made the visit special is the stuff you can by in the shop. Vintages, varietals not easily obtainable elsewhere. Hope this serves you well.

luckyjim

Hi

Service in August indicated front pads were '85% worn', garage (not our local Ford dealer) wanted to replace them. Didn't take that at face value and we only do about 5,000miles pa so left it until now; MOT is due soon.

I've had a look and the front n/s pad seems to have 5mm left. On that basis our local Ford dealer advises they be replaced now and this will cost £70. Given our low mileage is it still too early to replace them or am I just being tight?!

Car has done 28,500 miles BTW, original pads as far as I know.

Cheers,
Jim Read more

Roly93

Our 53 plate Focus is still on about 5mm of original front pads after 38K miles.
Like you the car does about 5K PA and I would replace the pads and discs myself anyway, but am not ready to do it yet.

I have to say though that £70 is quite reasonable for a garage to do this, although I am assuming that this is only for the pads and not the discs.

Snakey

I'm looking to buy a 06 Vectra 1.9 cdti Estate, with the 120bhp engine.

Can anyone tell me a) if it has the DPF (I suspect it has) and b) what maintenance the infernal thing would require?

I've tried ringing a couple of local Vauxhall dealers and after being told I would be called back twice with no result I gave up!

I quite fancy the car, but the DPFs seem to be a nightmare on most cars Read more

Snakey

Sorry, I meant (as I've had a vectra before) that the risk of springs snapping is so high that its a consideration when buying one.

Good all round car apart from that though!

Dynamic Dave


***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 325 *****


In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.

It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.

No Questions About PCs. Please use the current "computer Related Questions" thread instead.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which we think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details -
www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )

Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.

However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.

This is Volume 324. Previous Volumes will not be deleted,

A list of previous volumes can be found:- HERE

PLEASE NOTE:

When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.

Read more

Old Navy

Caravans are just so interesting, aren't they?>>


PU shifted your post to the last (read only) volume as I was replying.

Static ones may be, mobile ones are a pain, but thats a whole new can of worms. :-)
giuruc

I recently discovered that after it had rained a lot, the carpet in the boot of the car was soaking wet. The water seems to be coming from the left side of the boot. Does anyone have any ideas where the water might be leaking from?

{Shouting in the subject header amended} Read more

giuruc

I took your advice and checked the rear light and that seams to have caused the leak.
I sealed it properly and tightened all the screws and i think it's ok now!!! Thanks for your help!!!