February 2010
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969555
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I was involved in an accident 17 months ago. Firmly believe not my fault. Finally got a court date for May to sort it out. Now learn that if case fails I am liable for the replacement vehicle costs, some £1600.00 for 23 days. Reported accident within an hour to insurer. Not long after got a call from a company to say a replacement car was on its way. Car of a similar standard to mine. Assumed that insurers had arranged this. In the event of losing the case I do not intend to pay but to refer the car hire company to my insurers who must have contacted them and given them my contact details, therefore down to them to pick up the tab. I could have hired this car privately for less than half the price they are asking. Any advice on legal position or otherwise would be appreciated. Concrete Read more
Glad to hear it's resolved to you're satisfaction, Concrete.
Thanks for letting us know.
Previously on this forum I got excellent information when my diesel engine in my mazda 6 blew up after 6 months.
Anyway, the pain continues.
The steering rack has started leaking. From what I've been told it has to be replaced as a unit. Mazda's price for the part ?1,600 + VAT in a Irish dealer.
Any recomendations on other sites where I might source this part for a somewhat less crazy price. Read more
Can I suggest you make a few queries for Mazda parts in New Zealand. Over here they are relatively more common than Fords or Vauxhalls are in the UK. A steering rack can probably be sourced for a few hundred pounds including the shipping. You could try: www.mazlinepartsworld.co.nz The exchange rate is over 2:1 in your favour so there are bargains to be had, and there is probably more experience in Japanese cars over here.
Living in greater Birmingham, last Saturday evening SWMBO aand I decided to go the green way into the city centre.
As some may know there is a frequent service along main routes every 10 mins or so.
Not having travelled by bus for several years, I noticed the following points.
> The return fare, £ 3-80 each was higher than I though it would be.
> The driver(s) seemed to be a surly type, barely a nod as you pay etc.
> The bus was very jerky, both stopping & starting, though this could be the driver.
> The driver appeared to corner as fast as possible.
> Your fellow passengers include drunks, foul - mouthed yoofs & the like.
> Your seat is hard & narrow with little legroom.
> I was glad to get off, feeling a bit queasy.
> On the plus side, I did not have to drive or park.
So as an alternative to the car, not very impressed, won't do it again in a hurry! Read more
And who is going to pay for this service? Also where is it so dangerous... I've read more stories of people getting robbed or attacked in minicabs than on PT...
The days of providing a service no matter what the cost have long gone, whether privately or publically run...
The main issue with PT is that people have to plan their movements to its timetables, the problem is that most people won't, they want it there and then, not in 10, 20 or 30 minutes time... and they want the PT to turn up at frequent intervals despite the fact that there would not be the demand for it (the village of 3500 souls earlier)... and finally they want it cheap... really cheap... but they don't want to pay the cost of providing such a service...
Trouble now is that people's expectations are far higher than PT would ever be able to provide, certainly not without unlimited funds... a car is so much more convenient and will remain so... the only cloud on the Motorists' horizon is that the Gov start to really punish the motorist in the way of sky high taxes forcing the increased use of PT, but I honestly can't see that happenning in the near future...
BTW DP, I entirely agree with you... so-ordination of the various forms of PT is something someone needs to get a grip on and quickly, though I'd say it was the Local Council's issue, rather than national Gov...
Someone ran hard into the back of our Almera on Monday. The car is still driveable, but the back is pretty bent - neither the tailgate nor one rear door will open. I suspect it will be written off, which is a shame as its been a very good car. Nice to drive, never given any problems.
There was a witness and police attended, so there's no dispute that we were not at fault.
So - what to buy to replace a 1.8 SE Automatic Almera, 5 years old with 42000 miles?
One option is obviously to buy the same car - there are examples around with similar mileage for about £4k, which I hope is what the insurers will pay, since that is the replacement cost.
But maybe we should go for something else. Got to be automatic, with a reasonable size engine and boot, but what about a Focus, or a Jazz?
Or maybe we should pay a bit more and get a newer car (the Almera was bought when 6 months old).
We have a hire car provided, and its a Toyota Prius. After the initial disorientation I'm getting to quite like it, so maybe that should be an option, though they are quite pricey.
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I have always liked Nissan Notes and I think will be a good replacement size wise for the Almera.
When the revised Galaxy and Mondeo come on stream in the next month or so, it will be goodbye Ghia - Ford is dropping what was once the ultimate in luxury (for a Ford).
Titanium or Titanium X is the new black, by all accounts (sadly abbreviated by Ford salesmen as Tit or Tit X).
I remember dashing Granadas, Mk1 Fiestas and Mk 4 Cortinas wearing the badge with pride back in the 1970s - the Ford price lists will seem a bit empty without them, or is it just me? Read more
When my dad finally got his Cortina Ghia company car, it was a pure status symbol amongst the then Ls and GLs. Having said that I think there was also a GLS but the Ghia with the Ghia badges on the wings and dashboard, together with the black vinyl roof and "overriders" on the bumpers set the car apart.
I also remember a friend had a Fiesta 1.4 Ghia, think it would possibly be mark 2. Anyway this was his treat but the car often let water in at the bottom of the doors. When he took it to the dealers they advised him that the only way to solve it was to fit mudguards!!
I've been running a '03 mk3 Mondeo TDCI (130) Estate in Ghia X spec for the last 20 months - I brought it at 107k, the car has now done almost 128k and just before Christmas the DMF/Clutch went and the DMF, clutch and slave cylinder were all replaced. The 3rd gear syncro also seems worn and it crunches every now and then when selecting 3rd gear. Also the starter may need to be replaced as it still "clicks" occasionally rather than turn over - this is usually to do with swarf from the DMF clogging the starter and it needs to be cleaned or replaced to resolve. This is not a huge issue as it always starts 2nd or 3rd time.
Overall the car has been OK but there always seem to be something going wrong, usually minor niggles but tiresome nonetheless. I'm now just waiting for the injectors to play up as that is probably the next big thing to fail. The car still drives well (albeit with the 3rd gear issue) and I get around 45mpg brim-to-brim in mainly urban/extra urban driving and M'way around 50mpg. I'm about to MoT it, so lets assume it has 12 months MoT.
A week or so back, I've also bought back (on a bit of a whim) my "old" '98 Landcruiser Colorado 3.4l Auto in "VX" spec. I owned this car for almost 5 years/50k, then sold it to a work colleague about 12 months ago - so know it's history well. In the time it's been away, it has had a LPG conversion by a reputable convertor and done 20k with no issues. The total mileage is now 126k. The car is in good overall condition but will require a major service to include the cambelt (2nd change) and all fluids etc very soon. The car consistently does around 22-23mpg on petrol and about 19-20mpg on LPG. It currently has around 9 months MoT.
Given that the Mondeo has a couple of faults - the starter can be replaced for £150, though the 3rd gear syncro will need more, selling it "as is" may become an issue. I've grown used to the 3rd gear issue now but I would imagine it would bother a new owner and may even put them off. The Landcruiser on the other hand will also require around £400-500 in servicing just to get it back in tip-top nick.
The dilemma I have is which to keep and which to sell ? Nominally they are both very similar in value (£3-3.5k). Both cars fit my requirements as a daily driver and family (of 5) car but I can really only justify keeping 1 - my heart says Landcruiser, my head says Mondeo. My annual mileage is only around 12k, so fuel consumption does not impact too much.
What would you do?
P.S. I have thought about selling both and getting a "decent" car! ;-0
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Thanks for the repsonses - now that I've had time to "sleep on it" and thinking rationally, I'm sort of on CraigP's side; the Mondeo has already cost me a bundle and it was supposed to be the cheap/budget option. Given the age and mileage more expensive repairs may crop up. The Landcruiser on the other hand has only ever needed "service" items and nothing else. Even if something did go wrong - the car is relatively low tech and therefore repairs are cheaper.
SN - If I was going to go for a 3.0 6 cyl - it would have to be a E39 530i Sport :-)
- I'm still toying with the idea. The real stumbling block is that I'd love the saloon but it isn't as flexible as either current cars. And I'm not so keen on the Touring version, though I wouldn't say no, if the right car turned up.
Cheers,
the vehicle sellection is WRONG, i couldn't find triumph herald.
i have a sparkrite tx1002 and am having trouble finding wiring / fitting instructions.
i have found them for other models but the wiring varys from model to model and i don't want to blow it up.
it has 5 wires coming out of it:
orange which i know goes to the magnetic pickup / points as it has the correct plug on the end
green has bare wire on the end so SHOULD be earth
3 wires i'm not sure of where to put:
blue with a female spade connector
white with a male spade
yellow with a female spade
sorry if this is a weird question but i don't know who else to ask.
cheers, alf Read more
I used to fit a lot of Sparkrites in the 80's, mainly the SX 2000 though, the contact breakers will last for ever (or 2012) with even the simplest transistorized ignition.
Any suggestions as to where to stop for a break/meal...off the M-way
be going down pm Fri ret pm Sun, about 1800to23.59 each way
cheers
M Read more
why is everone going to newark all of a sudden? whats on?>>
You should know. You go there twice a week.
Hi All,
I have a 2006 06 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI.
Is this engine fitted with a dpf, I just need to know for sure.
It is used for mainly motorway journeys so does a good number of miles, When would it HAVE to be changed and how expensive is it to replace? I take it, it has to be done at fords.
Is there any other big expenses above 60,000mls
Regards
Pullers Read more
Whether of not your Focus has a dpf depends on its power output.
AFAIK, the 90ps doesn't have a dpf, the 110ps does.
Browse
Just wondered if there were any other thoughts / updates on this one? I've now got exactly the same problem at Spamcan towers with a friend's HP laptop.
Wireless access point is a Netgear DG834G, I've now turned all security and MAC filtering off - 5 PCs running 3 different OSs, 2 wifi radios, a Wii and a Nokia E70 all connect fine.
Laptop is a HP DV2-1010ea - big netbook really - running Vista Home Basic. As per original problem network can be seen by laptop but will not connect - indeed the laptop does not show up in the access list on the router, it's like the laptop is receiving but not transmitting on the wifi.