December 2011
The probable demise of Saab has made me think about all the marques there are in the world. Are they all necessary and would we miss them if only one marque existed? In reality, we only need one. I've decided which one is the only one required.
I wonder if anyone can guess, or if only one marque existed, which do you think it should be? Mine would have different divisions, but just one marque. :)... Read more
I have got Astra 2004 1.7 cdti lite but I have to fill up the screenwash bottle nearly every 2 days and the water runs out pretty much every second day. What is that i should do? Tried looking for a bottle online and couldnt find it. Also what will be the size of the window wiper blades and I am not even sure if its an aero blade or not. Also the eletric window switch is broken and it comes off each time i try to put the window up and down it comes off so i need to rest it on top. So would i need to buy that part aswell or can i just glue it? I am new to cars and not sure about how these things work so any help would be much appreciated.
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Sorry no idea, perhaps you could ask your friendly dealer what the part number is?
What do you folks think;
A friend of mine recently got a £35 / £70 parking ticket for parking in a newly created “Residents Only” street without a permit. I agree she was wrong and should have noticed the new signs. Today I was in the area and was curious to see how obvious the signs were. I was somewhat surprised to see the signs were a little bespoke.... Read more
We are without doubt on a slippery slope when local authorities can start designing and displaying their own poorly thought out signage.
Well, there has been a development, without need for my intervention the local authority has refunded (without explanation) my friends monies. I can only assume some other aggrieved motorist has complained about the poor, seemingly incorrect signage, the authority has now seen the error and all tickets paid have been refunded.
I have just found out that Trafficmaster is discontinueing the Freeway service in June 2012.
As an existing customer, they are offering upgrades, at reduced cost to a fitted Navigation Unit with traffic information or an app. for an I-Pad.... Read more
''Does the Garmin provide a voice only warning of traffic holdups?''
Not as far as i'm aware, but i haven't looked at the market for this type of thing for about 2 years....
hi, i bought a vectra 2006 cdti 150 bph, it has 115,000 miles on the clock. im wondering does this make have a timimg belt or chain ? in the manual it says some makes have the chain and some a belt. there is no mention of a change of belt in the service manual, which has all the services by a vauxhall dealer in the service manual ? Read more
Lift the bonnet. A timing chain is in a metal timing cover and a belt is behind a plastic timing cover.
ive changed the head gasket on my engine, before removing i locked down the crank, cam and diesel pump.
fitted a new cam belt now when running its very lumpy on tick over and smokes.... Read more
Well done!
can anybody advise the best spark plugs to fit my vectra and what i would set the gap to
regards... Read more
"Why would a Vauxhall dealer tell you otherwise?"
Simple I'm not a vauxhall dealer but when working in one I have had to fix plenty where just a set of the correct plugs fixed all sorts of issue's....
First of all, I passed my test 3 weeks ago, 3rd time lucky. I'm looking at buying my first car in January, and I need some feedback on what I've decided to do so you can all tell me I'm nuts.
I paid for all my driving expenses so far myself, and learning to drive drained me so much that I currently have very little money in savings (and it's xmas). I'd rather not go for a cheap motor, but something for £2000-3000 that's in slightly better shape with an AA warranty from a used car dealer. I'm looking at a 2007 1.2 Fiat Grande Punto Active/Dynamic, which sits nicely around that price bracket. Good mileage, only one previous owner. The insurance is manageable too, as the Grande Punto sits in the micromini category (somehow), and I'm 25 now and I only expect my premiums come down in price over the next year.
Trying to save for this car would take me the best part of a year (I pay rental on a house too) so I've decided on a loan over 3 years. Definitely preferable to a finance agreement at a dealers, as a loan will have a much lower rate of interest, and will make it possible to take the full cash amount to the dealer and haggle the price down.
So on a monthly basis, the car loan will cost me £100 and the insurance will cost me £100. Add on top of that some petrol money (I won't be doing mega miles in my first year), tax and a bit of savings to add up towards any impending repairs, and I'd end up paying only a bit more each month than I was while learning to drive.
The thing that worries me though: is £200+ monthly really too much to shell out on a first car? I know I could easily budget that into my finances, but I fear if the car packed up within the first 3 years during the loan repyament, I'd be stuck paying the loan, and I'd be a bit financially stretched to save up for another car aswell...
The alternative is buying something cheap for £500 for example, but I could very well spend more money just keeping it on the road. But arguably, I would be on the road atleast, while I could attempt to save up for a better car under the weight of petrol and insurance costs...
Such a tough decision to make... Read more
The autoexpress link shows top 100 cars rated as 'favourite/most popular' of 2011, so I'm not sure how much indication that gives of the reliability of the car itself, but still, lots to pore over here before I make any decisions. Thanks again : )
The full AutoExpress report has categpories for...
This Christmas, I was lucky enough to spend some time in my own home state of California with my wife and daughter. While there, I met a little boy named Bode who lives in a foster home with his foster parents. I would also be reading resumes planet reviews to complete my work. He was wearing a beautiful Christmas sweater -- one that he made himself -- with snowmen and reindeer on it. Read more
The holidays are a time to spread cheer and cheer up those who are feeling down. One way to spread the cheer is by giving gifts that are meaningful. One of the best gifts is something that the person can cherish for a lifetime. A Christmas gift that was given to me by my family was a car I had been saving up for. I loved it so much and I couldn't wait to take it for a test drive. I will read https://veepn.com/blog/how-to-subscribe-to-netflix-with-vpn/ article now. On Christmas morning, I woke up to find my car wrapped in lights, a tree in the back, and a note from my family telling me to enjoy my new car and have a happy Christmas.
Picked up a copy of Autoexpress in newsagents. Christmas special, thought OK looks quite interesting might give that a read but looked at the price £4.95, and it's a weekly.
Is it just me or is that OTT when there are great web sites like HJ's, Autoexpresses own is OK MSN cars can be funny. Are they pricing themselves out of the market?... Read more
I thought Auto Express started as a cheap alternative to Autocar, now it costs about the same.
One thing that annoys me about the weeklies is the way they present slick computer generated guestimates of what a new model might look like in the same way as they present actual photos of actual new models, as if both have the same credibility....
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Hooray for anoraks, nerds, geeks and..............various other scientists.