July 2012
Hi
My daughter is about to buy her first car, and quite likes the Pug 206 (as her mum has one). personally, I don't, but I'll not be driving it.... Read more
2001 DB7: AC suffers sudden shut down in hot weather after 1-2 hr of high speed cruising. Adjusting all controls does not cause any response in system. 10-15 shut down causes system to begin functioning on start up. System is always set at "Man" or "Recirc" with fan speed 1-3. When down minimal cold air comes through dash vents, probably passive floww from cruising at highway speeds.
Dealer cannot duplicate fault. Any ideas? Read more
you system is freezing up, once shut down then the ice built up in the evaporator melts and a/c starts functioning, this is due to evaporator sensor in the side of the heater box.
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Hi all
Long time reader first time poster here - I'm in need of some helpful advice!
In March 2011 I borrowed a car from a friend for a year, and had it reregistered to my name etc. All good until January of this year, when I decided to accept a contract working abroad on a cruise ship - so quit my job, moved out of my rented flat and returned the car to my mate. Unfortunately I lost the V5 in the move, so he applied for a new one amid threats to charge me the £30 fee.
I then got an e-mail from my dad while at sea, saying a letter had arrived requesting a fine for "Failing to notify change of ownership". I called the DVLA some time in April, and spoke to a girl who said there may be mitigating circumstances given I was out of the country, and put it on hold so I could write in.
Unfortunately, I then forgot all about it and have now received a court summons :-(
I realise that I've been a prat and am responsible - I'm now trying to work out the best way to deal with it, as I have been out of work since the end of May and have no money to pay a £1000 fine. Would it be best to plead guilty by post, including a statement of mitigating circumstances, or should I attend the hearing in person to make my case? I really need to keep this fine as low as possible. My friend still has the car in his name, and records will show it passing from him to me and then back again, so hopefully this will show the court it's an honest mistake and I'm not on the fiddle!
If this wasn't enough...
...in March I also received a tax reminder for my previous car - which was scrapped in June 2011. While on the phone re. the above, I checked this with the girl and she couldn't see the car in my name on her system so suggested it was a mistake. However, I've now received a 'Failure to pay tax' fine for that car too.
That car was picked up by a massive claw and dumped onto a low loader right in front of me (should have got photos) - the bloke from the scrappy took the entire V5 saying I didn't need to do anything else as he could send it on. While it's possible they forgot to do this, the car's tax expired shortly after and I didn't receive any reminders until 8-9 months later! I have the name and address of the scrap dealer I sold it to, but unfortunately any letter of confirmation is probably long gone/binned by now.
Suffice to say, I need none of this right now :-(. Any advice would be welcomed with gratitude
Cheers
82Heaven Read more
Hi all
Just to tie this up - I ended up calling the DVLA again, and this time the operator gave me the number of the prosecutor's office in Bournemouth. I called them and they agreed to drop the case in exchange for payment of the original £55 fine, which they took over the phone.
All's well that ends well, but it would have been a lot less stressful if I'd known that straight away!
Just wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience.
My 4 year old Tiguan (42,000 miles) has just bankrupted me! The following faults have been found :... Read more
Service history ? a call to VW !
The gearshift became harder and harder to use since xmas also not returning to central position. As its still FMSH I was not keen to have a go myself so I took it to my local Mitsubishi service centre. Describing the problem they said "Oh yes we know what that is!, The linkage is seized, its a common problem". Well I decided to book it in and so had it done.
The price? £270. HOW MUCH??!!! Labour was < 1hr so cant have been difficult. One part goes down into gearbox so not sure I could have done it myself. Is that reasonable for a 5yr old car and a common problem too? Wondering if they run on razor makers/computer printer lines vis. whole thing cheap brandnew but the parts are almost as much again.... Read more
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Just about to change full set of tyres on 2006 BMW 325i M sport for 2nd time. Original & replacement, 4 years ago, Bridgestone Potenza and each time around 27k miles. Now Michelin available so any views on Bridgestone v Michelins please. Ride quality, mileage etc. Read more
Hi,
A friend of mine has the above car and recently had the oil & filter changed by a neighbour as the 'change oil' light was on. The neighbour obviously does not have the equipment to turn off this message - so is there a simple method of doing it without resorting to a Toyota garage to have it turned off?... Read more
Care to share your discovery. Regards Peter
Hello all, newbie here!
OK so a couple of months ago, after about 30 years blemish free motoring, a red light camera (Nuthall Island, A610 near Nottingham) got me bang to rights (on way home from work in Nottingham, brain clearly elsewhere) 1.2 seconds into red. No disputing it, admitted to being driver, paid £92 to go on a Driver Aware Course which I completed successfully and will therefore not incur the fixd penalty and three points.
Last night, on way home from work in Nottingham, same camera and set of lights. As you can imagine I am now totally paranoid and if in doubt, ie if on amber, on go the anchors. Lights were definitely green, I am in no doubt about that, and the guy in the lane next to me also went through, he must have seen them green too! But the traffic already on the island was not moving, he and I were already stopped just the other side the lights, then the traffic started coming from the other direction and "our" light as it were must presumably have been red by now. This other guy and I stayed still until the other stream of traffic was stopped by "their" lights, then went on our way.
Am I likely to get a ticket for this do you think? I would not say the lights were green when I went through if that were not so. They changed at some point after the other guy and I went through and while we were held up trying to drive onto the island. Just would be a shame as I will have to take the three points this time. Or would the camera just not trigger in a case like this? I saw no flash (and these cameras definitely do flash when you get zapped.) Read more
Now I don't know how usual this is, but I looked as I went past on my way in to work today and there don't appear to be box junction markings on the particular traffic island in question.
I went through on green following a stream of traffic, which then stopped on the island due to some kind of hiatus. It left me and the other guy stranded the wrong side of the lights but luckily not blocking the passage of traffic.
In a rush hour traffic type world I don't think you would ever see an island as busy as this with all exits totally clear. And I suspect that if you got into the habit of stopping too long at green lights you might also attract the attentions of the police for that. I know what you mean with that section of the highway code though. There is a junction on my route where I go through on green and then have to wait for a green right filter. The day after I received my ticket for the offence in May, I was waiting for the said filter, when the woman behind me totally lost the plot, mouthed obscenities at me and then proceeded to drive around my left then weave across my front and through the oncoming traffic in order to turn right. Accompanied by the screeching of brakes and some aghast expressions from drivers and pedestrians alike. There are, naturally, no cameras at this set of lights to capture that sort of driving horror.
We have just replaced the rear brake pads, rear brake line and callipers on our 05 Espace. Having finally got everything in place and bled the system, re-engaged the parking brake, the car will no not start! It is bringing up a constant string of error messages for parts of the car which have not even been touched during this job (E.g. Air Bags) Last time we had such a display of errors it was due to a flat battery. We have now fully charged the battery and still have the same problem. Can anyone help us? We are due to go on holiday on 4 days and need the car to get us there! Is there a reset code or something that we need to enter after disconnecting the automatic parking brake? Thanks Read more
Loads of pictures but none giving the drivers view of the dash. Read more
Models of cr-v in this time are better than before. I can see how
innovative and creative-minded people from honda are. Can't wait for the
time that this model of cr-v will be offered by the honda dealers in
brooklyn.
Browse
There are some good French cars around, but they are more vulnerable to abuse and neglect than similar Japanese cars: so buying a 10-year-old French car is even more of a gamble.
For £1,000 condition is more important than make or model: try to find something that has a service history and at least appears to have been lookd after properly. If in doubt look at petrol-powered Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas or Mazdas.