March 2013
Hi, I wondered if anyone could give me advice on what to buy with my very limited budget as I am struggling with the advice from friends coming left right and centre!
Suggestions so far have been ford or volkswagen, I ideally need an estate or large hatchback. My funds are £2000 but that includes any repairs needed and tax for the vehicle. I am self employed so the car will be a few short visits during the day, 20/30 minute trips a few times a week.... Read more
I searched and searched and could not fing straight answer - Does Fiat Stilo 1.8 16v Dynamic has a DMF flywheel or classic one? Production year 2004, gasoline, 133 HP. Will be much appreciated if someone can provide the answer.
Thanks in advance Read more
Anyone about to do this? There's quite a lot of information out there but none is complete and some just wrong, e.g. the Haynes manual. I'm now about to put mine back, having had the leaking rack overhauled.
Mine has power steering and I cannot see how you can get the rack out without dropping the subframe a few inches. This is relatively easy with a couple of jacks ( 6 bolts plus the clamp to the bottom of the engine) because the engine hangs from the top rather than sits on the subframe. This does entail undoing the anti-roll bar links which can be absolute pigs. The Peugeot one-use locking nuts seem to be to very fine tolerance limits, so a little rust on the top of the stud makes it impossible to get the nut off the stud and the T27 socket in the top of the stud easily rounds out. Power wire brushing doesn't work. Run a die (M10 x 1.25 in my case), squeezed right in, backwards up the thread to clear it of rust and NEVER force the nut against the Torx socket. If it still won't come off, heat the nut with a blow torch or oxy-acetylene if you have it. In extremis, you will have to cut the nut off without damaging the stud. The studs are not tapered, so as soon as the nut is loosened, the stud turns hence the T27 sockets.... Read more
Moved to Technical.
Everytime I activate the central locking via the Key fob, the central locking locks all doors but the indicator on the passenger side remains on and will not go out, even when I unlock the car via the fob the light remains on which is now draining the battery flat as it won't go out, any suggestions ? Read more
Last month, Yahoo's CEO Marissa Mayer made the unpopular choice to stop telecommuting programs for the ISP's employees. Best Purchase was fast to follow suit. However, not one but three recent studies say she may have been too short-sighted. Article resource: Three surveys back telecommuting, in spite of Yahoo
Staples study
On March 8, Boston.com reported on a survey commissioned by Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of the office supplies giant. It polled 150 business decision makers and 150 telecommuting workers about the practice of workers logging in and working at home from their own computers.
About 53 percent of business decision makers said that their employees were more productive when they telecommuted, and 93 percent of the workers like the idea.
Staples the company is the leading office supply retailers, which means the outcome of the survey will impact it.
More telecommuting considered acceptable
About 120 HR executives were polled in a Challengers, Gray & Christmas Inc. survey that asked about whether or not there were telecommuting program plans in place.
These plans were not really being made by most corporations. Of the 80 percent of corporations that responded to the poll, 97 percent said the plans were not occurring.
John A. Challenger, the company's CEO, said businesses pay attention to other business leaders, but are not blind sheep.
"When major companies like Yahoo and Best Buy make notable policy changes, there is no doubt that other employers will take notice and some may even reevaluate their policies," he said. "However, it would be misguided to assume that other companies will follow blindly without considering their own unique circumstances.”
Is it a good idea?
About 1,000 Americans were surveyed by ORC International to find out whether or not they believed telecommuting was a great idea. About 29 percent said they would probably do less work while 65 percent said they thought people would be more productive if working from home.
Of those surveyed, only 11 percent were presently telecommuting. Another 16 percent had done so at some time in the past, while 72 percent had never worked from home.
The split here seems a bit irrelevant to me, since a percentage of workers will always take advantage and make an effort to "goof off" whether they work from home or from the company office. Their effort (or lack of it) shows up in their productivity, and management can see pretty easily who is getting the job done and who is not.
More likely to change
Like it or not, our world is becoming increasingly technological. The internet makes an office on the other side of the world as close as the push of a button. Telecommuting makes sense for many employers in many situations, and, regardless of Yahoo, it is not going away any time soon.
Sources... Read more
The more dynamic companies have been doing this for years. For the last ten years I've been doing two to three days from home, the rest in the office. I manage a team of software developers, provided the work is getting done I couldn't care where they are based. I think face-to-face contact is important particularly at the start of a project but when everyone is clear on what they need to do, they can often be more productive at home. I can always call the team back into the office if the project is spinning out of control but this has not happened yet.
I think it's harder for the young. My nephew who is 27 is in a shared house with five others so working from home is not so easy, he has a laptop set up in his bedroom and there are distractions. I am lucky in that I have a separate office in the house, plenty of space, no distractions and a view out into the garden....
Handling transactions in the high-risk sector always felt daunting, but finding this high-risk payment gateway has eased my concerns significantly. The robust security measures and the tailored support for high-risk businesses have provided the stability and reliability I needed. transferty.com/high-risk-payment-gateway/ It's comforting to have a payment solution that understands the intricacies and challenges of operating in a high-risk industry. Read more
anyone know why my car and spanner light comes on when starting cold it goes off after about 1/2 mile there is no loss in power. Thinking it could be water in the fuel. Read more
Not sure about Vauxhalls but on VAG cars a spanner light means its due for a service.
I received a speeding ticket and i was not the driver at the time of the alleged offence nor did i give permission for them to use my vehicle so after finding out who it was, i nominated that person. The problem is they live abroad and the police camera enforcement unit keeps harassing me for more information. Ive replied to them stating that i have provided all the information i have and they should get in touch with him directly, they have no photographic evidence of who was driving apparently, but they still wont leave me alone.
Does anyone know where i stand in this situation? Im prepared to take some responsibility as its my vehicle but am i innocent until PROVEN guilty or guilty until PROVEN innocent?! Help! Read more
The police will take one of two approaches. They will either not accept that person was the driver and summons you for failing to name, which carries 6 points. Alternatively, they will accept that person was the driver but ask you to prove they were insured.
Was the vehicle in your possession at the time? For failing to name you would have a defence on the basis you gave the information. The prosecution will have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you didn't in order to convict you....
I applied to put my cherished number plates into retention 9 days ago, and DVLA have today confirmed that the process is complete and my confirmation email (along with revised MOT certificate and tax disc) have been returned to me today.
Does anyone know whether these would have been sent first or second class? Previous documents sent to me by the DVLA, such as reminders for tax discs etc, were second class but I was hoping due to the 10day timescale guideline and important nature of the documents, this may have been sent first class?
Please advise- thank you! Read more
A bulk user like DVLA will get preferential rates for mail but first class will still be a lot more costly than second. I don't think they could cost justify using first for routine correpondence. If they contract mail to a bulker such as TNT which using the PO to deliver delay may be even longer - stuff from my bank routinely takes 7-10 days.
I work in gov department but not transport. Second class is default except for 'just in time' meeting papers etc. ...
I was rendered unable to work after a workplace accident. I've received no compensation nor do I get any State-aid. Unsurprisingly, I have to scrimp.
Recently, I had to choose between taxing my car (which needs must be parked on the road) and filling it with petrol. As the tax-disc is a legal requirement I paid for that. (And yes, it is insured.) And for all short journeys thereafter I walked, slowly, as I now have to use a stick.
Anyway, I was inching my way back from hospital in my large town in south-Bedfordshire (after my 200th appointment over my workplace injuries) when I saw something which stuck in my craw. A car was parked in a disabled-bay, sans disabled-plate, of course. It had a month-out-of-date tax-disc. And it was a recent Bentley in a quite magnificent deep-gloss grey. Oh yes, and it was being driven, all right, for as I neared it a woman and children approached, got in and were wafted away by the male driver.
I took note of the registration-plate and when I could I checked it on the DVLA's website. There seems to be no record of the car. It is possible I didn't get the first part of the reg'-no quite right because it was a sequence of three letters 'O', figures '0' or a combination of the two. (Is that not unusual in itself?) Then there was a further figure, a space, and three letters.
Well, there it is. I think it would be right if the driver were to be prosecuted. How do you think I should proceed? (And remember, should he be involved in an accident any insurance he may have is invalidated by dint of his not having and displaying a current road-fund licence.)
Thank you.
L.R. Read more
Have we had a glimpse of the old green-eyed monster here? Losta Risin', ask yourself this: if the circumstances had been exactly the same except the vehicle was a clapped-out banger driven by someone who might have fallen on hard times, would you be so keen to report them?
If the answer is no, then at best you are applying double standards, at worst you are simply acting out of envy. If you really have been badly treated by your former employer (and I'm not sure what that saga has to do with anything on this forum) then why not devote your energies and spare time to getting restitution for that instead?
Browse
Another vote for a well kept Mondeo. Chain cam engines so no belts to fret over. Cheap parts if needed. Nice to drive. Handle really well. Very comfortable. Loads available too. Very practical hatches and cavernous estates. Avoid 6 cylinder petrols as they are thirsty but the petrol 1.8s are frugal, if a little sluggish and the 2.0s are quick enough and ok on fuel. Don't dismiss the diesels though if they have a good service history. There's a lot of tooth sucking about dmf reliability but I've run three TDCis to starship miles without problems. They will though cost a bit more to buy than the petrol variants. If you won't do big miles a petrol might be best.