May 2014
I have two flat tyres that can be repaired.
The cheapest price is £12.00 per tyre ? I live near Birmingham Airport, anyone know any where near that is not so expensive... Read more
Folks, appreciate thoughts on this one. Got a 2.0D Volvo S40 saloon on a 59 plate. For the last few months a few times a week I will go to start the car and find the engine turns over no problem at all it appears to try and fire but dies immediatly, it may take up to a dozen turns of the key before the engine will actually fire. Other times it starts first times with ease.
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I've recentlly changed cars from 05 to 07 plate, engine size is the same 1.8, insurance is up for renewal, having used 2 comparison sites, quote has doubled!!
10 years NCD, and all other personal details are the same.... Read more
If you still get nowhere, an actual human broker has got to be worth a try.
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Hi, I have recieved a second request (of which I did not recieve a first request) to identify a driver for a speeding offence of a car registered in my name. The problem is, because I did not recieve a first request it is now 6 weeks since the incident and we cannot remember who was driving. My wife is also insured on the car and we both use it regularly. The photo evidence just shows the back of the car and it does not help to identify the driver as you can only see the headrest . We were both off work on the day in question of which we can provide proof. I have responded stating I do not know which is not a suitable answer and they have responded asking me to consider who is insured and who is likely to be driving which doesnt help. I now do not know what to do and how to respond. Any help would be greatfully recieved. Read more
If this was a Camera Van Ping then there will be a video. Write to them and ask for copies of any pictures to help you identify the driver. Do not use the words evidence or proof and do not elaborate. There may be a front view of your car that shows the driver. This is not goint to go away. Act Now. Pete D
This is correct. Follow the advice of PeterD. You are in a classic Catch 22 situation. The offence is failure to name the driver: you say you cannot name the driver. Ergo; no solution. The bench will look upon this with righfully scepticism. When no solution is available to you, then damage limitation is your fallback position. The least damage is the driver with the fewer points on their licence takes the blame. Sorry, but sadly true. On of lifes' harsher lessons.
Best of luck. Please let us all know the outcome. Cheers Concrete.
It is a beauty Read more
In the car review all windows opening after rainfall. Well I have had this happen three times .Does anyone know if there is a fix ,from Ford ? Or if there are anyother fixes ? Any one else had the same problem ? Read more
My son is a magician and needs an economical car with a large carrying capacity. He currently runs a Honda Jazz but wants something a bit bigger (capacity) to carry his stage stuff. He drives about 25k miles a year. Any reccomendations - budget up to £10k? Read more
A Berlingo multispace / Peugeot Partner Tepee or Fiat Doblo (or possibly a late Renault Kangoo but there are not many around).
A good alternative is the Seat Toledo or Skoda Rapid 6 months or 1 year old....
This is probably nonsensical musing but I'll go with it anyway.
A few drives in the company Focus has reminded me how differently you need to drive to make a relatively slow car perform. In that, I can put my foot right to the floor and still control the car, as it takes a few moments to get going.... Read more
Some cars feel fast even though they're not, modern turbo diesels feel quicker than they are thanks to the stacked together gears (to deal with the narrow TD powerbands) giving you slugs of thrust through the gears.
An S Type 3 litre isn't a fast car by any stretch of the imagination but the engine has excellent mid-range and as you say can motor along quite nicely on half throttle. Talking of fast Jags I remember being caught out one dewy morning on a bumpy a-road, overtaking another car in my XJR the car went into a full blown tank-slapper in a straight line, as the downshift unleashed a sudden ~400bhp and 400ft/lbs of torque catching the TC out - a change of underpants was required afterwards! I suspect as I’d left my house early in the morning and hardly touched the brakes up until the event, the rear brakes were probably stone cold – hence the TC’s inability to control the wheelspin....
Certainly traffic calming is a problem. Speed humps damage cars, even at low speed. Pinch points, slalom courses where kerbs are built out and traffic islands every few hundred yards are a nuisance and a danger to cyclists who are constantly being pushed together with car drivers. I know of roads in my area where built out curbs reduce roads to single track on blind bends. I believe roads are safer for everyone if they are kept clear and open with good visibility, minimal signage and road markings and plenty of space for people to get by each other. This means everyone can see each other, avoid each other and not get frustrated.
As for the 20mph limits themselves, I don't see that they realistically can be enforced or that it should be a police priority. I live on a housing estate where all the roads are 20mph. People generally stay within the spirit of it but everyone gets up to 23mph which is the speed prosecutions would start at if there was a speed trap. The biggest problems are roads with schools and rushing parents and roads that are used as rat runs. Improving main routes so people don't feel the need to take short cuts through back streets would make a difference, as would alternative ways of getting children to school rather than parents driving them.
A bigger issue for me than 20mph zones on small residential streets is main A roads and motorways having their limits cut from NSL to 50mph and below. This really does seem like an unnecessary gesture to road safety without targeting the real issues of driver distraction. On roads near where I live speed limits have been cut simply in response to accident rates and the government's speed limit review. Since then there have been numerous fatal accidents on the roads with drivers under the influence of drink and drugs, mostly late at night, while during the day sensible drivers are slowed down and there is a police speed trap lurking round every corner. Read more
As a driver who regular travels for work and also lives on a 30mph stretch, 20mph along all shopping and residential streets is the smart decision for all communities. No need to drive any faster and is is also safer and quieter for residents.
Anyone simply walking or cycling on the footpaths, let alone the roads, will tell you that 30mph is still too fast making cars and people walking or on bikes incompatible. Some talk about the odd boy racer, this is a distraction and more than not people and speeding up (even accelerating should be noted) where they think they’ll get away with it.
Some also talk about people’s behaviours that can cause themselves danger, driving is a privilege and has defined rules, being outside in your own community is a necessity, applying the same restrictions and expectation to all non-drivers is unrealistic, so drivers have a real responsibility that goes beyond their needs.
Your concerned about restrictions and change, fair enough, however, If covid has made anything clear that people in built up areas still want to be outside, streets are not suitable for for walkers and cyclist, and being the only place to do this, pedestrians and cyclists should be given priority.
So come on people, you may need to drive through an area to commute but there may be hundreds of people on or near that particular road who need to live there.
Not done very well at the Euro NCAPs though, only got 4 stars! Read more
£11 in north Cheshire. You can shop around a lot but you can easily spend the few quid you save ...