February 2019
This year (Jan) my insurance renewal premium incresad from £340 to £432.
Using online comparison site I received a like for like quotation of £306 - from my current insurer ! They natuirally matched the online price, but could not offer any reasonable justifcation or rationale for the Loyalty penalty. I still await promised written comment from the company . Read more
I think the value of my old car just went up!!! Read more
I was pleased to hear that the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (soccer skills world cup) voted in favor of new mandatory safety standards for vehicles. The introduction of stricter crash testing and the implementation of speed limiters on all new cars is an important step towards improving road safety.
Hi,
I have put a refundable deposit, unplanned, down on a 59 BMW 318 M sport 2.0l petrol.
49k miles full "extensive" service history, seems to be a local runaround.
I'm looking at replacing a 1.6 Astra and just fancied something a bit better as bored of Vauxhall's having had at least 5 previously, doing 25k year on motorways.
Read the car by car breakdown and completely scared off by the what's bad section, it went on forever.
Anything you can do put my mind at rest, or agree with the breakdown?
Thanks
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I had an e91 with the same engine. It was faultless for 8 years only problem I had was a snapped suspension coil.
Great motorway car, good refinement and handling. Engine wasn’t fast though. Did about 30 mpg .
Hello all
I currently own a 2015 Golf Diesel with around 35,000 miles. It’s a really nice car and haven’t had any issues whatsoever in the 12 months I’ve owned it (had 15,000 miles when I got it).
Recently I have been toying with the idea of hybrid cars but I am totally lost as to whether they would suit my needs.
I live in rural wales and do around 20,000 miles per year on mainly A and B roads. Averaging around 50mpg in total in the Golf.
I am keen to save some money (Golf is on finance at around £300 per month) and wondered about the Hybrid Yaris. I use my car mainly for work and have another car I use weekends. I am saving up for a house so every penny helps.
Any Yaris would be around £180 a month on finance.
I am aware a Yaris wouldn’t be as well kitted out as the Golf or as refined, but my car is used for work and I get 45p for every mile I do, so may pay off?
Any thoughts would be most appreciated, especially from any Hybrid owners!
Thanks Read more
As others say it's difficult to see how you're going to make any real savings by changing. Suppose if Golf's worth enough to clear finance then you might reduce your monthly outgoings but likely you'd be paying more in long term
If the Golf is getting you where you want to be without incurring clean air zone charges then I'd hang on to it. ...
Hello Again Folks,
I am sure you have heard all of this before so will try and keep the questions in one thread.... Read more
Any thoughts on executive trim
...
Hello Folks,
In the market for a XC90 with a budget of up to 20K.... Read more
Some people on here think that just because of low mileage diesels will self destruct and cause the owner eye wateringly big Bill's. Granted some will cause DPF and other issues but a lot of the problems have been ironed out now. We've had our 1.6 dci qashqai for just under a year and it does a mixture of driving but normal weekday stuff is to and from school shops ect no problems so far. According to some on here that should of broken down hundreds of times by now because its Renault underneath.
Firstly, that is a huge exaggeration!, nobody on here would expect your car to have broken down at under a year old, at least not for anything serious (and given your car is under a year old, it is perhaps a little premature to be bragging about its reliablity!)....
I made a claim with LV when someone reversed into the side of my car in a car park on 26 December or thereabouts. The other party admitted liability and my car was repaired. I recently spoke with LV insurance and about a week ago they received payment for the repair from admiral, to the tune of £1500 for a new door, and straightening a B pillar and sill, plus a loan car for several weeks as the door was not in stock. They said the excess I paid, £250, is an uninsured loss and they wrote to Admiral out of courtesy mentioning this. I have not been refunded.
Surely the way this works is that Admiral pay the full cost of repairs, and any hire/loan car, and then my insurer reimburses my excess. After all, the other party damaged my property, so I should be put in the same position as a was before the accident. Or have I got this wrong?
I will phone LV again this week, the person I spoke to didn’t sound like the most clued up person.
Aha, just found this:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/insur.../
Apparently Admiral should reimburse me and if not, I need to take legal action. Hi ho. Anyone done this? Read more
If the other party has agreed to liability don't go through your own insurance due to the risk re the excess. Go to theirs and you won't have to pay anything.The disadvantage of this is if you encounter a problem and need to escalate. You don't have any right to take their insurer to the ombudsman.
So if Admiral do not cough up, do I complain to the Financial Ombudsman? It does strike me as odd, what are insurers trying to gain by not refunding the excess at the same time as they pay my insurer for the repairs? I can't imagine anyone gives up and walks away.
I’m not one to criticise the site often but among the latest Ask HJ’s responses I found this one.
“Which small-medium sized car would you recommend as a local taxi? Hybrids are expensive so I'm thinking a petrol, with no DMF and chain driven. Better if it is non-turbo too but that isn't a deal breaker and MPG should be reasonably good.”
To which HJ answered by telling them to buy a Mazda CX-3 auto or a Honda Jazz 1.5 neither of which would be a sensible taxi or qualify with any local authority I know of. Odd reply I thought.
I’d’ve pointed them towards a nearly new Toyota Auris Hybrid Estate which is proving very popular as a taxi thanks to its proven running gear and economy. They’re not hugely costly for a hybrid and there’s none of the usual diesel reliability woe to worry about.
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No - actually it was a single decker newer bus (at the time) from around 1998-99.
Would that have been a Dennis Dart i wonder, they could accelerate at a fair old rate of knots.
Replacing corroded exhaust-manifold-to-downpipe bolts with some stainless steel studding. Didn't particularly want SS, which I know has its own problems, but just happened to have some that fits.
Seem to have lost my Pertex aluminium anti-seize (bought in Japan). Have some copper-base stuff from the UK, but don't think thats compatible with SS.... Read more
I've used coppaslip on sleeved exhaust joins with great success. I had one car that rotted its back box every couple of years, coppaslip allowed it to be replaced with ease.
Re regular back-box rotting, slightly OT, but I try and limit internal corrosion by shoving some crumpled beer can in the downpipe when the opportunity arises. My theory is this will sort-of flame spray the inside of the pipe with aluminium. I also usually add a teaspoon or so of Portland cement, for anti-acid buffering, but this time didn't have ready access to any....
We've recently had the drivers side ball joint snap on my car. Ordered a new one from Euro car parts and its 2mm too small for the car.
Have reordered another just in case the wrong part was in the box but if the new one is still too small, does anyone know if the parts from other Nissan model's would fit? Such as an Almera maybe? ... Read more
I often buy parts from ECP but the website is next to useless when trying to identify the correct item when there are multiple choices. In those situations I prefer a local motor factor where the staff know what they are doing. I've never found any of the staff in my local ECP very knowledgeable.
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I have been with a well known company for a number of years. Last year was £390. This year they want £419 and increase of nearly £30. Yet if I go online with a comparison site I can get the same insurance with the same company for £375 work that one out. Needless to say I have found the same insurance with another company for £320.