April 2019
Has any one else noticed that hedgerows are thining out significantly and bushes and small trees are dying back. I live near a thick copse of natural hedgerows and trees and they are looking rather sad. Also noticed a huge amount of insects flying around and eating at the leaves. Should we be worried?? Read more
I was wondering what others felt about car colours and how they show road film/water marks and are less attractive to birds pooping on them!
My thoughts having had most colours is this
Silver - very good for both
Mettalic dark grey , bad for road film good for birds avoiding
White - good for both
Black - terrible for both
Dark colours - terrible for both
Not saying Im right of course but worthy of a discussion maybe?
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In all fairness had they spent a bit more time and engineering development on the Princess made it a hatchback, then it could have been a winner. Once you fixed the rust issues. I enjoyed my 2litre hl2 auto. Good car.
Had an issue crop up today on my 2015 Focus, the central locking AND electric window have all failed on the nearside rear passenger door. The door seems electrically dead. All other doors and body systems appear unaffected. Car is under warranty but was wondering if anyone has encountered a multi electrical failure isolated to only one door before? I'm guessing it's either a connector loose or a wiring loom fault. Car has only done 5k miles. Read more
Each door has its own control module that operates window and locking functions. It could be a faulty module or wiring to it.
I'm considering buy a car from private. ad posted to gumtree. The guy at the meeting is not the owner in the logbook. Apparently the actual owner is a friend not living in uk anymore. I've asked to rename the owner on registration document, otherwise I won't buy the car and he's done it online and will wait for new logbook with his name. that said, the logbook he showed me didn't have the V5C/3 part.
Can anybody tell what that would mean? When I asked him, he of course said it wasn't relevant. it seems that paet is filled in case of sale of the car dealer, putting it to the insurance company or to fight. What does that mean? Read more
Don't just walk away - run away!
OK HJ column 20/04/19 was on site late yesterday but disappeared today?? Read more
I think sometimes HJ posts them partially finished and then the link gets changed.
I’ve been searching for a first car for my lad.
Found a nice low mileage Corsa, only thing that puzzled me was the MOT.
It had an mot in September last year and the DVLA site said mot was valid till Sept 2020.
However the car had an mot in March ‘19 and failed on a leaky shock. The DVLA site showed this too.
I would have thought that the mot expiry date would now be void and the more recent failed mot would stand but appears not to be the case. Read more
The longest period an MOT can last is thirteen months so an MOT in September 2018 could not go beyond this October. It makes me wonder if the car has been cloned. If things do not look right walk in the opposite direction!
The Mongolia special is IMHO the best ever adventure involving the three lads.
But the real star is the kit car they named John.... Read more
I'd have enjoyed it more if it wasn't faked so much.
They weren't dropped "in the middle of nowhere with no roads"....
This weeks Autocar reviews comfortable cars going back 40 years.
They include the Citroen GS, Range Rover 2001, 2CV etc.... Read more
Can you come up with a few more suggestions ?
Yes, the 406 has a good ride. The best long distance rides I have had in a non-luxury car were on Citroen Xantia and C5 with the fancy hydro suspension; but I gather this type of suspension was troublesome so can't be recommended especially as they get old....
Hi All
I bought a cheap Mazda 3 1.6 TS as a second car, mainly for the missus to potter about in. Everything looked fine when I picked it up, has 10 months MOT with no advisories on recent MOT, 118k miles done, full service history, drives well (or so I thought during the test drive), a couple of minor things that need doing, and there are a few scrapes and dents on the bodywork, but for only £500 I wasn't particularly worried about the cosmetic condition.... Read more
Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.
Our son came around to have a look at the car today, he's a trained mechanic and he says that the shocks look fine, rebound is good, but without getting it on ramps he can't be 100% sure. However, he did notice that neither of the two front wheels had balance weights on them, which he thought was very odd as even though it's possible, it's highly unlikely that wheel weights won't be needed when balancing wheels. ...
Car started to lose power on way home, it was as if it was losing power 1 cylinder at a time. got home, found. the plastic inlet manifold was loose. fitted new seals. tried starting car it eventually started but running very roughly and would not tick over, as though lacking power. during the short time running it was making poping noises and slight bangs thru the air cleaner as was obvious back pressure. it sounds like what I would call a timing issue on an old car. Can anyone Help me out Please I am at a loss. JIM Read more
Looks like you have a massive air leak with uncontrolled air entering the engine. Are you sure all the pipes have been refitted after removal of the manifold. ? Anything holding open the throttle plate ? Are the seals that have been replaced fitted accurately?
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I would like fewer roadside hedges. Driving along European country roads is often more pleasant than the UK because you can actually see the relatively hedgeless countryside. In Devon and Cornwall tunnel vision ceases to be a handicap. Us Brits also have a tree fetish. Many old country houses are blighted by leafy monsters looming too near the building. The National Trust is disgracefully guilty of allowing spectacular views from many of its lower level Lake District paths to disappear. A classic example of its neglect is Waddesdon Manor, a grand house built on a hill to enjoy 360 degree views which must have been fabulous 100yrs ago but have now gone thanks to the immense arboreal weeds surrounding the house. Some unfortunate people hardly see the sun from their cold shaded houses because of huge and often ugly common forest trees they are not allowed to remove thanks to TPO-happy council officials.