June 2023
Hi folks
... Read more
Beware that summer is a great season for collecting fines from errant motorists, and Spain and the UK not only allow licence exchanges (recently reintroduced) but also exchange driver data so that fines can be pursued. There are fixed and mobile cameras aplenty, and even traffic police helicopters. You have been warned!
As of May 2021, all urban areas with one lane of traffic in each direction default to 30 km/h (19 mph), regardless of signage, although many towns now have a blanket 30 km/h. If the pavement and road are level (i.e. without kerbs) it's 20 km/h (13 mph).
On leaving a built-up area, watch out for the sign that looks like our NSL (white circle with diagonal black stripe), as it's no such thing! It means "end of previous restriction", which may be a lower speed or a ban on overtaking or parking. xn--sealesdetrafico-zqb.com/fin-prohibicion/ The "previously banned" action is unfortunately shown as a pale grey image that isn't always clear.
Warning triangles (two for Spanish registered vehicles, otherwise one) are gradually being replaced by a much safer "Help Flash" battery-powered magnetic roof beacon, which you can pick up for about €20 in an accessory shop. Hi-viz jackets are required for anyone exiting a broken down vehicle.
¡Felices vacaciones! Read more
from memory Spain used to require drivers who wear glasses to driver to have a spare pair with them, wonder if that is still enforced?
The requirement for a second pair of specs has long gone (owing to pressure from wearers of complex, expensive lenses such as myself!), so they are now merely "recommended", along with the spare "fan belt" and replacement set of bulbs. All documents have to be carried in the car (insurance, MoT if applicable, V5 (plus permission of finance/leasing company/employer if car is not owned directly) and, of course, licence. A paper licence must be accompanied by the 1949 version of the IDP.
One more change I forgot to mention - if overtaking a cyclist on a multi-lane road (e.g. two lanes in each direction, regardless of town or country), it's not enough to give 1.5 m space, the driver physically has to move into the other lane and back again, indicating before and after the manoeuvre, even on an otherwise empty road.
And don't forget the UK sticker, as the pre-Brexit EU plates are, strictly speaking, not valid.
I have a 2016 Hone Civic Tourer. Passenger side rear indicator is not working. Front and mirror both ok but its doing that really fast clicking and flashing. Whenever I've had this before its been the bulb.
... Read more
its a right pain if you need to replace the unit lol, no way they wires are coming out in tacked
Wires should go through rubber grommet in body and along the inside of unit and easy to pull away ...
Got a fine of £90 for straying into a ULEZ. To be fair TFL accepted my reasons of getting totally lost trying to find the M3 and my attempts to create an account and set a payment method. They dropped the fine and recognised that I did my best to sort it out. Read more
Well the one chance was appreciated, apparently the ULEZ will expand in August and I think you can view the details on line. However I will never go near London by car again. Other cities will probably follow suit soon.
Car dealer jailed for ‘clocking’ 2,750,000 miles from 32 vehicles
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/hampshire-port...l... Read more
I find it hard to believe he 'clocked' 2,750,000 miles from a mere 32 vehicles., this would mean an average reduction of 85,937 miles.
He was said to be selling to dealers, how would they not notice the discrepancies?...
Although I imagine this might be common in other parts of the country, I have noticed a local driving school using an MG4. I was a bit surprised at first but then it made perfect sense. The majority of new cars are now automatic and many young drivers will never drive a manual and may even be looking at an EV as their first car. Also cheap running costs for the school as driving school cars don't do huge daily mileages and a lot of it is in towns so ideal EV territory. Read more
My daughter is learning now. Manual Fiesta as she will be driving a manual once she passes.
Wales is spending some £29.1 million on signage for its new policy some £10 per sign for the 3million people who live here. A petition against the new policy reached some 56k signatures before the Welsh Gov asked for it to be withdrawn as they are now obliged to debate this again because of the strength of opposition. If left up I sense that the petition would have become an embarrassment. Whether it changes the policy is probably doubtful. In my area there are already a lot of 20 limits mainly residential but some on what would be considered through routes. To be honest driving these roads going from 30 to 20 for mile after is a chore for most drivers and tailgating is the norm. If you are at the front of one of these queues it is almost embarrassing but what can you do with speed cameras lurking and it is law. For those living in the rest of the UK i would not get too complacent because the days of enjoyable motoring if it even exists today could be lost to you soon. The car has become public enemy number one for more reasons than 20limits Read more
As the subject is driving at 20 mph it is this i am referring to " the enjoyment of driving at that speed" And my comment is also directed to drivers in the rest of the country who will increasing no doubt have to put up with more of the same,
Do you get much joy driving at 30mph? I don't think I've ever driven through at town at that speed and though 'wow, that was joyful'....
News that Volvo are with drawing all their PHEV variants from the UK market to focus on achieving 50% of its sales being fully electrified by 2025.
Will other manufacturers follow suit? Read more
I suspect the price of a PHEV with its duplicated power systems is not longer worth the money spent for its usage. These type of cars have never made sense to me.
Nor me - but the superb Toyota GR010 hybrid has recently consistently trounced ICE cars at that supreme test of motor cars, the 24hr le Mans race, although Ferrari might well end its run of winning in about five hours time.......
Driving down the M5 today there was an incident with a car facing the wrong way on the hard shoulder, all three emergency services in attendance. The warning signs were on no more than a mile before and the End sign only half a mile afterwards. I think in 40 years of motoring this is the only time I've ever seen the warning signs used properly. Normally you get a warning 5 miles beforehand and often the incidents have gone before you get there. Read more
Aesop many centuries ago wrote the fable "The Boy who cried Wolf" - hence the phrase "cry wolf". About a shepherd boy who cried wolf so often that when there really was wolf no one from the village believed him.
That's exactly what happened to car alarms - and house alarms too, come to that. So many were going off for no important reason.
Following the disaster that was my brother's Mazda3 which is 99.9% to be refunded, he's looking for another car again (must be automatic) and has his eyes set on mk 7.5 2.0 Golf GT TDI Bluemotion Tech (67 plate with around 60k on the clock and FSH from VW), cost is just under 15K
Would this be a wise choice or is there another trim he should consider for upto £15k? Just a bit of background here (it's a long read) www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=178423... Read more
As I recall the issues with the Mazda related to battery drain which turned out to be an aftermarket tracker fitted by the previous owner and nothing to do with the car itself. Plus I believe Mazda pointed out some poor quality paint repairs (believed done by the supplying non-franchise dealer), but again this isn’t a fault with the make or model, a thorough examination of the car before purchase should’ve shown this problem, which is very common on ex lease and PCP stock. I stand by my recommendation of a Mazda 3 petrol auto in this case and feel proven correct by the genuine reliability woes suffered with the Golf DSG which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone as a used buy without backing of a full VW warranty cover the full term of ownership.
If the crash avoidance tech is an issue then he’s not going to get on with any modern car either. If I were you I’d step back from advising any further because I suspect any modern car will be either unreliable or he won’t get on with the tech and you’ll get it in the ear for your help. Sometime you just can’t do right. I’d have a Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv auto or a Toyota Corolla Hybrid now that prices on them have dropped a bit as supply has increased, but the Toyota doesn’t really like bing driven hard, it’s not a car for the enthusiastic driver so a long test drive is advisable.
Browse
Whilst I changed to them in 2018 from Dunlop SP Sport Fastresponse summer tyres (which were excellent), all season tyres are normally somewhere between 25-40% more expensive than summers, particualrly for 'sportier' sizes....