July 2023
I posted a while ago about my brother who eventually bought a Mazda 3 from a national dealer. The car was in Mazda's workshop for most of the time he had it as the battery kept draining. Now he's got his refund, here's what happened...
He bought the car from Arnold Clark and almost daily the battery would die. It had gone to Mazda for investigation multiple times but they couldn't find anything. Eventually he complained to the finance company who agreed a full refund and compensation. Meanwhile, Mazda found the problem(s)..... A tracker fitted to the vehicle.... Read more
When I first saw this I thought it must be a joke, April 1 perhaps. Then Scottish Widows sprung to mind or Sir Walter Raleigh and then as a last resort it must be the Klingons Starship hiding device. But no it is a thermal blanket for your EV to help keep its range steady. Someone actually invented this!
Desperate electric car owners turn to thermal cloak to help boost battery range (msn.com)... Read more
For those interested the attached is a good report. Too early to give any answers as not enough EVs out there. They seem to conclude though that hybrids because of two power trains will be most likely to top the stats
Electric Car Fire Risks Look Exaggerated, But More Data Required For Definitive Verdict (forbes.com)...
Hello everyone,
I live in Belgium and I recently bought a BMW 7 Series E38 at an auction. The car had no paper present (no conformity certificate, no logbook, ..) but I learned it was a UK car before, registered in the UK. ... Read more
I strongly doubt that there would have been a conformity certificate when an E38 was new but you could try BMW in Munich.
Edit: looks like it may have been introduced by a 2007 directive, 2007/46/EC....
Hi there,
I files a small claims last October (say October 1st) against a company and they were ordered to pay me damages "within 14 days".
They know my bank details because they were my landlord, and I had sent them my bank details many times in the emails leading up to the Claim.
Let's say they owe me £1000. What kind of interest can I charge them?
Is it the "statutory interest": 8% + base rate?
Since the base rate has changed, how should I calculate the interest?
-14 Oct to 03 Nov: 1000* (1+ 8% + 2.25%) * number of days / 365 (base rate is 2.25%)
-04 Nov to 15 Dec: 1000* (1+ 8% + 3.00%) * number of days / 365 (base rate is 3.00%)
and so on...
Is that correct? Read more
I think you are only entitled to interest if a court awards it.
AIUI interest on judgment debts, or at least some categories of judgment debts, is automatic.
Serious money going into this and the Chinese are involved. Aston Martin now owned by China edging their bets. May be all those unsold EVs reported recently has got them worried Read more
GM presently has 4 EVs on sale, GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Bolt and Chevrolet Bolt EV
So Bolt and Bolt EV are both EV's?...
www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/11/paris-charge...y
If that happens in London, will it affect a lot of Chelsea tractors, or could they afford it anyway, or would they care?... Read more
No need for extra parking charges,given cars switched off don't produce any pollution or damage the road.
the motor has to move into and out of the space. so its still causing damage and the exhaust is still throwing out the fumes for a while at standstill. ...
Hi
Above car has erratic idle and slight misfire. Generally drives ok in higher ranges with full pulling power.... Read more
Do a italian tune up use third gear on the motorway run it for roughly 30 mins
Since the car been doing short runs this may help in burning out the carbon.
Hi all, my main fan kicks in quite often, no overheating.
Temp gauge reaches middle and stays there.... Read more
Not any more . Most cars these days have “smart “ cooling systems that can divert/ control the flow of coolant through the engine . This means that more ct sensors are needed to monitor the temperatures in various locations. Recently looked at an Audi A5 , think it had at least 4 sensors.
Hi all. In the last couple of days the cars started juddering when accelerating. We've noticed it happens when you release the accelerator slightly and put back on.
It doesn't happen all the time though, it's intermittent.... Read more
Clutch and dmf are 100% mechanical, so there’s no diagnostic facility. Maf sensors are generally very reliable, they either work or don’t work.
Clearly we know that we cannot have the phone in our hands but the wording it uses is according to gov.uk is as follows -
It’s illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet, or any device that can send or receive data, while driving or riding a motorcycle. This means you must not use a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline.... Read more
The legislation actually says this:
(6) For the purposes of this regulation—...


Sad to say a sign of the times. I used to work for a top engineering consultancy (by numbers of staff and reputation), then the long-standing directors (who, bar one [the MD, an accountant] were all engineers sold out to a huge US firm (who has since bought two other previously top 10 firms in the industry) and made a packet....