August 2023
Been browsing Autotrader which tends to be one of my favourite pastimes.
So I see a 2018 Golf Gti 7.5 5dr DSG with £16k miles for £24k. Next Feb will be 6 years old. Seems mad to me but they all a similar price or above!
I can’t imagine it would have been much more new.
Alternatively you can get a 2022 Polo Gti facelift with 12k miles for the same price. Same engine and gearbox with a few less horses.
Is the Golf Gti that good or are you buying into the Ikonic dream? Read more
My Torque wrench is a cheapo torsion beam type. Not very precise but they are more robust than the “clicky” type, which is why I brought it back from the Yook. Cant get them in Taiwan, according to the Ktown tool shops.
There isn’t clearance to use it on any bolts on the front end of the engine when its in the car, apart from the crankshaft pulley bolt, which is accessible through a port in the wheel well. I cant get a ratchet or a breaker bar on them either so its likely any torque wrench won’t fit.... Read more
An experienced mechanic will be able to judge this with practice, but for the diy amateur mechanic who wishes to avoid an expensive helicoil experience (which fortunately I have never yet had), it's wise to use a torque wrench.
Heres Mr O, torqeuing a spark plug like a pro, 6.20 in...
ICE manufacturers played (and some still play) precisely the same tricks over software updates, licensing of component manufacture, replace not repair etc. No surprise that EV are no different.
As already noted - independents will emerge, higher volume spares will be available from other suppliers, copies of manufacturer software will be traded (initially on the black market), supply of s/h parts from written off vehicles will increase....
I am a named driver on partners ins , he had an accident.
It's time to renew our policy and we need seperate ones this year, I cannot get a straight answer asto wether we both need to declare the claim or just him as he was the policy holder ? ... Read more
As I'm reading this your partner had an accident and claimed on his policy.
You are/were a named driver on that policy but had no part in the claim. ...
We had this a while back on the A12 near us. It is scary with the potential of a combined speed crash of 70 ish MPH meets 70+ MPH head on.
... Read more
>>what it should not be is directing a human being where to go,
I think that horse has bolted. I drove from west Herts to Cromer and back yesterday. I could have found my way there unaided, but I followed Waze for the most part because it knows where the congestion is.
I did overrule it a couple of times.
Of course a large goods vehicle or a caravan outfit is a different case.
I still see the technology as near-miraculous even without route planning. The amazing bit is having a map with a dot on it at your location! Pre-GPS, vast amounts of time were wasted trying to work out where we were.
Why the limit has to move from 30 MPH to 20 MPH and not to 25 MPH?
If we see numbers in km/h then... Read more
The only variance I’ve seen from the current convention is when there’s a coned off lane on a motorway and site traffic is limited to 11mph.
I’d assume that’s the critical speed at which truck/pedestrian interfaces become a whole bunch more serious.
We have at last a new car, one of the last of the previous generation Kia Sportage.
It's ok but Insurance for the car is £234 fully comp, with endless years of ncb, maximun discount.... Read more
We have two Westies - 8 & 15. Self insured. They're Westie number 4 & 5 for us. No. 3 was diagnosed diabetic @ 9. Lived for another 5 years with injections twice a day and after he pegged it I did a quick totting up of the cost - about £4,500, but it wasn't really noticeable at £50ish a month for insulin and needles. And the occasional day at the vet for blood sugar tests.
I can see why some owners like the reassurance of having insurance in place, but dogs are more likely to become ill (as opposed to accidents) as they age and that's the time premiums rocket, just as with humans. The 15 year old (16 next month) has probably cost us around £1k excluding routine servicing. A lot less than the insurance premiums would have been.
As Elekie Doc says, measure them yourself.
Worth the time removing the pads and stencil them by pressing both sides onto cardboard....
It looks as though the UK is going to end up with 3 plants Nissan Sunderland another on Teesside Freeport and the latest at Bridgewater. Here is a brief explanation of what goes into a battery from an Australian non political press.
Australian National Review - You Dig Up 500,000 Pounds of the Earth’s Crust for One EV Auto Battery!... Read more
It doesn't take long on the web to see this article is of questionable accuracy.
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Reading in this week’s AE, the report is asking the question, is ncap making our cars too safe? , new safety systems will require cars to be fitted with future updates that will include sensors that will call the police if sensors detect you’ve left your kids in the car!, a requirement that the doors and windows will still be able to be opened if the car is submerged in water, the next stage will be cameras to monitor the drivers face for distractions or tiredness,, AEB will have to include motorcycle detection, by 2026 more sensors will need to include the detection of fires and monitor drivers vital signs, isn’t it going a bit far….?, or is it a good thing? Read more
Accidents, injuries & fatalities are all showing the same underlying trend - all reducing (Covid skewed the 2020 & 2021 figures because road traffic was significantly down) since a peak in the 1960’s.
I’m not sure how a car (or any vehicle) can be deemed ‘too safe’.
Browse
Indeed so: bought by Cummins in 1972, but convinced existing customers Volvo, Scania etc that their secrets were safe and continued to receive engines to test for matching purposes.
For variable geometry turbos the first customer was Iveco, I think.