February 2025

Stephen jordan

Wonder if someone can help

Have noticed that the right wheel seems to shake slightly ... Read more

elekie&a/c doctor

Had something similar on a Mondeo . Thought the suspension was hanging off. Turned out to be an out of shape tyre.

Alan Goodman

Hello all, hope you are all doing well.
Can I have a little info or any heads up? Anything greatly appreciated.
Saturday, when I pressed the clutch pedal down, it made a horrible grinding sound, but gears still changed okay.
I called the AA and was told it was the "Thrust Bearing" and need to get a new clutch and flywheel.
It calmed down a bit and by Monday had all but gone. Then in the evening, I pushed the clutch pedal down to start and it struggled to fire up, but, alas it did.
I've had clutch failure before, spectacularly!! so booked it into a reputable garage for Clutch & Flywheel replacement. £1250
Thinking I could hang on until Friday, the clutch went on Tuesday whilst stuck on a small hill behind 3 other cars.
AA came again, towed me back and told me "Clutch pressure plate/release bearing collapsed causing pedal to be stuck half way down"
I still managed to start the engine but could not change any gears.
AA towed me home and today they were going to charge me £120 to tow the car literally 3 minutes down the road! Sod that! I have RAC on my Insurance and got them to tow me.
RAC chap tried to start the car, clutch pedal down to the floor, would not start! The engine "warm up" light came on. (Looks like a Pretzel sort of!)
He hooked it up to a computer and came up with a reading of a duff starter motor sensor!
So the car is now in the garage awaiting surgery, I'm now cacking myself that there will be another hefty bill on top of that for a starter motor.
To my knowledge, I thought that the car would start again once the new clutch was fitted. The AA chap even said, the engine wont start because of the broken part.
Any pointers, greatly appreciated.
Thank you. Read more

edlithgow

Its BROKEN.

Stop trying to drive it

AndrewAUK99

I have an old VW 2005 Passat estate and I want to update the stereo so we can all connect our android and apple phones.

It's a radio and separate cd which I understand is double din and when I looked the cost of a decent replacement plus fitting was a few hundred... Read more

paul 1963

Why bother? According to your post on the general discussion page your after another car.

Checkup

I have been issued a NIP for driving 40mph in a 50mph zone. The reason is that a 30mph sign was not visible due to fog, therefore I had no notice or any chance to slow down. This was at 4:30 in the morning in heavy fog (21/22 Jan).

If I appeal the ticket I'll have to go to court and argue that I was speeding but the mitigating factor was heavy fog, which doesn't sound too good. Is there any point?... Read more

Andrew-T

<< Possibly the 30 sign was one of the temporary sheet metal on a metal stand type (as used for roadworks) which are less visible than gantry ones. Still a failure of observation, which has been noted as possibly being 'due care and attention'. >>

Would a speed camera take account of something as impermanent as a roadworks speed limit sign ?

CCFCFAN

My Son had an accident last night that did not involve anyone else or any other vehicles, no damage to any road signs etc. He had passengers in the car but they are OK but the car is a write off from what I can see. He already has a write off from 18 months ago.

What can I do in terms of his insurance. He wants to just get rid of car and not involve the insurance as two write offs will finish his driving (which will be a relief to me) plus he is likely to get nothing back financially with excess etc.l

Just looking for some advice on what I should do.

Thanks. Read more

Engineer Andy

He will, under the terms of his policy and any future insurance declarations, be obliged to declare the incident to any Insurance companies or comparison sights.

It's a simple case of "Does he fee lucky that no insurance company will find out about his true record?"...

JonestHon

I found myself a bit confused about how to decide when a tyre tread is getting close to the limit.

When I use my digital depth gage and measure from the tyre surface to the top of the rubber wear indicators I have 2.1mm..... Read more

Adampr

From the surface to the bottom of the tread.

SLO76

Had my renewal through this morning on the Merc, which is a 2.0 Turbo C200 Estate. £338 with younger SWMBO on the policy too. Not bad actually, and even shopping around made only a token gesture of a difference so I’ll just stick with Halifax insurance because of their sensible renewal policy.

Car is performing without fault and continues to be a very comfortable companion on my morning commutes. Read more

SLO76

That’s an amazing deal SLO. My similar car E 320 D is double what you pay because of my age . So there’s one down side about being a baby boomer !

Regarding the MB Estate . ...

Lrac

Just purchased a new set of decent quality rubber mats and as expected they do smell quite a bit. I don't need to use them urgently so i have put them in the garden to "vent".

Any suggestions for dealing with this issue i.e jet wash etc? Read more

badbusdriver

Personally I am wary of jet/pressure washing anything containing rubber.

I used to pressure wash rubber (and carpet) mats all the time in a previous life as a car valeter, never experienced any negative effects....