or people who spend £30k or £40k+ on a nice vehicle, then fit cheap ditchfinders when it requires new tyres.

Surely if somebody wanted to nick a MG Midget we would a dangerous criminal on our hands?

Yep,telling an old man who has braked and accelerated with his right foot his whole life to suddenly switch to left foot braking when moving to an auto car is bordering on insanity.

Dam - you beat me to it :-)

Yes there are never exceptions in life are there? Duh.

I had a 2009 Volvo S40 auto fitted with Powershift box. I do not know if Volvo improved what was in effect a Ford box but in the four years I had the car it behaved faultlessly with instant pickup and undetectable changes. I now have a V40 with a TC box and, while it works fine, I do not like the slip on pick up.

It depends on how the car is used - if most of your journeys are on faster-flowing roads and not much stop-start work in heavy traffic, then a dual clutch gearbox should work fine for the most part, as it's being used for the purpose it was designed for - efficient gearcharges and for performance. They were never designed for the latter or for hauling trailers/heavy loads.

Or you could've just been lucky. It's not as though every dual clutch gearbox breaks or work terribly, even those that don't have the fluid replaced. If they did, it might've bankrupted all the firms using them over warranty claims!

Indeed, mon General. Though kudos to HJ for participating on the forum, it's interesting to see which comments he declines to reply to.

If you should change your oil every 12 months irrespective of mileage because "it goes off", should oil come with "use by dates" on the containers and should garages confirm that they have used oil with at least say 15 months of "useable life left"? I have seen some labels that say use within 5 years of production date - which would imply that oil does not just go off.

Every type of oil 'goes off' when it is subjected to thousands of thumps from pistons and heat exchanges from internal combustions, a bit like mayonaisse. That used to be an egg and olive oil until it gets subjected to....oh I give up!!

Edited by IrishNeil on 08/06/2019 at 15:50

Re:Speeds of discontent, Yes, motorists from other EU are chased for fines, a friend was sent an invoice for a toll (Dartford Crossing). Not sure if that is a benefit (?) that will be lost after Brexit.

If I were the government, I'd completely do away with that toll, and, to be frank, as many bridge tolls on major routes as possible - we probably lose more in lower productivity due to traffic jams caused by them being there than they make in revenue, and it would be better for the environment (vehicles moving in higher gears at higher speeds [even though you don't pay at the booth any more, you still have to slow down] - less pollution).

Then there would no need to 'go after' foreign HGV owners, at least for that crime.