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• Self-charging batteries 27 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  The tube is rocked from side-to-side, and as the magnets slide past the coil enough electricity is generated to charge a capacitor. It?s early days yet, but the first applications are to power navigation buoys at sea, rocked by the waves. Then there is a device proposed to keep mobile telephones charged up, rocked as the owner moves about.
• How can it be so difficult to find a car 25 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  ve been trying to find a 51/02-reg Mondeo Ghia X for 2-3 weeks now. Both Joe at auctioncarbuyer and I have been looking around and could not find one that?s in good/original condition and at book price. Now, I want a top spec car, with electric, heated (leather) seats, cd changer, auto-dimming mirrors and a 2-litre engine. I am looking at both the Mondeo Ghia X and Primera SVE/T-spec.
• lifetime warranties 19 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  It must be back in the 1980's that Japanese manufacturers introduced 3 year warranties. Since then, nothing much seems to have moved on. I think Hyundai now give a 5 year warranty but I wonder if thats a marketing thing, as they try to increase market share, rather than a permanent global commitment by Hyundai.
• Nail in tyre 17 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  Evening all, took my Vectra in for a service this week and was informed afterwards that there was a nail/screw in o/s/r tyre. Tyre had not lost any pressure and dealership said tyre couldn't be repaired because of where the nail was. I've had a look at the tyre and can only see what appears to be a small nail embedded in the main tread (not sidewall) and, judging by its condition, appears to have been there for some time.
• Advice - car written off 21 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  Well, round 2 of my Corolla saga is the crash repairer thinks the car written off - Insurance Company sending engineer to confirm. Car probably worth £2,000 (2001 S but with 165k miles), so cost of repair - maybe £1500 - nearly equal to worth of the car. Advise - the car is actually very sound other than this - should I use the settlement to fix the car ? How does one put a car (legally) back on the road once fixed after a write-off ?
• Red Lights and Emergency vehicles 18 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  As someone who has found myself having to do this more than I care to remember of late, I will certainly not move through a red for an emergency vehicle...Which will be v interesting where I live, as they have just remodelled to towns main road in and out to be so narrow that there is no lateral room to manouver. A+S Constabulary and other emergency services may have a wait on their hands. Would others risk their driving record and wallet?
• Foreign Highway Codes 6 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  I drive abroad for about 4 months a year, mostly in western European countries and have always been a bit uneasy about not having an English translation of their Highway Code(s). We quite rightly expect foreign drivers in Britain to abide by our rules and it seems reasonable that we should follow theirs, but how is this to be done when the rules are incomprehensible? OK I can manage French and German, but Hungarian, Serbo-Croat or Norwegian?
• restoration/repairs 4 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  1, hi bit of advice needed really, i want to get myself a classic to restore have my eye on either a datsun 240z/260z, a triumph gt6 or a late 80's 911 only problem i have is in where to find these cars that are need of restoration? i subscribe to practical classics magazine but these cars don't come up very often and if they do they're not really in the right condition, i want one that needs a full nuts an bolt restoration form the ground up. 2, also i see alot of salvage cars about for auction and wondered how you purchase such cars as the majority are for release to motor trade only, im not qualified mechanic but am capable of fixing a car so is there anyway around this?
• Mini pistons and rings. 13 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Here\'s a subject that will have most of you racking your brains. I race a Class 1 Mini in autograss,and have just recently detonated 1 of a new set of 4 pistons.A nice little hole has appeared in the top,and to say I\'m mighty fed up would be an understatement.
• Part-ex question 5 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Hi all, I have just done a deal on a Mini Cooper S from a main dealer and have agreed a part-ex value subject to visual inspection etc, no problems there as car is as described. Part-ex is a 52 plate scenic and the deal they have given me is about £750 less than I would have expected.
• 911 issues 26 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  Start in a couple of months. I propose to sell my Leon Cupra (53 reg, 41k miles, serviced by SEAT every 10k), and buy a 1980's Porsche 911 with the proceeds, largely because I can, and it may be the last chance I have to own one (possibility of kids etc). I reckon I'll get between £10k and £11k for the Leon- there are 911s at this price, but I won't have much of a slush fund if there are problems.
• Growing consumer debt 6 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  He also wanted to put a 'cherished number' on it so I helped him sort out the DoT paperwork. The number was of the form XYZ 123A (i.e. the old style introduced in the 1960's). The number didn't look anything special at all to me - but the 'XYZ' bit was his initials. I was staggered to learn that he'd paid just short of £1000 for this number - and borrowed the money to buy it!
• Strange sight 9 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  Was on the M40, 1 junction before High Wycombe going East/Southbound, when I spotted in my rear view mirror some police bikes just over half a mile behind. They all had the blues going and as they got closer I noticed that there was a blue S-Type Jag in the middle of them. As they got closer I counted 6 bikes, 2 at the front, 1 either side and 2 at the back. They were taking up about a lane and a half between them and going well over a ton, probably 120+ as I was doing a good speed and they went away from me like I was sat still.
• Mondeo 1.8 Zetec Timing belt or chain? 26 Jul 2005 (Forum)
  Since having acquired the car recently, I decided the check when the timing belt was changed only to be advised that Mondeo?s don?t have timing belts, but have timing CHAINS. Being a novice on technical matters, could anyone let me know whether this is true or not and if it does indeed have timing chains, do they have to be changed?
• Seat Ibiza Burnt out Valve 11 Jul 2005 (Forum)
  Car is 2002 1.4 8 valve 75 BHP unit so guess head needs to come off for inspection and replacemnet of valve (s) car has done 54K. My question is what causes a valve to burn out, I assume valve clearance if too small can do anything else I need to be aware of. No idea what this is going to cost to repair do you ?
• Peugeot 306. Vibration & noise.. 6 Jul 2005 (Forum)
  I'm probably being thick/gullible here, but.... My Pug 306 is nearly 6 years old, 65k miles, and having the first round of mechanical bits replaced, exhaust,...
• Removing Ford Fiesta Door Hinge 7 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  Removing Door Hinges I?m trying to change the driver?s door on a J92 Ford Fiesta Mk3. I?ve stripped the door down and removed everything so that the door is only connected to the car by the two hinges. I?ve bought the correct hinge pin removal tool from Sykes Pickavant, it fits but I can?
• Peugeot 307 knock 5 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  i get a knocking sound on nearly every right turn.I have heard about problems with anti-roll bars on 307's, could this be it? Motor has been into dealers but they couldnt find anything wrong. It has been suggested that the exhaust could be knocking something underneath but this doesnt really explain why it only happens in the wet?!?
• Getting 13 months MOT 3 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  I knew that you could present your car for a MOT, a calender month prior to the expiry date and have the new MOT run for 12 months from that expiry date (assuming you present the current MOT and make the request). Therefore you could have effectively have valid MOT(s) for 13 months. However, if you have more than a calender month to run, you don't get ANY "grace", the new MOT will simply run from the test date. I would have expected the VOSA to give you a similar grace period as above i.e. a month, 4 weeks or whatever - I wouldn't expect any longer than 1 month though.
• Daewoo - I want to be alarmed!! 24 May 2005 (Forum)
  My driver's door lock gave up the ghost over the weekend - it still locks and unlocks when using the passenger door - but I think the barrel inside the lock has collapsed. So, rather than paying a VW dealer mega £££'s to sort out the lock, I've been toying with the idea of getting an alarm with a remote locking interface. I know it'll only leave me with one point of entry in the event of failure - but I can't help thinking my hard earned cash is better off being spent on an alarm rather than lining a dealership's pockets!