December 2001
Why is there such a huge variation between Glasses and Caps black book ?
BCA's Auctionview has the following up for auction :
ALFA ROMEO GTV 2.0 16V TS Saloon, SILVER, 2 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 36870 Miles, Marginal.
T929CNV Registered 31-03-1999 Peterborough
19-12-2001
Cap Valuation :
Retail: £11895
Trade: £10400
Glasses Valuation :
Ret: £13994
Trd: £11746
Basically Black books Retail is equivalent to Glasses trade.
Must be a nightmare if you have to rely on these guides to value P/ex's and stock you are not familar with would be very easy to overvalue a car.
Suppose the best way to make a living would be to buy at Cap and sell at Glass's. A tidy £ 3600 mark-up on the above car. Read more
I have a 1999 (last of old model) Punto with 7,500 miles on the clock. The footbrake failed catastrophically i.e. it went flat to the floor with no prior warning. Then when I eventually managed to stop with the aid of the handbrake I was able to just pull the footbrake back. It returned to the normal working position with the brakes just as good as they were before the failure as if nothing untoward had happened! Fiat say they found no problem with the braking system, but have replaced the Master Cylinder as a 'precautionary measure'???! They won't tell me against what.
So, I wonder has anyone else had a similar problem?
Thanks, John Gilbertson. Read more
John
The other cause of this 'complete failure followed by apparently perfect brakes' syndrome is water contaminated brake fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the air, which is the main reason for the recommended 2 yearly change.
With hard use of the brakes this water can boil, causing a steam bubble in the system. As a result the pedal goes to the floor. Later when it's cooled down and the steam has condensed then the brakes feel fine.
Seems unlikely on a '99 car, but it's possible.
Regards
John
I have a 00' IS200. Has anyone out there experienced difficulty engageing 2nd gear when cold, that later improves when the car is warm ?
I know that the there is a problem with corrosion of the alloy wheels. I have just had a new set fitted, and, despite regular cleaning, as soon as the roads were salted the wheels started to blister. Is there a way of preventing this without continually changing them under warranty ?
Is it me or are the headlights not very bright ? My 1989 Nissan Micra is better on dipped beam ! Read more
Keith raises a useful point which had me thinking back to a 105 Series Alfa I ran in the seventies. With that car you couldn't use 2nd until the box was warm.
HJ
Hi All,
I'd like a bit of advice on tyre safety.
My wife's company car has just had a front tyre replaced. As a result it now has a pair of 2 year old Dunlops on the back and 1 band new Dunlop on the front alongside a 7 year old Goodyear. All are 185/60R14.
I was astounded that the lease company would not fork out for a matching pair on the front for obvious reasons of safety.
I have complained about this but am simply told that its legal, which I don't think is good enough.
The lease company is Zenith and the tyre was fitted by Kwik-Fit.
Regards
Tom
PS.
The reason the Goodyear at the front was replaced was due to a sidewall hernia - probably due to its age. Read more
> I'm not sure if UK insurance companies are as devious as US ones, but some US vehicle insurers include a clause in the policy which invalidates the
> policy if the vehicle is "being operated outside the
> manufacturers recommendations". By driving the vehicle when the above applies, your wife
> could be committing an offence since I would guess that she is uninsured technically speaking.
Usually not "safe and roadworthy". i.e. it is quite possible that having no MOT will not invalidate part of your insurance.
Her "legally required" insurance is not invalidated. AD maybe, but that would be her company's problem, not her's.
As an aside, UK Insurers had the word "devious" added to the OED especially for their own use.
> Secondly, your wife could get her company Fleet Manager to contact the lease company. They might change their mind as an act of goodwill if they think they might lose business.
Careful. 10 to 1 this is not the lease company's decision. It is a very good chance that this was negotiated with, and agreed by, your wife's company in order to reduce leasing costs.
Whilst your approach is right, the correct people to deal with are almost certainly her company's fleet manager, not the lease company. If they have agreed something putting her in a position of danger or risk, they could get cremated.
I think that what you will find is that they cannot refuse to have that tyre replaced, although the lease company can pass the cost to her company and in turn, depending on contract, they can pass it to her. You'd need to dig out her employment contract or company car agreement to be sure.
Are you sure there is no perishing or bulging on the offending tyre which would make a tyre dealer say it should be replaced in its own right ?
Of course, if in the course of normal driving she drove over a nail and punctured the tyre, then it would be replaced without question. Not that I would in any way suggest that this was done on purpose.
M.
this might sound like a bit of a pedantic question but i have an SRi 150 - 2.2 engine i cant find in the handbook any reference to tyre pressure for this model. just list 2.0 and 2.5, the supplement isnt much use either. checked on Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli web sites and they are so out of date its untrue. Dealer just give me the "use the 2.0 it'll be about right" but since roads are a bit crappier now i am getting a bit more wheelspin as well. oh and the tyres are almost brand new
any thoughts from similar owners, or ideas as to where i can get this info???? Read more
Let all the air out - makes a Vectra look better and you wont notice any difference in the handling.
JC
Dont be tempted to buy a Toyota Yaris without taking the new 2002 spec Vauxhall Corsa for a spin. The Vauxhall is well built, has a superb sound system, a high quality paint finish and drives like a much bigger car. In my opinion the Toyota Yaris is very flimsy, has poor quality seats, an exceptionally poor sound system and is overpriced, considering the GLS version does not even have alloys as standard.
RJ Read more
I don't think that, for most drivers, alloy's DO actually do very much. Some think they look better than wheel trims, but the great thing with wheel trims is you can spray them if you catch them on a high kerb. You can't with alloys. However, more to the point - if you want a particular spec....perhaps central locking/side airbags/split rear seat/air-con - you often seem to have to buy the one that's got alloys on it. So the decision's made for you.
I wanted a 5 door Yaris Auto and it only comes as CDX.....with alloys. The 3 door Auto. has the wheel trims.
I've yet to read a bad review of the Yaris. It's been Car of the year, Engine of the Year etc. etc. and comes top of pretty well everything - including J D Power.
Parts & servicing aren't too bad, insurance is OK, mpg is good on manuals, excellent NCAP results....I could go on all night....
But won't.
if you ever wondered where our money went as motorists, £100 million goes to the EU every day, and the only thing we get for that is - we are allowed to be in the EU. it makes you wish we could pullout of the EU, doesnt it. Read more
because of the EU we have many stupid rulings, like the ones saying that people can keep rare and dangerous animals in ordinary houses, because of the EU my next door neighbour can keep a poisonous snake, and when you think that we live next to TWO schools, imagine if that went missing. anybody can keep an owl now, and what with harry potter out at the cinema i can see many owls being dumped in the future.
AND NOW WE HAVE LOST THE POUND AND OUNCE,
WE DO NOT WANT TO LOSE THE POUND AND PENNY.
Someone sent me an E-mail; that I dumped by mistake; asking about the Inside outside Temp Compass I was given for Xmas...this is the link for it...
www.herringtoncatalog.com/m698.html#
I did the install yesterday and the only fiddlley bit was the outside Temp Probe... Its working fine and Black Ice warning is a real + in the winter.
~R Read more
I saw a prog' on TV yesterday that talked about taking a driving test in the Scilly Isles. The main island has only 3 roads, totaling 8 miles in lenght.
A read too that you can take a test on Barra {in the Outer Hebs}, only 1 road - about 6 miles in lenght, mainly single track.
Passing your test test in either location is the same as passing elsewhere in the UK, How can this be safe for mainland roads? Read more
if i dont have a licence, then i will be just like you wont i.
Come on, guys and girls, I'm not getting enough response here. Please go to the top news item and use the link to make your nominations in the six categories.
HJ Read more
Cars of the year.
Car of the year - Civic type R - most performance for 16k ever. Mini close second but not enough grunt.
Sensible Car - 330D beemer - fast - good residuals & econ.
Dream Car - RUF 911 would do.
Used car - a good 98 Impreza for 10k or an A8 if you're a bit portly.
Used banger - a citroen of some sort
Worst car - dunno, hope I don't find out.
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Steve, I think the opposite is true, a trade price is easy to obtain. You pick up the phone, ring a number of established trade buyers, get the car underwritten/sold, and it is valued /sold within minutes, and accurately. A retail price however, is a different matter. The buying public are fickle, and cars are also optimistically overpriced to allow some room for movement. How much is actually realised at the end of the day is not usually available. HJ usually has a good idea though.
Mike