From the Autotrader website.

"Man gets stolen car back - in better condition

20 December 2002
A Londoner whose old banger was stolen got it back - in better condition than before it was taken.
The Sun reports that the F-reg Nissan Sunny, which belonged to 25-year old Jonny Newman from West Hampstead, had a broken temperature gauge, fuel gauge and stereo when it was stolen, and it also overheated whenever it went over 40 mph. But four weeks after it was taken, police spotted it on the road and arrested the driver, returning the car to Jonny - who found that not only had its problems been sorted out, it had even had its engine tuned for a bit more go.

The police told Jonny that the car may have been prepared for use as a getaway car. Jonny said: "I was expecting it to be a real wreck, but it was better than ever... whoever took the Sunny obviously liked their cars and had treated the old girl well. I've done very well out of the whole incident."

That's one happy ending for a stolen car story, and here's another - a violent London gang responsible for stealing £350,000-worth of cars were jailed yesterday for a total of 80 years.

The seven youths, aged 17-20, stole 19 BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and Subarus, forcing their owners to hand over keys and carrying out 'car-jack' attacks, using guns and knifes and, in some cases, forcing their way into victims' homes to get their car keys.

The Snaresbrook court heard that the gang had modelled themselves on gangsters from violent films, and had imitated scenes of car-jackings they had seen on screen. They were also found guilty of robbing two betting shops, a building society, a post office and a supermarket."


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Hi,
I wondered has anyone come across this problem with their diesel Metro, AX, Saxo, etc. Occasionally when turning on the ignition the glowplug light doesn't extinguish until the car is started (as if a temperature sensor isn't working) and then when the engine is running you can hear the relay cutting in & out, at idle this causes the engine speed to change (I assume due to electrical load). As far as I can tell the problem seems related to the water temperature sensor (green one on the front right of the cyl. head), I've tried 'tightening' the connections on this but it hasn't made any difference, I suppose it could be either a faulty sensor or a broken wire. What I really need is a good description of how the cold start system works, I've read what I can find in the Saxo owners manual but it's still a bit short on detail.

Merry Christmas and thanks! Read more

I've just bought a 1996 Audi A4 TDI (reading 69,000miles)which pulls like a train and drives really nicely but once it's warmed up the idle becomes rough. It's as if a pot keeps missing though it never stalls. I've changed all the filters and tried injector cleaner but that doesn't seem to have made any difference. On the tacho the tickover speed reads about 840rpm - is that a bit slow? If I could speed up the idle maybe it would smooth out. Any ideas welcome.
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An Xmas quiz:

We all at sometime have to be a passenger in a car driven by someone whose driving makes you feel decidedly unsafe. What do you do if the driver is:

a. your boss.

b. your partner

c. your parent

d. your child

e. your best friend
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I've been an idiot today. I won't bore you with the details but my crappy driving ended with me going over a kerb at about 40mph, I was lucky it only cost me my tyre, I feared alloy wheel plus suspension damage as well! Take care in the wet!


Im a loser baby....so why don't you kill me?! Read more