Ask a Shiter

[The Moog]

I had a refurb beam fitted to a 405 by a place in Burnley. I think it was £300. You either got shipping or fitting.

 

They ended up spending all day on the 405 as the bolts were rusted to buggery but stuck by their word

[MrDuke]

Do 'interior' car aerials work as well as old-style exterior ones? The Civic's one is busted, and I'm loathe to drill a hole in the roof (or anywhere else) just to fit a sharkfin or beesting or whateverthef**k they are now.

[Eddie Honda]

The Civic's one is busted

[bub2006]

I had a refurb beam fitted to a 405 by a place in Burnley. I think it was £300. You either got shipping or fitting.

 

They ended up spending all day on the 405 as the bolts were rusted to buggery but stuck by their word

Fitting isn't the issue mate, it's just finding one. I used ims axles for the xsara. Wanted 230, my mate asked on a deal for cash and got it for 180. May be worth a try asking again!

[KruJoe]

Why are all the raffles I want to take part in so far away? I want the Mercedes SLK but it's in bloody Lincolnshire.

[sLK is] in Liverpool !

Not that it makes much difference from your corner of the world. If I was collecting it, I wouldn't start from there.

[Cavcraft]

Right, if I have Â£3,589 outstanding on my car finance, and if the car is actually worth (according to Evans Halshaw's WebuyanyCar clone) £5,525, can I just take it to them, ask them to clear the finance and walk away with about £2,000? Obvs. I'd tell them about the finance and (one assumes) they would clear that themselves.

[Bobthebeard]

One time in ten my new* Saab puffs out some blue smoke on a cold start. No smoke afterwards, only does it occasionally. Did it this morning but only once in several starts....

Should I be worried?

[Guest Hooli]

Right, if I have Â£3,589 outstanding on my car finance, and if the car is actually worth (according to Evans Halshaw's WebuyanyCar clone) £5,525, can I just take it to them, ask them to clear the finance and walk away with about £2,000? Obvs. I'd tell them about the finance and (one assumes) they would clear that themselves.

 

I can't see why not, not that I've ever tried it.

[DodgeRover]

Right, if I have £3,589 outstanding on my car finance, and if the car is actually worth (according to Evans Halshaw's WebuyanyCar clone) £5,525, can I just take it to them, ask them to clear the finance and walk away with about £2,000? Obvs. I'd tell them about the finance and (one assumes) they would clear that themselves.

Never assume....

For peace of mind when buying something we knew was on finance we used to meet the seller at the bank having got a settlement figure from the finance co. Transfer x amount direct to the finance co and give the seller the rest there and then in cash drawn from the cashier so they knew it was proper money. Copy of the receipt to clear the finance kept by both parties.

Might have been over the top but then everybody knew where they stood.

[Cavcraft]

/\

Oh, if it was a private seller/buyer, then most definitely. I'd trust (wrongly or rightly) a large main dealer group though.

[DeeJay]

Right, if I have Â£3,589 outstanding on my car finance, and if the car is actually worth (according to Evans Halshaw's WebuyanyCar clone) £5,525, can I just take it to them, ask them to clear the finance and walk away with about £2,000? Obvs. I'd tell them about the finance and (one assumes) they would clear that themselves.

Find out if there is any early settlement charge.

[Cavcraft]

Hmm, got a couple of hundred quid more in it than I thought, as I got a settlement figure just now. The two 'best offers' so far are big dealers who'll pay the settlement figure and give me the difference. I could try a private sale, but although I know I'll pay the finance off, a private buyer might not be so sure, thus decreasing my chances of a sale. 

[taxi paul]

I got the best price for my mazda of we want your car. Easily best the others. You need to take your finance settlement and they pay that then pay balance into your account.

[The Moog]

One time in ten my new* Saab puffs out some blue smoke on a cold start. No smoke afterwards, only does it occasionally. Did it this morning but only once in several starts....

Should I be worried?

Tadts. Had that on my 9-5.

[meggersdog]

What are the legalities of a supposed lost v5 to avoid huge dvla fines for not declaring change of ownership ?

Lad palmed a car off to me a while back with an oil leak that turned out to be the turbo.Anyway at the time of sale he had lost the v5 and applied for a replacement.By the time the new one arrived I'd fixed the car and sold it on (through a third party).I gave the v5 to the third party for his buyer to fill in and send off.

So the lad had a letter about renewing the tax of a car he doesn't now own.I contact third party who contacts his buyer.His buyer says she's filled in the v5 and sent it off.I then tell the lad to just sorn it and forget it.Obviously he didn't and has had another letter from dvla and is coming to see me tomorrow about it.

Can you still say "well I posted the V5 on such and such a day" or will he get reemed for a massive fine.

[twosmoke300]

All Saab turbos will puff smoke on cold start if the previous trip was short and the engine wasn't up to temp when shut off . I put it down to the thick oil / high pressure overcoming the turbo seals after its shut down .

Nowt to worry about

[DodgeRover]

What are the legalities of a supposed lost v5 to avoid huge dvla fines for not declaring change of ownership ?

Lad palmed a car off to me a while back with an oil leak that turned out to be the turbo.Anyway at the time of sale he had lost the v5 and applied for a replacement.By the time the new one arrived I'd fixed the car and sold it on (through a third party).I gave the v5 to the third party for his buyer to fill in and send off.

So the lad had a letter about renewing the tax of a car he doesn't now own.I contact third party who contacts his buyer.His buyer says she's filled in the v5 and sent it off.I then tell the lad to just sorn it and forget it.Obviously he didn't and has had another letter from dvla and is coming to see me tomorrow about it.

Can you still say "well I posted the V5 on such and such a day" or will he get reemed for a massive fine.

Nope he should never have been trying to sorn it, he needs to inform

Them it's nowt to do with him anymore. From memory there's a section on the form explaining it.

I take it that it's been run about without tax all the while too? He's lucky not to have had some fines through...

[phil_lihp]

What to do with seized caliper bleed nipples?  The Octavia's brakes are a tad mushy and the fluid looks rank - probably the original stuff from 16 years ago - so I'd like to flush some fresh stuff though but despite plenty of Plusgas, the driver's side one is seized solid.  It is turning but it's unscrewing the entire thing from the caliper.  What's the best option here?  Can I unscrew it and fit a new one and if so how does one stop brake fluid pouring out of the hole until the new one's in?  I haven't tried the passenger one, that still has its original rubber cover and looks a bit less rusty but unless I can get them both off I'd rather not flush the fluid as I'd assume it'd result in a brake imbalance with clean fluid in one and manky fluid in the other.

[twosmoke300]

The whole thing is supposed to turn out of the caliper . If you use a bit of wood to hold the brake pedal down an inch or so then no fluid will come out after the initial dribble .

[phil_lihp]

Ah - so how do you bleed it?  When I loosened it, nothing came out of the nipple itself but fluid started to leak from around the thread.  I assumed the top of the nipple unscrewed from the body of it but to be honest I haven't done this for years, I think the last time was on my Nova...

[twosmoke300]

Nipple prob blocked . Take while nipple out and find tiny little holes near the taper at the bottom . Clear these with a pin or some mig wire and blow the whole thing through . Then grease and refit

[phil_lihp]

Ah, spiffy.  I'll give that a go, both the Hiace and Puma have brand new brake fluid and it doesn't half make a difference.  The Octavia stops well enough in a straight line with new pads I fitted over Christmas but the pedal feels like it's attached to a bowl of mashed potato.

[cobblers]

Has anyone bridged any batteries lately? I've got some decent ones but they're as good as cash than in a pile. Is it owt like £1 a kg?

[drum]

Has anyone bridged any batteries lately? I've got some decent ones but they're as good as cash than in a pile. Is it owt like £1 a kg?

A fiver a pop at my local scrappy. More for big ones.

[Kiltox]

Find somewhere that will actually pay weight rather than x per battery - I got a decent few quid for some the last time I went (more than I did for half a ton of mixed steel and it was before the prices crashed hard)

[cobblers]

I've 35 of them, but they're all 10kg gel cell "racing" batteries. 90% of them work fine too - I was considering selling them on ebay at about £20 a pop (they're £150 new), but I don't have the time or inclination for it.

[DodgeRover]

Has anyone bridged any batteries lately? I've got some decent ones but they're as good as cash than in a pile. Is it owt like £1 a kg?

Weighed in a load of lead at £1 a kilo today

[320touring]

I've 35 of them, but they're all 10kg gel cell "racing" batteries. 90% of them work fine too - I was considering selling them on ebay at about £20 a pop (they're £150 new), but I don't have the time or inclination for it.

What's the spec on them?

[D Spares & Tyres]

Modern car foglights:

 

I keep seeing, particularly at roundabouts whereby one foglight will come on or go off or sometimes it will switch from left to right. I`ve seen this far too often lately for it to be faulty wiring or blown bulbs surely???

 

Any ideas what is going on?

[Kiltox]

Cornering lights. Seriously.