randellp

funny thing is those cars didn't look like they were going too fast, but the car still wend end-over-end 6/7 times!!! It's crazy to think a that hump of grass was there by the side of the track. I wonder if the driver was a little cross with the guy who nudged him from behind too!

It's a BMW 328ci.

So after coming home and finding a big bird splat on the bonnet, I cleaned it off with a tsk, and water & a soft cloth and shook my fist at the nearest fat pigeon. It cleaned off easy enough, but took a layer of clear lacquer off with it! The picture just about shows the extent of the area - with dried flaky lacquer around the edges. The matt, metallic black is now exposed to the elements. Anyone know what I should do with this? Can "Ding Doctors" sort this out cheaply and quickly or should I try a body shop to sort this out? ta all.

That's bad luck, Smitten, indeed. Here's me saying that when my legs & arms are itching to buggery because of an off road MTB ride last night through overgrown bridlepaths. Nettles & brambles are evil!

I think there's a lesson in this fellers. Cover up or slap on the factor 30 so you don't get burnt in the first place!!

Don't you mean "snuff" Kite? Half of me thinks this is a moving tribute, the other half thinks it's melodramic voyeurism. The Tom Pryce crash has always disturbed me in the way it happened, as it's tragic on many levels. I'm not sure I have really learned much more, and gained any more respect for these guys by seeing it on film to a moody soundtrack.

Although any fuel leak is a serious issue and needs investigation, I'm inclined to say that this isn't as bad as you think, especially as the car's been driven without any problem. I would check tonight if the car is leaking at a standstill (which would show a leak lower in the tank - but how likely is that?), and if not, then just take care and be observant at the next fill up. I also suspect it might be a split or detached overflow/breather pipe high in the neck of the filler, that would only leak if you fill up to the brim. I have seen this happen before.

I have encountered this scenario recently. Most policies say that a car (or bike) has to be covered by a separate policy raised for the car in question to allow others who have 3rd party cover from their own policies to drive it. Chri5 - I suspect you were lucky not to have crashed into someone while driving your mum's car. Depending on your policies (and the rules may have changed now), I doubt you were covered to drive.

Smudge - just to show you a "proper" respray - have a look at this. It can't have been cheap! http://www.vwcaddyforum.com/showthread.php?t=6319&page=1 Can't work out why he didn't do the bonnet peoperly tho.

Hey Smudge - I agree with Jon about different options of going about this. I've been looking into getting a respray done for my Caddy, and have found that it can be anything between £200 to £2000+, depending totally on what you want to do. In particular it depends on what is removed, prepped & filled before the spray is done, and the quality & type of paint & finish you are choosing. If it's anything like my caddy, you may well have a lot of rust to deal with before the respray takes place - and this is one of the reasons I'm not too keen on starting this process, becasue I'm scared to find out what's underneath the B pillars and the load cover once I start stripping back! You might be able to negotiate some money off the price if you are getting a full job done by doing various bits of the strip-down yourself (removing glass, seals, seats, trim, dash & engine even!), and doing the rubbing back and filling but that may well be impossible depending on your circumstances. I'd be interested to find out what you are planning and what you end up doing Smudge, as I'm seriously leaning towards buying a radiator roller, some red matt primer and going for the full rat look. Mainly because that would cost me £50 in materials and I could do it myself!

I'd go for the older Avant. Still a very handsome car, economical and good value because it's not the new shape. Have you not looked at a 1.9 or 2.5 A4 diesels, 130-155bhp+? With regard to speed cameras, you only have to be going at 34mph to be caught, not many cars can't reach that!I certainly couldn't justifying a big, slow, uncomfortable and uneconomical Landrover on that point. I'd also argue that a SWB defender doesn't have as much useful space as you think.

Bad luck? Judging by the 16 year olds round my way, luck doesn't come in to it! Inexperience and cocking about probably accounts for 3/4 of the casualties. Edit - Ah, sorry didn't read the first few posts there. My sympathies to all.

Well, given that half their website (the yacht part) is still under construction, and the fact they only have 6 cars in stock, it doesn't sound too hopeful to me.

So - just the one tank of diesel then. Good luck!

If I may ask - what are you driving on this epic voyage?

Yeah yeah Cupramax, don't let the minor issue of location get in the way of my crap joke please! Very nice car all the same, but surely the seller could be arsed to fix the minor electrical faults? Change the fuse maybe?

Horn doesn't work - who wants to buy an MOT failure?!

Hi All, on a slight whim this weekend, much to my joy and the disgust of my GF, I bought my very own pikey wagon white MK1 Caddy on eBay. It's not perfect, but it has 12 month's MOT and I'm hoping it will be a useful workhorse (to help with the planned home improvements) and plaything - for carrying bikes/boards & camping etc this summer. It's got a 1.6 petrol engine, done 116k miles, bodywork is fairly tidy with just a bit of rust but nothing seems too terminal. It ran fine on the 25 miles home and the only real issues were the brakes, (which compared to the BM, you had to really stamp hard!) and the fan didn't come on when I left it running to warm up (thermo switch hopefully). There's also some ominous slight knocking and grinding from the front wheels, but I'm assuming the MOT would have found anything that was falling off! Apart from some immediate issues, such as the cooling, and also giving it a damn good clean, I'm probably going to carry out some subtle (i.e cheap) mods based around comfort - seats, soundproofing carpets, stereo, security etc, and perhaps some decent wheels, and also tidying up the bodywork. My question is - GSF and Neat autos and were my favoured suppliers for my Peugeot, are there any favoured parts & accessory people for VWs - esp MK1 golfs? I'm also on the market for a clean, used interior - door cards, carpet, and front seats. Any guidance would be appreciated! Especially on how to win my GF round as she's not speaking to me any more. More pics to come once I get a chance.

I seem to remember this car averages about 14mpg, and I dread to think how much a service is!

Yep - had a look at some of the sites, and brand new lambos etc are completely out of my league. I'd be just as happy paying a lot less so for something fun, unusual & classic rather than totally brand new. an older 911, ferarri 328,= or 355 (the Range Rover Sport has a rather large back seat so that might be particularly suitable!) for example. The GF is a keen driver too so I would have to hire something that both of us could drive. Some companies seem to allow only a single driver so it's probably a good idea just to call a few companies up and see what I can arrange. Cheers all.

I already have Talk Talk voice & 1MB ADSL and was paying £11 a month to BT for line rental and £14.99 for voice services and broadband. I signed up to the "free" broadband last week (which is essentially you have to pay for the full voice package to qualify - £9.99) and apparently I also switch over to Talk Talk line rental too of £11 per month. Even so, £21 a month for 8Mb is still not bad. Problem is is the £29 connection fee which means I won't really be seeing any saving for 6 months. I sent in a query as to whether, as an already connected customer, I needed to be charged £29 for connection, but have not heard anything about being connected or about the charge.

Had tried that Biffa and got similar results. Was really after a personal recommendation, or if anyone had experience of any companies in particular.

And however much I like the idea of Ecurie25, this is going to be a one off unfortunately.

I fancy treating myself & the GF to a "special" weekend away sometime soon. Can anyone recommend a hire company based in or around the Berks area who hire prestige motors? Thanks all,

As are Morgan, Rolls Royce, Bentley, MB SLRs, Range Rovers and a whole load of Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas that's not including BMW engines, and other component manufacutuers and motorsport tuners and engineers. I would say that TVR, Peugeot & Rover apart, the UK motor manufacturing industry is still in far better shape than it was 20-30 years ago. It's just not British owned any more.