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matth76

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Posts posted by matth76

  1. Pre-warning: Adrian Flux give no refund when you cancel

    in General Chat

    Posted

    They said the direct insurance co. that they broker for (Equity Redstar) only refund 10% of the amount remaing - in my case it was 6 mths left and Adrian Flux subtract £25 for an admin fee which I knew about. The figure I was expecting was more like £150 to £180, not £3!

    I rang them up twice to confirm the figure was correct. It was. Either way I will not be using Adrian Flux again, and I recommend others find out during the application process how much they can expect in a refund if they need to cancel just half way through. It may be different depending on which insurance co, Flux broker for. In my case it was Equity Redstar.

  2. Pre-warning: Adrian Flux give no refund when you cancel

    in General Chat

    Posted

    I have just over 6months left on my insurance with Adrian Flux. Total for annual premium was £375 paid in one lump sum up front and I have been with them for the last few years on my old car. They will only give me £3 refund! I'm absolutely appalled. Just to all of you out there who are with Adrian Flux and about to cancel - you will get absolutely no, or very little, refund.

    Thankfully I am not with them any more.

  4. Petition to say NO to retrospective car tax on vehicles made from 2001 onwards

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Hi

    Can't see any threads with a link to this official government petition so here it is...

    http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/UNFAIR-VED/. Basically as the subject says this is a petition to say no to the planned introduction next year on taxing us up to just over £400 a year on cars made from 2001 onwards. If you know of any other forums please post the link there, or email it around work, to get more people to sign up. At the moment this tax only applies to brand new cars made this year but next year onwards it will apply to ALL cars from 2001 onwards. Some high powered cars (not just 4x4's) will be taxed over £400... so all not good, especially with one of the highest fuel prices in the world (although the cost of oil has indeed gone up and which we are led to believe is the reason for such high prices most of it is actually government tax!). The US pay five times less than us but yet the cost of oil is approximately the same to them.

    Cheers

    Matt

  5. Strange tire noise - camber or wheel alignment problem

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Hi

    For a few months now I had noticed what sounded like tire noise when going round corners or straight on - but if I turned right the noise disappeared. I took it to a garage to get the tracking and full wheel alignment done. They said the tracking and alignment was well out. After a few days the noise returned and now when I go straight on there is no noise at all but I get the noise only when turning left or right, even very gradually . Its more noticable on certain road surfaces. So its defintely changed since the garage did the full wheel alignment - so now instead of there being no noise when turning right, there is now no noise when going straight ahead but it is present when turning left or right. I suspect it could be something else like the camber. I'm getting a service done in a month or so. Any ideas what else it could be? Is camber easy to correct?

    Thanks for any help and info.

  6. Gordon Brown has lost the plot

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Did any of you see Top Gear 2 weeks ago - they had a hybrid car ..The Prius drive at full speed round the track for a few laps followed at exactly the same speed in a new M3, so clearly wasn't any where near its limit. The Prius recorded an MPG of 17mpg and the M3 did 19mpg. If the average speed of going round the track is approx 70 then clearly the M3 is the more eco car.

    Diesels (not turbo diesel) are far more economical than the hybrids. It is true the PM makes incredibly stupid statements. If he wants us out of cars then they need to do something about the even more expensive public transport (which is one of the most expensive in Europe). In fact England has one of the highest costs of living for everything (not just cars) in the world, close to Japan. My local bus companies have raised the cost of their fares because petrol has gone up - so its going to price them out of business eventually to. The government has lost the plot. The sooner they get rid of their half asleep non-elected leader the better, for them and everyone else.

  7. Can an insurance company employee steal your identity?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Hi

    Just been ringing round insurance companies today to get a quote. Then got to a company called Allen and Allen.

    The first person I spoke to in Allen and Allen distinctly hung up on me. I was in the middle of saying that I would just like to get a quote for just me on the policy. He then said who else is to go on my policy. I said no-one just myself. He repeated and said "can I have the other person's details". I politely repeated no I just need a quote for myself please. He then (for no clear reason) hung up. The phone didn't die or cut dead - it was a clear hanging up. It was so clear that my gf sitting near me said "he hung up on you didn't he". I then tried to ring them up to try to speak to a manager to explain what had just happened. I got through to another salesman and politely asked if I could speak to their manager. They refused to put me through, and attempted to find out why I wanted to speak to the manager. Reluctant to speak to them but with them clearly not going to transfer me I eventually told them what happened with one of their colleagues, and I was then promptly hung up on again. So, again I ring them up and attempt to speak to the manager again. To cut the story short I was hung up on a third time. I'm quite a calm laid back person and didn't raise my voice once, nor swear (as much as I'd like to have done) in any of the three conversations. Clearly they are a small tight-nit company and probably all knew each other.

    All not good. Anyway all I can do is warn others about an insurance company called "Allen and Allen".

    Has anyone else here used them or had similar cases of other companies like this to avoid? I just can't believe what happened - especially when I'm a potential customer ringing up about to spend a lot of money.

    Anyway their loss. My main concern is can an employee of an insurance company steal a person's identity with just my date of birth, full name, and full address?

    Thanks for any info.

  10. Eaton vs the rest

    in General Chat

    Posted

    They are supposed to be twin screw or similar and supposed to be good at producing more power lower down the rev range right through to red line, as opposed to roots type such as Vortex, which tend to produce power much higher in the rev range. A lot of the big V8s use them such as the Cobra Mustang..very nice car. They are noisy though!

  11. Recommended insurance co that accepts modifications?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Hi

    I've done a search but not found any up to date results. Basically it's renewal time. My 1997 golf vr6 is in very good nick. I do average miles at ~12k a year and I only have basic mods - just exhaust, filter, and suspension kit. Elephant, my current insurer have let me down and are actually more expensive than over 2 years ago. I'm now 32 with 10 yrs no claims, no points and they want £516!!! I'm 32, not 21!

    I have tried Brentacare in the past and found them to not be very helpful or at least the person I spoke to wasn't (I know some people really rate them).

    I used to be with Adrian Flux who used to be quite good with my old car but they are very very hard to get hold of, if I remember only being open until 5pm. Are they any good now? Are there any other companies out there that accept basic mods like mine and are very reasonable and helpful and easy to understand when you ring their cust service in event of claims and any good when you actually need to use them? (Some companies are very good taking money but useless when it comes to dealing with claims and paying out.) I've tried the comparison sites but all are no good as they don't deal with mods.

    Thanks for any help and info.

    Cheers

  12. Handling issues.

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Always get the tracking and camber done after fitting lowered suspension - I would say this is your problem in one. Your car should be planted to the road. Good luck sorting it out mate.

    Another thing that will also improve your handling is when you get new tyres go for BF goodrich g-force profilers - I have tried a huge number of top brands including Goodyear F1's , and so far the BF's are miles ahead of the rest. You get so much feedback and you can throw it into the corners with a lot of confidence. Cheaper than F1's but far better. I only have standard 15" wheels with 205 width tyres (don't fit 195's these are too narrow), and have the 35-45mm gmax lowering kit.

  13. quick cam question

    in Engine Tuning

    Posted

    Cheap brands of 268's will shift power very high up the rev range and you will lose low down torque, so be careful which ones you choose. However good 268 cams you will typically see the power kick in at around 2500-3000 revs with minimal loss in torque below this.

    If you do go for 268 cams go for Eurospec or Shricks.. which are basically the same cam, and provide a good even spread of power around the rev range. I have Eurospec 268's. In first gear there is a slight pause off the line then a HUGE power surge at around 3000 revs, all the way to the redline..(although as with most VR drivers I hardly ever feel the need to use first gear while driving as it is so powerful) 2nd gear has more power all round the rev range, no loss in torque at all. The rest of the gears feel pretty much the same. Oh forgot to say the car still pulls hard above 120!

    Make sure you get new lifters/tappets fitted at the same time as the cams.

  16. bmc induction kit fitted !

    in Engine Tuning

    Posted

    Yeah I don't bother with the cold air feed on mine. Makes very little difference as there is a large amount of cold air coming from the side of the headlight directly in the path of the BMC. I love the sound of mine too. Quiet if you want to drive normally but when you want to give it some it sounds amazing - especially in a town down narrow streets, or in a tunnel - even in 5th gear when you floor it.

  19. Making Improvements to my VR suggestions please

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Only thing you have to be careful of is an exposed induction kit with no kind of heat shield to protect it from the hot air in the engine bay. I've got a BMC induction kit (pricey at £150 but very good quality) that is fully enclosed inside a "heat shield" protecting it from the hot air. Either way though it doesn't make too much of a difference whether it is fully enclosed or not - once you are moving there is a lot of cold air coming in from at the side of the head light. I put my vr on a rolling road before and after fitting a full exhaust system and my induction kit and it made very little increase in power. The vr is already in a very high state of tune. Up to you though if you get one or not - does make it sound good even if they don't give much power increase! Personally I would put your dosh into a GMAX kit (only £200 for the parts and approx £150 to get a decent garage to fit it and align it all properly afterwards)... makes a HUGE difference to the soggy standard handling and looks how it should have looked from the factory, without it being too low to look chavy but looks just right.. lowers it approx 35-45mm. Ver good value in my opinion.

    If you have more money left over I'd put a set of second hand 268 cams in (I got some Eurospec ones for around £200 from a member on here) and took around 3 hours for a garage to fit them - get new tappets at the same time. You will need to budget in a custom remap at Stealth (£300) but this is very important to get the fuelling spot on and will get the most power from your mods too - and stealth's remap is all done on the rolling road so you get a power readout and diagnostic too. The remap should be done last after everything else is done. If your car is an obd1 (pre-1996) then I would also get an enlarged butterfly on your throttlebody - only around £50 but makes a big difference.

    Good luck with it all. Handling would be my first place to start.

  20. Electric window not working

    in Engine Maintenance and Problems

    Posted

    Hi

    Driver side electric window has finally packed in. Getting a new motor for it. Getting a quote from a local specialist to source the cheapest motor - they said a motor from another make of car, not VW, would fit. They are going to price it up over the next few days when they find a part. What price am I likely to pay for the part and how long to fit roughly?

    Cheers for any help.

  23. flashing light?

    in Engine Maintenance and Problems

    Posted

    The flashing lights on ignition sound normal. They do stay on until you either start the car or take the key out.

    As for the coolant does sound as though you have a leak. I would get all the hosing replaced. Pretty cheap to do, and normally recommended on a car over 10 yrs old. 1000 miles does seem very often to be topping it up. Shouldn't have to top it up at all.

  24. feckin routers

    in General Chat

    Posted

    I've also heard lots of people have trouble with Linksys.

    Routers are a pain. I work with computers and it still took me several hours to finally get one router to work. Whereas another router took just 5 mins. Some are just un-necessarily complicated. I bought Ebuyer.com's own make (really cheap router and also very good site to get cheap tv's and pc stuff) and it works fine. Whereas I've tried some of the more expensive makes but had no end of trouble. Just trial and error in some cases mate. Glad you finally got it sorted.

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