dougless

I know that things happen but I think you might be missing the point here. The market for cars is getting more competitive, not less. Look at the business section of the BBC website today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7597954.stm There was around 20-25% overcapacity in the global car market before this current economic downturn. The average car buyer is not an enthusiast; they want reliable and cheap motoring. Some buyers will look for other qualities, performance and status being two; however other manufactures can provide this. Most car buyers are not wedded to a brand like some of us. If VW don’t meet expectations, customers will go elsewhere. The Business guru, Tom Peters, cited that one of the signs of an excellent organisation is in how it deals with customers problems. VW fall very short of the mark here.

Please look at this thread and pass the link on to other internet forums, it’s about time VW woke up to the impending crisis that is facing them. People are having some real problems with their VW’s and VW are not helping. http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52356 The forum thread appears on is an audio site but like most forums it has a thriving ‘off topic’ area. VW, wake up before you do yourself irreparable damage.

Could be a dodgy thermo switch (the one that tells the fan to start/stop). Keep an eye on the temp gauge for a while. You might be lucky and it won't happen again.

As someone with a personal interest in this kind of thing, I teach and personal finance is one of my subjects, Viney's post is the one to read Claire. There has been some good advice in this thread but don't whatever you do commit yourself to more debt. The UK is in for a very bumpy ride over the next few years and the last thing you need is more debt. Ask yourself what would happen if you lost either of your jobs? There is lots of good advice on the interweb; this site is one of the most down to earth: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ Another tip would be to prepare a budget for the next 6 months and then try to stick to it. For this to work you need to account for everything and I mean everything you spend, try setting up a spread sheet so you can analyse your expenditure. Its the only sure fire way of knowing where the dosh is going. If you don't take control of your money there are lots of ways its going to control you.

After 51 seconds I gave up trying to understand what he was talking about. Presumably he is someone who needs help. I imagine from the accent that he is American, do they have programmes for individuals who have special needs?

I have had mild eczema off and on since I was a kid. Mostly have not had its since my 20's. A few things I have observed over the years: Sweat makes it worse, it will often flare up in those areas that are prone to sweat. Remedy: try not to sweat, difficult I know, but avoid any chemicals like deodorant as they will tend to exacerbate it. Stress could be a factor. I last had a bad episode when I was working 7 days a week and really overdoing it; try taking it easy like the Cadbury bunny. Sun will help BUT it also dries out your skin so affected areas might get more flakey. Generally that's good as it means your skin is on the mend. Remember don't overdo the sun, too much sun will burn. The hydro-cortisone creams will work but their effectiveness seems to reduce with use. Its related to asma apparently or though I may be mistaken there; did you or do you suffer with that? Anyway, good luck and resist the urge to scratch, its bliss for a few moments but then gives you grief later.

Try rubbing the material with a very damp (wet) cloth and make sure you saturate the fabric parts equally. Don't put too much effort into it as they seem quite delicate. Depends on how dirty they are but this method will remove mild grubbiness and providing the whole area gets equally wet should leave no water marks.

- Hybrids? - GREEDY! - Is in a state or did you mean the 51st State?

Although I am not sure about the time frame, I broadly agree with this. I think the coming global recession will damp down prices for a while which will stretch the time out a little. By most accounts we are at or past peak oil so the only way is up.....

House prices have a lot further to fall, this is not hype it is simply the myopic media waking up to the latest panic. Call his bluff; he is very, very unlikely to get a buyer. The problem here Nicki is that it could be many years before the market comes up again. You live in sunny Southend which is a particularly sensitive market as so many residents work in the city and the city is shedding staff fast! Spring Chicken – don’t worry, save your money and watch the market tank.

With inflation on the way up, despite a temporary fall in crude oil prices, how much would you be prepared to pay for fuel before you would consider serious changes to your lifestyle/car use? To start the ball rolling I think I could live with fuel up to £2 per lt, after that I would have to re-examine the way I use a car.

However if you don't have or want a Beetle, then a Loop is a good substitute if you need a modern car. Loops seem to have many of the same qualities apart from the superior Beetle suspension, if only they did air cooled Diesel versions.

Sorry but I have to take issue with this. There is nothing impractical about air cooled Beetles, they are light, simple, efficient, reliable, don't depreciate and you are less likely to get a speeding ticket unless its a highly tuned one. In addition to the above merits they are amazingly tough; check the Top Gear feature about driving across Africa.

It sounds like a good price for a mint 1.0 however I can also endorse the Diesel route. Post 2001 loopy Diesels are cheap to tax and despite the rumours SDI's are not slow once up to speed. Sit at 80 mph on a motorway in an SDI and you should get 60 mpg and the engine will only be running at 3000 rpm. The TDI would probably manage this mpg as well and is more desirable but it is also much more complex and more expensive. The 1.0 would not get anywhere near these mpg figures and I guess would be less relaxing than an oil burner.

Take care Claire and take it easy for a while. This happened to my other half a few years ago and it can take a while to get over it. She was in a daze for days and it really shook her confidence. I am glad that you had some good friends around to support you.

I think the issue here is your ‘friend’ has been distorting the hours he has worked and tried it on. Now this has been corrected. I don’t think there is any moral issue here for you although there might be for your friend. Your family’s trust and your friendship has been abused but hopefully he won’t be so silly again. Give him the benefit of the doubt and hope it doesn’t happen again.

Miles Davis - In a silent way Nick Drake - Bryter Layter

Glad to see Auto Excess dismissing the SDI model, keeps the prices down for those in the know. Having just completed nearly 3000 miles in ours on the Continental motorway network I can confirm that they are excellent at around 3000 rpm for hours on end which equates to about 80mph or 130 kph. This also gives you 60 + to the gallon. The other half has a heavier foot so it was 90 + mph for about 100 miles of Autobahn on the return. I think SDI's are fab. For the record we saw very few Lupo's east of Austria, a few in Germany and loads in the Netherlands.

Apart from size, the average Pious driver would be better off with a Loopy Diesel. Less complex technology, no traction batteries and better looking but I am biased. What is a ten year old Pious going to be worth I wonder? The drive train/power supply is so complicated that ToyOtter give it an eight year warranty; presumably to build customer confidence in their technology.

And thankfully they didn't put the rate down. Up would have been better but hey ho....

Maybe its my age but I have never seen anything like this, the state of our economy and our personal finances is v. v. scary. I do not think its scaremongering, on the contrary I think if most of the population had any idea what we might be in for they would ask for their money back, so to speak. I think that that much of the rather soft headed media is just waking up to the trouble we are in. The serious press (The Economist for example) have been predicting this for years, yes I mean years. We are in for an extremely rough ride. We have too many issues coming at us at one time to get out unscathed, financially, socially and politically. So sorry chaps and chapeses, I think the party's over and its time to pay the bill.

This is great stuff but do not, I repeat do not use like modern wax products. It should be applied to small areas and then removed etc. It will improve your upper body strength as well as making the car look fantastic. I found that this was especially good if the paint was 'tired' but otherwise I would use a more modern compound like Autoglym.

Interesting to see my favourite polish (autoglym) doing so well in this test. I would agree with the general ease of use with SRP and its not that expensive. I do find that some paint finishes, if left unpolished for a while, will require two or three applications to get a good deep shine without clouds* in the paint. * those strange marks that seem to be just under the surface, not exactly swirls, probably areas of paint that are less 'sealed' than others. Modern water based non metallics seem to be highly prone to this even when fairly new. I have no idea what it is or what causes it.

Thanks for the warning Nicki. Insurance companies are always trying out new ways to seem more attractive by reducing premiums but this sometimes comes at a cost.

I absolutely endorse the first part of this but the second part leaves me bemused. Does this mean that Chavs eat Philippino girls, or that they should eat Philippino girls, or that they should team up with Philippino girls or what ……. Having said that I can’t stand Chavs, I find that the mindless consumerism endorsed by most of modern Britain is pretty revolting as well. Maybe Chavs are what you get when you create such an unfair and sheep like society. Every group likes to have a scapegoat and currently Chavs are one of ours. Still looking on the bright side, M&S shares fell by 20% in value when the stock market opened today so very soon they will have to welcome Chavs into their stores just to survive.