plsteve

So turns out it was the flaps - had a look of the car at lunchtime when it was day light - The bottom of the mud guard mount was bent 90 degrees out and when the wheels were turned it was rubbing! In my defence it was dark this morning! But I do feel a bit stupid! Thanks for the help tho guys. Steve.

Thanks guys, hopefully is just pads, the front right brake has been making a rubbing noise for a week or 2 under braking. Steve.

Folks, Just started this morning, a grinding noise (like metal rubbing) when I'm turning right. Only seems to happen on sharp corners of 90 degrees or so at slow speed. Or when parking etc. I hoped it was just something rubbing, but seems it could be anything from disks and pads (I have heard some rubbing when braking so assume the pads need done), to ball joints or maybe the bearings. Any advice? It's a 2005 WRX with PPP. Cheers Steve.

Can anyone advise a sensibly priced garage in Aberdeen/Banchory area to do a service and MOT on the other halver 206? Couple of garages quoting about £250 for the lot - where as Arnold Clark can do a service and MOT for £98. Heard too many bad things about Arnold. Any decently priced independents that anyone has experience of? Cheers Steve.

I heard through the grapevine today that T&C are stopping their Subaru franchise - has anyone heard this?? If so, I wonder if they will still service them and honour the deal with the SIDC. This may be a load of rubbish however - not good if they decide to stop. Hard to believe with such a big marker up in Abz for the marque. Steve.

Taken from Pistonheads..... http://pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=18423 Subaru has announced not one but three new Impreza variants at the Motor Show. The most interesting is the 380bhp WRX STI 380S concept, but don't be fooled by the name. A Subaru insider told PistonHeads today that the car will definately be going into production although it will be hand-built to order. Expect no more than a couple of hundred of the 380S which has a number of Prodrive engine upgrades and styling tweaks. The 380S could go on sale within six months and has a complete engine rebuild by Prodrive with many uprated components. There are also suspension tweaks and a different exhaust system. The car rides on 18x8.5 BBS alloys which are available in either silver or gold. Subaru has also launched a 330bhp STI that will sit above the standard car at £30,000. It will still be limited to around a few hundred cars according to Subaru and benefits from a Prodrive Performance pack with modified ECU and exhaust system. Subaru says that the twin 90mm stainless steel exhaust pipes will 'bring back the burble' loved by Impreza fans. Power increases from 300bhp at 6,00rpm to 330bhp at 5,400rpm and torque is increased from 300.2 lb ft at 4,000rpm to 346.6 lb ft at a lower 3,400rpm. WRX-S WRX-S The 0-60mph time drops from 4.8 seconds to an incredible 4.4 seconds. Finally there is the WRX-S - a faster version of the slimmer WRX Impreza. Power is up from 230bhp at 5,200rpm to 255bhp at 5,400rpm while torque increases from 236 lb ft at 2,800rpm to 287.6rpm at 3,000rpm. The increase of power is achieved through a tweaked ECU and a new exhaust system. The 0-60mph time goes from 6.1 seconds to 5.5 seconds. The car has £4,500 worth of extras for £2,500, now costing £22,495.

There will be a couple of services held on the 6th July - more info here.. www.oilchaplaincy.com/piper Also broadcast on Northsound I believe. I work for the company that run Piper now - we are laying a floral tribute on teh water close to the site, and all our offshore installations are having a minutes silcence on the 6th at 2pm as a mark of respect. Steve.

Might have to find a new meeting place for next month after the report in todays P&J! AN INDIAN restaurant at Dyce has been found guilty of a string of food preparation offences. In a “total disregard for hygiene”, defrosting prawns were left in a tub on the floor, open poppadoms kept underneath a fly-killing machine and food was stored in fridges that had stopped working. A “long, black and curly” hair was found on top of a cheeseburger waiting to be served and cooling rice and cooked chicken was left out in warm temperatures for hours at a time. Environmental health officers condemned Zara Bar and Brasserie during a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday. They visited the restaurant on Burnside Drive at Dyce several times between July 2006 and January 2007 but they said that, despite repeated warnings, little changed – apart from a brief and limited improvement in November 2006. Sheriff James Hendry said at the end of the trial: “I have no hesitation in finding them guilty.” Angela Carson, senior environmental health officer at Aberdeen City Council, said: “The general level of cleanliness was terrible.” The court heard that a fridge that had broken down was being used to store cooked meat and raw meat. The restaurant entered a plea of not guilty by letter when it was first charged, but management representatives have failed to turn up at court almost every time the case has been called. No one was in court to represent the restaurant yesterday. Proceedings had already been adjourned several times, and the court decided to take the “unusual” step of going ahead to trial in their absence. Raw meats stored alongside cooked meats and food left uncovered and exposed were among the charges. Sheriff Hendry deferred sentence until June 11 to hear mitigation from Zara representatives. Restaurant staff were still taking bookings for tables last night.

My car will be 3 years old at the end of June and I was wondering if anyone knows what extended warranties are available through Subaru? Are they worth taking? Any details on cost and value for money would be appreciated!! Cheers Steve.

I must admit I was slightly put off after the instructior who was tragically killed last Sept. I live in Kinker, so can pop along any time when there is a nice calm weekend. Will look out for you when I'm there Steve.

My partner bought me a voucher to use for there last birthday, just never got round to using it. Will be along before middle of June when it expires though!! Steve.

Yea, the stones still sit at the entrance to the hotel. Never tried lifting them myself. But sure I could manage it after a few Stella's Steve.

My local is really nice, if you fancy coming out Banchory way. Small family run hotel on the banks of the river Dee, beautiful countryside and some cracking driving as well. http://www.potarchhotel.co.uk/ Steve.

Mine is due as well - quoted £370 for the service and £50 for the MOT from Town and County in Aberdeen. being an SIDC member though you get labour down to £45 an hour and 10% off the parts - the lass on the phone said all in it would be about £320 or so Steve.

I find that t he companies which are under-written by the RBS - Tesco, Direct Line and Privilege to name a few are the cheapest by far for me, as long as you have a tracker. Just changed to Privilege this year and was quoted £565 including protecting my no claims discount. 29yo, 5yrs no claims, group 20 car. Really happy with the price. And I bought it through Quidco, so waiting for my £100 cashback through them, if it ever comes!! Just a note on the price comparision sites, best I got quoted from there was £1260, its worth shoppping about. Steve