ADUK Archive

As a continuation from the other thread (Hi Viz Vest). Alot of things have been mentionned about what people keep in the car.

Obviously not all of this lot is not essential...but what you leave out? if anything

Hi Viz Vest
Maglite
2 litres of water
1 litre antifreeze
oil
blanket
swiss army knife
gaffer tape
mobile phone
AA card
spare vacuum hoses
spare plugs
rotor arm
dizzy cap
de-icer spray
scraper
WD40
toolkit
spare bulbs
change for a phone
a waterproof
spare pair of glasses
warning triangle
disposable camera
Top Host
Fan Belt

I'd add top hose and fan belt further up the list - and a toolkit.

What's a dizzycap?

Distributor cap.

One thing thats becomming apparant is that many of the things now being listed above would be well out of the league of the average motorist to replace....thats where the AA come in I suppose.

I'm more than capable of replacing those items, but I don't carry most of them.

I drive 40 - 50,000 miles a year, and can't remember the last time I had a car break down, although I do have breakdown cover from the AA, this is mainly for recovery purposes should something major fail.

Cars are so much more reliable now, providing they are serviced properly, and according to my uncle who is an RAC patrolman, most probelms with cars now are failing sensors, which unless you carry your laptop ( I do, but this is for work), and have the appropriate diagnostic software for your car, you have no chance.

Problems I have had in recent years, which haven't actually stopped me from getting home, are :

A coil pack intermittent faliure ( missfire under load)
A failed ABS sensor, whch just caused the ABS light to come on.

I clean and gap my plugs every 10,000 miles, but will easily get 50 - 60,000 miles out of a set

The most important job on your car now that ecu's are in charge of them is to replace oil & filter regularly, and other important filters such as air filter, fuel filter.

The reason that cars are now so reliable is that the ecu constantly monitors them, adjusting mixtures and timing constantly, this helps you get the best fuel economy, and together with better alloys and engineering tolerances, helps you achieve milages we could only dream of twenty years ago.

I forgot to add, I haven't seen many cars with a distributor cap recently, my 88 BMW has one, despite being electronic ignton, but most cars have seperate coil packs now, rather than one coil, and a distributor cap to " distribute" the spark.

I carry all that because I drive a 15 year old Saab. It's very reliable given a mileage of 180,000, but bits do go wrong - by carrying the most common items I can usually get it going again without troubling the AA.

Whats quicker? Fitting the parts yourself, or calling the AA?

locking wheel nut remover

Swarfega or similar hand washing soaps, plus some rags to dry your hands after the roadside gearbox change.

Darren wrote:Whats quicker? Fitting the parts yourself, or calling the AA?

Dizzy cap and rotor arm take under a minute to change. Plugs take about 30 seconds each. Intercooler pipe takes 5 minutes to refit. Shortest time I ever waited for the AA was 45 minutes, so I always check the basics first. I agree though that on a new car it's all much more complicated - and often beyond the realms of the AA as well.

I can even do a headlight bulb

roadside gearbox change

...but that's getting a bit hardcore for me

Jez wrote:I can even do a headlight bulb

OK, feel free to pop over and sort mine out before I take it to to the local VX garage...gggrrrrr.

Here you go:

http://www.vehicross.info/modules.php?n ... icle&id=15

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=6663

Driver's side I can do....it's the other site thats a pain. Not only is it impossible to get even the smallest of fingers in there, it's also impossible to see what your doing.

Ok this is what i have in the car - in no particular order

fire extinguisher
5 hi-vis jackets / vests
torch (and spare batteries)
2 blankets
compressor
jump leads
tow rope
2 litres water
tyre-repair squirty stuff
emergency fuel (not petrol but apparently will keep a warm engine going)
warning triangle
emergency hammer
waterproof coat
umbrella
1st aid kit
spare wheel
jack
long arm wheel wrench
car handbook
spare bulbs / fuses
rubber gloves
disposable camera
tarpaulin / cover thingy
pens / pencils / paper
A-Z - local and
national map
list of work contacts
sunglasses - both prescription and ordinary
spare inhaler
plasters
paracetamol
visor
flower-shaped cushions
scissors
sellotape
hairbrush
deodorant
tissues
wet wipes
carrier bags
spare house keys - hidden
about £5 spare change
spare valve caps
rescue number
car handbook

I'm sure i've forgotten stuff but i don't know what

And thats before i put any work stuff in there

Ok i know quite a lot of that stuff is probably unnecessary but it's what i have in my car

Ohhh and i can change lightbulbs - i've done both front and back in this car. Not tried fuses, in any of my cars

Jez wrote:I carry all that because I drive a 15 year old Saab. It's very reliable given a mileage of 180,000, but bits do go wrong - by carrying the most common items I can usually get it going again without troubling the AA.

I find that an odd statement.

I drive ( amongst others) a 17 year old BW 525i SE,180,000 miles, and if it required me to carry spare parts to get it home....it would be on e-bay !