h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

RAC actually. The all singing, all dancing, get you anywhere, do whatever package - and a damn fine investment it is to

It's one of the few bills I have no grumbles in paying when it rolls around for another year.

Just AAsk as they are saying non their advert! Such nice men! I have membership with my car and in the past have been really grateful for it.

One time on the M40 someone's exhaust came off and hit my car hard - bursting a tyre. I managed to get to the side of the road and call the AA - it was a driverside tyre so there was no way I was going to even attempt to change it - not to mention wanting the car checked over before I drove any further. The nice man was with me and fixing my car before the police arrived for the people who had crashed and lost their exhaust!

Just don't get their European Cover if you're planning to go anywhere further than France - don't get me started on that miserable bunch of incompetents

Simulpost there - it's the RAC I've got a huge chip on my shoulder about.

The AA got me out of so many situations, so I never had any qualms about paying the membership either The cost of one tow across London more than covered it

>there is a bottle at the front into which you pour blue stuff

Your car must be feeling very thirsty if you've forgotten about the hole in the front where you pour the thick black stuff

Come off it, I don't believe for a moment that my car is a Guinness drinker. It's French for heaven's sake!

Hey, that's a gag from 'Spaced'...

Tyres: Right lads, mine's a pint of the black stuff.
Mike (derisively): You can't drink a pint of Bovril.

It's not thick and black when it goes in Kerr - or it shouldn't be. It shold be golden, like honey.

Don't put honey in there though. That would be a mistake.

I was posting late at night, okay?

Well there was that occasion, one winter's evening whilst driving up the M1 towards Yorkshire. The weather that night would be best described as 'damp'. You know, there's just enough moisture to throw up all the road grease and salt on to your winscreen obscuring your vision within seconds, but not enough to use your wipers to clean it all off.

Then suddenly the wash-wipe water bottle ran dry, and I was at least 10 miles from the nearest service station.

I refilled it with the only liquid I had to hand

Oh my

I wish I'd thought of that when I was halfway between Edinburgh and Newcastle and ran out of washer liquid. That was a nightmare

I learnt a different trick the night I came back from Derby down the M1 when there was all the snow and ice back in January.

Because I had too much water and not enough screen-wash in the bottle, it kept freezing up on me which was an absolute nightmare. In the end I cottoned on to the idea of following some bloody great artic and using the mass of slushy spray that he was kicking up as my own personal windscreen washer. It worked perfectly even if there were a few hairy moments as he nearly lost control of his lorry.

Two of the scariest things that can happen to you when driving are a) not being able to stop sneezing, and b) pulling on the windscreen wiper stalk to send a spurt of liquid onto the windscreen and the wipers across the windscreen a couple of times, then finding that there's no liquid in the bottle and the wipers have smeared the mud and sh*t on the windscreen all across it so that you can't see a damn thing

My parents used to do that to me all the time - leave the damn taxi with no water in it. Not fun if you're on your way to HEathrow airport on the M25.

I went through a puddle in my kit car one time on the outskirts of St Albans. I didn't realise that it was about 6 inches deep and caused by a blown water main, so not only did I have the problem of almost ripping one of my wheels off, by dropping into a six inch deep hole at 45, the windscreen became totally covered in muddy water, which totally obscured my view until the wipers had swept at least four times. I don't know how far I travelled along the road without being able to see, I was just very thankful it was straight.



Bassman

The next disaster happened today.

I was coming back to my office from one of the other sites and my exhaust suddenly started to make a sort of a burbling sound. This was quickly followed by a crack and a bang, and my catalytic converter was bouncing down the road behind me.

Oh well, at least tomorrow is pay day

You should be alright if it's just the midsection. You can get a mid & rear exhaust for less than £100. It's the front that gets expensive.

B

Most of the rest needed to be replaced as it was badly damaged. It cost £195. I've no idea if that is good or bad to be honest.

I don't think I'd complain at that too much - that said I've no idea what car you drive, so it might be a total rip-off (But I doubt it)



Bassman