Reply To: Touring in Europe

[Joseph Dobson]

Dear Nigel,

I have not long returned from a trip to our house in the Charente.  I took the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe and back with an overnight sailing.  A few things cropped up that caused concern. On the auto routes my bank card was no recognised  when offered up on the screen for payment, fortunately my friend who I was travelling with allowed me to use his.  I would try to avoid Rouen as the route directions seem not to lead anywhere and I found it difficult to find a way out.  Check that your points, plugs, leads and distributor are all in good condition.  Unfortunately my points worked loose and caused a difficult and erratic journey back to the ferry from Le Mans where we had an overnight stay. I did not realise this was the problem until we were back in the UK.  I have since bought a new distributor from Chris.  5% petrol is available easily but I advise taking a lead replacement additive and an additive that reduces the effects of ethanol.  I work on the basis that if the car is working fine in the UK then it will be similarly OK in France so I did not take a huge selection of tools.

Joseph