I finally parted with my beloved but batty Rover 75 in favour of Nissan Note. It's within my budget, big enough to house a wheelchair for my mum, and (I thought longingly of my old Micra) reliable. It's a nice little car, handles relatively well, seems nippy, and easy to access. But I didn't get the air con kind, and it's airless within, baking within minutes on a relatively mild day, even with fans on full, and temperature control in blue. Plus the first few drives with vents on have blasted dessicated insects and leaves in my face. It's only got 10k on the clock (2008) so will the filters be blocked already?

The Micra went really cold one year and it was a blocked filter then, but it was a dashboard removal job to reach it, plus I find I virtually have to stand on the brakes on country runs to stop it careering merrily away. The gears seem to fail to slow it. And today, joy of joys, a really weird tweeting sound struck up, accompanied by what seemed like a chorus of Clangers.

My Nissan dealership redefines customer service as customer disservice, so I can't see the warranty covering this, if they find any fault in it at all. I'm tempted to take it to my usual really trustworthy chap instead. But any clues on the noise, the heat or the dusty insects?