Questions from January 2009
I’m now car downsizing and wish to get a small/medium hatchback in the £8k-£10k range. Since I am 76 years old, does it under current market conditions make economic sense to purchase new rather than used?...
One of your e-mails inspired me to check my insurance details with the MID via www.askmid.com. Two of my three vehicles are recorded correctly, but the third shows my registration number is insured but...
I would be grateful for your advice. We have a 2008 VW 1.4TDI Polo SE which is generally fine, but the headlight main beam is rather weak and adds little to distance vision at night. Our dealer dismissively...
A friend recently had a minor accident in a multi-storey car park. His vehicle failed to respond when he tried to steer up one of the ramps to the next floor and, instead of turning, continued to go forward...
I want to tell you about my mother-in-law's Peugeot 206, which she bought in March 2004 and in which she has driven just 13,800 miles. In September this year, she drove from Liverpool up to the Lake District....
The fuel consumption of my February 2008 Nissan Pathfinder Aventura diesel has been carefully monitored driving on country roads at an average of 50mph and motorway driving at 69mph using cruise control....
I drive into a large pothole last weekend in the dark near where I live
(Stockport in Cheshire) and my front nearside alloy wheel of my A4 Audi quattro 3.0 litre was severely damaged and has to be replaced....
On the 1st of August 2008, I purchased a second-hand RAV-4 from a used car dealer and also purchased an additional two-year warranty from them. My RAV 4 is 3 years old (in Dec 08) and the mileage stated...
You wrote of the Audi A6 2005 on: "All engines apart from base TDI PD 140 four cylinder are chain cam." I asked at the dealer in order to check servicing cost and was told that the 2007 MY 3.0TDi is a...
Is there a definitive answer to BMWs auto gearbox 'sealed for life' conundrum? I have trawled the internet, including your hallowed pages, but there still seems to be some doubt whether to change the...
I am interested in buying a classic car, I was thinking of an MGB. I would be grateful for any advice you could give, on this car or any other manufacturers I should be considering.
I have owned a CRV for a year and from new have had a judder when applying the rear brakes. Honda has said that it will solve the problem by skimming the discs. I am reluctant to accept this as I feel...
I have a Vauxhall Cavalier 1.7TD. The car had a problem with the driver's window not going up and down. I repaired this, as it was the runner that had come out of the guide. Now I have found that I have...
My wife's driving license shows the date 23-04-09 under item 4b. However the counterpart says it is valid until a later date and it also shows that same date under item 11 on the back of the photo license....
I have to hand back the keys to my company car next month, and have started my own business. I need a comfortable motorway cruiser, to do approx 30,000 miles per annum, but do not have a great deal of...
I was somewhat puzzled about your recent reply concerning young people's insurance premiums. I have driven now for over 50 years, many of them professionally, doing over 40k per year and never been responsible...
Thanks to a friend who worked at Toyo, I have just acquired a set of their tyres for 12-year old Porsche 911/993. My local tyre dealer (a specialist - and very good) fitted them and did the tracking on...
I am in the market for a new Honda Jazz, either an automatic 1.4ES I-Shift or the 1.4 EX I-Shift and have a Honda Jazz 1.4 automatic with 42k miles on the clock, purchased in 2005. I have been offered...
Could you please clarify the position regarding the use of automatic transmission when stationary at traffic lights. I seem to recall your advice given some time ago, was to select neutral and hold on...
I have a Golf which will be 3 years old at the end of December and am thinking of taking out a one year warranty with Warranty Direct, which I have seen advertised in the Telegraph. What are your views...
As a fairly well seasoned motor trader of some seventeen years now I read your Saturday column with eager interest. Two points really, in the main it never ceases to amaze me that the vast majority of...
I am the second owner of a 1994 LHD Renault Twingo, imported twelve years ago. I receive a good insurance deal from Privilege, but out of curiosity I recently shopped around for online quotes and found...
My BMW 118d still very good. Excellent to drive and getting anywhere between 54+ and 56+ mpg average and occasional 60+mpg on long, careful runs. Quite a bit of local driving as well and some full acceleration....
I have a 2000 Audi 2.5 TDI which suffers an electric drain somewhere in the system, if I don't start the car for 3 days the battery will be too low to start the car. I now carry a spare battery in the...
I too bought a new Honda Civic with I-SHIFT gearbox earlier this year. Trading in a faultless 2005 Civic with conventional automatic gearbox was the worst day's work I ever did. Trying to hurry the I-SHIFT,...
I drove through some floodwater in my Peugeot 406 HDI 110 that was deeper than I expected. Several hundred yards up the road the engine started losing power. Home was only a few hundred yards away so I...
Having recently read in your Telegraph Motoring column of people suffering woe at the hands of canvassers I have just sold my 2002 VW Polo via www.autotrader.co.uk and didn't receive a single call from...
A short time ago I read a piece in the Telegraph regarding number plates. Could you confirm one or two points for me? The number plate can only carry the registration number, the name of the garage (or...
Four weeks ago, my wife’s car was written off. It was parked in a disabled car park outside a hotel in Llandudno. When we woke in the morning a note was under the bedroom door asking us to go to the reception....
I have been an avid reader of your column for some time, but never thought that I might have the misfortune to need some of your expert advice, but here goes. My 3½-year-old VW Golf MK 5 TDI, has developed...
I am wondering if you might be able to help me resolve an issue that I have with the DVLA. In May this year I sold my VW Golf for £950 cash to a private buyer. I completed the back of the registration...
I took delivery of a new Audi A4 Avant 2.0 litre 143 manual TDI in August and having now covered more than 5,000 miles I am disappointed with the fuel economy. My previous A4 always returned at least 50mpg....
My beloved 1995 Twingo was in a crash 2 weeks ago. I was not in the car and it was hit when parked by a 4x4 causing £1,700 damage. My insurer Norwich Union, new claims dept, assured me that they would...
I have a new S3 on its second tank full of fuel. Driving on the A1 with almost a quarter tank on the gauge and 65 miles left on the fuel range & no low fuel warning light on, the car came to a sudden stop....
I thought you might be intrigued (and a little saddened) to hear what I overheard whilst at a Ford dealer. I was picking my car up from a service and heard a gentleman arguing over his 2 year old Focus....
I am looking to replace a four-year-old Audi A6 Avant with something similar. This is the second A6 Avant that I have had, and both cars have been almost completely faultless, as well as being spacious,...
Really enjoyed your test of the Mazda 6 2.2 diesel. This car is on my shortlist to replace my current Mondeo 2.2 Titanium X estate that is now 2 years old. The only problem here in France is the exchange...
On Friday Oct 24 at Junction 11 of the M4 our car was written off in an accident and I would like to use your column to say what a good job the M4 Highway Patrol did looking after us. They were first class....
I am in the market to select a new car and have finally narrowed my choices down (from a very long list) to Skoda Superb 1.8TSI 4x4,
Nissan Qashqai+2 2.0 petrol, Subaru Legacy 2.5 litre. I want 4WD for...
Following a visit to your website, I checked out drivethedeal.com. Audi and Lexus (A4 and IS 220d) with almost £5000 off and Mercedes E Class (220CDi and 280CDi) with virtually £9000 off! What's the catch?...
I am considering buying a vehicle that has been advertised on the eBay website - not via an auction, but a "classified advertisement" alongside a price. The seller is a trader. Am I covered by the standard...
Like CW of Moseley, I am experiencing much below indicated fuel economy from my new model Smart ForTwo. Friends with original model Smarts certainly seem to do better. In Surrey, with endless speed limits,...
6 weeks after buying my 2008 CR-V 2.2 EX diesel, I parked it at Gatwick Airport for a 2-week holiday. When we returned to the car, the battery was completely flat; no lights, no unlocking on the fob, nothing!...
We want a selectable 4x4 (auto preferably) that is about 2 or 3 years old with excellent reliability and economy (which presumably means diesel, although we have been unlucky with auto diesel gearboxes)....
I live in Northamptonshire and was recently caught speeding in Cheshire. I was grateful that I was offered the opportunity to attend a speed awareness course as an alternative to a fine and points on my...
In my search of your road tests I came across the Hyundai i10 and i30. I have yet to drive the i30, but sat in one in the showroom and have to say I am very impressed so far. The interior seems very well...
I recently had a fairly minor bump near Guildford. Details were exchanged, the insurance companies have locked horns and no doubt in due course a puff of white smoke will emerge from one of their chimneys...
My car is a 1999V Peugeot 406 L HDI Estate with no a/c and 83,000 miles on the clock. It has just had a new exhaust and drivers electric window switch fitted but is otherwise in good working order and...
After yet another inordinately long wait in a police induced traffic jam recently, I eventually slowly passed the scene of a bad accident. Rubber necking as I do, not to observe any gore, but to check...
Earlier this year, my BMW 325i that I had owned for less than two weeks was hit by another car turning in the office car park. I saw the accident happen and the driver stopped and gave me his details....
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