Questions from August 2010
We have a four-year-old Volkswagen Golf MkV 1.6 FSI petrol. I'm told today by my local non-franchised Volkswagen specialist that the rattling that developed two days ago is the inside of the catalytic...
I am about to change my car and would welcome some advice. I can spend £3500 tops. The car has to be automatic, have five doors, be a hatchback because of the dogs, and no larger than 1.4-litre. The bigger...
My wife has a Merecedes-Benz A-Class bought just over a year ago from one of the car supermarkets. It still has outstanding warranty on it and runs well. It is low mileage, but has been used daily by ourselves....
I've seen and test driven a Volkswagen Polo 1.4S 52 with 48,000 miles. It's up for £3495, has a full service history, one owner and is HPI clear. Is £3300 reasonable? I've also seen a Volkswagen Polo 1.4SW...
I've just had my 54 plate D22 Nissan Navara written off by another driver. I'm hoping I can get maybe £7000 from the insurance and now find myself with an issue. Do I spent the £7000 on another similar...
I am looking to spend up to £15,000 on a secondhand car for my wife, who only will do 4000 miles per year so I'm looking at one or two year-old car. I would like either front wheel drive or 4X4, as we're...
How much am I looking at paying for a new clutch on a 2002 Ford Mondeo?
The button on the handbrake in my 2003 BMW 325Ci is stuck pushed in, and as such I can no longer get it to grab when I pull it up. Is there a way I can fix this myself?
Which is the cheapest country in Europe to buy a left-hand drive car from?
I have a 2006 Skoda Fabia 1.9TDI PD. After driving for about 10 minutes the ESP light comes on and stays on. Once you stop and turn the ignition off, the light goes off but comes back on after another...
I'm looking for an interesting car to buy for six months as I'm looking to come back to the UK to work for six months next year. My requirements are fairly relaxed; a good fun four-seater car which can...
My son-in-law has purchased, two months ago, a 2005 Vauxhall Astra CDTI (1.7-litre turbo diesel). The car is a saloon hatchback with only 31,000 miles on the clock. My son-in-law uses the car daily, but...
I am looking for a car with three Isofix fittings to take three child seats on the second row. I would rather not have a very large car like a Galaxy. I have looked at the Citroen C4 Picasso but the semi-automatic...
Do you know what the equivalent spring rates are for the Citroen Xantia front suspension? Is there any way I can alter the pounds per inch rate of these units?
I have a 1996 Peugeot 106. The immobiliser has locked itself. The red and green light are on together and the dashboard lights are on too, but it wont start. Is there a way to override this?
I thought you might like to comment on the way the 2007 Lexus IS250 cruise control operates when resuming from a speed below that saved in the system. Rather than accelerating steadily (cruising?) back...
Do automatic transmissions have or need dual mass flywheels? How do I know if a car has one?
I received a recall letter last Wednesday for a potential problem with my Audi A4's plenum chamber. Ironically my car broke down on Saturday and, according to the AA, it was caused by water corrosion in...
I am a trustee of a small UK charity working to improve primary education in Uganda. We are trying to find a suitable secondhand vehicle for use in our charity's work in a rural area of Uganda. One possibility...
The car is a 2007 Renault Laguna 150 DCI. The windscreen is developing spots, about 3mm in diameter, like semi-transparent watermarks which are inside the screen, perhaps between the laminate layers. They...
We are looking at a 1.4 Fiesta Titanium in Sea Grey. The dealer is offering it at £12,000 plus our Y-reg Puma valued at £1200. I'd like reversing sensors and mud flaps included but the dealer won't budge....
I've just had a new steering rack installed, and then had to have the power steering sensor replaced. Now a warning light comes up on the dashboard and the steering is heavy at low speed and light at high...
Does the piston hit the valves if a cam belt snaps on a Lexus IS200 1999? If there is a small 6mm washer in the piston would it just rattle around or would it damage the engine?
My Ford Mondeo is a 2003 TDCi 130bhp Ghia. Since last week, as I apply acceleration to my car gently from 0 up till 85mph, it feels like it is losing power but it never cuts out fully. But, if I accelerate...
I am tempted to buy a '98 BMW 318i E46 manual from a dealer here in Singapore. I drove a E30 316i manual for few years about 15 years ago and like the 'BMW manual feel". How do you rate this car?
I have a Vauxhall Meriva 1.7CDTi. When I depress the clutch slightly I hear a small noise. Is that normal?
The engine auto light is on in my Peugeot 307. The display shows 'Anti-Pollution Fault'. Can you help?
I have an almost new Alfa Romeo 159 TI. I have no complaints with the car other than a battery problem. There are occasions when I have to attend conferences abroad, leaving the car in the open air car...
Help! can you please tell me where I can get a user manual for my 51-plate Citroen Xsara Picasso?
Can you tell me all about the 2001 Citroen Xsara Picasso 8v petrol?
My UK car insurer will insure me, while in Europe, for 90 days as standard plus another 90 for an extra premium. I wish to be in Europe (Spain, France & Portugal only) for 270 days. Can you suggest an...
My granddaughter has a 2007 Polo 1.4. Two days ago she started the car as usual and endeavoured to drive off. She released the handbrake and found that the car would not move (it seemed to be straining...
I have an eight-month-old Octavia hatchback 1.9TDI. At 68-70mph there is a noise that can only be described as like blowing across the top of a bottle, but quite loud. The dealer has said that it is 'wind...
I have recently taken delivery of a nearly-new, 4900-mile Fiesta 1.6TDCi Titanium. After only a few days, I noticed that two warning lights, the engine management and power steering lights, did not go...
Ford has given me an incredibly complicated template for dipped lights in Europe, but the accessory shop sells small (AA-approved, I think) plastic tear-shaped panels - nothing like the Ford offering....
I'm having a problem with my Nissan Primera 2-litre diesel estate. The engine management light came on, the car cut out and now won't start.
My Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI is juddering. The ESP light is on, along with the emissions workshop light. What could be causing this?
After travelling about 300 miles, I parked my Renault Master 2.2 DCi for two days, went to start it and it won't start. I checked the fuel and it's coming through, but I have seen on the control panel...
I currently run a five-year-old Peugeot 206 SW which has been fine, but I would like to consider changing to something of a similar size that would provide a better (softer) ride, as my wife and I are...
A high pitched whine from the lower front of the engine compartment of my 2005 Passat Highline 2.0 TDi (77,000 miles) was diagnosed by my Volkswagen dealer as a faulty air conditioning compressor, in which...
I've seen a P-reg BMW 320i Cabriolet E36 with 237,000 miles, which looks alright and has a full BMW service history and MoT. The seller says it drives fine. Can these easily do more miles, or is this a...
We have twin boys who will be 17 in September. Obviously they would like to learn to drive. However, insurance is likely to be a big issue. Would it be better to name them both as learner drivers on our...
We bought a 2006 SEAT Leon 2.0 TDi Stylance in January 2010. It's an excellent car, but there's a horrendous loud rumbling from the rear tyres. It's at it's worst at 50mph, so if you're say on the M4 in...
I would like to get a used Jaguar X-Type estate. I have £8000 and wondered which would be the best for my money. It would be used as a family car and would do less than 10,000 miles a year, mostly urban....
We have just purchased an S-reg Mitsubishi Shogun Challenger 3.0 6V and find that the fan is running constantly. We contacted the dealer we purchased it from who informs us that this is normal for this...
My partner has a Volkswagen Eos 2.0 TDI 140 PS DSG and I have a Volkswagen Passat Estate 2.0 TDI 140 PS Manual. She pays £200 a year car tax and I pay £155. We did wonder why the car tax should be different....
My local dealer is giving a good discount on the Volkswagen Jetta 1.4.TSI 160ps. This seems to be a lot of power from a small engine. Are there any reliability or longevity problems with this engine?
I have had a Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI Titanium purchased new in February of this year. After four or five weeks, I could hear a quiet-ish ticking noise when the engine speed reached 1500 rpm (in any gear)....
With a comprehensive car insurance policy do I need legal assistance as an extra? If I take out legal assistance, is it related to the car and that policy, or to the named individuals on that policy? If...
My car went into a local garage for a replacement radiator. When I collected the car the air conditioning wasn't working and the next day a coolant warning light came on. I took the car back to the garage...
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