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Questions from January 2011
We bought a new Audi A3 in October 07. Shortly afterwards, I was transferred by my company to Canada, but we kept the A3 and use it on holidays in England.
Consequently, the car has done only 8,500 (mostly...
I was about to but a Mondeo estate, following your recommendation but have now seen the new Passat. The economy of the 1.6TDi is attractive but what's your view on the engine in a car this size please?
When my car starts from cold for the first five minutess of driving when I let the clutch up to move off there is a short "whooo" type noise, is this the clutch plate or release bearing, or simply change...
I have read the bad points on your reviews regarding the 1.9 TD engine. I am looking at buying a 09/10 9-3 and wonder whether these issues are still relevant for the newer models? Also, does the petrol...
On reading your review about the new SEAT Leon Cupra R I see it says leather seats come as standard equipment. I have just bought new Cupra R in Spain which will not be delivered till end of febuary and...
Several problems with this car all started at the same time.
Firstly, when cold the engine starts first time and the car drives as you would expect. Once warm however, the car goes into limp mode and...
My partner has recently bought a new 2.0 CRDI manual Hyundai ix35 but she has not seen anywhere near the fuel economy the official figures suggest having done approx 2,000.
The supplying garage said...
I have cira £10,000 to spend on a smallish estate (replacing an 156 Sportswagon). I fancy an Audi (A4 or A6), Merc (E-Class), Skoda or maybe an Alfa (159 Sportswagon). Reliability and cheap running costs...
My wife's new Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec is fitted with a plane driver's door mirror and a convex passenger door mirror. The agent (Perrys)and Ford Customer Care Centre explain that this is because it has...
I collected my new SEAT Ibiza last week to discover that there was no spare wheel, although I had checked in the brochure before purchase that one was supplied. The salesman was initially helpful and suggested...
The handbrake cable recently went on my Corsa. I took it to Kwik Fit who advised that the cable they need comes in a pack of two so instead of the charge being £43.50 it will actually be £77. Why are they...
Very much enjoy your website & Telegraph articles. Are you able to suggest a replacement for our much loved Fabia VRS. The replacement needs to be 4x4, 4m long (give or take a few mm), have 5 doors, be...
I'm about to order a new company car. We are re-imbursed for petrol on a sliding scale, so >2 litres gives 30% extra per mile. I object to the Mondeo and S-MAX 2.2 engines only being a £5K option as you...
My daughter's car has an erratic braking operation. Sometimes the brakes work instantly when the pedal is depressed and other times the pedal travels a much longer distance before the brakes work although...
For the last year we have had an intermittent fault with the EPS system meaning we lose our power steering. Normally switching engine off fixes the problem. On one occasion it didn't - called out the AA...
I own a Ford C-MAX 2.0 Titanium automatic. At the last MoT I was told it needed new front tyres so I asked the garage to get some fitted. It has come back with Wanli tyres. I've never heard of them and...
I do very low mileage (5,000 miles per year) and I was advised against getting a diesel due to DPF and DMF problems.
But when checking out a VW Golf 1.2 TSI 105 some people wondered do these cars have...
Of the cheap small cars around which is the most reliable? This will be for a 24 y/o with no no claims but some three years experience. We've been looking at the Fiat Panda and Vauxhall Corsa but reliability...
I have a 2005 Renault Espace which has recently had the alternator reconditioned. After a few days I had "battery charge fault" display on seconds after start up. Any ideas?
On the 2006 Ford Mondeo Ghia X TDCi is it possible to have the door locks autolock as you drive off and can you set the mirrors to autofold when doors are locked?
My astra lately has been struggling to start in the morning, it started 5 days ago when i tried to start the engine, instead of the engine turning it clicked and all my lights dimmed on the dash, this...
ATS, in looking for a slow puncture, identified a tyre problem where the inner tread blocks are not smooth around the tyre periphery, caused by the edges of adjacent blocks not being of the same height....
Over the cold spell mine and a number of other 308 owners have experienced a failure of the wash facility for the screen. When i enquired at the local dealer the receptionist explained that it would have...
I took your advice about getting winter tyres for our C-MAX which is now wonderful in snow and want to get winter tyres for our Hyundai i10. The only ones available (from Germany) are "XL" which I think...
I own an 03 plate Skoda Octavia vRS and have, to date, been very pleased with it. However, six weeks ago at 74,000 miles, I had a cambelt change costing around £300. I had this done at the main dealership...
I have a Suzuki Grand Vitara year 2001(01) it runs perfectly OK, but it keeps losing water. It does not over-heat and the gauge never goes above half way. I have taken it to a garage to have the system...
My 2002 passat 2.0-litre 8 valve petrol froze up due to lack of anti freeze. I let the car thaw but when started it has no heat and built up pressure very quick. I stripped out the water pump to find it...
I cannot find a company that will give me a car warranty for my 12 year old Jaguar XK8 with 41,000 on the clock. Can you recommend one please?
My 2007 Saab Convertible (20k miles) has twice been in the main dealers in the last month for a problem of the engine revs dropping below 500 r/p/m when reducing speed & dipping the clutch (also when steering...
Dear John,
Thank for a great site, I purchased my first vehicle back in March of last year; a Tucson 2005. I was lucky that I did not have any problems with the vehicle, the price was right; as we were...
What would create a sudden loss of oil from area at rear of gearbox indicated at 60 mph by whitish smoke at back of car? All fluids checked OK except gearoil no dip stick car drives perfect, outside temp...
I have a Suzuki Carry van first registered 28/03/03 is this vehicle a Euro 4 TC36 for Road Tax? How do I confirm this, as I am being charged the higher rate of tax for non euro 4?
The power fails on gear changes and the coil and engine managment lights on dash come on temporarily when I change gear. My mechanic thought the turbo had gone and pressure built on the hose while revving...
The above is available for sale at £5495 having 12000miles/2009/3 door. Is this a fair price?
For the past couple of months my Fiesta idles funny. It only idles rough once the car has heated up and as the months have passed it's getting worse. My Dad has cleaned many of the sensors and this hasn't...
I have recently decided to become a part-time motor trader, purchasing from auction houses with the intention of selling on for profit. I have have in the last few weeks gone on to purchase a couple of...
My daughter is proposing to buy a 2008 BMW X3 3.0l auto Diesel with 58000 miles on the clock. She mainly wants the car for transporting 2 children with prams, pushchairs and all that young children require....
I own a Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 LS (petrol) on a 52 plate (Sep 02). This thing has become the bain of my life, with something needing fixing on a monthly basis. The alarm keeps going off when in the 1st and/or...
My 2008 Corsa 1.3 D Breeze has had the wipers go out of alignment after freezing up - admittedly it was my fault as I thought they were not frozen. Basically, the drivers-side wiper hits the front screen...
Our Astra came to a gradual stop, the ESP and ABS lights came on and the steering went heavy and it stalled. We tried to restart it but there was a clicking sound. We called for recovery who jump started...
Two days ago my 2005 Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Ghia X broke down. The battery light came on while driving for a few seconds and also the ABS light for a bit. I thought nothing of it then later that evening whilst...
I have a 1996 Vectra 2.0 petrol. I have problems with selecting gears.Can you please advise on which oil to put in gearbox and where?
My 2006 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi has just started making a whining/howling sound coming from the alternator area. When I started the car this morning (first time it happened) the red battery warning light came...
We have a Hyundai Tucson GSI 2WD. The original tyres were changed at 33,000 (Kuoni i think) and were replaced by Goodyear Wrangler. After only 25k they are almost worn down, and are extremely noisy. Could...
I have an Audi A3 2.0 TFSI quattro which was new in Sept 2009. The car is fitted with 225/40/R18 92Y Continental Sport Contact 2 tyres which after covering 19,000 miles will soon need replacing. Can you...
The dealer my wife bought her 59-plate Fiat 500 1.2 lounge from is insisting that if the car is not serviced after 1 year her warranty is invalid. The information in her service schedule says it should...
The battery went flat on my Rover so i removed it and charged it up. When putting the battery back in and connecting this up the engine would not start. I turn the key and the engine turns over it just...
The steering has just failed on my 56 plate Meriva (its only done 18k miles ), with an ESP warning light also showing. I have noticed on your website that this seems to be an increasing problem with Merivas....
How do I replace a leaking screenwasher bottle on a Volkswagen Polo 1.4 TDI 2004 model?
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