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Questions from January 2012
Bought a new F10 550iSE about a year ago. At 11600 miles under braking I began to get a shuddering through the steering. Was advised by the BMW garage that I needed new discs and pads. Fitted at not inconsiderable...
I have a 1.6TDCI C-MAX on 2011 plate. The mention of DPF keeps rearing its ugly head. Diesels use less fuel so pollute the planet less (in theory), but as they are now they are fitted with DPFs. My...
I have a budget of £7-8000 to spend - it doesn't matter if the engine is diesel or petrol, but the car has to have a manual gearbox and be sporty. Can be any size.
I am thinking of buying a Ford Mondeo estate 2.0 petrol. Would you recommend this model, does it have a DMF and are there known reliability issues with the DMF? I am also thinking of getting a Ford Focus...
My Mercedes-Benz E320 is insured by Mercedes-Benz Insurance. Following your advice recently I contacted them to inform them I was fitting winter tyres. They refunded £53 of my premium - an unexpected surprise.
I currently I drive a C4 Grand Picasso 1.6 HDi EGS Exclusive. We have been extremely happy with the vehicle, the ride and build quality, etc. and are in part quite reluctent to let it go. However in...
My wife is looking to buy a family estate for the arrival of our second child, and also to use for her garden design business. We have a budget of around £8.000 and have looked briefly at the Audi A4...
My X-Type is suffering excess fuel consumption and poor acceleration. My local garage stated it had two leaking diesel injectors and gave an estimate of £1000 to repair all four injectors, recommending...
I am interested in buying a new Fiat 500. I personally would prefer the 0.9 Twinair or the 0.9 Twinair Lounge but the dealer is pushing for a 1.2 Lounge because (in the dealer's opinion) the 1.2 Lounge...
Advice on a small auto through Motability. I was thinking of Fiat this time or Mitsubishi.
I currently own a 53 plate Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0 HDi and I average 44-48mpg. I'm looking to purchase a used (up to 18-month old ) family car (£10K to max £12K). I would idealy like a diesel due...
I'm thinking of buying a Hyundai i30 auto, 2007. The car has only done 33,000 miles, had one lady owner, and has been regularly serviced at Hyundai. Is there anything in particular I should watch out for?
Who owns a private number plate after insurance company has deemed the vehicle a write-off in an accident?
Why does my 10 year old Focus 1800 Zetec require a new timing belt and pulleys etc when the mileage is only 52,000 against Ford's recommended figure of 100,000?
I recently had trouble starting my Volkswagen Golf 1.6 mk4 on a very hot (35C) day. It made a loud grinding noise. I called road side assistance and by the time they got out the problem had stopped....
Should I run my new Prius 10th Anniversary on Shell V-Power? I'm hoping to get even better fuel economy to offset the additional cost at the pump.
My Beetle 2.0 automatic is very difficult to start on cold mornings, engine cranks well enough, but reluctant to fire. When warm it starts and runs well. New plugs fitted recently, but no better.
A relative recently had to call a rescue service to start her car. She was told that jump starting, either the car to be started or the car used to start would damage computers and electronics featuring...
The washers on my Nissan X-Trail won't work - any idea why?
In 2008 you advised the then new Subaru Forester diesel. Due to the waiting list, instead we bought an XT 2.5 petrol. Three years on, it is summed up after 18,000 miles a year as brilliantly fast, comfy,...
I can't choose between the Vauxhall/ Opel Astra 1.6 115hp petrol or Renault Megane 1.6 110hp petrol - can you please can you help me choose the best?
I bought a new Ford Focus 1.6 Titanium Ecoboost in Sept 2011. The engine stop-start feature has not functioned since purchase. The supplying dealer is struggling to isolate the problem. I need to return...
I have just bought a 54 plate Rover 75 CDTi Automatic with 28,000 genuine mileage. I paid £4650 for what almost appears to be a new car. I intend to keep it for some time. Apart from having the fluid...
I just bought the car yesterday, drove lovely nearly all the way home (38 miles from the dealer) and as we came into our village the engine started making a noise that I can only describe as being like...
At my MOT I got an advisory note saying that the nearside front tyre (Kumho KU 235/45/R18) had a bulge on the inside wall. Both front tyres have approx 5mm tread left. Should I have both front tyres...
Driving a 1.9TDI Skoda Superb and under load there is a whooshing noise. Happens when driving the vehicle under medium and high engine load conditions.
Engine starts ok and runs perfect. Then travelling at about 40mph or more it randomly starts to judder and surge, then it runs fine again. Then when decreasing speed to about 20mph the engine will sometimes...
I am an independent retailer. Recently our landlord has imposed clamping rules to our service yard where we used to be able to place one car free. The service yard has a barrier which is permanantly broken.Can...
I have a friend that has just bought a car with brand new MoT from a garage who were selling the car as 'sold as seen. The garage he bought it from failed to explain about a faulty cv joint and head gasket...
Here’s an interesting story. A 1950 Chevrolet Club Coupe, with just 437 miles. It was purchased new by Mr And Mrs Jessie Trueblood of Modesto, California. Soon after, Mr Trueblood took a day off to go...
I purchased a Mercedes-Benz E270 CDI Elegance Estate on 1 September 2004. It has only done 55,000 miles, is in excellent condition and has been serviced regularly. Due to its age, should I think about...
Regarding your reader RB of Sutton Coldfield fitting winter tyres only to the driven wheels of his car, last winter I fitted two winter tyres to the front of my Auris. In snowy conditions I observed the...
In September my wife was involved in an accident in our local supermarket car park. She was waiting to reverse out of a space until a van had passed her. The van cleared her car and she began to reverse....
I believe there is a culture of deceit within Land Rover. We purchased a new Freelander 2 TD4 manual from a Land Rover dealer in November 2010. The transaction was very badly handled. When we collected...
In your columns in the Daily Telegraph Motoring Supplement a while ago you referred a correspondent who was being harassed by a firm called Premier over parking charges. I am in the position of being similarly...
I took delivery of a new Honda Jazz 1.4i EX on 6 November 2009. The second annual service was carried out on 24 October 2011, at which time it had completed 8494 miles. It was found during the servicing...
I am an elderly lady driver of 5-feet 1-inch only. Over the last years I have had three very satisfactory Mercedes-Benz MLs, but since they have grown too big for my needs, I took delivery of the new Range...
I tried to sell my 2005/55 Volkswagen Passat to webuyanycar.com and was offered £1900. I took your advice, sold it through BCA Sure Sell and received a cheque for over £2600 in less than a week.
I've lost the use of a company car, have never bought a used car before and I was thinking of spending £1000 - £2000 on a car to get me 10 miles each way to work and other very short trips. My biggest...
We need to consider changing our 6-year old RAV4 before too long and need advice on which models are worth considering. It must be 4WD. We are also looking for good fuel economy, reasonable tax band, reasonably...
My daughter’s Suzuki Swift was recalled for a handbrake problem but was deemed OK. Recently, when parked at work, the car rolled back into a wall scuffing the bumper. The handbrake was completely inoperative...
I ordered a new Nissan Qashqai 1.6DCI 4WD, which has a delivery date coming soon. Having seen recent bad publicity regarding DPFs, have I ordered the wrong car as the majority of my mileage is local commuting...
Yesterday I took delivery of a 4-year-old Alfa Romeo 147 Lusso. Before buying the vehicle I pointed out to the salesman that it had a windscreen chip which is eye-level on the driver's side, and when it...
My wife needs to replace her 2002 Toyota Yaris, partly due to its age and partly as she needs a larger car due to growing children and sports bags, etc. I would like her to have a Ford Focus, but her heart...
I read about your preference for winter tyres in many articles in Telegraph. I have a Toyota Yaris 1.3TR petrol. Could you please suggest the best make of winter tyres for this car and also a cheap place...
You recently published a letter where an insurance company had treated the fitting of cold weather tyres as modification that they should have been told of. Where I live we are plagued by a hoody boy racer...
What is the best way to insure a UK-registered car in Italy for family holiday use with four named drivers? How does one avoid falling foul of the SORN and compulsory insurance regulations if the car were...
I've seen adverts for companies that can disconnect the diesel particulate filter from the car's ECU. Is this legal and does it make the car better? I think you said only in the last couple of years DPF...
Can you give me a view as to what I should pay for an ex-demo Alfa Guilietta 140JTDM diesel Veloce, 61 reg with the following spec and around 4000 miles? It has special paint (£490), double electric sunroof...
I would be grateful for any advice or suggestions on the following problem: Recently, going down a long hill and going up a slight rise to a roundabout, when I went to change down the engine cut out. The...