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Questions from March 2012
I have owned my BMW for 6 years and it has done just less than 35,000 miles. Based on time rather than mileage I have had the car serviced every two years by the local main dealer. I am now told it needs...
Windscreen vision impaired during rain at night due to smearing. Have tried Auto Glym, but without success. Can you recommend a cleaning product?
Would you consider removing the wheels and greasing the hubs to be part of a routine service?
I had a problem with changing a flat tyre because I could not remove the wheel. The Green Flag emergency service...
My car got scratched, presumably by another vehicle, whilst in the long stay airport parking at Heathrow. There were no CCTV cameras in the vicinity. I reported it to the front desk and they just shrugged...
Our local BMW garage stated that within 500 miles we will need replacement tyres at the front and quoted a substantial figure. Is there a reliable alternative tyre retailer who is cheaper? To give us a...
I notice that Drivethedeal is offering B-Max 1.0 Ecoboost 120 Titaniums at a discount of nearly £4000. However, if you prefer to pay cash rather than around 7 per cent interest, then you have to pay an...
I discovered that my car keys worked normally away from my house, but not close to it. I infer that there is some kind of local interference weakening the signal from the key to the car, possibly RF. There...
I read your car insurance challenge a little late. In August I negotiated fully comprehensive policy (including Legal Expenses cover) for myself and wife for £110.19 with the AA.
We currently drive a Nissan X-Trail, and for the North Yorkshire Moors in winter, have found it does just what we have asked of it. We plan to replace it with another X-Trail, and have been offered an...
We are about to purchase a new Hyundai i10 automatic but, rather than let the dealer sort the GAP insurance, we should like to arrange this ourselves via the internet. We remember that this subject was...
I have a 2010 Golf Estate 1.6 TDI 105 with 26,000 miles on the clock from new. Last winter, when cold at around 1800rpm it sounded like an old type diesel when cold, yet fine when warm. In February, the...
I wish to change my 2006 Mondeo Edge for an estate car or good alternative. As it will be my last vehicle I am looking for something with a high ride, for ease of access, and a saloon car driving position....
My Ford C-Max 1.6 TDCI CVT auto has developed a droning noise from the rear axle. It’s been in my local garage twice because I suspected a bearing had gone, but all front and rear bearings are sound and...
At three years old and with 30,000 miles on the clock, I had the front nearside wheel bearing replaced under warranty on my Hyundai i30. During the last year I have also had a replacement drop-link, again...
I am gobsmacked at your recommendation in response to the enquiry of CA from Bourne End, owners of a BMW X5. Have you actually sat in and driven, say 200 miles in your recommended vehicles? If you had...
I always read with interest the letters you publish, yet find myself exasperated by the cost of even modest modern motors. It is many years since I purchased a new car (a 1996 Volvo T5 estate) since when...
I suppose it's fair to say that all the EU fuel efficiency tests are carried out in the way described on the car fuel data glossary at www.directgov.co.uk - a rolling road, simulated drag, no gradients...
Earlier this year I purchased a low mileage Volvo S80 SE from a Volvo dealership with a year's warranty remaining from new. Almost immediately I had a problem with the electronics, which are quite sophisticated....
I have a friend who has a Hyundai Accent with a 53-registration plate but has noticed that in the warranty book it is recorded as first registered in 2001. The DVLA document states first registered in...
My 2001 Audi A6 1.8T suffered a front wheel impact, which caused me to suspect the tracking may need to be checked. My local tyre dealer confirmed on his rig that the alignment was indeed out of specification,...
My daughter has enjoyed her 2005 Volkswagen Golf GTI, but now it is time to change. The Golf has done all she could ask, including pulling a small caravan, except that it is not good at coping when towing...
Do you have any idea why many car manufacturers are currently making the front profiles of their cars look more and more aggressive and intimidating? We hear of far too many instances of "road rage" or...
My daughter purchased a new Corsa 1.2 in January 2008. The car is used every day to commute to work, a round trip of 10 miles and in addition, it is used for social driving at weekends. It's normally driven...
I drive a BMW 320d. As an ex-Shell employee I always look out for V-Power Diesel as I like its performance and cleanliness. For several months Shell have been capping their V-Power Diesel nozzles with...
I am buying a large caravan and would appreciate your advice on which large car would suit my needs and budget with which to tow it. I can go up to about £16,000 and need a 4x4 diesel such as the Volvo...
Despite replacing the cam belt and alternator drive belt tensioner on my 2004 Passat, the belt still slips on full lock although it has improved. I have owned it for seven years and have only had this...
On a recent European motorcycle tour to Budapest, my friend and I got stopped on the German/Austrian border at Passau. We did not have the "Vignette" (autobahn toll sticker) on display so ASFNAG, the private...
Whilst motoring last month on hundreds of miles of excellent new and uncrowded roads in Spain, I was stopped by the Guardia Civil for going through a tunnel without putting my lights on. This was a very...
My in-laws are an ageing couple in their 80s. They do a weekly shop at Aldi in Stourbridge using the car park in front of the store. The store recently introduced a system of recording the registration...
I am taking delivery of a new BMW 1 Series later this month. The new car will have 17-inch wheels. I have been enquiring about winter tyres, as you will know that the BMWs are not much good in the snow....
Last November I bought a Vauxhall Astra 1.7CDTI Eco with a claimed combined mpg of 62.8. I struggle to get 45mpg, which is more than 25 per cent less than the stated figures. I wrote to Vauxhall expressing...
Why is it that drivers on dual carriageways manage to return to the nearside lane after overtaking, yet on three lane motorways often fail to do so? Are they just mesmerised by the extra lane and sit in...
I have a 13-year-old BMW 520i SE auto saloon that now has 106,500 miles on the clock. It has served me well over the eight year period l've owned it, and it is comfortable, reliable and good to drive....
Mercedes-Benz has confirmed via diagnostics that the SBC unit on our 2004 E320 CDI has gone. I am aware there have been problems with this unit, possibly even a recall. Mercedes-Benz has offered to go...
Last year you published a letter from someone about passing on the inside lane on a motorway. The writer said he had been summoned by the police and defended the case. He was acquitted because the court...
Over the last 25 years or so, we have had a long series of Volkswagen Auto Group cars (three Passats, three Mk IV Golfs, a Leon, four Octavias and a Fabia). All have been bought direct from the original...
My car is a March 2009 Ford Mondeo 2.2-litre Titanium X five-door. I became the second owner on 18 August 2009 and the car has now covered 25,902 miles. It has regularly been serviced by a Ford Main Agent...
I have a 2007 BMW E61 5 series Touring fitted with Dunlop SP Sport fronts and Goodyear Eagle rears both 245-40R18 93Y rated runflats (fitted by previous owner). It is now time for new tyres but I am unsure...
Which would you recomend: the 1.7D ix35 Premium or the Audi Q3 2.0 TDI (base model)?
Can you let me know why one is better than the other
I want comfort, reliability, together with reasonable running...
In the past, before MoTs were computerised, you could take your car in for a test upto a month before old MoT expired and, if it failed, you could still drive on the basis that you could show the old certificate...
I consider myself a canny shopper. I shop around, having previously worked in retail for ten years, I avoid extended warranties like the plague. After your comments once, I decline to take up No Claims...
Like the look of this car diesel in my local dealer, but it's done 140,000, I have been offered a cam belt change and a 6 months warrenty. The car is priced at £4490. I have little knowledge of cars, should...
I am looking for a secondhand warm hatch for around £6-7k. What do you recommend?
I bought from new recently a 61 plate Hyundai i10 active (this is a 'facelift' model with kapp2 engine)
Great little car as you have so often pointed out but a particularly annoying 'feature' (affecting...
I'll be selling a Daihatsu Sirion, Kia Soul and LR Freelander and want to replace with two vehicles.
One car for day-to-day use, must be comfortable, with a good ride (unlike the Kia), fuel efficient,...
I am contemplating swapping my trusty 04 plate Honda Accord Tourer 2.0EX petrol for either a 58 or 09 plate Accord Tourer diesel or Mazda 6 Estate diesel.
But what about DPF and DMF problems which seem...
I need to buy a second hand automatic car. It needs to be capable of holding a 3/4 size Double bass, and a full size cello (occasionally) + 2 teenage children. Ideally quite economical to run.
Wife likes...
I've had my 1996 Isuzu Trooper from new. She is a fantastic workhorse and has been used for significant towing almost every day. Never had a problem and still on her original brake disks after 155k miles....
I've just had a cylinder block hurled through my C1's passenger window and the door is bent beyond repair. I can't find any spare C1 doors online yet, but I can find Peugot 107 doors. I know it's a long...
Our three-year-old A160 petrol is coming to the end of its contract, and we've been offered a diesel version at a very good price on the same finance basis.
The current commute is about 85 miles per day...
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