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Questions from June 2012
For the second time in a year immedeately after a tyre change I have had to replace a steel wheel due to a small flaw in the inner rim which leads to deflation. The tyre fitter acknowleged the stress of...
I recently received a £60 parking fine in Grasmere Lake District. Having payed £5 parking charge and clearly payed and displayed i have no idea what the fine is for?
They state how long i was there and...
I have just experienced a rear coil spring failure on my VW Tiguan, fortunately it fell off in the garage.
I have examined the spring and it looks like brittle failure due to breakdown of the protective...
I need an economical Golf size car.
1. Needs to be auto.
2. Mileage will 60 mi per day (30mi each way), mainly country side roads... 40-50 mph limit with some city driving at the end (about 3mi each...
I have just bought a 2002 Ford Focus, 1.6 manual transmission. It has 45k on the clock and is in good superficial condition. The problem that I have is that when idle in neutral an irritating mechanical...
We had a blow out in the lanes near Plymouth last week. A passing good Samaritan called out Elburton Garages Ltd, Arcadia Road, Elburton, Plymouth. PL9 8EG. Tel 01752 405376. They came out immediately,...
We need to replace the tyre on our Subura Forester X petrol 2007 1994cc.
The Prestivo 2000 tyres did a great job in the snow and would like to replace with similar mid-range tyres.
I have a quote...
If treated as a write off what value should I get for a Mercedes-Benz C180 Kompressor Avantgarde SE 56 plate petrol manual with 34,000 miles (approx) and in pristine condition? My insurers have offered...
I have had multiple inner CV joint failures. Joint completely pulls apart. Have had three new drive shafts. First two failed within few miles of fitting (reconditioned units from Euro carparts). Third...
When asking for submissions of MPG figures you state: "Work out your average fuel economy over the last month. You can do this from your trip computer consumption meter average, or you can do it on a...
My Jaguar XJ sovereign 2006 TDVI auto has done 54000 miles and both the flexi hoses failed.
The dealer said that you have to get new converters as changing flexi hose is not possible, which is rather...
I have tried to look for my chassis number today and can't find it at all on my car, its supposed to be on windscreen and under bonnet I believe but its not, what does this mean? Where else could it be?...
I would like to buy a used automatic car (preferably approved used), priced around £7000 pounds.
Need to do 12000 miles/annum (80% London high streets, 20% motorway), with 3 people on board including...
I have just switched wheels back to front as wear was uneven and the garage said the front tyres (now at the back ) had worn on the inside due to so many pot holes.
I am thinking of changing the back...
I had a no fault accident in January. When I came to renew my car insurance recently I found that my premium was £90 more expensive.
I challenged Admiral about this and was told that since I had had...
I replaced seats in my 2002 MINI One. Purchased from parts place in Leicester. Upon replacement, airbag fault light was illuminated & installer put car on computer & reset. This has now happened twice....
I am thinking of buying a 54 plate Polo Twist 1.4, 5 door. It has 90,000 miles. What would be a fair private sale price to pay?
My 45 year old daughter is looking to buy a small, economical first car. Which would you recommend? Bearing in mind cost of insurance and road tax. She has up to £4000 to spend.
I am trying to decide on the most economical car I can get for under £8500. At the moment Fabia Greenline vs Ibiza ecomotive vs Fiesta Econetic. I do 86 miles a day and am trying to take account of fuel...
I'm 57 years old and I'm thinking of buying a Ferrari 456GTA, which I consider an 'affordable' prestige sports car (about £26,000). I would ideally like to run it as an everyday car as it has four seats...
Please could you inform your readers of an experience we had in May of this year when travelling in France with our 2-year-old Skoda Octavia 1.4TSI. About 100 miles after leaving Calais we experienced...
I'm about to purchase a 2007 Mercedes 320 Avantgarde diesel auto estate with 99,000 miles on it for £9,999 from CarGiant. Do you think that’s a good buy?
You have quite rightly written several times about the antics of the British Parking Association and its members. If you have not seen the following article I commend it to you: http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/plcdev/home/sfusion/htdocs/staging/new.clearest.co.uk/public/system/files/139/original/Pikestaff_57_.pdf/...
Could you please advise which medium-sized 4/5-door cars offer easiest access/egress for front seat passengers?
I was shocked to discover the number of uninsured drivers in the UK. In France every driver has to display their current insurance on their windscreen. Is this not possible here, or am I missing something?
In response to JC of Trowbridge, I sympathise with his frustration at middle lane motorway drivers. Having recently returned from driving in France and Spain I agree with Honest John that British driving...
I'm a bit confused by cars running with daytime running lights. Why are they only on at front of vehicles? I've been passed by numerous cars and small commercial vehicles recently in some dreadful driving...
I taxed my 4x4 last January for five months, then put it off the road and swapped insurance on to a Focus. In June received tax renewal as it had been on the drive for six months (still taxed) and sent...
I have three children, aged between 10 and 13. I am thinking about buying a Ford S-Max as it seems spacious and provides more flexibility on seating than our current estate car. I would ideally like an...
I have a one-year old keyless Audi A8. I have read reports about the theft of such cars. My local Audi dealer says he is not concerned and has had no losses, but should I be worried and are there any...
I wish to buy used saloon/hatchback. I have a budget of about £15,000 and I want a car of no more than three years old, max 20,000 miles, petrol, good spec, decent mpg, looks smart for a retired but still...
I have driven a Vauxhall Meriva since 2005 and have been contemplating a change, perhaps to a Meriva B or possibly a Mercedes B-Class. These both have push button parking brakes. Am I being foolishly old...
The DVLA states it has no record of my having passed my motorcycle licence in 1951. Can you help as I do not wish to retake at my age (79)? I have a full car licence.
Is it necessary to carry documents such as driving licence, insurance certificate and MoT test certificate with us these days? Years ago, I heard of someone who was on holiday and was told by the police...
When my 2007 Volvo S40 was recently in for its fifth year service it was spotted that the climate control was not operating (the weather having been too cold for me to notice). The fault was diagnosed...
I have been a RAC member since 1981 and received my renewal recently. This quoted £135 with members discount for Roadside and Recovery (personal basis for me and my wife). My motor insurer covers me for...
I just bought my first car, a second-hand Renault Scenic. It responds well and pulls away well on flat roads but uphill, it’s a different story. With foot to the floor and down to second gear, I'm lucky...
My present car is a 1997 Honda Civic 1.6 petrol auto, owned from new. I need better access with a higher seat and would like a 5-door auto petrol hatchback of a similar size, but which? A Mercedes dealer...
Searching for types of mobility furniture caused me to drive to Horley where the carpark entrance had a notice offering 1.5 hours free parking. Restrictive entry posts did not encourage any further inspection...
My mother who is 80 currently drives a Toyota Yaris. She has great difficulty walking for more than twenty yards, therefore she uses a wheeled walker frame for assistance. The problem is that she has to...
An errant Micra driver took out the offside mirror of my 2009 Vauxhall Astra on a narrow road. The repair was quoted by a Sussex Vauxhall dealer at £286.90. Within three days I had obtained a complete...
I was recently cleaning my car when I noticed that there was a small area (about two inches square) of discolouration in the black roof. Being unable to remove it by cleaning or polishing, I took it back...
Last September I bought a new Toyota IQ, which I love, but I hadn't banked on being abroad for three months later this year, and now I can't decide whether to sell it (I do need extra funds for the trip),...
With three growing boys, we would like to buy a nearly new Ford S-Max Auto but the garage says that most of these are diesel. It will mainly be used for a 10-mile school run. Would this be a major problem...
In May this year our 52,000 mile 2006 Mercedes CLS 320 CDI suddenly stopped without warning with the ignition switching itself off and the key rotating one position anti-clockwise. This in turn shuts everything...
I have a 1996 Lexus LX450 that I use in Luanda, Angola. It spends a lot of time going down dusty, sandy, tracks so I change the air, oil and fuel filters every 5000km. These regular changes are partly...
Other than Rolls-Royce, are there any cars with rear-hinged doors to assist folk with arthritis please?
I am 66 and want to buy a convertible car. I would prefer a 1.6-litre but a 1.8-litre is a possibility, and not too high on insurance, please. Got no preference on fuel, the car is not currently garaged...
A couple of months ago, I sought your advice concerning Churchill Insurance's insistence that my MR2's replacement stainless-steel exhaust was a "modification" and therefore merited a premium increase...
I read with delight your colleague's article on spare tyres and their likely demise. I recently suffered a puncture in my 13-year-old 2-seater Mercedes-Benz drophead. A young decorator working nearby very...
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