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Questions from July 2013
I would like to recommend Premier Autocentres, Blackfen, near Sidcup, Kent as worthy of your good garage guide. Recently my car was towed to the garage where it was diagnosed as needing a new distributor....
My wife and I want to buy a car for our son to celebrate his 21st birthday. He is 6-feet 5-inches tall and currently drives a 12-year-old Fiesta. Our budget is about £6500, which means the possibilities...
On 12 February 2011 whilst working as a driving instructor I was involved in a minor no-fault incident. When I say minor, the pupil who was driving took his test and passed in the car two days later. Examiners...
I write to advise extreme caution with regard to the purchase of AA warranties. I am 83 years of age (a retired school teacher) and I have had a number of BMWs in the past. I have had my 2005 320d SE from...
Two weeks ago I bought a 2012 Mazda 1.6D 115 Sport, an ex-dealer demonstrator from Mazda dealer. It is fitted with Bose stereo and salesman advised it had the 6CD autochanger. We were happy with this as...
Last Wednesday night at approximately 10.30pm, my Range Rover Vogue (purchased new in December 2011) caught fire due to an electrical fault. It had been parked up since 5.30pm. Not only was the car destroyed,...
I own a Volvo S40 2-litre diesel, which is eight years old. My wife and I are both in our seventies and I think that it is now time to replace the car, as our average annual mileage is only 5000 and we...
I have owned a Peugeot 407 HDI 140 SW for four years and I thoroughly enjoy the car. Servicing has always been done by the excellent local Peugeot agent. I took it in today for 50,000 interim service;...
I test drove a Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost 100 yesterday and I have fallen in love with it. What is the best spec level to buy that will hold a good value in years to come? I drove a Zetec but was wondering...
Last year I was ‘invited’ to attend a Speed Awareness course and happily accepted on the basis that it would avoid me being penalised in the future for incurring the penalty points that I would otherwise...
During July 2012, my 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS 350, purchased new from a UK dealer, went in to a Mercedes workshop to check why an engine warning light was on. It transpired that some of the timing mechanism...
I am soon to change my 2010 Audi A4 TDI (170) and I would like to buy something with higher seating. I am considering a Honda CR-V or a Toyota New Verso. I will be buying an automatic petrol engine. I...
I have a 1996 Jaguar XJ6 Executive with only 35,000 miles on the clock with a full service history. It is kept in a garage and not used in the wet. There are many on the market at very low prices but with...
My wife and I are looking for a car with about £20,000 cash to spend, now retired and having had cars supplied to us like Volvo, Lexus and BMW 5 series etc. during our working life. We have needs of automatic...
I need an automatic car that is high up with plenty of legroom and boot space. I tried a Nissan Qashqai 1.6 but didn’t like the CVT. I want petrol as I only do about 1000 miles a year. I need something...
I'm looking to buy a used Honda Civic (2006-onwards), Toyota Auris, Hyundai i30 or KIA cee’d within the next few months. My budget is £5000-£6000. I'd be looking to keep the car until the end of its lifetime,...
My niece has been involved in an accident. The other party admitted to the police at the scene that it was her fault, but her insurance company has yet to admit liability. In the meantime my niece's insurance...
The time has come to replace my lovely Ford Cougar. We have identified a nice 2010 Toyota Prius at a main dealer, but they won't give me much for my Ford. Are there any other ways to get more for the Cougar?
Having read a great deal on your site regarding the cost of keeping diesels on the road, I'm seeking to switch to a petrol car with a budget of around £5000.
Preferably a mid-size hatch or compact estate;...
My 2003 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 is showing a P1607 fault code, any idea what’s wrong?
I need to buy a new car that’s reliable and cheap to run. I’ve narrowed down my search to the Hyundai i20 1.25 manual and the Seat Ibiza Reference 1.4 manual, which would you choose?
I bought an Audi A8 with a fresh MoT recently, but the bakes seized up on the way home. I called the guy I bought the car from and he fobbed me off with “sold as seen”. I contacted the MoT station and...
The engine on my 2003 Rover 75 suffers misfires when I accelerate. The engine management light also flashes and the revs drop. What’s wrong with my car?
We're interested in a new Kia Sportage KX-2 automatic and intend to keep the car for seven years, but can't decide between the diesel 2.0 and petrol 2.0 engines. We do roughly 6500 miles per year - mostly...
We recently bought a 2012 Ford Galaxy. We have driven it four times and had an engine malfunction warning come up three times. We have only had the car a month, but it has spent the last two weeks at the...
I ran out of diesel recently in my Ford Mondeo. I added more fuel, but the car keeps spluttering to a halt. I’ve put injection cleaner in and changed the fuel filter, but I am still getting problems.
The...
I purchased an Audi A3 Quattro TDI recently for £6000. It has covered 80,000-miles and was bought from a dealer.
Within hours of buying the car, it developed a major problem and was sticking in 1st and...
I have been told by a dealer that air condition systems loose 10 per cent of their gas every year, is this correct?
I parked in a city centre car park. There were few spaces, but I eventually found one next to a cara that was not well parked and encroached on two spaces. I was a little anxious and took a picture of...
I have heard a lot of good points about using performance fuel, but I assume it is only really an advantage if using it with a performance car, is this right or would a lot of normal cars benefit from...
My Mazda 2 has just been written off following an accident and I need to buy a replacement. Ideally, I would like something bigger and more practical, with some performance and a petrol engine.
I have...
My 2008 Subaru Forester has corrosion issues, but the dealer I bought the car from refuses to accept any liability. The dealer says the rust is due to untreated stone chips, which I refute.
I bought the...
My mother has a 1st March 2007 Peugoet 307 SW with Pirelli P7 tyes on 16" alloys. it has now done 26,500 miles - I can see very minor cracks on the side walls of the tyres.
I would like to know if I should...
Two weeks ago I purchased a 4.5 year old Audi A4 quattro from an independent dealer. I have now discovered the front off-side wing has been replaced, drivers door been removed, bonnet re-positioned, bonnet,...
I'm trying to solve a conundrum which I doubt that there is a solution to. The front passenger door of my partner's Lantra (1998) cannot be opened from either inside or outside.
The lock itself seems...
I need to reluctantly change my 60 plate manual Hyundai ix35 to an automatic. My budget is £15,000 plus the part-ex value on the Hyundai. What do you recommend in a similar SUV?
At 70 mph in lane 2 the bonnet of my Saab 9-3 Sportwagon (1.8 Biopower, 64000 miles, excellent condition) flew open, causing damage to the bonnet, both wings and roof. Estimate for repair is £2500 exc...
We're looking for a replacement for a 2004 1.2 Skoda Fabia. The car will do approximately 40 miles a day, 70% of which is on dual carriageway which may be sufficient to make a diesel a more economical...
I have seen a Fiat 500 1.3 Lounge Diesel on an 09 plate for £6k. It looks to be in good condition and from a dealer but I'm not sure is 60,000 miles is OK for a four year old diesel car?
My neighbour's son recently bought, at reduced cost, an Audi A5 3.0 TDI with faulty EGR and DPF.
He claims he can have the DPF removed after the EGR is replaced, and having had the engine remapped it...
My sister is looking to buy her next car. She has always wanted a BMW 116 auto but I'm suggesting she considers a Ford Fiesta Titanium auto based on cost, age and standard kits. Which is a better buy for...
In the course of a month, I ride a motorbike, drive a car, a transit van and a motorhome.
Do you know of any roadside recovery/breakdown organisation that would cover all these vehicles?
I had a minor accident in May this year when a guy hit my car in the rear bumper while I was waiting at traffic light. There was minor scratch, but I reported the incident to my insurance company.
When...
We currently own a Toyota Yaris SR 1.33 but the ground clearance is insufficient to cope with our steepish driveway, therefore we would like to replace this with another small or medium size vehicle (either...
I am replacing my BMW 325d and am looking at:
Merc E350 Diesel Coupe (approved used up to two years)
Current BMW 330d (approved used up to 1 year)
New IS250 Lexus (new order)
New Golf GTi (manual not...
Several companies advertise products that modify diesel cars to disable the EGR valve. This is acheived either by means of a software update or a blanking plate. In the case of the latter, I believe there...
After the injector seal replacement work on my 50K Fiesta 1.4 TDci, the car lacks power.
When idle everything seems OK, no problem with starting either but when I hit the throttle hard to overtake almost...
We went to get our air con recharged today but got told that there was a problem with the compressor it wasn't kicking in? Could this be something as simple as a fuse or is it going to cost us serious...
I have a SEAT Ibiza 56 reg. Can it be possible for a faulty fuse box and retainer to cause a fault with a radiator cooling fan motor and vice versa? If so, should a proper diagnostic test show up the fault...
Is T-Cut suitable for scratch treatment to bodywork previously treated with Supaguard paint protection?
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