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Questions from October 2013
I need to get a more practical vehicle since my husband now needs to use a walking frame / wheelchair.
At moment I only have a 2009 Aston Martin Vantage (which I want to keep, so both cars must fit into...
I bought an Audi A4 3.0 TDI Avant in 2009 from my local Audi dealer with 60,000 miles on the clock. It's now done nearly 115,000 miles and has a full Audi service history. I think it is a fantastic car...
I own a Lexus IS220d. I am trying to find the best possible winter tyres for my car, having suffered so many problems in the snow beginning of this year. I have young children and wanted your advice on...
My 17 year old daughter passed her test last week and we want to buy her a car. We have narrowed our choice to the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1, as they all look similar. Can you tell us which...
I have a budget of £2500 to buy a pre-march 2001 car for the tax break. I would want a medium to large car with four seats and automatic gearbox. I’m thinking of a Lexus GS300, Volvo V70 or Jaguar XJ....
Will a Volkswagen 1.6 TDI 105ps engine be sufficiently powerful to comfortably power a Golf with a DSG box?
My C-MAX, 11 Reg, 21,000 miles has gone into Limp Mode on a number of occasions. It is in warranty and serviced by Ford Agents since new. The local agent has diagnosed a fuel filter fault replacement at...
I have paid a small deposit to secure a 2007 Mazda 5; however, on reading the small print in the contract, there includes a "purchasers certificate of examination" which states that the seller will not...
My wife and I want a new car and found a 2013 Audi A1 for sale for £17,995. We really liked the car and the test drive was good; however, when we sat down to sort out the finance I was told by the manager...
I would like to fit winter tyres and wheels to my Honda Jazz and would appreciate your advice on compatibility. The car currently has 185/55 R15 tyres on 15x6 JJ alloys and a nearby garage suggests I get...
We are selling my wife’s 2006 Ford Fiesta privately in the next few weeks. It has done 30,000 miles. I am not aware of any faults on the car, but what come-back does a private buyer have if he drives it...
I'm thinking of buying a Peugeot 205, can you tell me if they're reliable?
Can you tell me if there are any known issues with the 2008 Audi A3 Sportback? I am considering buying a diesel, but don’t want to buy something that’s going to cost me a fortune in repairs.
I have recently moved from France to Guernsey and from reading your Daily Telegraph column am concerned about potential DPF problems due to low usage. However I am not sure if DPFs were fitted back in...
My disabled aunt wishes to replace her 2004 automatic Ford Fusion with a new car. She basically wants the same again, but with more power as her car is the gutless 1.4 auto. She likes the Fusion because...
Can you tell me what's the best wheels and tyres combination for a 2010 Ford Fiesta?
I want to replace my trusty Hyundai i10 with something that will cope better with the poor weather on the hilly and exposed country roads I drive along. I have considered the Suzuki Sprint 4x4, but its...
Six months ago I bought a new Ford KA. The car has only done 3000 miles, but started smoking and misfiring on start up. It seems to clear itself after a minute, but something is clearly wrong. It has...
I'm at my wits end with my 2003 Daewoo Matiz. I bought the car with an alternator problem, which I fixed and the car started fine. However, after five miles, the battery drained and I discovered that the...
My 2008 Ford Fiesta is due for its five year service. It has covered 30,000 miles and has been running perfectly. Can you tell me if there’s any know issues with this car? And when should I replace the...
I've got a 2004 Nissan Almera with 16-inch alloys. They look nice, but the ride isn't very comfortable. Are there any other smaller alloys that would fit the car and improve things?
During a recent service on my 2010 Hyundai i30, the dealer told me that the digital instrument binnacle display was flickering and needed to be replaced under warranty. I was happy for the work to be done,...
My 2013 Ford Focus was hit by another driver at 40mph. The accident wasn't my fault and damage is severe, with the insurer saying the car will cost at least £6000 to fix. I bought the car just eight months...
I am finally looking to replace my cherished Renault Clio 182. I have up to £20,000 to spend and want another hot hatch that will handle great and perform like a little sports car. Can you recommend three...
I have just bought a used Renault Laguna, can you tell me what the best all weather tyres are for this car?
Our daughter accidentally hit our neighbour’s car during a parking manoeuvre. The neighbour in question witnessed the low speed ‘bump’ and claims their car is now dented. I have looked at the damage and...
Please join me on the A12 from Romford to Wanstead each working morning where you will witness some of the worst motorcycle riding; the constant high speed weaving in and out of cars, going through lights...
My wife is thinking of buying a 12-month-old Vauxhall Astra with either a 1.6 or 1.4T (turbo) petrol engine. Do you have any thoughts on these engines as regards to general reliability, specific problems,...
My daughter recently had the misfortune to hit a low bollard whilst parking her car, damaging the front bumper. We have taken the vehicle to a local approved repairer that the family have used before....
I have grave misgivings about on-the-spot-fines, as they turn the police into witness, prosecutor and judge rolled into one. A minority of police are over-zealous, target-driven or just wish to impress...
What is the best way to get the wheel tracking checked on my car?
It is now time to change from my nine-year old BMW 525 diesel. I am retired and do about 4000 miles per year. I do lots of short journeys of around seven miles, with very occasional longer trips. The dealer...
My car has to be repaired after a collision and Direct Line is supplying a courtesy car via Enterprise. Do you know of any problems I should look out when obtaining a car temporarily from Enterprise?
I am proposing to buy a new Skoda Yeti 1.2TSI SE to replace my 2003 Honda Jazz 1.4 SE Sport (a brilliant, reliable car) to get a more comfort for longer journeys. The suspension on the Jazz has always...
My wife’s 2007 1.2-litre SEAT Ibiza, although providing six years of trouble-free motoring, is now due for change and she has narrowed her choice of replacement down to three possibilities (all 5-door,...
The noise from motorbikes is annoying, but we have to tolerate the noise on safety grounds. You may be interested to know that the Velocette motorcycle company of Plumstead, South London, invented a very...
My daughter has a vehicle on a PCP from Leasedrive. The three-year agreement finishes on 1 November 2013. They say that she will have to pay an additional settlement to compensate them for the fact that...
I have noticed while travelling between 50-70 mph that the engine of my Mondeo 1.6 TDCI seems to hesitate or cut-out momentarily, and then cut back in immediately without any dashboard indication. What...
My daughter, having recently exchanged her car for an Audi A3 2.0 TDI, made the mistake of filling the car with petrol. The car was taken as instructed by her insurers/breakdown company to a non-Audi garage....
I have the opportunity of purchasing a Ford Fiesta 1.4 with 44,000 on the clock. It's a 2001 and the vendor has owned it from new. The purchase would be for my granddaughter to learn to drive. Would this...
My postman tells me that Royal Mail recently took delivery of new Fiat vans fitted with diesel particulate filters. Now postal workers on suburban stop-start 'walks' are sitting revving the engines to...
I have the idea of a left-hand drive 2CV to take to France, with a view to parking at the airport and driving it on my monthly trips instead of hiring a car. Much better fun surely, but reliability? Is...
I was very interested in your answer to MA of Stroud regarding the merits of a winter tyre-shod Porsche Carrera S rear wheel drive against the 4WD version without winter tyres. As I currently drive a Skoda...
This is a desperate call for help. My car is a Volvo S80 auto, bought secondhand with 60,000 miles registered, five years ago. It now registers 67,000 miles. I do infrequent low mileage. It has had two...
A few days ago the BBC R4 ‘You & Yours’ programme had a feature on DPF problems. It said that the Salvation Army, which apparently runs 700 company cars, had stopped buying diesel models because of DPF...
I had a very interesting chat with a service manager at BMW Battersea whilst collecting my car. I have a 12-month-old new model X3 3.0-litre diesel. I do a low mileage for a diesel (about 9000 miles a...
I would suggest oil levels should be checked not only “regularly” but, in the case of new (or newly acquired used) vehicles, “frequently”. This provides the user with what the current norm is for oil consumption...
I bought a 2006 Renault Clio three years ago with 22,000 miles on the clock; it came with a new MoT certificate. I do about 6000 miles a year, mainly on local roads, but noticed that when I joined a motorway...
A friend is purchasing a Porsche Cayenne diesel with a stop-start fuel saving cut-out facility. Firstly, does this rapidly destroy a battery (with all the re-starts)? Secondly, as a diesel with a DPF,...
Why are spare wheels underslung on modern vehicles like my Discovery 4 and thus vulnerable to theft?
My 2012 Land Rover Discovery 4 went in for its first service and I was told that the spare wheel was missing. The service engineer at Lookers said they had seen a dozen similar cases where the cable is...
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