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Questions from October 2013
A relative of mine has had the clutch fail on his Hyundai i20 after 8000 miles. He took the car back to the dealer, but a warranty claim was refused and he has been forced to pay £800 in repairs. Is this...
The emissions warning light is illuminated on my BMW 5 Series diesel. My local garage has said it is due to carbon deposits in the manifold and wants more than £2000 to clean it. Can I do it myself? I...
Can you tell me what was the original list price of the five-door 2010 Audi A3 Quattro 2.0 TDI?
I'm thinking of buying a Vauxhall Insignia VXR, can you tell me what it is like to own and run?
I am thinking of downsizing from my 2009 Mazda 6 Tamura 2.0 petrol to something smaller and a bit more sporty. My budget is £15,000 with an additional £7000 in part exchange for my Mazda. What do you suggest?
I'm thinking of buying a new Volkswagen Passat, but remember older models suffering with an oil pump issue. Is this still the case?
I own a 1998 Ford Focus, but have noticed the cooling fan coming on when the engine has barely warmed up. Can you tell me if there's a problem?
I recently purchased a very nice 1980 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, RHD, here in the US. I know the 1980 was the first model year for the Silver Spirit and I've been able to find all kinds of information...
I have just had my BMW 520d Touring serviced at 33,000 miles by a local dealer, preceded by a warranty check, which found a leaking exhaust manifold and a faulty EGR. When I took it away, I noticed that...
I purchased a two year old 19,000 mile car from a large car supermarket three weeks ago. I collected the car and drove it the 50 miles to my home. Within a day, the car refused to start and was towed to...
I’m being offered a 2012 Ford Mondeo Titanium X 2.2 TDCI with 16,400 miles on the clock for £16,841. Can you tell me if this has PowerShift and explain what it does?
I'm thinking of replacing my trusty 2005 Subaru Outback with an automatic 4x4 estate/SUV. I cover 10,000 miles a year and would prefer a petrol model if possible. I’m torn between the Volvo XC70, Subaru...
My 18 year old stepson has had his insurance void/cancelled because he failed to notify the insurance company of modifications to his car. He is now looking to insure a new vehicle and must declare this...
My husband is thinking of buying a diesel Dacia Duster, but is hesitating because of the DPF - he is a mechanic so is aware of the problems they can cause. He’ll drive around eight miles a day and the...
My wife needs to upgrade her three-door Toyota Aygo. She would like to keep small, but safety is important as she’ll be driving our two year old grandson around. I feel upgrading to a Yaris sized car would...
My 2005 Ford Focus diesel suffered a clutch and flywheel failure at 70,000 miles and was repaired by a local dealer. Now, 21 months and 17,000 miles later it has failed again requiring identical repair....
My 2005 Lexus GS 430 has developed a fault after a recent 100,000 mile service at my local dealer. The auto ‘box oil was changed as part of the standard service, and whilst normal driving is fine, I've...
I have been looking to buy a used 2012 Range Rover Sport and noticed there are a lot of cars on the market. Can you tell me if the new model is filtering onto the used market or if the 2012 model offers...
I'm looking to replace my 2003 Nissan Primera diesel estate and want something with 50mpg+. I've test driven a BMW 116d SE and like eight speed automatic box, potential economy and drive, but find it a...
I need to buy a used van, but have a limited budget and don’t trust dealers. Do you know of any other places to get a bargain?
I have an on-going oil leak on my Citroen C3 diesel which despite numerous trips to the dealership has not been resolved. On my last visit I was informed that it was the oil pump that was faulty. As the...
My Lexus LS diesel has covered 83,000 miles and is trouble free, but my only concern is lack of power and poor economy (30-35 mpg). I'm considering having it re-chipped, would this be a good idea?
I am in the market for an up market executive car. I really like the Audi A7 and used values for low mileage example are within our £35,000 budget. The big "but" is that it would mean diesel. We do under...
I am looking for a used Ford Mondeo diesel estate with the best fuel economy. I’m considering a 2010 model, with a 2.0-litre engine. What do you suggest?
I own the latest Skoda Octavia Elegance, but am having difficulty finding out the correct front /rear tyre inflation pressures (tyres fitted 225/45R17). The handbook does not contain this information,...
I am interested in buying an Audi A4 Avant diesel. It seems that my budget should buy me a 2008 or 2009 car depending upon the mileage. I'm told that 1.9 TDI engine is very long lived, but that the early...
Two years ago I bought a Suzuki Swift Ddis from an authorised dealer. The car was running fine until, a few months ago, the turbo failed. The car was still under warranty, but I had to pay £100 to recover...
I am buying a Volkswagen T5 based Camper van and the dealer has given me a choice of a new van with the DSG gearbox or a used van with a conventional torque converter 'box. I plan to keep the vehicle for...
Following your advice, I am trying to negotiate a great price for a new Volkswagen Golf Estate. My local dealer wants £19,115, including trade in, while another dealer (which is much further away) is asking...
Can you tell me when it’s wise to change the cam belt on my 2007 Vauxhall Vectra? My local garage says 100,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. Do you agree?
My 1999 Ford Focus has started behaving erratically. A few weeks ago the revs started to jump to 1400rpm when the engine was warmed up, while other times it’ll drop to 750rpm and cause the engine to labour....
I want to buy a Ford Galaxy or S-Max second hand at auction, but I don't know how much I should budget. Can you help with prices?
The windscreen wipers on my 1999 Peugeot 406 only work only 8/9 wipes and then stop. Any idea what’s going wrong?
I am about to buy a 2004 Saab 9-3 2.0-litre petrol for £1690. Do you consider this to be a good deal?
I am a new owner of a 2006 Nissan 350z as my daily driver. It currently has winter tyres fitted, but want to fit a winter set as I’ve already had the traction control/ESP kick in during the wet weather,...
I need to buy a new car that will be suitable to carry my wife who suffers from scoliosis. I currently own a BMW 728, but find the car to be very expensive to run. Can you recommend something to replace...
I am in the market for a new petrol crossover. Can you tell me which ones are best? I like a high, upright, seating position and I do little mileage as I am retired.
My old Jaguar XJ has failed the MoT and will cost too much to fix. The engine is in very good order and it has four good tyres, but footwell corrosion resulted in its MoT fail. What should I do with the...
I own a Honda Jazz CVT is fitted with paddle levers and consider it to be an automatic. However, a friend has told me that the paddle levers actually make it a manual – is this correct?
I turned 70 this...
I’ve just bought a new Vauxhall Astra SRI, but noticed a buzzing noise at around 30/40mph. Any idea what’s causing it?
I am getting my Renault 10 and Renault Caravelle back on the road now that I've built a large garage/workshop. I was thinking about getting my new tyres whitewalled (www.mrwhitewalls.com), but have you...
I believe that people who drive solely in the centre lane do so because they can switch off mentally. They follow the car in front and adjust their speed to that car which means they have no awareness...
Despite planning to buy a new petrol car because of our average annual mileage of 8500, we have chosen the Nissan Qashqai 360 1.6 dCi 130PS + with 'stop-start' system. The most regular journey will be...
I purchased my Ford Focus 1.6 EcoBoost in April 2012. Since then the battery has gone flat on three occasions. The first time was three weeks after purchase. The second, on 16 August 2012. The battery...
It seems to me that the continual movement of vehicles from the nearside to and from the overtaking lanes to make progress along a motorway is potentially more dangerous than staying for some distance...
There are a couple of methods of eradicating foul odours in cars such as dog snark, cigarettes and spilled milk. One was to leave a cardboard box inside filled with dry grass cuttings and sweet woodruff....
Should I buy a (current model) brand new Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCi Tekna 2wd for £19,816.64, or wait for the new Qashqai that has just been announced? The list price of the current model is £25,140 with metallic...
You have often featured Mercedes-Benz cars suffering with rust that should have been covered by the Mobilo Life 30-year warranty. The following might be of interest to your readers. With a mileage of just...
I know you have written many times regarding private parking charges. My wife recently stopped on the Imperial War Museum North car park and remained in the vehicle while her passengers went to make some...
On 18 July I had 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco GT TDI examined by Lookers main agents in Darlington, with regard to the loss of traction/acceleration particularly in low gears at road junctions, and also a...
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