Wrist and be thankful

My wife suffered a badly broken wrist a few months ago, which has left her with restricted movement and weakness in her left hand. This is causing difficulty in operating the handbrake and gears on her...

Should we replace our Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, and if so what with?

I have a C4 Grand Picasso which will be three years old next month. I bought it with 18 months warranty left. It's served us well and we're really happy with it, the seven seats are something we use occasionally...

Could you recommend a reliable, economical car for our student daughter?

After reading your column we purchased a FIAT Panda for our two daughters to learn to drive. We have owned it for four years and it has proved an excellent choice. Our older daughter is now 21 and is due...

Buying a new or nearly new small car - what would you recommend?

My daughter is a single parent with a four-year-old child and very happy with her 04 plate, manual, petrol, Jazz, but wants to change it for a new or nearly new five-door vehicle which is cheap to run...

Are Mazda 3s known for being susceptible for battery drain whilst parked for a few weeks?

Illness and zero degree weather meant that I did not start my 2009 Mazda 3 for three weeks. When I tried to start the vehicle the battery was flat. The dealer told me it was the extreme cold and they had...

Is there an alternative to my automatic to my Toyota Yaris which is less jerky when pulling away?

My Yaris TR with the new-type combined automatic is now three years old and paid for. I find this type of automatic very jerky in first gear and very poor at pulling away at junctions and traffic lights...

Why is my Mazda 6 returning just 40mpg when it is advertised as returning up to 52mpg?

I bought a Mazda 6 estate 'Takuya' edition in September 2010. It’s a 2.2TDi (163ps) with an advertised mpg of 40.9 urban and 52.3 combined. Given the rising price of fuel, the mpg performance was a key...

Should I buy a spare wheel if the car doesn't come with one?

There's reams on your Ask HJ about the trend of not providing a spare wheel. I'm about to buy a Mazda 3 ... which I'm sure doesn't have a spare. What would be your best advice: buy a second-hand wheel...

How much for a 2005 Ford SportKa?

My daughter wants to sell her good condition Ford SportKa 55-plate 50k miles. What's it worth in part exchange? With this as a deposit she can afford up to £10k to buy a five-door hatch. She wants something...

Can you recommend a reliable, safe 3-door car to replace our daughter's Volkswagen Polo?

My daughter lives in the south of England and does a fair bit of motorway driving. She currently has a Volkswagen Polo that is eight years old and is starting to cost her money. We would like to help replace...