SWMBOs Octavia comes to the end of its lease this year and she won't qualify for another lease vehicle. So it's time to spend our own hard earned on the main family car.

We have a growing family and after much debating think an S-Max will suit us best. I didn't really want to move up from an estate but having looked around at supposedly larger estates they don't seem to offer us much over the Octavia.

The question I am pondering is whether to go diesel or petrol. Our annual mileage in the vehicle will be around 15k, short journeys urban in the week, with regular long stints on the motorway at the weekends. We also have to tow our 1325kg caravan about 10 times a year.

We have had diesels for a while, but with all the DPF, DMF etc debate I'm not sure it's worth it. In the S-Max, the 2.0 diesel would suffice but I would really like the 2.2 for a bit more shove especially towing. However, while there are plenty of 2.0's on the used market, there are very few 2.2s and they are very highly priced. Alternatively, I could get a 2.5T petrol, which seems to be priced a couple of grand below the 2.0 diesel for similar spec. My questions are as follows:

1. How will the costs stack up over four years use (buying used)
2. How will the performance of the 2.5T compare to the 2.0 and 2.2 diesels?
3. What is the reliabiliity of this 5 cyl unit like - I know it's proven but how would it compare to the diesels?

Your thoughts appreciated. Read more

I'm sure we talked about this subject many moons ago, but I can't find the reference to it.

This evening, Mrs W arrived home honking the horn for attention - she has me well-trained! A dip-beam bulb had failed on the Focus again - grrrrr! This is the 5th to fail in the 2 years between 40,000 and 61,000 miles. I wouldn't mind so much - but, as we all know, it's a pain to change unless you have 'the knack'. It's not always on the same side - in fact this one should be slightly easier because it's not on the battery side.

I've a suspicion that earlier failures have been associated with cheaper bulbs but I know for a fact that the current survivor is a Ford Motorcraft bulb - and so is the replacement that I have for the one that has just failed.

I have only ever changed one bulb on the Mondy in 150k miles - and that was years ago with a cheap replacement, so why is the Focus so intolerant of bulbs???

Has anyone else come across this - and, moreover, found a solution?

Cheers Waino Read more

Last week, I bought a Vectra Life 1.8 estate from a car supermarket, for a friend. It won't be poicked up by my friend for another week or two, so I have been using it a bit to shift some big things which don't fit easily in my car, as well as taking it off to get parking sensors fitted.

Mostly it seems fine: quiet, smooth-riding, comfortable, very spacious, simple to drive (though huge to park). It has no handling vices that I have found, but it doesn't feel brilliantly planted on the road. Nothing serious, just rather less precise than my Almera, and less of a driver's machine than a Mondeo. But that's no surprise: this isn't intended to be a fun car, and wasn't bought as one.

However, there are two things which seem odd:

1/ The central locking works on the boot, and both the front doors, but not the two rear passenger doors. Is this some bizarre cheapskate thing for the base model? Or is something broken? (I've never before seen or heard of a car which has remote central locking, but not on all doors) I tried turning on and off one of the child safety catches, but it made no difference, and I can see nothing in the owner's manual about this.

2/ There's a slight and intermittent roughness in 4th gear, and only in 4th gear. When travelling between about 40/45mph and 60mph, the gear level vibrates enough to cause a mildly unpleasant rattly resonance in the plastic trim which surrounds the gear level (it;s probably the ashtray which is vibrating). On a 35-mile trip yesterday, I changed in and out of 4th gear and it was reliably present every time I used 4th, but only when under load (nothing when I lifted off the gas). However, I couldn't replicate it today, tho I didn't reach that speed very often on the backroads I was using (I'm going to try again on the mway later this evening). The car is an ex-hire vehicle, so I'm inclined to wonder if something was damaged by some don't-care hirer crunching the gears, but I'm also wondering if I'm being a little paranoid. :-

Any thoughts on either issue? Read more

hi,does anyone know or has any diagrams on how to fit a timing belt on a fiat stilo 1.9 jtd?..fiat want silly money for this job, i have ordered belt kit £110.belt,tensioner etc,.and also being a common rail system with a high pressure pump does the pump have to be "timed"?..haynes do not make a manual for this model,& i,m not giving fiat over £200 just to fit a timing belt.... Read more

Hi

My previous message did not post properly it seems. My wife reports her car (HT51 Plate 206 2 Lt HDI GLX) has lost power and engine sounds strange . Also there is a Diagnostics warning light illuminated on the dash. Car still drives but slowly. I researched this on the net and Im aware it could be any number of things but is there any tools I can by to get the fault codes myself without taking it to a pegueot garage or is that my only option? Im serving in Iraq so cannot do anything from here. Any help is appreciated

Kind Regards

Al

no need to shout ! slt Read more