Questions from November 2021
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My Ford Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost, registered/made in early 2016 with 67,000 miles, has just had a cam belt failure which has destroyed the engine.
The guidance from Ford is to change the cam belt at...
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I currently have a 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class diesel and I am waiting delivery of a new B-Class 180d. I prefer Mercedes diesels to Renault petrol engines.
Because I only do around 8,000 miles per year...
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Having laid down a £100 deposit on a 2009 Renault Koleos it subsequently failed the MoT on rear suspension arms. The garage owner says he is struggling to get decent parts. This was six weeks ago so I...
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I drive a 60 mile commute each day and would like a large car to replace my Range Rover Evoque. Can you recommend something that will get me as much MPG as possible please?
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I drive for a few miles in what can be very poor conditions in the winter due to snow, so looking for a car that isn't a 4x4 but still good in snow (part of the journey includes a very steep hill with...
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Our 2016 Dacia Duster diesel was modified by the Dacia dealer to make it Euro 6 compliant. In your opinion do you think it is possible to upgrade our 2014 Dacia Duster diesel that's Euro 5 to Euro 6.
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I am looking to buy a van and was wondering if millage matters as much as it does with cars? I'm looking to buy a 2016 Ford Transit Custom with 155,000 miles on the clock.
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I want to buy a small van for our dog walking business. The Peugeot Partner/Berlingo/Cargo Life are absolutely ideal for our needs. It is lots of stop-start short journeys so we looked at the 1.2-litre...
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I own a 2019 1.6-litre diesel Vauxhall Astra. When I'm in in traffic or at traffic lights if I lower the clutch in gear the stop-start mode operates. I have to higher the clutch then lower it again for...
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I am looking to buy a used car for around £4,500. I am currently looking at a Hyundai i10 (2014 model) as this is the car that my parents' drive and that I currently drive. I'm looking for something cheap...
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When I started driving in 1968 even major roadworks were only slightly disruptive of traffic flow and usually managed by a man holding a stop/go board. Now, even minor works on little-used country roads...
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I've been waiting 10 weeks now for my replacement driving licence as I'm now 70. How will foreign car hire firms react to non-production of up to date docs? What are the DVLA up to? Even at 8.00am you...
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Do I have to buy a new car on the Motability scheme?
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I have a Jaguar XK150 restoration project which I want to sell. The car is quite sound - the engine turns OK, while the engine, gearbox and chassis all have matching numbers. I've also got many nice spares,...
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I know when selling a car the buyer has to have insurance, but this is usually only third party cover. All well and good for the third party in an accident, but I would be left with a damaged car and no...
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I'm selling my car due to the ULEZ charge. When the buyer drives away a charge will be raised; how do I avoid liability?
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I bought a Meriva from a Vauxhall main dealer less than three months ago, but the battery has now failed. Are they responsible for replacing it?
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Four months since buying a 2014 Mazda 3 2.2-litre diesel and on the day of collection the DPF warning light came on. The garage has attempted to repair this but after several attempts the issue remains....
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I purchased a Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo in December 2017. My V5 document has it in taxation class as diesel car but it is in fact a camper van with fitted beds, table and cooker. I understand that many...
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I've just bought a 2013 Ford Focus Estate 1.0-litre EcoBoost Titanium. It is giving me about 33mpg, when the advert for urban driving says it should be giving over 47mpg. On the motorway at 70mph it also...
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Earlier this year I bought a new Porsche Cayenne and paid to activate the inbuilt tracker system. It occurs to me that, being a factory-fitted item, they are possibly all the same, enabling thieves to...
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I have a 2015 Citroen C3 Picasso 1.6-litre diesel that keeps going into limp mode and service light comes on. If I start and stop the engine five or six times it clears the problem for a few days but then...
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In September 2021 I purchased an Audi Q4 e-tron 40 Launch Edition. I am very pleased with the vehicle. The only problem I am having is that I cannot get the MMI unit to recognise me as the Key User.
I...
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I have a Toyota Aygo, purchased new in September 2015. Just before it was five years old it needed a replacement oxygen sensor, at about 17,000 miles. To their credit, this was done by Toyota under the...
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I will be selling my Vauxhall Zafira and would like to buy a smaller car. I'm looking for a reliable petrol car that's automatic and one that would have a slightly higher sitting position than the average...
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I like the idea of downsizing marginally from my current 2015 Honda CRV - the newer model is wider as well as slightly longer.
Its replacement needs to be automatic, while I want something with improved...
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I viewed a car today and it was advertised by a private 'dealer'. However, the V5C details were not that of the dealer and so I queried it.
He waffled on about filling in the documents etc etc. I explained...
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We’ve purchased a 2019 Nissan Qashqai and in the 10 days we've had it we've had a number of problems with it.
We had tyre pressure warning light come on within 30 minutes of collecting the car and found...
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We have a Volkswagen Caravelle as a day-camper and all-round family lugger ,and a MINI. My wife has a new job and will have to visit rural sites in the Lowlands and Highlands all year round. We need it...
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My 2013 SEAT Ibiza has suddenly stopped working at 50,000 miles due to problems with the DSG. I only bought this car in 2018, and wasn't looking to get a new car for many years. Could you recommend some...
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I have seen a 2018 Hyundai i10 1.2-litre Premium five-door with 9522 miles on the clock at a price of £9,000.
I do mostly short journeys, six miles each way going up to about twenty miles each way with...
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We've just purchased two electric bikes and are looking to buy a car in which we can transport them. We'd like the car to be no older than seven years ideally.
The load space needs to be somewhere in...
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I purchased an ex-demo Volvo V60 in March. It is now worth about £5,000 more than I paid for it and I am wondering whether to sell it. Of course, anything similar would be even more expensive from a dealer...
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My daughter has a Hyundai i10 but will shortly be looking for a new car. She wants something similar in size to the i10 or not much bigger, at least as high up as the i10, but the most important factors...
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We have a Toyota Yaris Hybrid and the handbook states that if the car is not driven for a lengthy period, the electric battery will gradually discharge. There appears to be no way round this. We will be...
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I am looking for a car for motorway commuting and I am spiralling down an endless rabbit hole of options! I drive around 500 miles a week - a mix of 80% double carriage/motorway and 20% single carriage/broads/town....
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I bought a new Audi RS5 in May on PCP. Can you advise a cheaper way to do finance?
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I currently have an Audi A5 but I’d like an electric car next. I don’t want an SUV, but I do need something with at least the same boot capacity as my A5. It needs to fit a wheelchair plus shopping/ suitcases...
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I drive a new Honda Jazz Hybrid and I’ve read that a lot of people drive using B mode up to 45mph for almost one peddle driving. Will this damage the engine or transmission in the long run?
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I have a 2016 Nissan Note that’s only done 14,400 miles and the two front tyres have almost reached their end. Surely this is not normal life span for a tyre? Can you suggest what may be the cause, and...
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My Kia Ceed has a noise which sounds like a wheel bearing problem. My garage says it is due to uneven tyre wear, i.e. going round the circumference wear gets more/less as you go. Seems to me this can only...
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I'm looking for an SUV under £10,000 that's not only reliable and economical, but also good to drive. We've been looking at the Kia Sportage, Dacia Stepway or Nissan Qashqai. Are these the best options?
The...
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How can I get my uninsured car to the car buying site's depot?
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How is the Government going to recover the money lost on fuel and road tax? Electric vehicle owners are bound to be hit at some time. I had seen something about payment per mile - how on earth can that...
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A recent UK holiday using so-called "smart" roads made me question why we are allowing motorists to risk their lives using them. I understand an extra lane will allow more cars to flow through but at what...
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I was parked in a work car park, but not in a marked bay. Someone reversed into my car and damaged the side of it. She initially accepted and we swapped phone numbers and didn't want to involve insurance....
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I am currently taking my mobility scooter apart to load it into my Kia Sorento. This is becoming more difficult for me, so within the next few months I will be looking for a car that could be adapted to...
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I'm looking to replace my 2016 1.6 diesel Honda H-RV and I am considering hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). I am retired and mostly do short journeys (up to 40 miles) but I also do long...
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My daughter is visiting us for a week at Christmas, what is the best way to insure her to drive my car? I do not mind if it is third party insurance.