Questions from November 2021
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...
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...
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...
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?
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...
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.
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Do I have to buy a new car on the Motability scheme?
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,...
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...
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?
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?
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
I bought a new Audi RS5 in May on PCP. Can you advise a cheaper way to do finance?
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...
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?
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...
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...
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...
How can I get my uninsured car to the car buying site's depot?
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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.
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