Trending topics in January 2010
Questions from January 2010
I'm considering buying a 2-berth caravanette or similar for around £6k to £8k. I realise it would be very old, but a dealer in nearby Pevensey Bay, Sussex appears to have good quality vehicles. I am unlikely...
Recently (and I have the receipt to prove it) I filled my Vectra CDTi with V-Power Diesel (from just on the red to a full tank). The car subsequently started running very roughly, so I booked it in to...
My wife and I have been trying to decide on a new car for some time now, and are now looking at the Nissan Note automatic. However I was surprised to learn that Nissan is owned by Renault, and the car...
I read a letter in your column regarding lease purchase. HPI covers
hire purchase information, not lease purchase. Some finance companies don¹t seem to both to register lease purchases with
HPI because...
I'm hoping you may be able to find the answer to what seems to be an unanswerable question. Why does the UK 1988-1991 UK Honda CRX 1.6i-VT have 150bhp whereas the Japanese import CRX Si-R has 160bhp? I...
My experiences regarding courtesy cars have always been where the car was provided by the accident repair company. My 87-year-old sister has recently had an incident where a van has shunted her parked...
You frequently mention the state of the roads, suing the council for damage to vehicles etc. where negligence can be proven that they knew of a pothole and did nothing to repair it. I have a story perhaps...
If you are insured with Norwich Union/Aviva and have recently renewed your car insurance, have you read your Certificate of Insurance carefully? A few years ago, third party cover for comprehensive policyholders...
I have just read your verdict in the BMW Gran Turismo. I had a look at this car last week and thought it was pretty good. I would like to change my S Class now nearly three years old and I feel this BMW...
I have two cars and my wife has one and we have significant NCD on all three vehicles. The discount has been earned separately in each case, and we are the only drivers on each car. Earlier this year,...
I had a spring broken by one of those confounded ‘speed cushion’ hazards and realised that to refer to them in the politically correct format will never make anybody understand their lethal (and anti-environmental)...
My wife has just had her 3-year-old VW Fox written off. A possible contributory factor was the over generous roof strut at the drivers side. She only uses it as a ladies shopping trolley and fills the...
In May of 2008 we purchased a 2,000-mile Mazda 3 TS2 first registered in March 2008, for £8,400 including VAT of £1,097 from the Mazda main dealer in Tunbridge Wells. We were told that it had previously...
I just bought a Mercedes C220CDI on a finance deal and think I've made a huge mistake due to clever salesmanship and my ignorance.
1st deal: £4k for my part exchange plus £2k deposit, then 36 months at...
I purchased a new Golf 1.4TSI DSG [7-Spd] on 2-9-2009. It is used for long and short trips and I use Superunleaded if available. It does not live up to its claimed mpg. The brochure shows urban 37.7 extra...
I am looking to change from having a main vehicle as a 4WD. We live 700ft up in North Wales. Currently we have an Outlander 2.0 diesel. I am considering buying an Ibiza Cupra as an everyday vehicle (if...
I am considering buying a MINI Cooper Clubman and wanted to understand the benefits or otherwise of buying runflat tyres/wheels with this car. Do they create additional road noise? What are the pros and...
My son is 16 and wants a quad bike to go to college and back. I am understandably nervous of this as I am well aware of the risk factor of kids on motorbikes. But I do not wish to pass opinion with my...
I am having difficulty in sourcing a vehicle with a high seating position. I am disabled and need a high seating position and relatively easy access. I don't like the Vauxhall Agilia. Any other suggestions?...
Last November my new car had its bumper dented by a reversing car. The driver drove off but my wife had witnessed it all and noted its registration. I immediately informed my insurance company giving them...
I have owned a 2006/56 FIAT Panda 1.2 Eleganza from new, now 7 weeks out of warranty. An intermittent failure of PAS started yesterday. The nearest dealer will do a diagnostic check, but having checked...
I have a dodgy back, and a large dog, and I have to do a high mileage. But I also want to be as green as possible. I therefore want a diesel automatic with a big enough boot to accommodate the dog. At...
I am intrigued by your support for using both feet when driving an automatic. I have tried it and while finding it very strange am sure that in time, like most things, it would become natural. What interests...
I write of my Mazda 3 that shows a DSC fault warning light. I had the fault analysed by a Mazda garage and found it to be Code C1288 Pressure transducer Main Primary Input failure. The garage contacted...
I recently visited the Asda supermarket at Shipley, which operates a two-hour parking limit policy, but unfortunately I was late in returning to my car and found a parking notice attached to my windscreen....
I’m considering a replacement for our Volvo V40 under Scrappage
and would be grateful for your advice on suitable alternatives. It has to be automatic and big enough for two of us and a large dog plus...
Your reply in a recent Sunday Telegraph 'Life' section entitled 'Out Burst' concerned me greatly as AW reported having suffered two blowouts with his Mercedes. I have two cars, a Mercedes E320CDI estate...
Some 5 years ago I wrote to you asking about merits of dealer offered exterior and interior treatments on a new car. You gave good advice on the use of Autoglym as a DIY alternative and I successfully...
I have a 2009 FIAT 500 1.2 Sport Dualogic. I cannot get my iPhone 3G to function properly with Blue&Me. I have programmed the phone onto the system but cannot complete the call as it just ends the call...
On a recent touring holiday in Spain I parked my car on a Saturday afternoon in a street near a prominent landmark in Lleida. On returning about half an hour later the nearside front door window had been...
At our home, we often have very restricted access to our driveway due to a neighbour who parks a commercial van in the road opposite. There are no parking restrictions in this quiet, residential street...
I am currently in negotiation for a Golf from a local VW dealer, and he is pushing a leasing deal whereby I pay £280 per month (old car trade-in £5,750) and can trade in the car at the end of the period...
Your recent mention of “unintentional acceleration” of automatics, reminds me of a gravestone epitaph my brother claims to have seen on the rocks at the base of Niagara Falls in Canada (just below the...
Could you please explain the different driving technique of a DSG gearbox, and a standard autobox? Do you need to put the car in neutral at every stop, lights etc. My new car is a Skoda Octavia 1.8TSI...
Had a warning light come up on my 2005 BWW 1 Series. The manual suggests Suspension Stability Control. BMW diagnostics states "brake hydraulic malfunction " DTC at a cost of £1,200 part + £500 labour....
I’m in the process of buying a car. What I need is a small car to use in the city to and from work. However, since I live in northern Italy, I will need to make a couple of trips to London every year....
A speed-warning device was attached to a lamppost outside my daughter's flat: the kind that flashes up a driver's speed. Immediately she began to experience problems with her mobile phone, which would...
I write to express my disappointment regarding the 'Customer Care' provided by my recent insurers in the hope that it may prevent others from making the same naive mistake.
My car received a nasty dent...
Local and national politicians and council jobsworths are bleating yet again that they have no money to repair potholes, despite motor taxation being so high. Might I suggest that they can kill two birds...
I was driving along a fairly new all-purpose road that runs parallel to the motorway, in the dark, no streetlights and some way from habitation. It was my misfortune to drive over a road drain that in...
I purchased a new Volkswagen Golf 1.4TSI Match from a Volkswagen franchise on 24th November, 2010. I bought the car for £16,600.
On 27 November 2010 I received the V5C, however my name was spelled incorrectly...
My wife has a 1999V Ford Focus 1.8LX with about 67k miles on the clock. It currently has fully comprehensive insurance but is only used very occasionally, less than 2k miles a year. I am not sure that...
The credit hire scam will only be defeated by motorists choosing to insure with insurance companies who stand their ground against these vultures, causing unacceptable loss of underwriting business to...
My wife followed your advice to recline her seat slightly in our BMW 320i, but alas her pain continues.
I am nearly 78 years old and have owned a number of SAAB convertibles over the years and think they are super cars. However, I have now developed a slightly arthritic knee and hip joint and find it difficult...
Although the obvious answer to traffic behaviour when two carriageways go down to one is to move up to the front on both lanes (as taught by the IAM I believe) it occurs to me that because of the care...
The low profile 195/45 R16s on alloy wheels on my 08 Fiesta 1.4 TDCi seem increasingly inappropriate for our winter snow-covered, year-round speed humped and potholed roads. I'm fed up of the hard ride...
You frequently write about possible damage caused to buildings by road humps. The High Street in Berkhamsted used to be the A41 but was renumbered A4251 when the bypass was opened in 1993, and was then...
I am writing now in respect of your apparent endorsement of Warranty Direct, "The only Honest John approved car warranty service. “ My 2005 SAAB 9-3 Linear Sport TiD has been covered by Warranty Direct...
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