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Honest John Ask Honest John » January 2010
Trending topics in January 2010
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Questions from January 2010
I am shortly to take delivery of a new VW Polo, and have decided against my better judgement to order flash red paintwork. The last car I had with red paint was a Peugeot some 20 years ago, but it suffered...
Sometime ago you recommended a portable steering wheel lock. What would be suitable for a Mercedes SLK200 kompressor that I have recently purchased?
Recently there have been press articles about the Organ Donation Register and the DVLA. Some months ago I had to apply for a new driving licence. This was attended to very promptly. However, late Nov I...
Who has priority at a motorway junction involving an entry slip road? I had long believed that the pecked or dashed line where an entry slip comes onto the nearside lane of a dual carriageway or motorway...
I have checked on your website as to whether you have covered the topic of dealing with potholes as well as snow and ice with a 4x4. People seem mainly concerned with ice and snow. I want to ask if a 4x4...
Can you help please? Last Tuesday my wife was involved in a motor accident. She had stopped, indicating right, intending to pass through a dual carriageway intersection when her car was rammed by a Mazda...
My elderly cousin wants to replace her battered 9-year-old Nissan Micra with an economical automatic for pottering about the town only. 2 doors ok, very much wants rear parking sensors but I guess they...
I am enquiring on behalf of my elderly parents (aged 87 and 79) who currently run a 1 owner pristine BMW 320 SE (petrol) with leather, metallic paint and folding mirrors. Registered in June 2007 the car...
My wife found last year’s snow particularly challenging for her much-loved Honda Jazz CVT. She would appreciate your advice regarding a small automatic 4x4.
I have just bought a 2003 Jaguar XK8. I was told I would get a 12-month warranty with the car and when it was delivered by the salesman, I was asked to sign the warranty form that was then placed in a...
My son is looking to renew his car insurance. He will be 18 in February. He passed his test 6 months ago, and got his car when he was 17, so now has 1 year no claims. He also took his Pass Plus test, but...
I purchased a car from a BMW dealer. Problems occurred and the car needed invasive work that was covered under warranty. However, we discovered that the engine had been changed one month before purchase...
After many years of driving I have on odd occasions stalled my car by getting my left foot on the brake as well as the clutch, which could be dangerous. My friends are telling me I should change to an...
My son and daughter in law need a second car and have a budget of £4,000 to spend. The car will be used mainly for local runs but will undertake occasional longer runs to see family, etc. It needs to accommodate...
The Mrs and I are looking to buy a new car and we went to look at the new Lexus models. The salesman was very nice and informative and we got chatting, when a guy in trainers and tracksuit and dripping...
I recently bought a car from a car dealer some distance from home. Before leaving the car lot I pointed out that the coolant level was way below the minimum line but the dealer assured me that topping...
With the ever-increasing price of fuel I am more than ever aware that Honda sold me a new Jazz without a locking petrol cap.
With regard to KC's letter, the most charitable thing I can say about motor insurers practices towards drivers is that they are ignorant of the nature of risk and how it arises. I have written several...
Why don't they make sure that all the batteries, in every electric car, are the same and all easily removable and replaceable (maybe in a large sliding tray underneath.) Motorway service stations and garages...
Last year I collected 12 penalty points that will remain with me for the next 3 years. I currently have an Audi A4 Cabriolet 3.0 with 100,000 miles, but prior to that a Jaguar XKR and a TVR Cerbera. I...
We will soon need to replace an 8year old 2 litre diesel Zafira Elegance after 120,000 satisfactory miles. Requirements are: estate type vehicle for ease of loading/dog transport. Reasonable power/handling/economy....
I wish to change my car and would appreciate your advice as to what I should buy. I would be prepared to spend up to £9,000. I currently drive a 54 plate Peugeot 206S, 1,360cc, 5 door with 32,000 miles...
We are both retired and in our sixties. My present car is a 2003 reg Toyota RAV-4 (3 door) with only 35,000 miles on the clock (less than 5,000 miles a year). I have always been delighted with the car...
I am having trouble with my 2006 VW Golf TDI and wondered if you might have any thoughts. I am not technologically literate, but I understand that the engine has a turbo so that when you press the accelerator...
I own a 2007 Citroen C4 Picasso with the 1.6HDi engine (about 110bhp I think) with the DPF. However it seems that it is essential for these engines to be run with C2 grade engine oil (low sulphur and ash...
I’m looking for some pointers towards a new car. I’m about to purchase a mid-sized caravan and want to trade in the wife’s 04 Golf 2.0 TDI for a 4x4. We will only be towing 3-4 times a year so the car...
I am considering spending a fair bit more than I usually would on a nearly new car with the intention of keeping it for maybe 7 - 10 years. What concerns me is the possibility that within that time scale...
During March of this year following a fairly sudden halt to the traffic in the outside lane of the M25, my Jaguar XJR, whilst stationary, was shunted from behind by another previously stationary car that...
I bought a Mercedes ML 270CDI earlier this year protected by a 6 month ‘Warranty Wise’ warranty. I made a claim in August that has been rejected and they also say "we hold no contract directly with you...
I have two questions about my 2004 Volvo V70 D5 with 22,000 miles. For the last few years there has been a rattle when the clutch is dipped down. The rattle stops when it’s up. It rattles some days more...
Surely it is possible in these days of Big Brother to tax vehicles, not on engine size, but on their individual mileages done per annum? We are pensioners requiring separate transportation, living in a...
My friends in County Durham are hoping to move down to Buckinghamshire, where they will no longer need the 4WD of their Nissan X-Trail, which is not economical to run, either. The husband is a tall man...
You have been fairly relaxed about ‘space saver’ emergency wheels. I am very surprised they are legal. I have been idly thinking about my next main car. Given the poor state of the lanes in the West Country...
I have a 2006 Vectra 150SRI. It is garaged each night, but some mornings I open the garage to find the car's front windows are down. My dealer has suggested any fault must be human error, i.e. the electric...
I have had a second vehicle stolen in Derbyshire and whilst I was in the process of sending an email to the police requesting them not to use their contract vehicle recovery scheme, a knock came at the...
We're looking for a replacement 5-door hatch in the Focus/Astra/Golf sector. Most manufacturers seem to have neglected the petrol models at the expense of diesel development, and now petrol models seem...
In October 2008 I bought a new Honda Jazz 1.2 having studied the literature given by the Honda dealer with particular reference to the fact (so I was told) that this car would qualify for a low road tax...
A friend of mine has a Golf Plus, just over 3 years old. Original owner, full VW service history, 42k miles. A braking system warning light came on. He was going to go non-franchise until I told him about...
On 15 August you published a letter from "DW" about registering his car in Ibiza. We too have brought our car over (to Mallorca) and I would very much like to know whether your correspondent resolved the...
I have just been saddened by the sight of an elderly victim of the car scrappage scheme. At a local car breakers, an early Humber Sceptre in superb condition has been stripped for banger racing. This was...
I recently purchased an 11,000 mile 2007/57 Mercedes CL63 AMG from a private seller. After taking it to the main dealer for a service and reporting a judder under braking, I was told that due to pitting...
What do you recommend for a lady passenger (wife) who gets carsick? Her husband (a friend) has Jetta Sport and feels Sports Suspension best for her. I thought height of 4x4 (Tiguan or XC60) or the hydractive...
I parked my BMW in the car park in Shoreham By Sea last night. There were no lights in the car park. On my return I was clamped. I endeavoured to reverse, I got out to see I had been clamped. I went to...
What would be a dealer's comeback if someone sold him a car that has missed a service and needed a reconditioned engine to be fitted at two and a half years old? If the car was serviced just before the...
We propose to buy a second hand car for our 23-year-old son after he has passed his test in the next couple of months. He lives in Leeds LS4 2HG and will park the car outside his house. Budget is £1,500...
My present car is a Lexus LS430, which is more than 3 years old and has completed 29,500 miles in a faultless manner. I am considering changing it for a new MB S Class (latest facelift). Now that they...
As a FIAT 500 owner you, and maybe other readers and potential purchasers of this iconic little car, might be interested in the following. On 7th August this year my husband placed an order for a FIAT...
I am looking to scrap my 11-year-old Golf V5 2.3 automatic under the government scrappage scheme. I would like to replace it with a new automatic car of similar size and power. Budget £17k-£22k including...
My wife and I are in dispute about the relative merits of automatics and manuals. My view, from my advanced years, a lifetime in the industry (with Ford) and as a car user for half a century and over 100...
You kindly advised me on the purchase of a Mercedes SLK 200 and its acquisition has, inevitably, brought a desire to go off for long drives, which previously my husband and I have generally not done. We...
 

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