Questions from May 2010
Fault C1228 showed up 2 months after expiry of the 3-year warranty of my Mazda3. The Mazda dealer in Taunton, where I bought the car at 12 months old, and Mazda UK Customer Services don't want to know...
I recently purchased a nearly new Mazda 6 station wagon. I find it does not have a spare wheel, just a can of aerosol in case of a puncture. Enquiring at my Mazda dealership, I was told a full sized spare...
I'm wondering if the furore over Toyota and Honda recalls may be a bit over the top. My 2006/56 Focus has had two recalls, one for loss of braking effectiveness and the other a potential electrical fire....
I have a 2005/55 1.0 Corsa Life and my camshaft has broken in two.
The car has only covered 25k miles. It happened this week. We are going to take it back to the dealer on Monday, but I don’t think I will...
I am considering downsizing. Do you regard the 2010 model Toyota Yaris auto a best buy or do you recommend something else?
I currently have an E93 BMW 335i convertible, which is now coming up for a change. I love the power from its silky smooth three litre petrol engine and get about 30mpg, which is really impressive, but...
As a pensioner I have understood diesels to be less efficient than petrol on short journeys as they take awhile to warm up. Can you explain what EGR and DPF are?
My wife is in the process of changing car and she has driven both the Toyota Yaris 1.3 5 door and the Honda Jazz 1.4 both new. She is using the scrappage scheme and although the Toyota is the best deal...
I now live in France and have done for about three years. I still though think of fuel consumption in mpg. Trouble is, all I can get is the rather unwieldy l/100km. I've tried all the conversion factor...
I am thinking of buying a Mazda6. I read your Mazda6 2.2 Diesel road test on the web site, which is generally very positive, however, at one point you comment, "it manages all this with impressive seat...
Can you help? We have a 2006 Audi A4 S-line. It’s only done 20,000 miles. The oil light came on. We sent it to Audi to look at. It needs a new engine and a new turbo. Do you know of any problem with the...
Thank you for the advice. I am now the very proud owner of a Hyundai i10 1.2 Comfort automatic - it is a great little car - if I had to criticize anything - it would be to say that the suspension is a...
Yesterday, my car was clamped. I was rather surprised because it was correctly parked, but it seems that the tax was out of date. I didn't know it was out date because I never received the relevant renewal...
1: We have owned a 2007/57 Skoda Octavia from new, now with 44,000 miles. The windows sometimes have been known to open all together, once I found them on my drive open in the morning and it had rained...
I am no stranger to West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions (WOMA) and bought a BMW 530d there a few years ago I am now looking to buy a 2007 Volvo V70 T5 turbo. Can you confirm what bhp the police Volvo T70...
The Nissan Qashqai +2 has not had great reviews about its extra seat capacity. Do you know if they are going to bring out a slightly more comfortable one? Would you recommend an alternative?
The Toyota "sticking accelerator" incident reminded me of the recent report about a family on a USA freeway who were unable to stop their car. Eventually, all were killed when the car crashed, and another...
I've just replaced my W211 model E-class 220CDi with a September 2009 reg W212 model CDi, choosing the new model largely on the basis of the promised fuel efficiency. On mixed motoring - and I'm quite...
My daughter is buying a new Renault Clio, hers having been written off in a RTA last week. When we went down to finalise the deal the salesman talked about a GAP policy, which pays out if her new Clio...
My 05 plate Golf Plus 1.6FSI has recently Catalytic Converter failure with only 24,162 miles on the clock. I intend writing to VW to ask for their comments and to see if they would like to inspect the...
I placed a deposit for £1,000 in December 2009 for purchase of a new Toyota Prius from a UK main Toyota dealer. The anticipated delivery date was 1st March 2010. Naturally I was somewhat apprehensive when...
I have done nearly 90,000 miles in my W reg Renault Grand Espace. It’s been a great workhorse. Yes, there have been a few expensive glitches, like a new gear box, but the benefit of being able to carry...
I am having a problem with my car insurer regarding responsibility. I was involved in a recent crash on the M6. I was in the left hand lane when a lorry entering the motorway from a slip-road did not slow...
I’m going round in circles. I need a replacement for my wife's Yaris automatic (this is her third and she was a fan). I test-drove a new Yaris awful automatic. Test-drove Kia Picanto: rather nice but underpowered....
I commute 50k per year (90% motorway) and need to replace my current car, a 2003 Mondeo TDCi Zetec S with 168k. I’m looking for diesel/reliability/mpg/re-sale, budget: approx. £10k -/+ part exchange of...
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