Is my Ford Mondeo wearing tyres faster than normal?

My Mondeo Titanium five-door hatch is coming up for three years old and 20,000 miles. At a recent check-up I was dismayed to be told that the front tyres had only 1000 miles at most left on them. I was...

Why won't our KIA Venga return its manufacturer-quoted mpg figures?

We have recently bought a new KIA Venga 3 automatic for which the consumption figures were quoted as 48mpg for a long run. We've never had trouble achieving the claimed for mpg in any car in the past....

My Audi A4 is suffering a DPF fault - what is causing it?

I drive a three-year-old Audi A4 TDI and cover 85 miles each day to and from my place of work. My total annual mileage is roughly 28,000. On 5 November I drove my car from cold about a mile and went shopping....

Thanks for recommending Worcester Classic Cars to restore my Triumph Stag.

You kindly printed my letter where I asked if you could recommend someone to restore my Triumph Stag and I thought I’d let you know the outcome. You forwarded an e-mail from another correspondent who recommended...

Are all-weather tyres adequate for use in snow, or should I fit dedicated winter tyres?

I have a set of Pirelli Scorpion STR tyres on a Volvo XC70. I discussed winter tyres with my local tyre dealer last year and he pointed out that Scorpions are designated M+S and, although not true winter...

Did you know that traffic lights in France are linked to radar to stop you speeding?

I recently saw something I have never seen before: an honest approach to dealing with speeding that is motivated by road safety rather than revenue collection. Driving in France along a straight stretch...

Does Scotland have an equivalent to the English Small Claims Court?

My query relates to being in Scotland. For disputes of less than £5000, you often refer dissatisfied customers to the Small Claims Track of the County Court to sue for damages. And, on a separate tack,...

Is this Mercedes-Benz E-Class likely to be a money pit?

I have been offered a 1999 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI Avantgarde with 63,000 on the clock. One previous owner with full main dealer service history for £2400. The interior is leather and in excellent condition,...

Which cars and vans are manufactured in the UK?

To help provide jobs in the UK and reduce the UK’s negative balance of payment problem we always, as far as possible, buy UK made products. Both our present vehicles are UK-made and our next car (Honda...

Which small automatic car should we buy?

We have a nine-year-old Corolla manual car at present, which has been wonderful. Owing to age and some infirmity we need to change to an automatic car. We also need a four (or five) door car now. I believe...

I think my Peugeot 406 Coupe, converted to LPG, meets the requirements of your correspondent BL.

BL had £5000 for a car needed for a 400-mile weekly commute. I had to make this choice about four years ago. My choice was a 2.0-litre 2001 Peugeot 406 Coupe, purchased for £3500 with 70,000 miles on the...

We believe our car has been cloned - what should we do?

I had a shock yesterday when I opened the post and received a Notice of Intended Prosecution from the Metropolitan Police. It is alleged that I had been travelling at 38mph on a 30mph restricted road at...

Why don't tyre reviews rate for durability?

We own a 2000 Mercedes-Benz SLK 2.3K that has just completed 32,000 miles on its original tyres. We need to replace two rear tyres and I have been searching for tyre reviews online. Most review sites cover...

Why don't all manufacturers fit Bluetooth to cars?

Can you explain why relatively few manufacturers fit Bluetooth as standard on all their models? It seems that for most new cars you either add it as an option, or it's simply not available. With mobile...

Why was I asked to pay for an oil top-up when my BMW 1 Series is covered by the BMW service deal?

You recently mentioned high oil consumption of BMW 4-cylinder petrol engines. I bought a BMW 1 Series convertible this year. A couple of months ago the oil warning light flashed on and, as I was local...

Why has my insurance company charged me an extra £10 after a non-fault accident?

I was involved in an accident in August where someone went into the back of my car. The other driver admitted it was his fault and the claim was entirely settled through his insurance. However, I came...

Which sporty Mercedes-Benz model should I buy?

I have a Mercedes-Benz A-Class and want to replace it. Can you tell me what Mercedes models I should be looking at? I fancy a sportier model of this type whilst I can still get into them. Yes I am doing...

Is Ford planning a replacement for the discontinued Fusion?

I have been advised by my local Ford Dealer that the Ford Motor Company has discontinued producing the Ford Fusion. Do you know whether or not it has any plans to produce a similar vehicle on the Fiesta...

Thanks for recommending Event Tyres, who fitted Michelin Alpins to my car.

In response to your articles about winter tyres, I contacted Event Tyres and have now been fitted with a set of Michelin 205/55 R16 91H Alpins. Your correspondent MY, Poole has the same car as myself so...

Start up problems when car is warm

After my car is warmed up and I stop, turn it off and within 1/2 hour to an hour try to restart it, I have problems with it restarting without pressing the accelerator to assist the start. This does not...

Poor paintwork on new Honda Civic

I have just bought a new Sapphire Blue Pearl Honda Civic. I gave it a hand wash yesterday and noticed many scratches through to to the white base coat. What should I do? It has been parked on my drive...

Cleaning the engine of a used car

I have just brought 06 plate corsa for my son. Is it ok for me to clean engine or should I get a franchised dealer to do it.

Buying a people carrier .

I need a car that can carry 6 adults comfortably . Preferably a 7 seater . 2 of the adults are pensioners so they battle to get ionto low lying cars . I have seen a Ford Galaxy 2.3 Zetec Reg 200 (W) ....

Engine problem with my BMW 5 Series

My BMW has a problem. When accelerating it immediately starts to shudder. I stop and the engine is very rough as if it is misfiring.

Selling a damaged Range Rover

I am currently trying to sell my P38 Range Rover quickly, I do still need however to try and recoup some of what it has cost me in repairs, as it blew up whilst driving it home back in December, plus the...

Used Car advice

What cars are there that are economical, have air con, a leather interior and come with an automatic?

Bought a car and the and the DMF has failed

We have a 2005 Peugeot 307 Diesel. The car was brought recently with a 3 month warranty. Within 4 weeks and less than 1000 miles the DMF has failed. The selling garage are trying to argue it is a wear...

Tyre noise on Alfa Giulietta

I have just swapped an Alfa Giullietta MultAir on 18 inch wheels (Pirelli P Zero 225/40) for a 140 jtdm on 17-inch wheels (Bridgestone Turanza ER300 225/45) and am shocked that the tyre noise on the new...

Wheel size and suitable tyres

What size wheels would you recommend for a BMW 530d Sport please? Currently my vehicle is fitted with BMW 19-inch wheels but I'm considering swapping to 18-inch or perhaps 17-inch to reduce road noise...

Easiest car to sell

My brother is visting from Australia in June for about 6 months and would like to buy a car which will be easy/quick to sell when he leaves. The idea is to spend less than the cost of 6 months rental....

Powerful automatic suggestions

My friend is doing a lot of motorway driving and wants a powerful petrol automatic with £8,000 to spend. He is happy to pay the petrol prices but is worried about getting the Audi 3.2 because of the potential...

Buying a new small car - what would you recommend?

My wife is thinking about changing her 55-reg Audi A3 1.6S E with 65k. She normally goes for a similar used VWG model around £9000, but this time was thinking of downsizing to see if she could go to a...

Key opens doors but fails to start engine

I previously asked about my car that had been starting fine but when I tried to use spare key it would not start. I called out breakdown service who diagnosed that the spare key was at fault, he thought...

Winter tyres

My Peugeot has 18 inch wheels. I intend to fit winter tyres this winter. Can I move to 17-inch wheels without affecting suspension, steering, speedo etc as the ride is harsh on 18-inch wheels?

Citroen C4 EGS questions

I own a Xsara Picasso with manual gears. My wife has shattered her left wrist and will be unable to use the gears or handbrake. We are looking at a Citroen C4 Picasso EGS which has auto gear change on...

Buying a new small car

My wife has owned a 57-plate Fiesta 1.2L Style from 6 months of age and has done 20k. We are looking to change and wonder what your choice would be? Fiesta, Corsa and Polo are all on our list currently....

Concerns about a car

We bought a car on Auto Trader a week ago and paid in cash (£5550) but the car is registered under company name. We got 3 sets of keys, full up to 83k Audi dealer history. I was given the green slip of...