Ask Honest John

Most recently answered dealers questions
On 23 October 2009 I purchased a 2002 Golf 130 TDI from an established dealer for £4,500. It had 97,500 miles on the clock, but single owner and FSH, main dealer to 88,000. It came with a warranty from...
You may recall that some weeks I approached you with a problem concerning my i30 diesel auto here in France and how I could not get a Hyundai garage to remedy the fault. An update. Two Hyundai garages...
I am buying a two-year-old Toyota Prius for £12,000. The dealership wants to sell me GAP insurance for £350 for three years - ouch! Do you agree that this type of insurance is sensible? I can get four...
I have a BMW 320d SE first registered November 2002, that I bought second hand from a BMW dealer in 2006. The aircon pump was about to fail a month ago, picked up by my estimable mobile mechanic and he...
I own a Mercedes C220CDI and at the last service I was advised that 3 glowplugs need replacing. A price was quoted but I was advised that if the plugs were difficult to remove or broke in the process the...
My Suzuki dealer has sent me an 'exclusive invitation' as a valued customer, as they must sell 40 new cars to reach their target (assumedly before the new registration) within the next 10 days. They are...
My son bought a 2005 Honda Civic Type R from a dealer three weeks ago. The nearside headlight unit held condensation and we asked an independent motor engineer friend to replace it. Whilst completing the...
My wife has a Volkswagen Polo S 1.2 64PS registered 06. The VW dealer has told her that she should have the cambelt changed as the car is 4 years old. But it has only done 30,000 miles and I thought the...
We have a 1,200cc petrol) Panda that is 6 years old this month and has done about 45,000 miles. Should the cam belt be replaced at this mileage? There is some confusion about this. Also the dealer said...
I bought a nine-month old Vauxhall Vectra 2.2 litre automatic (mileage 10,000) in September 2004 from main Vauxhall dealer. In January of this year, still at only 37,000 miles, the car broke down. The...