Buying a new small car- what do you recommend

I am a 17-year-old girl taking driving lessons and I will shortly be looking for a car. My budget is £2,000 for the purchase of the car, it has to be a diesel as my father produces bio-diesel. I need...

Won't rev past 2,000 rpm

I have recently bought a 1998 S reg Corsa Breeze 1.7 diesel. The car has been absolutely fine, however whilst driving it there was a sudden jerk and lost all speed. Naturally I pulled over immediately...

Why is my Citroen Xsara's engine cutting out?

A couple of weeks ago, as my wife drove to work in our 2000 Citroen Xsara 1.9 diesel estate, the car simply stopped and turned itself off with the engine warning light illuminating on the dash. With our...

Can you recommend a family car for four children and up to four adults for under £12,000?

We already have one 2-year-old boy and my wife is pregnant. Just as we were considering trading in the trusty Astra estate for a normal people carrier (thereby also fulfilling my wife's desire to 'sit...

Do the Vauxhall Antara and Jeep Compass have the same diesel engine, and is it a chain cam engine?

I've been looking at the Vauxhall Antara and Jeep Compass amongst others and I'm struck by the similarity of the engines, even down to the emission and performance levels. Both companies advertise these...

My Skoda Octavia has proven to be unreliable - will a Toyota Avensis be an improvement?

I have an '05 reg Skoda Octavia 1.9TDI Estate that has done just over 90,000 miles. Since buying it a couple of years ago I have had to replace the turbo, flywheel, crank sensor, a temperature sensor,...

Limping Lexus

My Lexus IS220d (57-plate, 36,000 miles) has a warning light: VSC check engine, EML indicator and ABS warning. It goes into limp mode to protect the engine. I have taken it to a Lexus dealer who has...

Is a diesel-powered campervan likely to be liable for expensive repairs?

My son is looking into the purchase of a campervan for recreation through the year. His mileage is likely to be fairly low. Having looked at a number of vans, the majority would appear to be powered by...

What do you think of the Mazda 5 1.6 diesel?

I was interested to read that you are currently running a Mazda 5 1.6 diesel. I sold my 5-year-old 63,000 mile Mazda 5 1.9d Sport prior to going on a long trip to New Zealand and am now looking to replace...

Will we see any benefit from using the Toyota Yaris Hybrid over long journeys?

We are thinking of trading our Toyota Yaris diesel next year for the new Yaris Hybrid, which is coming soon. However, talking to our mechanic and the Toyota salesperson, we are advised that benefit from...