Ask Honest John

Most recently answered reliability questions
Your correspondent who buys cars with high depreciation is on the right track, but I've refined the idea even further. Go to your local Lexus dealer and ask them for the name of the local independent car...
Which car is cheaper and better to run please, considering the cost of diesel. A 2009 Fiat Panda Multijet diesel or a 2006 Toyota Aygo petrol? I am getting around 60mpg out of my diesel Panda, but with...
I seem to remember that Daewoo used extended guarantees to promote their cars in the 1990s, that I don't recall was particularly successful at the time. Whilst realising that the quality of the car is...
I am looking to buy a 2007 Toyota Prius that has done 136,000 miles but comes with a full service by Toyota for £4700. The car is in very good condition. Are there any pitfalls of buying a high mileage...
My wife and I own a Passat turbo diesel estate and a diesel Shogun, both of which we are very pleased with. We are now retired and wish to only have one vehicle. We live on an un-adopted road, which is...
My wife's car is a 2005 Toyota Corolla. It has done 54,000 miles, but in the last two or three years it has been used mostly for local driving with one long run every few weeks. It was serviced recently...
I am buying a Vito van for a campervan conversion it has a 2.2TD engine. Is this a good engine and does it have any faults that I should look out for? It has done 160.000 miles but it had a new engine...
I refer to the answer you gave stating that that the 1.9 CDTi 120 in the Zafira can be a "disaster zone". Since I assume that this is the base engine that powers Vauxhall/Opel, Saab and many Fiat vehicles,...
I am about to dispose of a 2007 Octavia 2.0 TDI DSG. The toothed belt is known to cause problems and my current mileage is now down to about 7000 a year, so I am considering a new 1.4T petrol or a 1.8...
I fully endorse DH of Bakewell's comments regarding small pick-ups. My little Subaru 4WD pick-up is an amazing vehicle and it's a great shame they were not updated and continued in production. Sadly most...