Ask Honest John

My car's battery is discharging when it's shut down and stationery - any advice?

My Ford Mondeo's battery is discharging when it's shut down and stationery. It is a new battery, but the car is nine years old, with 53,000 miles on the clock. Any advice?

Our 2003 BMW 3-Series is consuming a lot of oil - do you know what's going on?

We purchased (privately) a 2003 BMW 3-Series 1.8-litre petrol automatic in late 2016, with 49,000 recorded miles. It has a stamped BMW Service Record, full MoT etc.The BMW had, prior to our purchase, three...

The oil is my BMW 3 Series is reading high - should I have it checked out?

The oil appears to be reading high in my diesel E90 BMW 3 Series, both via the dashboard indicator and also by manually checking (after driving approximately seven miles and leaving five minutes to cool)....

My five year old Audi A5 needs £1300 of servicing - is this a fair price?

My Audi A5 will be five years old in February. It's been fully serviced by Audi since new, and covered 38,000 miles. I'm told by the dealer that I now need a new cam belt, oil changed, and gearbox and...

The low oil pressure warning light has come on - what does this mean?

The low oil pressure warning light comes on in my 2013 Mazda 2.2d. What does this mean?

Do you recommend manufacturer service plans?

Having just purchased a new Ford, I want to set up a service plan. I know Ford do various plans, but my garage have theirs too, which for more cost has a few more aspects of cover. Do you recommend just...

How often should the oil and filters be changed in my Land Rover Discovery Sport?

How often should the oil and filters be changed in my Land Rover Discovery Sport?

My garage keeps charging me for work without fixing the ongoing problem - can they do this?

My car went to the garage for a service and because it was overheating. They serviced the car and said it was the radiator and a burst hose (repaired for £579). I got my car from the garage the next day,...

My car failed after 17,000 miles - is it fair for the dealer to reject liability because it wasn't serviced?

I bought a new Mitsubishi Challenger L200 from a dealer in May 2015. The engine seized and the car was written off in October 2017, after only 17,000 miles. It had not been serviced, so the dealer and...

Is £600 a fair price to replace my air con condenser?

I just bought a 2005 Honda Accord. I took it into a Honda dealership to check the air con as it wasn't working properly. They told me that the air conditioning condenser radiator needs replacing, which...