I bought a Cat D Renault Clio about a year ago not really thinking about the consequences of when I come to sell it. Its a 52 reg and I paid £4200 for it. I saw the car before it was repaired and it was minimal, the boot of the car was bumped, it looks perfect now.

What do you think is a reasonable asking price for this? I don't think I can trade in the car to a car dealer, is this correct? Read more

My wife's N reg Fiesta immobiliser light spent a lot of time NOT going red , ie didn't do what it was supposed to do ,so you could start the car without putting the little keyfob thing into the slot.

Now , it flashes red , goes solid red with the keyfob thing in , but NEVER goes to green.

So , can I bypass this myself ?

Or is it an arm and a leg to get someone to come out , tow it away , fix the problem? Read more

Hi,

Anyone know how long it takes to order a new Honda Jazz - what's the delivery?

Also, who fits the city pack (the dealer?) and typically what's the cost of painting it etc.?

Thanks in advance! Read more

This query for an acquaintence of mine who does'nt want to be ripped off!.Car's a petrol V reg 306 which is intermittantly stalling .Main dealer says the ecu is at fault and wants £600 to replace.Local scrappies have bought no joy.Firstly is this a common fault on these cars and secondly is there a company (like Best of British Rover which I use for my Rover parts)that could supply the part for a more reasonable figure.Thanks in advance Read more

I realise that I may be opening a can of worms here but this week I had to take my Scenic back to the dealer for a minor fault to be repaired (see Technical forum if interested).

I was able to book it in within 2 days of my phone call and this made me think - how is the income of dealers / manufacturers structured just now?

For example, several years ago, cars had 6000 mile intervals, one year warranties and quite unreliable vehicles at times.

Nowadays, cars have 3 year warranties, my car has 18,000 mile service intervals and is much more reliable. With the industry average of 12,000 miles a year, in theory the garage will get 2 services out of me over the warranty period before I would go to an independent. Any other works will, in theory be covered by warranty so the cost will be met by the manufacturer (or dealer in year 3).

So is income now more weighted towards car sales commission, accessories income, or is that why hourly rates at service depts are so high?

In a way, to me it seems like Turkeys voting for Christmas, you have part of your division that exists to service and repair cars, but then you make them much more reliable, extend their service intervals, and underwrite the costs of any "abnormal" repairs? Or am I missing something here?

Anybody in the trade shed some light on this?
Read more