Advert in one of today's tabloids in which Kwik Fit are saying that if they fit you new brake discs and pads you will never pay for replacements so long as you own the car (Terms and conditions apply). When I asked them about replacements some weeks ago they were the same price as the Main Agent but with this offer they would be worth considering. What do other BR people think? Is there a catch? Read more

Woke up the other morning to find my girlfriend's car looking a bit out of shape (some very naughty person had reversed into the side and driven off leaving no details). Neighbours heard noises but didn't see anything. Don't particularly want to go through insurance, as she doesn't have a protected NCD.

So, we've been going to numerous bodyshops and asking for quotes. The dent is quite large, and only affects the drivers door. All bodyshops reckon it's a simple panel beating job, but it'll need a quick spray over because the paint has been split.

Quotes we've got have ranged from £140 (small back-street place which I've always noticed doing huge repairs to a decent standard), to £310 (insurance-approved big place, good reputation etc). Both would push the dent out and fill as necessary, paint the entire door and lacquer almost the whole side of the car.

Is £140 likely to buy a decent job (I'm in the North-East so things are cheaper up here remember!), or is it worth paying over double to go to a well-known place? Any advice welcome! Read more

Just had a confusing telephone conversation with the daughter, "something wrong with the bleeping car, revs when I pull up at a junction and have foot on clutch"', tried to get more info but due to total mechanical ineptitude (both hers and mine) information was not very accurate. Assuming it is the clutch going, any ideas on a rough cost for getting a new one fitted?, its a 97 Ka.
Cheers
CBG
--
Drink Lager, Talk Piffle,
Read more

I have been offered a 2000X BMW 530i Sport in Topaz Blue but am wondering how much I should pay for it, as an accurate valuation is a bit difficult!

The car itself is a September 2000 facelift E39 530i Sport in Topaz Blue, and is completely standard including Alcantara/Cloth interior and a manual gearbox. It is in what appears to be absolutely pristine exterior condition with the exception of stone chips at the front, and the interior looks ok. There is a genuine reason for sale (so genuine infact that I picked up on the fact it might be for sale, and contacted the owner), although I don't know the owner personally or anything like that. The car has full service history, 12 months MOT and has recently had an Inspection 1 service.

However..

The car has 3 negative factors which I am sure will adversely affect its value.

a) The car has covered exactly 140,000 miles
b) The car was involved in a minor rear end accident 2 months ago, although this was fully repaired by a BMW main dealer.
c) The car is showing as having 6 previous owners, although the seller states that one of these is accounted for by the fact he changed the registered keeper to his girlfriend, so in reality, there are 5 previous owners.

How much do you guys think I should pay for this car? Glass's August edition suggests £5k trade but this value includes leather seats, sunroof and communications pack, none of which this car has. It says to deduct £1500 for lack of comms back but that would give a value of £3500 which is frankly ridiculous and would quite rightly insult the seller if I was to suggest it!

What do you reckon, guys? It looks absolutely brilliant but I must ensure I do this with my head.. Read more

I have hired lots of cars, in UK and abroad, over many years, mainly for work-related travel. I've had the odd breakdown and minor problem but nothing serious. I always stick with the big multinationals.

Anyway, I few weeks back I booked a car for collection at an airport in France. The booking was with a major rental company that operates throughout Europe and the rest of the world. I arrived early morning at the airport rental station and was given a Megane Diesel 6-sp with about 1000km on the clock.
After driving about 100k it started to lose power and play up, MIL comes on - obviously a fault with the injection system. I managed to limp on another 100km to my destination and called for Renault Assistance. RA technician turns up and pronounces it a major failure and I need another car.
It's Saturday and the rental co can't find me a car. Next day is Sunday - everything closed - so they tell me to call back Monday am. Not thrilled at this.
I call Monday morning and they tell me that local agents don't have cars available - they ask me to drive the (faulty) car about 100k to a rental station at an airport. I protest but am told that either I do that or wait till the next day. I have business to get on with so no choice!
I drive down the autoroute, pay tolls etc. and eventually manage to swap cars - this took about 4 hours altogether and knocked a big hole in my day.

Anyway, since getting back to the UK I have called the rental co. customer service dept and asked for a refund for the time I couldn't use the car, plus the cost of the tolls and about £15-worth of calls made from my mobile phone to their helpline. They have refused any kind of re-imbursement and have sent me a coupon for a 'free upgrade' on a car rental in France between now and the end of the year!
I have followed up with e-mails and a letter sent special delivery to their Customer Services manager and their MD. Spoke to them today and they tell me no compensation - the voucher is all I'm getting. Pretty staggering considering I must have spent a couple £1000's on rentals with this company over the last two years. I told the CS manager that they wouldn't be getting any of my business, but she didn't seem phased by this.
Seems to me that despite all the hype about a 'service economy' that really CS is deteriorating very badly. Just had a major problem with my mobile phone provider that has taken weeks to resolve - everything is too difficult.

Just for the record, the company was NOT any of the following: Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Budget, Alamo, Thrifty, National, Enterprise, AutoEurope.
Take care when making your bookings, ;-) Read more