I bought my 2000 Mondeo nearly a year ago, and although it came with four new tyres, three were Firestone Firehawk 700's whilst the other was a budget Stunner branded tyre, put on the rear drivers side. The two fronts will die within the next two months having done 16k miles, but at the back (proving you get what you pay for) the Firestone is still some time from death, but the 'stunner' is barely legal! Would it be a good idea to replace this cheap one with another cheap one which'll cost arouind £35, then change both rear tyres when the Firestone dies which will probably be in about 4-6 months...? Bearing in mind I'm on a money-saving trip here, with full service, new insurance, new tax and mot and two new front tyres all due this month, is this money-saving genius or motoring madness...?! Read more

I have moved to Sweden with all my wordly possessions stacked in my 1996 kia pride. I now want to register my car in Sweden, but I need to change my lights to continental standards as opposed to british. I thought I could just adjust my lights, but the mechanic in Sweden said I need to change my entire headlight unit as the angle of the beam was in the cut of the glass. Is this correct? If it is, it is easy to change the headlight units yourself? Do you need special tools? I can get used lamps pretty cheap so I would like to do it myself.

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Hi all.

I currently drive a 1.1l Peugeot 106, which is a great car in the town (maybe half my driving is in town), but gets a bit breathless on motorways. I'm approaching my 25th birthday, and was thinking of getting myself a new car with a bit more poke. I'm looking for something fastish with good handling and maneuvrability, looks and sounds good, reliable, four doors and a boot and not too expensive to buy or insure. (I've got maybe 5k to spend, 2 years NCB). No easy task, I know!

Choices I've thought of are:
Porsche 944 - looks good, relatively cheap even for a good one, reliable (though slightly older and higher mileaged than I'd ideally like), good handling. Problem - insurance, as I was caught by a speed camera in 2004 and am not yet 25. Also would have to be parked on street in Bristol at the moment, which is a bit of a pain.

Lexus soarer - Looks good, relatively cheap, V8 powered goodness! Like the porsche, a bit old and higher mileage now. Also really hard to find in manual, and I don't really want an auto car.

Vauxhall / Holden Monaro - looks a bit pants, nice V8 again, prices still rather high, especially for the most recent model. Not too many about.

I'm also thinking about some smaller cars - maybe the Honda Civic type R, Ford Focus St, Alfa 156, Audi A3 / A4, but not really looked into these yet. Probably still a bit too expensive.

Anyway, any other suggestions / comments on these or other cars much appreciated...

Cheers,

Giles

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My friends 2001 VW Polo 1.4 has suddenly developed a steering problem, whereby there's way too little response and too much play in the steering. I've only driven it in 1st and 2nd gear but it's clearly not right, steering like a 40 year old bentley. Tyres/pressures are good, there's no judder or wobble (at least at low speed), all is smooth but there's way too much play. Car was recently serviced and nothing was brought up regarding suspension parts but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean much... Any ideas appreciated! Read more

Does anyone know if the new millers sport 4 has the same pump lubricants as the old diesel plus?. Thanks Read more