Daughter's partner had his car key stolen from his firm's van: he has a spare key but it is not the master so has been quoted c. £150 for replacement from Ford dealer.
Is there a cheaper alternative anyone can recommend, please?
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Last week, whilst driving up the M5 my 02 Focus's engine stopped. I learnt later that the fuel system had failed, with all subsequent consequences. Apparantly the tank was no longer delivering fuel to the pump. The tank was at least a quarter full. The garage poured a further gallon in to the tank and was then successful in hand priming the system. The estimate to repair the fuel system is in excess of £2,000. As the car has now done 205,000 miles I have made the decision to right it off. Any suggestions as to why there was no fuel delivery to the pump would be gratefully received. (The fuel filter was clear).
Boumph.
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Took the family down to the New Forset for a picnic yesterday, and the traffic on the M27 and the traffic through Lyndhurst reached new heights of horrendousness.
I know Lyndhust has always been bad, but yesterday it took us 45 mins just to do the 3 miles from the M27 to the otskirts of the town (A337), not to mention the time it took us to cover the bit of the M27 from the M3.
Has anyone else experienced this torture lately ?
Unfortunately, it is difficult to get most places down there unless you go thro Lyndhurst, unless you go miles out of your way and then get caught on the approaches to Bournemouth.
I will certainly think twice about ever visiting this area again, even though it is not far. Read more

Hi
I was wondering if it is possible to do a DIY air-con condenser change.
We've had two quotes with one just under £500 and the other between £450 - 600 depending on whether the part is a cheap pattern with 0 warranty or a genuine one with 1 year warranty.

I don't know how much work it involves but condensers are on eBay for £160 and about the same from AutoVaux.

According to Haynes it looks like a couple of hours reasonably straightforward work to get access to the condenser & dryer BUT I have no idea how to disconnect their pipes from the rest of the AC system and more importantly perhaps how do you reconnect the pipes to give a good seal? Haynes says you need to get a qualified person to replace o-rings. Is it really hard to change the o-ring or is it hard to obtain them?

Thanks Read more

I have always liked the look of these, rather than the normal coupe/saloon version.

However, I don't really know much about them and would value any advice. My intention would be to run one for 3-5 years / 50-75k miles. I would be spending around 6K.

Are they a reasonable prospect at this price or is it all image? Which engine would be best, etc?

What I am getting at is the question of whether a 3 Series Touring is a viable and reasonable proposition when compared to a straight, run-of-the-mill, family car. For example, if I get a newer, high mileage example to reduce the cost, could I expect reasonable service from it for the above period, whilst at the same time driving a good quality and capable vehicle that has already suffered a great deal of its depreciation in somebody else?s hands.

The image/status/prestige isn't that important but service and quality is, hence looking at what I think would be a 'hard wearing' car.
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