I doubt if Tesco have their own oil refinery so it probably is. The question is, which Brand-X though?

My parents have always had petrol cars and a switch to diesel does worry me (mis-fueling). Hence BMW 320i, but the Golf V estate has only diesel as a real choice (a 2.0 150PS petrol would be ideal - hence the Skoda suggestion).

Any estate car longer than about 4.5 metres is out due to garage accessibility.

My parents live in Mid-Sussex and some dealers are miles away.

They also find it hard to justify spending more than 20k on a new car when it gives them what exactly?!?

The car will be used mostly for local pootling. And 4 annual trips to somewhere near Frankfurt in Germany.

My second Mondeo Estate TDCi 130 remains the best all-rounder that I have ever owned. It has plenty of power, tows well and is pretty frugal bearing in mind its size and performance. Until a few months ago I would have recommended this car to anyone (and have frequently done so, including on this forum) but never again. Back in November it suddenly lost power for 3-4 seconds (solo, thank goodness) in fast, dense traffic on the M25. I very nearly met my maker trying to get it over the the hard shoulder. This was the third such occasion this had happened, but was by far the worst.

A trip to my dealer confirmed 'a computer problem'. Following the replacement of various parts, including 2 new software upgrades, the car was worse than ever - lumpy and hesitant when cold (previously silky smooth) and with a distinct misfire at light throttle. Ford were very slow to agree to a new computer module (thankfully still under warranty) but were eventually persuaded (bullied, more like!) to replace it, on the basis that the dignostics said it was faulty. However, two attempts to do so have both failed because on each occasion the new unit wouldn't program properly - requiring it to be removed and the old one refitted. Now awaiting the third module, plus a visit by a Ford technical specialist. The first module took a month to arrive and only then after a great deal of chasing, so forget the old adage that Ford parts are plentiful - they didn't even have any in the UK - and when they found some in Spain they thought my suggestion of sending one over pdq was somehow unreasonable. Furthermore, I wouldn't waste any time again contacting their customer service dept - all they will do is ring you up to say that they have no means of contacting their parts dept and to go back to the dealer (and this is absolutely true).

The moral of this story is - avoid the TDCi like the plague. Great when it's working but a complete nightmare if it goes wrong. Ford's parts operation is just plain awful in my case. And certainly don't own one without a warranty in place - when these go wrong they are difficult to diagnose and costly to fix (provided you can get the parts of course).

My first car was a Ford Anglia 123E (remember those?) and I have had countless Fords over 40 years - but this is postively my last. When this one is eventually fixed it's going - I simply can't trust it any more, nor the manufacturer. No wonder Ford are in such dire straits. Instead of cleaning up their act it seems they would prefer to see their loyal customers walk away.

I had this with a much older car so my experience may not help in this case. If so then I do apologise.

Coil failed. The ballast resistor allowed car to start but once the starter motor was inactive the ballast resistor no longer operated of course. A new coil cured it.

I hope this helps.

There should be a C-shaped spring clip on the spline. You should be able to see a recess about 1/2 inch from the end of the spline.

To remove, use a loop of fishing line or thin wire. They tend to ping off and are easy to lose.
To refit, put the spring clip on the spline and push the winder on.

Have a look on the passenger side and all should be clear.