My Father has a 1998 1.6 Renault Scenic automatic. It is kept in a garage. Twice in the last three months it has not started and had to be recovered to the local Renault dealer. Both times it had stood overnight in the garage. The dealer has now decided that the UCH (universal control hub?) is defective and needs to be replaced at a price of around £400. Is there any other solution? Could it be a defective connection or a drop in battery voltage? Is there any independent specialist who can check out the fault and perhaps do the repair for less? We are located in Ashford, Kent.

I wonder if the car is worth repairing but he has just spent £350 on it (tyres, exhaust and mirror) in preparation for the MOT.

The car is important to my Father as he not very mobile and uses it to get around.


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www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/item.htm?id=5651

Interesting advice from Cobra - but is it in the best interests of personal safety given today`s knife culture?

We leave our car keys on the coffee table in the lounge at night - in the belief that car thieves are pretty serious if they have made it that far.
Would you prefer them to take the keys and go? or look you up in the bedroom while you are asleep?



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I need some advice here folks.

I've had a full UK licence for 3 yers now and got my first insurance policy in July 2006 to July 2007 and generated 1 years no claims bonus.

In November 2007, I changed my car (a P reg Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia, which was my dad's car) & got an X-reg Ford Focus 1.8 LX. The insurer quoted me a much higher quote than I though (yet the Focus was in a lower insurange group than the Fiesta) was acceptable, so I cancelled my end of tem and went to a different insurer, which offered a much more accebale quote.

I made no claims during the time with this new insurer between November 2007 to November 2008. However, in early November I received a letter from them stating 'unfortunately we are unable to offer you an insurance quotation for the forthcoming year, with the information we currently hold on our systems' but said we may be able to offer you a quotation upon further information from myself.

When I phoned to enquire, they told me that they were unable to insure my dad as a named driver as he was now over 70 years old, but they were able to insure myself.

As I wanted to keep my dad as a named driver (I am also a named driver on his insurance policy & he has no trouble getting a policy either), I felt rather annoyed (this is just being ageist) and I decided not to renew with them.

Upon using a price comparision site, I started looking for quotes. I had a phone call from a person from the site saying he found me an insurer with an even lower quote to what I found online.

I went for this insurer and filled in the relevant documents.

However, there is a bit of a grey area with my no claims bonus. I put down that I had 2 years no claims, having one years built up with my first insurer, but I didn't receive anything in writing from my last insurer regarding my NCB being updated, even though I had no claims and had (& still have) no penalty points on my licence or any motoring convictions either.

My current insurer are asking to try and get proof that I have 2 years no claims, and did sent them proof of my 1 years NCB with my first insurer.

What I'm asking is, can I still ask my last insurer to send me proof that I have 2 years NCB which is what my current insurer is asking for, even though my policy with them finished in November? I am able and willing to send proof for my 1 years NCB to them.

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.


made make/model non specific and shouting subject line hushed Read more

Hi All,

We are updating to get a 7 seater due to the imminent arrival of the next baby and have pretty much decided that it will be a Galaxy (or one of the sister cars). Looking at probably an 03 or 04

We drove an Alhambra TDI 130 last week and liked it, and just wondered if there was much of a difference in real world between that and the 115 bhp? The more powerful varient appears to be a little more economical and very slightly quicker, but other than that not much else between them.

Would there be any differences between the 2 that I would need to know about, I guess in terms of reliability, or are they both essentially the same engine, but just retuned?

Thanks in advance.

Nick Read more

And i don't mean the tear em up type of film where young chav types go blasting sideways round the streets of Tokyo looking cool and mean either.

My lovely stepdaughter bought me a lovely Christmas present.
I'd been trying for ages to get the 70's series ''The Winds of War'' on DVD, well the beautiful girl found it and bought it for me.
I also managed thanks to her to find a week later ''War and Remembrance'' which was filmed some 6 years later, some 40 hours long altogether, they don't make em like that anymore, more's the pity. (they have all been released fairly recently it seems)

Anyway i enjoyed the series' when they were released and its an emotional experience to see them again, some of the scene's are harrowing and IMO this series should be aired again.
Alright its an American view of the time of the Second World War, but its a truly classic portrayal of a time.

But to the BR point, the second and third epics especially features some of the finest cars ever made and filmed in excellent quality in very realistic settings as to their point in history.

I got to thinking of which films show the finest of automobile history in their true time scenarios, not imaginary eccentrics running round in 40 year old cars set in the present day.
I'll name one, but its not really a film, the Poirot series which the marvellous David Suchet has made his own.


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