Whilst coming to terms with all the gadgets and creature comforts which make driving easier I am thinking what you actually need on a car, what can you do without?
Do you need a rev counter or air con, heated seats and radios, turbos, multi changers cruise control etc etc. any market for a car with no frills? just the bits to make it go and stop and lights to show you the way at night. when its hot wind down windows and when its cold you just wear extra clothes. Read more

I just wonder if anyone else has received a cold telephone call from a firm offering a car warranty ? this for a seven-year old car. A chap called earlier this evening, went through a load of spiel, told me he would send some information, then expected me to agree to a direct debit mandate. I?d let him go through his stuff but informed him that there was no way that I would set up a direct debit over the phone. I asked how he had found my contact details and details of the car and he said via insurers or the car dealer. When I asked which car dealer had given him the information, he hung up. It all seemed a bit fishy to me! Read more

I am replacing the Manicat Catalytic Convertor on my daughters Ford Ka. It is broken off at the bottom end, under the engine where the flange connects to the exhaust.

I have managed to disconnect it from the engine at the manifold but it looks like I will have to remove the radiator to let it drop down.

Does anybody have any experience with changing these? I would appreciate any tips/info you might have.

Thanks

Don Read more

My jeep was parked one morning and in the afternoon it would not start, checked for spark and there isn't one. The commonest problem I've seen with these is the crank sensor although this did seem a bit all of a sudden as there was now warning or other problems leading up to it. fuel pump primes and engine turns over fine.

I read somewhere that you can get the fault codes on your dash but not sure any help would be appreciated. I have checked relay's fuses and ordinary stuff.

Please help
Cheers Read more

Not at all bad actually. I quite like the looks, but the important thing from the user's point of view is the proportions. The tall hunched stance gives the interior a spacious feel, not entirely imaginary as there is decent rear footroom. Leather and suede upholstery and trim, heated seats with electric height adjustment on the driver's side, shiny chrome-finish wheels and many bells and whistles came for the original 18k price (phew!). Short bonnet and high floor make it feel a bit like a Transit.

It's running sweetly at 55,000 miles, distinctly better after being booted a bit on the road, but a slight fluffiness from time to time suggests that new plugs and leads might not be a bad idea. These come in cheap and expensive options, and there's a coil pack - also a bit dear - which is supposed to give a couple of extra horses. K&N air filter might be another sensible change. The car runs quietly enough, although not silently, but will only pick up its skirts and hustle along with a fair amount of foot. A zipmobile it isn't, but a couple more horses and cleaner running could reduce its thirst while sweetening its driveabilty.

It does about 24 or 25 mpg in London and about 34 on the road. Last 290-odd miles, 170 or more in London, it returned 29.25 mpg. After paying 47 quid to fill the tank I realised that the amount was a bit under ten gallons... a slight shock, that. I still haven't done a long motorway trip on cruise.

All in all I quite like the thing. Its 2 litre engine is less intrinsically refined than the Ford 16v in my other car and its soft suspension and low front end mean it can scrape its chin on the road coming off speed bumps, forcing one to mimse. As bell boy warned me, it has a lousy turning circle. It rolls more than the Ford too, but it handles all right in a working-class mid-Atlantic way. You wouldn't want to get it sideways. The nicest things about it are the controls, trim, doorhandles and so on. It's a pleasure to open a thick, solid door with a big solid chromed handle and button and climb up into it. Driving it after that, gearchange apart, is a slight let-down, but you can't have everything.

I am still unused to the higher profile it gives one on the road and the ambiguous sort of respectability it confers. Much aftermarket bling is available for it but it doesn't seem to need that. Indeed I would prefer the wheels to be anodised black or something. However it had got a bit muddy so I actually washed it by hand the other day. Am I going gaga? Read more