I won't go into any details because there is a thread in tehnical but the upshot is my head gasket has gone on my Corsa and I cannot be bothered with old cars anymore. With my luck on used cars and my personality I just don't want the stress or hassle.

I have just been to a FIAT dealer to enquire about a loan for a new Panda I will find out in a few days if my application is sucessful. My credit score is rated excellent so its only really my self employed status which would effect me.

The Panda is £95 a month for four years, then a £1200 final payment.

The problem I have only owned my Corsa for 11.5 months, on the 27th of March I will have owned it a year and the scheme expires on the 31st.

The MOT is due on the 15th of March so as you can see the timing is all wrong. I have bought some block seal to hopefully bodge the HG and get it through the MOT but before I go down the scrappage scheme is there any other deals I should consider?

I only do city driving so engine size is not important, I just want something hassle free and simple. What ever car I buy I would keep it for a long time.

All this depends on my ability to get a cheap loan there is no point on paying higher APR. I did make a similar thread a few months ago with regard to my dad but the difference is my parents have poor history and my dads not driving anyway now. Read more

Hi Guys.

First post on honest john.

looking for a little bit of independatnt advice.

Got myself a 1.6 ford focus zetec X reg. Nothing special just a family run around.
64K genuine mileage just had a full service.

At the service they changed the front brakes and the front right shock. (apparently the shock had leaked onto the brake causing unusual brake wear??

Anyway. Since the work was done everytime I press the brake it knocks. The noise is intermittent. When i took it back to the garage a week after the service it was gone and they couldnt find anything. But now its back with vengance. Its a fairly loud knock/click when you press the break. I can even do 30 mph press the brake ten times and it goes click ten times. Im pretty sure its on the suspension as its doing it going over small bumps now aswell.

Ive had a good look cant find anything obviously wrong. could be the drop link arm (but that was changed 18months ago) or some strut bushes? but nothing is obviously loose when i put it over a pit.

There is a small play in the steering but that's not it and the CV joints are fine and also the common knocks from the pedal box. but for a 10 y/o ford thats o.k and this noise is unrelated to that.

my thoughts are that when they changed the shock they disturbed a worn bush which is now wearing through. Looking for a bit of ammo to go in there with tomorrow cos it cost me £350 to get the service and work done i dont want to fork out another 100 just for a cupla bushes to be changed.

Thanks for your help.

John C Read more

I recently bought an x reg 1.8 focus and want to change the spark plugs. I saw some with 4 cores (?) in Halfords and they were only £20 for 4. Only thing stopping me buying them is that the current ford motorcraft ones fitted seem OK. They're not worn, and they're like a brown/tan colour. The spark plug gap is about 2mm but the manual says its should be 1mm.
Should I fit new plugs with the 4 cores and would that give me better mpg, perfromance etc over standard ones? The car starts and runs fine at the moment. And should I adjust the plug gap to 1mm?

Reason why i want to change them is I will be be doing a full service on the car so may as well have everything done.

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Two weeks ago had the same problem, mainly in 2nd/3rd gear (below 3000 Rpm) car would misfire with a gentle judder, EML came on then went off, had spark plugs replaced as badly corroded, and mechanic said there was fluid in the compartment so he cleaned it all away. Car then fine.

Today, same thing again, juddery and EML light flashing then turning off?

Only brought the car 3 weeks ago, done 40k? Read more

Hi all, rant alert warning...

"How much?!" This phrase has passed my lips more times than I care to mention whilst trying to find an insurance quote this weekend. I purchased my first car recently, a 2000 Suzuki Swift 1.3 GLS (for those who like details...box on wheels for me), having passed my test a few months ago. I'm having no end of grief trying to find an insurance quote I can actually afford. Today's batch of quotes range from £925 up to £1700 for 3rd/F/T. How can something I'm legally obliged to have be open to so much variation, seemingly random variation at that? I swear I get a different quote based purely on what colour socks I have on that day.

Prices have soared compared to when I first started looking during my early days of having driving lessons (not that I considered them cheap at the time), and I'm actually seeing £100 increases on some quotes I obtained just Thursday night. I'm assuming prices increase over the weekend on the assumption that more people have the time to sort out new insurance? The best quote I've received was £749 with eCar, but when I logged back in using the quote reference number provided, the price had increased (email complaint duly sent). Insurance being cheaper when you're older appears to be a myth I'd too readily taken as a truth. As this is all somewhat new to me, is this really the reality of motoring? I certainly don't expect it to be my cheap and cheerful privilege, but it is frankly confirming all the doubts I had about driving that had always put me off. I feel that I'm already stuck having to bite the bullet rather than completely waste all the money I've already spent on numerous driving lessons, associated test costs, and the car itself. Having not driven once since my test, coupled with this almost black hole of money demands, I'm fairly close to murdering the next person who mentions the freedom driving provides...

;P Read more