We go back and forwards to France quite a lot. Usually once a month for a few days. We take stuff there and back and can usually fill a good size estate car. We have a SAAB 95 2.2tid at the moment which serves quite well, and it has a proper spare wheel to avoid silly happenings with the space-saver on the wrong side of the Channel. It will eventually give out, due to starship mileage.

What would be a good replacement ? I don't want to spend more than £10K (I'm like that) and would ideally like something that can be fairly easily fixed when something goes wrong i.e. not too many electronics. And I would rather stick with a car that doesn't have a cam-belt. Any ideas ?... Read more

A couple of times recently the radio and the courtesy light have come on while I have been in the car with doors shut, ignition off and radio off.

Any idea of the cause? I have only 3 months months warranty left, should I be worried?... Read more

First post for me although have been an avid reader for many years.

I live in Spain and the time is coming to change the old Xsara Picasso 2.0HDi, probably for a C3 Picasso 110HDi. I like the way a diesel engine drives and diesel is cheaper here in Spain than in U.K. The question is does the warmer climate have any affect on the regeneration cycle of the almost inevitable DPF/FAP ? The engine reaches operating temperature very quickly, so for most of the year (it can be very cold in winter here, even on the mediterranean coast) the exhaust will be operating at a much higher temperature than in U.K. I do reasonable length runs and because of the relatively low traffic density it is easy to maintain speeds of 90/100kph on "A" roads and the occasional "Italian tune-up" doesn´t seem to generate much black stuff from the exhaust. The alternative seems to be to go for a lower powered version which currently does not have the dreaded filter fitted. I realise that this could a "how long is a piece of string" type question but any relevant advice will be much appreciated.... Read more

Julie Spence, outgoing Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire police, is quoted in the Daily Telegraph today as saying that "Speeding is middle-class... behaviour." I had not realised that there was a class dimension to speeding and I wonder how she established it. The term she uses is generally related to occupation. The middle classes are white collar workers, the working classes blue collar. This is not related to income and the ability to buy fast cars (though there can't me any current model that won't easily exceed 70 m.p.h.). I am a retired teacher, hence middle class. My son is a plumber, hence working class. He has earns more per month than I ever did and drives a Mtisubishi Evo while I have a Hyundai i30. Spence's comment could only make sense if she had established the "class" of speedsters in her patch. Otherwise, the faster she "outgoes" the better. Read more

The Grundig radio fitted to the Merc over 20 years ago is dying, and as I don't fancy spending the rest of the summer with a soldering iron and a box of capacitors I've decided it's time to replace with something more modern.

The trouble is that most aftermarket radios I've seen look dreadful. Tiny multi-function buttons, lurid displays that say "hello" in 37 languages, and "3D sonic loudness equalisation with active anti-distort mode PMPO enhancers" don't really cut the mustard now I'm not 9 years old any more.... Read more