Hi All,first time poster but have been reading the board for a little while, great source of opinion and advice.

Im looking to purchase something in the next few weeks, currently driving a 2001 seat Ibiza, which is starting to creak shall we say so dont want to get to the point of it being a 'money pit'. a couple of things have been repaired recently and i just have a gut feeling that it will start degrading further.... Read more

i recently topped up the fluid in power steering pump and after a drive round it seemed ok... parked up on drive and cleaning up and thought i heard a pop like a fuse blowing, got in car to start and the dreaded steering wheel with exclamation mark showing and no power steering available.... spoke to friend and advised the power steering pump has probably shorted and needs replacing... i have sourced a part and was wondering if anyone can advise on how to go about replacing part... is it a common fault these going???? i did look at the fuses and all look okay are there any other in line fuses which could have blown or is it a definate that the pump needs replacing???? Read more

I have bought a 2011 Mondeo that is a German Import. It has a 60 reg. The V5 shows the date of 1st registration as 1 Jan 2011 however I have a print out from the Ford ETIS system that lists the build date as 2 Feb 2011 (which is consistent with the model since it has stop start fitted and it wouldnt have been fitted if built in early Jan) and the warranty start date as 11 March 2011 (warranty starting from the date of delivery per Ford terms). I therefore believe it should actually be an 11 plate car.

I wrote to DVLA with this information who advise that Ford has confirmed that the year and month coding in the chassis number is for a car build in Jan no date specified) and therefore they will not amend the details.... Read more

On the 23rd of December 2011 I bought a car from a garage in the South of England, the cost was £25,800 and it was first registered in 2007. It had covered 9000 miles from new and although from a very small factory was officially imported and sold by the garage I bought it from, they were the sole UK agents and they are currently negotiating with the current producers of the vehicle to import them again. It was never available as a kit and although the firm which built them went out of business a couple of years ago it is now possible to buy new ones as they are back in production from a different firm using the same name. The original was produced in The Netherlands & is now produced in Germany. On the 29th. of February while travelling across the Ashdown Forest at around 40 mph one of the pivot bars on the rear of the car snapped and it went totally out of control, hitting a bank head on, flipping over and then sliding across the road where it came to rest in the opposite hedge. This incident was as a result of the pivot bar breaking and the car is a write off. I have been in touch with the Dutch service agent who tells me that the garage was fully aware of this situation. The garage has a mechanic who is a specialist in these vehicles and at the time of writing this they still have one for sale which, as far as I know has not been modified. The Dutch service agent tells me that the modification can be done for less than £1000, so the garage was quite happy to let me go off in a car which they knew could kill me for the sake of £1000. What makes it even more incredible is that they were Dealer of the Year 2005 & 2006 for the iconic British Sports Car which they also sell. If you can't trust a Dealer of the Year, who can you trust. As well as my car and the other they have for sale there is a third car which has recently been sold and that would also require modification. If you value your customers' lives so lightly you should not be in business! So, my first question is this: As I have proof that the car should have received this £1000 modification and they did not do it which resulted in the car self destructing which could have seriously injured or killed me, what can I do? The garage is aware of the incident but apart from a reply to my email saying "thank you for keeping us informed" there has been no further communication. I don't believe in starting on them until I have all the facts gathered together. When I am ready to approach them, my proposal is that they supply me with a replacement car which means a new one as none other is suitable and also that they should pay all my insurance company's expenses so that this event is wiped from my record. Is this reasonable and what pressure can I bring to bear? Thank you for reading all this and for any suggestions. Read more

Hi all. I am looking to buy a used car to replace my R reg peugeot 306 1.9 tdi, which is becoming less and less reliable, with a similar small family hatchback.... Read more