May 2012
Hello all, I'm currently driving a Mercedes C Class and I'm coming to the end of my 3 year lease period in September so I'm starting to weigh up my options. I've enjoyed the car and it has served me well, providing a good mix of fun and economy but I think I'm ready for a change as I don't want to buy it, or be tied to a certain number of miles anymore.
The car has been completely useless in snow and ice until I bought some winter tyres which has made it just about passable but not ideal by any means as I like to go hiking in the nearby Yorkshire Dales. Therefore I like the idea of an all weather car, where regardless of weather I know I can get wherever I need to when need be. My budget is anywhere up to £10k. I'd quite like to try a 4x4 over winter to see if it suits me but I don't have the need for anything too big e.g. Discovery/Shogun.... Read more
i'm now the owner of a mark 2 scirocco. i'm after advice on suitable replacement carb kits, as i've had the carb checked and been advised thats its worn and setting up properly is almost impossible in the present condition. any help much appreciated. Read more
Dont know the answer but they were lovely cars !
Can anyone give me their opinion on the Fiat Croma. I spent 4 weeks flat on my back with a dodgy disc. During my visits to the Chiropractor he suggested that I changed my car. He recommended the Fiat Croma as the best vehicle for my back due to its higher driving position and ease of getting in & out. I dont know much about them & I am a bit nervous of Fiat as it doesnt seem to score highly in reliability and customer satisfaction surveys?
Can anyone offer some advice/shed some light on the Croma please, especially the diesel auto versions. Thanks in advance. Read more
My father has a Croma and they are excellent with regards entry and exit as the seats are just at the right height to slide into the car without having to lower or raise yourself to the seat height. I would love to find a site that gives this measurement from the ground to the seat so it would be possible to find a car with similar seat heights. With an ageing population I would expect this to be something of greater interest.
The car itself is extremely responsive and economical on a long run (diesel Eleganza). However reliability is an issue having the alternator and battery going within four years of purchase on a low mileage of about 6000 miles a year....
Hi all,
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My wife and eldest daughter both drive Mini's (1.6 Cooper 09 and 60 Reg). They are cars bought (as the original poster hints) with the heart rather than on cold logic, but that does not mean they are totally impractical. My daughter clocks up 300 mainly motorway miles a week in hers and averages 45MPG. My wife's mileage is entirely around town (London suburbs) but even she gets 38/39mpg. If you tend to only have 2 of you in the car, space is not an issue - the front seats have as much room as e.g. a Honda Jazz or Fiesta. The rears seats flip down very easily to create more loadspace if you need it. Ride is not an issue at all, provided you stick to 15 or 16inch rims on non-runflats.
Having said all the above, I would not buy a 2001 Mini - at least not for that money. You really ought to be able to get something much newer for £4700. As is alwas mentioned on here - best to go by age rather than mileage. Oh - and just to demonstrate the 'marmite' nature of Mini's, my other daughter hates them and wants to get a Fiesta or Mazda 2!...
A couple of things connected to this I need help with please.
I have removed the seat up to the point that it is dangling by the seat belt and now need to remove the seatbelt tensioner. What size is the torx bolt please, specifically the head size in torx language.... Read more
Better to get a set of Torx keys, the long ones that look like a set of Alan keys (hexagon wrenches) from a local tool shop, then you'll have the right size for everything. If you can't find 'em locally, Screwfix.com have a set - catalogue no. 90468, for just over four pounds. The set includes the larger sizes, from T10 through to T50.
Bought a 56 plate Ford Focus TDci sport less than three weeks ago, the car is running great but the engine management light came on the other night while driving on motorway, the next morning all ok no light on, but three days later the light is back on, any idea what is causing it. Read more
Even if the light is now out, the fault code which caused it will be stored and can be read by plugging a fault-code reader into the diagnostic socket. I have an intermittent engine management light showing on my Fiesta 1.4Tdci which is being caused by code P0404 - EGR performance - so I'm not too worried by it and I'm waiting for some free time to strip it all down and get the EGR off for cleaning. A local garage may not charge a lot for reading your fault code. Perhaps with modern cars we should all now have a cheap code-reader as part of our tool kits? My local car parts shop sold me a good one for forty quid.
Hi,
I'm planning on going to some bca/manheim and any other auctions recommended to me, with the aim of eventually purchasing a VW golf mk5 1.9 tdi. This seems to be the best combination of economy, reliability, insurance and style for a 19 year old (myself).... Read more
Thank you very much for looking that up. I may not have decent price guidance but if i go armed with the knowledge of what i can get the cars for on autotrader / ebay, then i know i won't be paying more than i would have.
I undestand the risk of buying cars at auction but the trade prices are too attractive to ignore! Although the prices you quote seem very similar to autotrader. ...
I was recently in a bump with another car when I was doing below 10MPH so there was no damage to the bumper apart from some flaky Laquer. The bumper was fine and so was the paint. I have been quoted £120 to get it repaired. Can I not just buy Laquer from a Motor Factors and apply it myself? The car is 8 years old and is silver. Any advice would be great.Thanks
Hi, I've got a 54 plate new shape focus giha and the trip computer has just started showing jibberish. It seems to just be scrolling through a load of letters and numbers perminatly. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks, Steve Read more
Make sure you have the radio code before you disconnect.
Hi All,
A week or so ago I was looking at a Mondeo diesel for £5995, I decided not to go for it thanks to some advice on here.... Read more
My Octavia has now done 215,000 miles. I think it is time to part company. The cambelt needs replacing, a full service is required, there's an intermittent clonking sound from front nearside on uneven roads, a rear footwell is filling with water, one rear window doesn't work (hasn't done so for 3 years, just like the aircon), last year a deer ran out into the car and put a dent in the driver's side door. Plus points are that it has fsh and 10 months MOT.
I second the Subaru route (using winter tyres as the standard Geolanders are poor on snow). However, have you looked at the Ford Maverick - getting old now, but were very good part time 4x4s in their day. Also known as the Mazda Tribute.