I have been quoted £800+ to renew radial arm bushes as the ones on my car are squeaky, this can not be done under warranty as the are not worn or dangerous, just squeaky, the bushes themselves cannot be replaced as the whole radial arms, (both sides), only come as a single unit, not seperate bits, and each one is £300+ and both sides have to be done. Is there anything I can do, (cheaply), to stop the squeak? Read more

The latest Which? newsletter has a section about cars of the future and spherical tyres. The article mentions the trend for manufacturers to design tyres for electric cars with less tread on the road to reduce rolling resistance and then describes the Goodyear spherical tyre.

I'm all in favour of developing more economical tyres but which way to go ? Read more

Hi. This is a rerun of a 10 year old question. Please don't refer me back to that because there may be new options :)

I have to drive 3 or 4 hours on motorways twice a week. My i10 is pretty much what I need: small, comfy and responsive. But it is quite noisy at 70-ish. ... Read more

MY14 BMW320i GT Read more

Hi everyone, this is my first post!
A woman at her wits end - Literally!!

So last week I had my power steering pipe replaced as it was leaking fluid and screaming at me (2nd replacement in 2 years and a big vary in price on the jobs too). My usual mechanic fitted it and all was fine .. However that was last Friday. I had been noticing the last few days a very quiet squeak in the engine (people like to tell me I'm paranoid) but the car just sounded different. So after a few minutes it would go away. This Friday I had noticed a loud what I would describe as "rattling" sound was coming from my car. I was only doing a local drive, 30mph maybe, when the battery light flashed up, power steering went and the temp gage flew to 120+ on the dashboard. I was very close to home so tried in every effort to try and get home without PS until I heard a very loud screaming noise and I pulled over. Car died and won't turn over..
I have since left it a few hours down the end of my road for engine to cool (as advised by my mechanic) and tried to restart and NOTHING!

My mechanic is away for the weekend and can't see me til Monday, he has said it sounds as if the fan belt has snapped, however as the engine won't start I may have damaged the engine but I need my mind put at rest as I have had so much trouble with the car it's a headache! I only had a new head engine replaced last year as Cambelt snapped on me at 94,000m.

My Ex partner usually dealt with all my car problems but I'd rather choke than ask him for advice so could I please get some reassurance that this is a small job and won't end up with the car being scrapped.

It's a ford focus, 2007, 1.6 Sport.

Thanks, Rachael Read more