March 2019
After owning a few older cars, (vectra and fiesta) and not paying anymore than 2.5k for a car, I'm looking for an suv with a few years manufactures warranty. Both me and the wife will be driving it, around 15000 miles a year. We test drove a 1.5dci qashqai and a 1.6gdi tucson 2018 models. I preferred the tucson, she liked the qashqai n connecta. We compromised and decided to look for a tucson but diesel version with some toys on it (reverse camera, sat nav, touchscreen infotainment system).
Budget 12-15k.... Read more
Hello if you are reading this you are my last hope.... I bought a Peugeot 207tdi sport (07) and when driving a few days later the brakes felt odd, like my foot went ALL the way to the floor before the car finally stopped. Then moments later, there was an ABS system fault message showing on the computer and a STOP message and abs symbol on dash behind steering wheel. I am truly gutted because all the money i had was put into buying this car (and everything else that has to be done like insurance, tax). To make it worse, i only bought this car because my 206cc needed repairs that totalled over £650 and because it wasn't worth that much it obviously wasn't cost effective. Now I'm screwed because I have to use a car for my job (I work in the community supporting people) and if i cannot get to them i will lose my job which is not something i want to happen. Does anyone know what the problem could possibly beDo you think its an expensive thing to fix?o Thanks for reading and any advice is welcome. Also i have found out that there are people who may be willing to help diagnose a problem using a reader (?) And wondered if anyone lives in or near Wigan who may be willing to help ? :) Read more
You're very lucky if you've not had water ingress issues or the rear light cluster issue!
No problems with rear lamp clusters. One rear footwell did get a bit wet, but I assumed that was probably caused by granddaughters doing things with the window. The car lives outdoors but doesn't often get driven in heavy rain.
About 6 months (5000 miles) ago I changed my track rod ends. Advice was to get tracking checked afterwards.I did this and got some new Avon v7 tyres at a national rapid fit place. The tyres are now really worn on the inner edges almost to minimum legal depth but the outer edge have about 7mm left. I took it to the place today and the guy said its a suspension fault? Rubbers or similar. Does that sound right? Do I have any come back Tyres are basically knackered. Any suggestions as to the way forward.
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I think you are right, too much toe. I did the save. number of turns add for taking the old one off. I think I may trust this job to a proper garage now. Live and learn and all that. The Haynes manual said count turns Eden get tracking checked. Oh well.
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My 07 plate focus when I turn my car on its like the engine is shaking when I drive between 40 and 70 mph my steering wheel shakes like mad I also have a oil leak please help only had the car 2 days private buyer Read more
More details may be needed. What engine is it? Are the wheels balanced? Did you not test drive it? How much did you pay?
I picked up my new car today (used one) from a large London based secondhand dealer.
- I don't know if I can mention them by name so I won't -... Read more
I think that last line is good advice.
There's no way of proving one way or the other whether the main crack happened before or after you bought the car. No prizes for guessing what the dealer will say: on their side is the fact that you didn't notice it when you inspected the car.
I note with interest that the site which Alexey recommended we should now use for supplying Ford Radio Codes has now introduced a 24 hour delay for the free service, or immediate service for a fee of £6.99!
Maybe Alexey will be back to explain.
Or more probably, not. I never liked the way he was pushing the site. Perhaps it was a cynical way of generating traffic prior to the planned policy change, just to make money.
Hello,
Am after a bit of advise,my Kia venga failed it mot today on a “major defect” i.e Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i)),I contacted my local garage and the can’t fit me in until next Monday.So I need to know if anyone has had any experience with this “Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i))” issue and if it takes a while for the unit itself to break?Thanx Read more
I have replaced quite a number of ball joints in my 60+ years of repairing my own cars and have never known of one break, I'm not saying it couldn't happen but its never happened to me or anyone else I know.
The ball end is much bigger that the hole it would have to fall through so its unlikely that it would....
Nottingham apparently levies a charge of something like £400 per year per parking space on companies with 10 or more parking bays used by workers. They use the money raised to finance public transport, trams and cleaner buses. Birmingham is introducing a London style pollution charge in the city centre all in the name of cleaner air, the powers that be want us all on public transport. Read more
A country with pathetic public transport charging in this way does depart from logic, common sense and ethics.
It's no use cursing a country for having 'pathetic public transport' without asking why it is pathetic, and perhaps suggesting how it might be improved without increasing demand on taxes, which many (most) are unwilling to pay....
Help please
Trying to sell our motorhome but the ad has been rejected because the HPI check shows the vehicle as stolen/scrapped or written off. We bought it on 1 July 2011 and sent off the reg doc immediately and received log book in hubby's name. The vehicle has been taxed, insured and motd every year since, albeit with sorned periods when not in use. At no point have we had any correspondence about the vehicle from DVLA so this has come as a complete shock. ... Read more
UPDATE
I did my own HPI check with the AA and it threw up what was an oddity. Yes the plate was listed by an insurer as a total loss. It was Cat B so should have been crushed. Not half as crushed as I was at this stage. HOWEVER, I noticed that the vehicle description said the write off was a JCB Loadall. I sent a query to HPI who have acknowledged that a wrong plate number has probably been entered by the insurer as they can see our van has never had other plates issued.They are investigating and it should all be sorted soon....
Electric Avenues - dear lord, HJ still peddling the myth that EV batteries will 'need replacing.'
HJ, how many EVs are you aware of that have needed their battery packs replacing? You can include first generation Leafs if you wish but a simple search of You Tube will find reports of Tesla's with over 200k miles and still on their original packs and, even venerable Leafs that have only 'lost' 4 and 5% of their battery capacity. Read more
"Always best to insert a thin smear of high temperature 'Copperease' grease between the alloy wheel and an iron alloy hub."
Seems to be standard advice. Never really understood why antiseize, when ordinary chassis grease does the job, is cheaper, and more available (antiseize is effectively unobtainable in Taiwan, where I'm at)
Perhaps the reasoning is that chassis grease might melt, (never did, with me, but perhaps with more "spirited" driving), and/or if antiseize melts it will leave a residue of copper?
I've also used aluminium foil, which is a bit of a hassle. These days I use a thin sheet of polythene cut from a plastic bag. That does the job too.
"But the quick way to release corroded on wheels is to slacken the wheel bolts only slightly, leaving all of them in place, then lower the car back onto the ground and use the weight of the car to snap the wheel off the hub."
Using that method I've had to twice then take it for a run over some speed bumps, but I'm not lucky, and I buy rather old cars.


I live in the North East and bought a used 2.0 diesel 4wd IX35 (Tucson predecessor) from Motorpoint in 2013, and kept it until last year.
During warranty I had it serviced at the closest Hyundai dealership to my work, Bristol Street Motors in Peterlee. They were fine, but if it needed any consumables (brakes) I had these done at my local indie. ...