Hiya guya ive got a problem with my zafira i have a warning light come up on tge dash and the error code is yelling me the gearbox needs servicing i had the oil and filter chaned about 2 months ago ..any advice please Read more

I have a 2Litre (320D) E91, 2008 reg. It's an SE with extra bits (Business edition, 17inch alloys, leather and better audio). It has just reached 100K miles, but still goes well. I have had it since new, so know all that has happened to it -not much actually. It was my company car originally then I bought it at 3 year old. I think I have been lucky. as the only mechanical parts it has needed while I owned it was rear tailgate struts, a leakoff pipe and a shock absorber, plus one battery and tyres and servicing.

Do I keep it or replace, and if so what with? I do 8-10k miles a year now, like the way it drives. I have driven both the F30 and new G model 3 series (a saloon, estate not out yet). Nether drive as nicely as my E90, but the 2019 model is not bad, but oh dear, so expensive.... Read more

On one of my regular motorcycling routes through Wales, I pass a farmhouse just outside of Bryneglwys on the A5104 to Corwen. In the yard in front of the house, there are some cars which look like they've been sat there for quite some time - none has ever changed position in the 3 or 4 years I've been using that route (which I do probably a dozen times per year).

One of the cars is an early 2000s Maserati Quattroporte, just sitting on the long grass. That was a £75K car when new, and now effectively just scrap.... Read more

Tasked with finding a good used car for brother in law for up to £7,000 I started looking at my usual default choices, Mazda 3, Honda Civic, Toyota Auris and Ford Focus 1.6 petrol. It never ceases to impress me how many excellent cars you can buy for so little money. There really is no need to buy an overpriced new car at all. Standing in the local Honda showroom looking at the new Jazz auto at over £19,000 horrified me.

I finally cut it down to a 64 plate Toyota Auris 1.4 diesel with 28,000 miles at £6495 and a 63 plate Honda Civic 1.4 with 53,000 miles at £5995. Both were in excellent order and drove spot on but the Civic is just that wee bit nicer inside and the metallic white paint particularly nice so we went for that. £5,800 with a years warranty for a 63 plate approved used Honda Civic that drives exactly as it did when new is to me fine value and hopefully this one will last as long as the one I sold his brother several years back. It’s 18yrs old and still doing a daily 120 mile commute reliably.

Forget badge snobbery, why worry about how fast it is? If you want a reliable used car on a budget it’s hard to beat a Civic. Even this lowly 1.4 went along the road well enough. It’ll sit all day at 100mph if you do desired. Read more

Last weekend I paid a £400 deposit against a £4000 BMW 318d Estate (negotiated down from £4300) with a view to collecting it today. The dealer is now telling me that since paying the deposit, the car has a clutch problem & may need a new clutch & flywheel, he's offering to refund the deposit, but I get the impression he's now trying to wriggle out of the sale so that he can re-list it at a higher price to cover the cost of the work that will have to be done. I'd still like to buy the car at the agreed price (obviously with the fault corrected) but I'm unsure where I stand legally. I know that the deposit binds ME to the sale, but does it in any way bind the dealer...?

Any thoughts appreciated.... Read more