I suspect that this (shorter) lockdown will be handled differently, certainly by new car sales.
We know that showrooms will be closed (in England) from Thursday, but workshops will remain open.
Where the difference will be is that I expect it to be a suspension of all sales activities this time, with no click and collect option.
Online enquiries and phone calls will be answered, and everything diarised for December 2 and onwards. So far as I’ve seen so far, car production will continue as normal.
The used car industry will trade as best it can, with cars being sold from home as opposed to from a pitch. After all, we’re being advised to work from home where possible. Read more

I wonder if Ronnie O’Sullivan still thinks F1 is about driving around in circles, one handed, whilst smoking a cigar? Read more

Asking for a friend (really)..

She will be retiring soon and wants to buy a small used car for about £8k. Possibilities include Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris 1.3 or Yaris Hybrid.... Read more

My Auris had a problem a while back with suspension creaking on cornering. The dealership lubricated the suspension bushes at the last service a few months back and it has cured that noise for now. But very soon after that it developed a new noise - an intermitted rattle / knocking noise from somewhere underneath (sounds muffled and is a bit hard to pinpoint). No idea whether it's related to the previous issue or not, and it only occurs very briefly (a few seconds) maybe once or twice in a journey, but I'm not happy just ignoring it. I'm assuming it's probably something suspension-related and needs to go up on a ramp and be properly inspected (by someone who knows what they're doing :).

Unfortunately the car's warranty expired just when that last service was done, so... any views on what a reasonable charge would be for investigating this kind of problem, and maybe tightening up X or Y as required? All the dealership can tell me is that their labour charge is £78/hr but of course we've no idea how long it will take to diagnose or fix. I'm currently in two minds over whether to let them work on it or just take it to a local independent... there's a good one not far away, going by recommendations, but to be fair the Toyota dealership has generally been pretty good too, and they don't charge for a loan car. One local place has quoted £72/hr (incl VAT) plus £5 for loan car (which seems perfectly reasonable) but who knows how the actual repair costs might compare, so interested to get views if anyone can offer them. Read more

Hi,

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