December 2020

Johngalaxy

Hi,

Last week my wife drove to the shops and the car was driving fine. After an 1 1/4 hours she came out of the shops and was driving home and the engine started to make a loud knocking (tapping) noise.... Read more

Steveieb

A small parking hit and run on my partners Flame red metallic Captur has opened my eyes to the importance of considering the cost of repairs when choosing a colour.

Even with the paint code, there turned out to be four variants of the colour.... Read more

edlithgow

Cheap is no good if the final result annoys you every time you look at the car.

...

Jim Dennison

For some weird reason I inadvertently put the automatic gearbox ('PowerShift') selector from 'D' (Drive) to 'P' (Park) while moving at about 25mph.

The car did not come to a sudden stop or make any nasty graunching noises.... Read more

Wally11

HiJim..

I know this is an old thread, but the reason I'm here is because earlier today for some bizarre reason I did exactly the same thing. Speed would have been about the same at 25mph, I think I forgot I was driving an automatic and proceeded to change up! I drive plenty of autos and manuals at work, so perhaps there lies the confusion with a bit of concentration going astray thrown into the mix also. Anyway, mine made a lot of noise, like trying to engage a gear without the clutch, but I pulled up sharply and it seems ok fingers crossed. What bothers me is that I was able to do it at all. I can go through the gears without having to press the small lever at the front of the stick. Surely the purpose of that lever is to prevent such a thing happening isn't it? Maybe I need to get it looked at. How was yours afterwards, did you have any further issues?

BPL

Anyone know if you can fit higher profile tyres / rims to as Audi S4 Avant 2018? Back issues prevent use of 19" ones . Hopefully the dealer might oblige as people normally want the opposite...?

Any other thoughts on this car as a comfortable safe fast long term buy Read more

John F

I don't think fitting higher profile tyres will make a noticeable difference in softness - or in the case of an S4 - hardness of the suspension. I fitted 255/45 instead of 255/40 to my Audi A8 because they were half the price, and noticed no difference at all. As said, if you want a soft ride, don't buy a sports saloon, unless it has adjustable air suspension like mine.

tickettoride1952

Our 2016 Yeti 1.2 Outdoor SE TSI DSG is the first and will be the last Skoda we have owned in our 4 car family. Skoda UK's poor customer support when their cars go wrong leaves me with no confidence in this brand and their dealer network. My issue has been caused by the failure of the offside rear door solenoid locking mechanism which was undetected for nearly 18 months. As the car is parked in London streets and there were incidences of entry, disruption and theft from the interior of the car, this was initially considered a user error in not activating the central locking correctly. As this occurrences continued to happen the idea of breaching the locking system by the intruder was also considered.

When finally the discovery of the intermittent faulty lock on the rear passenger door resulted in a visit to Listers Skoda Banbury, it was decided that a new lock was needed at a cost of £323. As the car was not purchased from them (although they had done the servicing) and out of warranty, I paid for the work expecting a sympathetic approach from Skoda UK Customer services as the car had little use and under 30,000 miles and according to Listers a previously unheard of failure.... Read more

Manatee

Clearly not VAG's specialism. I had two Audis with the air-pump central locking, both sprang a leak causing the pump to run continuously and burn out.

BPL

Anyone had any ACTUAL experience with Cazoo/Cinch or anyone else doing distance selling for nearly new cars - no finance needed?

Does the delivery guy hang around for you to accept the car?... Read more

alan1302

<< Other than the drop off/collection it is not really that much different from buying any other car. >>

Surely it's a bit more than that - test-drive? - careful examination? Do Cazoo offer an online walk-round video ?...

Anna Lee

Changing a flat tire sounds simple: jack up the car, replace the tire with a spare tire, and then you can get back on the road again.

But the importance of doing things properly for safety cannot be stressed enough, particularly when it involves a machine that weighs at least a ton (or thereabouts). Otherwise, the least of your concerns would be a simple flat tire.... Read more

edlithgow

I've often seen the recommendation to carry a bit of board (plywood would be a better bet) as a jack foot, so the .finding a hard level surface to jack against is subject to recognition and preparation by the user too, though come to think on't I dont have one. Should fix that, really

I'm not sure the discussion was about jacking points, but if it was, I'd add in passing that I never use them, because (a) I don't trust them (with good reason on some of my past cars) (b) I dont usually have the original jack, which is often required to use the "official"jacking points. I use a bottle jack...

DJohn

After ordering a car a few months ago, it arrived and I've picked it up from the garage. However it transpires that a number of features that are usually included as standard on the trim that I ordered are missing.

After following up with the dealer, for one of the features, a CD player/media box, they have told me that this is because it's been removed from the newer 2021 model of the car. I suspect this will be similar for the other things missing.... Read more

Simon

I'm led to believe that there is an issue affecting some of the new Ford builds where by because of the worldwide pandemic they have not been able to get some parts that you would normally expect to be on the car. I'm talking about minor things like sill protectors and trim pieces that they have had to do without due to supply issues.

Smileyman

I think any statistician / traffic planner is going to find 2020-2021 a fascinating period of time for comparisons and "what if" scenarios. We now know the impact of even selective switching of road lanes into cycle lanes can be negative for public mobility; despite the reduced traffic levels congestion increased and thankfully many of these ill considered schemes have been scrapped.

Certainly no-one would have wished to be where we find ourselves, but the opportunity presented cannot be ignored. Read more

bathtub tom

Had one follow me today, on my way to 'click-n-collect'. I was behind a row of four cars in a 30, it kept pulling out and had to dive back quickly for a keep left bollard. As we reached a dual carriageway, it quickly passed me (at way over the limit) only to be stopped at the next set of lights. It then turned off to LIDLs. A BMW SUV with prat plates!

Chris M

The oil light came on on a friend's MINI. She took it to a garage close to where she works and they have diagnosed the oil pressure switch.

They have quoted 1.5 hours labour to replace the switch. The last time (about 30 years ago) I replaced a switch it was a 10 minute job. Is the MINI one more than just a plain switch, difficult to access or maybe needs programming to the car? Read more

Chris M

Thanks elekie.