April 2021

JamesBro

Hi there.

I'm in the market to buy a commuting car - will be doing 200 miles a week. But not wanting to spend too much. I'm in the ballpark of around £1,500.... Read more

JamesBro

Thanks Catsdad.

Yes, have been looking at the MOT history, but thought it may have applied to the Focus I mentioned too. But thanks - good to know re the C Max....

mpm235

Hello all, hope you are all well,

Is it true that used car prices drop steeply once a car gets to 3 years old?... Read more

Heidfirst

another thing that can affect prices is when there was a complete model change or a mid-life facelift. The older version is usually considered to be worth £hundreds less even if there may only be a matter of days/weeks between registrations. It's usually worth looking at exactly what the changes were & whether they make a difference/are worth the extra to you.

Prof_33

Dealer currently has my 2014 i10 (sub 20,000 mils from new) for minor electrical fault. Has just reported start of oil leak from gearbox, plus possible contamination of clutch. Repair quote incl new clutch circa £ 900. Service desk intimated they have seen this fault previously. I have a longstanding relationship with the dealership whom, rightly or wrongly, I regard as trustworthy. Since vehicle is less than two years out of warranty I'm inclined to try for a goodwill contribution from manufacturer. Can't find much previous comment on Hyundai's goodwill track record. Details of any previous experience appreciated. Read more

blindspot

or is it engine oil leak

JonestHon

Hi,

Our trusty 2010 Avensis 1.8 Petrol manual never gave us a spot of bother from new, now on 130k it developed something that I will need help with.... Read more

JonestHon

Took the car to our local garage and they tested few things.

Sods law the car behaved perfectly while there....

Kim Meakings

One of my biggest bugbears when changing my car is that I lose all the navigation destination details as I cannot transfer them over.

I normally have about 20 'Favourite' locations that I lose and have to reenter and some times I lose track of the post code as it has been so long since I last used it.... Read more

Heidfirst

One of my biggest bugbears when changing my car is that I lose all the navigation destination details as I cannot transfer them over.

Can't speak with other brands but if you have a Toyota & stick with Toyota you can. The systems are from Harman (exception is the Aygo which uses Pioneer as the infomation system for the 108/C1/Aygo was PSA-led) & the mapping from Here. I switched from an Avensis with Touch & Go to one with Touch2 with Go & it imported nav & contact details from the older car no problem.

Plantop

Evening all,l am looking for some advice about buying from dealers that are a long way from me.I have always purchased my cars from main dealers close to home however the local dealers don’t seem to hold stock any more and are not interested in anything less than the list price, it seems that the dealers further north are able to offer better deals but l am reticent about buying so far from home in case of problems? All advice gratefully received,thanks Read more

Engineer Andy

You have to see the car in person. I have seen really odd things, like a car that smelt like parrots.

What do parrots smell like? Strikingly different to other birds? Are they renowned for B.O.? :-)...

Gordon the golfer

Hi everyone. I hope you're all safe and well.

I'm wanting to know if MOT advisories can be verbal instead of on the MOT certificate? Read more

edlithgow

Whats the bit of wood horror (#1) doing? Hard to say what's wrong with it unless one knows that.

apparently it's supporting the suspension ......

bladest

Hello Great People.
Let me first remind u i live outside uk so i have limited market for everything...
I am considering these 3 tyre brands and models, all will be the same,
All of the tyres will be brand new .

Right now i am driving with T005 Turanza BRIDGESTONE which became cracked after 2 year so i am unhappy.

I am Considering getting one of these, Continental premium contact 6 - the issue here is in my country this tyre is offered only with old production dot - so it was made 2 years ago at least, and price is BRAND NEW RETAIL , no discount. Other than that i like it and on charts its on top 3 spots...

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 - this tyre i can get produced in 2021 dot which is good, specs wise is worse than continental and same price i dont have experience with good year and this model exactly so any advice will be great... model of this tyre is 2 years old.?


For the Final i leave this tyre - BRIDGESTONE POTENZA SPORT- this is brand new tyre year 2021 , dot production will be 2021 year again which is great , unfortunately - POTENZA SPORT - where i live cost 2 times more - So i can buy 4 tyres of good year and 4 of continental and i will still have some money left brand new. Its extremely expensive. Its my favourite but i am not sure if will buy it because of crazy price and rare availability...

Tell me what do u think should i go with Good year ?

My other option is to drive all summer with my winter tyres which are at their end of life.... they are bridghestone blizzak lm001 i think more than 5 years old...

other option which i dont approve will be to get used tyres they will be used for 1 or 2 years max... cost 50% of the brand new ones so i dont see the point... Read more

Heidfirst

Not sure that this was aimed at me but in case it was:

As someone who does care about what tyres go on my car I do regularly check out group tests etc. 10 years ago I wouldn't have put Nexen, Kumho or Hankook on my car but the tests have shown significant improvement over the years to the point that they are snapping at the heels of (& occasionally beating) what would generally be considered the top tier brands....

barneybee

I'm looking for some advise please about a car I'm considering...

A relative is considering selling his Mondeo TDCI (2017) as he needs something greener for his mainly motorway commute to London. The car is an AWD Vignale edition and as far as I know has been maintained to schedule, however despite it's age it has covered 80,000 miles and has a PowerShift auto box. I believe these 'boxes need servicing to schedule to remain relaible. My main concern is around the gearbox (even if it has had the oil changes to schedule, which I would confirm before commiting to buying it), is it a valid concern or am I being parnoid? Read more

Lee Power

Ford apprantly tweaked / improved the Power Shift transmission in late 2016 to try & cure the earlier issues.

That high mileage would point to a lot of cruising on motorways, as long as it has a full service history, is in good condition & drives ok it could be worth a punt....

johnnyrev

I’m stuck about what to do with the drivers seat on my 1999 MX5. When I bought it three years ago it had cloth seats which were quite worn. So I bought a pair of 2nd hand leather ones from eBay for £150 and they were a nice replacement (even though I prefer cloth!).

The replacements weren’t immaculate when I got them, but now the drivers bolster is getting very worn and the back is beginning to crack and degrade. The passenger side is fine.... Read more

johnnyrev

Thanks everyone. I’ve investigated swapping the seats over and because the seatbelt mounts are part of the seats, I don’t think it is. I got to know how the seats go together very well when I fitted the current ones as I had to swap the rails over.
Also, after much hunting online over the weekend (when I was feeling rotten after having my first COVID jab-but luckily was okay for my Sunday service in church!) I’ve found a pair of cloth seats for £100 on eBay. They were wrongly listed as leather, and my offer of £100 was accepted (listed at £130). I might even sell the old pair and get something back!