May 2021
newbie to the forum here so looking for advice or just comments on buying a used 3 door hatchback.
I like reasonably sporty, reliable, 35+mpg, min engine 1.4 max 2 litre. Prefer petrol only because government is determined to punish diesel owners over next few years. I only do about 6000 miles a year and I am 55 but share it with my daughter who is 22.... Read more
Hi if possible can someone help please have replace front upper and lower suspension arm on both sides but still have a knocking noise will it be the air Suspension Strut thanks
... Read more
Start by acknowledging I over think .
Seriously looking at ix 20. 2017 petrol auto with just over 19000 miles on clock. Priced 9,300 pounds, main dealer.... Read more
Thanks all for prompt and helpful reply. They have reassured a neurotic buyer like me.
now just looking for best deal.be...
Hi All,
I am currently looking for a second hand car. I am currently looking at a Ford Fiesta (2009), Petrol 1.4, 96CV and a Mazda 2 (2008), Petrol 1.5, 103CV.
I need a reliable, small car to drive to and from work daily. Once a year I'd like to be able to drive across France and Spain if possible. I'd like something that is reliable and can overtake without issues on the motorway.
What would you recommend between these two cars? Pro and cons? Anything to avoid?
Many thanks,
Cathal Read more
Well I guess for most of Spain, rust shouldn't be an issue!.
Maybe consider a Seat Ibiza too, presumably quite common in Spain?.
Hi guys,
I am a new car owner, and relatively young driver. I have some (admittedly basic) car maintenance questions... Read more
What type and age of car are we looking at?
If it’s new, there’s a possibility that it has a ‘lane keep’ system that will nudge the steering wheel to prevent you inadvertently crossing white lines.
Set the tyre pressures, whilst they’re cold, drive for a couple of days and check again, using a tyre pressure gauge. If the pressures are all consistent, no punctures.
The pressures whilst on the move will vary by how much work they have to do. If your route contains a number of roundabouts, I’d expect the left hand front (whilst facing forwards), to be warmer - hence a slightly higher pressure - than the other three.
Cruising along a straight, wet, road, where the tyres are doing very little, pressures will drop again as the water cools the tyres.
I honestly wouldn’t get too hung up on what the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System is telling you, unless it flags up you have a puncture.
When indicating a right turn, the dash warning light flashed quickly, indicating a problem which, in our case, we learnt about when a following motorist gave a loud toot when we turned in front of him!. Upon investigating, the right rear bulb was not even lighting up! Before I began the hassle of adding a new earth connection to said bulb, and realising the bulb was loose in its socket, I cut a couple of pieces of thin brass shim and slipped them down the sides of the bulb base. Bulb tighter now, and so far indicator operating normally.
This had actually been happening at random intervals before a mechanic had a look and suggested a new bulb - no luck. But I'd had a similar problem with my Apple //e computer many years before. My tech simply opened the case, located the CPU and pressed it back into place; the start/run/stop sequence was heating and expanding the CPU's pins, thus working the CPU and pins upwards and out of contact with the base. So now we know why modern CPUs have a wire clamp - to keep the pins in place!
I've often found that the simplest solutions are the best ones and hope I don't have to add to this post.
Michael Miskin
New Zealand
Can anyone advise me what to do for the best?
My 2007 Ford C-MAX (which I've loved) has cost me loads of money over the last year or two in repairs. Since Christmas I've spent around £750 on repairs alone. I had started to wonder if I should see the car and get something more reliable. Last week my clutch broke and I've been quoted £530 to repair. This is the final straw - I definitely need to get a new car.... Read more
There's a parallel with our gas boiler, which was installed in 2000 (before we moved here) and received some new parts 15 years later - until the internal leak was diagnosed in the heat exchanger. A few years on, the fan became noisy and was replaced. It's still going strong, though the serviceman reckons the tube to the pressure gauge is probably blocked as it's not reading as it should. But I don't intend to replace the boiler just yet.
New boilers are probably like new cars - far more complicated than need be.
Even the tiny manufacturers are having to change, despite having a small budget compared to the mainstream car manufacturers.
www.electrive.com/2021/05/17/caterham-looks-to-rel.../... Read more
Will the so-called mild hybrids like the Suzuki system qualify to be sold after 2030?
As I understand it they are little more than a more robust starter motor which can chip in occasionally....
I still believe the government is wrong to ban sales of all ICE cars.
www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry-news-technolog...y Read more
Whats the point of hydrogen ICE? As the majority of hydrogen is produced inefficiently from fossil fuel sources, the sum total of CO2 generated will be considerably greater than if you just used petrol or diesel in an engine.
Youtube video explaining why hydrogen internal combustion engines are a dumb idea...
The aircon on my 2009 i30 still works effectively (never been re-gassed) but for a month or two now there is noticeable noise when the aircon is turned on. It sounds like a bearing to me, presumably in the compressor.
Is this likely to fail soon or could it last for months? I'm inclined to have it replaced before the summer, I guess this won't be cheap but cheaper than changing cars.... Read more
Well worth £40 if we have a hot summer.
You got a re-gas for forty quid? That's cheaper than fit-quick and half the price I paid for R134 at an independent....
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I’d walk away. Not to a dealer but to another private seller who’d let me drive it, I wouldn’t buy any car without driving it first.
I’ve always bought and sold privately. I’ve recently sold a Jazz and the buyer was very respectable and appeared sensible so I let him drive it in a very quiet housing estate. If the prospective buyer is at all iffy then no drive however I usually manage to filter out iffy people when they phone.