February 2023
Hello, just wondering if you can clarify on the following.
My X5 (2016) had had 3100 miles until front brake pads replacement indicated on the dashboard for quite some time. Brought it for a regular servicing at BMW where front brake pads were confirmed to be at 7 mm. ... Read more
Hello, I'm hoping someone may have some advice for us.
We bought our son the above car in August 2021 and have had nothing but problems with it since then. Within the first six months it repeatedly wouldn't start and then goes into limp mode. We can get a garage to reset the codes and the car drives fine but a) there's obviously a problem and b) it costs us money every time.... Read more
Forget fault codes, they're the key to unlock the door. That's all. What's much more useful is to carry out diagnostic checks observing live data with a scantool. That way you can see what's going on. Use a vacuum gauge too which will tell you a lot about the mechanical state of the engine, or confirm it's in perfect health.
Hi
I'm currently looking for a used car and have recently been looking at a couple and trying to compare, however my knowledge is fairly terrible and a lot of the technical spec stuff is confusing so I thought I'd ask here.... Read more
Late to add my post here, but here's for what it's worth...
I have a 2012 Mazda 6 with the 2.2 diesel engine. I've had it from new as a personal car (not a company car) and still doing well at 184,000 miles. Most of my driving is motorways/A roads so DPF has never been an issue....
Anyone used one of these?... Read more
Found after the owner died
metro.co.uk/2023/02/07/vauxhall-victor-from-1974-f.../ Read more
Three of my victors had vinyl seats (1xFD, 2xFE)
The fourth one (my final FE) had been re-upholstered - the chap I bought it from worked in the trim shop at Vauxhall in Luton. Unfortunately, he managed to hide the fact that the engine was overheating, and the car popped a crank rod through the side of the engine on my first long journey....
Hard to convey how much I loathe and detest these.
IF I ever succeed in getting them off I cut the barbs off and silicone grease them, to make it easier next time, but one has to get them off first.... Read more
Floss-bow toothpick quite effective at un-latching stubborn wiper modules from fuse panel.
Access is unusually good there, but seems to have potential as an unlatching tool
Thinking about buying an Audi A3 (reg KV16 YFB) found on Cinch, but it's MOT history makes for interesting reading. On 30 Jul 2020 it failed for the following reasons:
- Front registration plate incorrect (0.1 (c))
- Rear registration plate incorrect (0.1 (c))
It then passed on the same day. I've googled but haven't been able to determine if this is something to worry about or not? ... Read more
As identified already it failed due to an oddity with the plates. Pretty much certain that it was some combination/variation on a plate with incorrect spacing or whatever (colour of bolts?) or a coating to 'defeat' cameras that pulled the tester's chain.
Correct ones substituted and then it passes. ...
Hello, does anyone know please how I can resolve the issue of getting my car un-SORNed? It so happened that, due to emergency family circumstances, the car was SORNed (quite a while ago) while it was abroad, and is still there. So how can I bring it back now and what documentation will I need at the customs (I can only get MOT done in the UK obviously, so it will have to be transported)? Are any fines involved? Do I need to tell DVLA first? Basically, what is the procedure? Thank you! Read more
Can you not drive from the ferry to a pre-booked MOT (preferably close to the port), assuming you have insurance?
The car came with 17" wheels which is the only issue I have with an otherwise excellent car. The ride is harsh and I have already had one tyre completely trashed (a hole in the side) by one of many potholes around my area (wet weather - puddle hid BIG pothole).
I want to change to 15" wheels (Alutec Graphite) recommended size wheel and tyre, identical rolling radius, correct offset..... Read more
You indeed might be able to get a reasonable amount (dependent upon condition) for both the existing wheels and tyres. You should be able to see what that could be via serches on eBay or other sellers' websites.
One thing to remember is to make sure that the wheel nut config is the same for the new wheels - normally this won't be a problem as manufacturers will ask for the car's model, but just be aware if you buy 'off the shelf' or over the phone that a 15in wheel isn't the same for all cars in this regard: on my Mazda3 (and likely on similar sized cars), it has 5 nuts (and for the 16in OEM), on superminis like the Mazda2, it only has 4 for its 15in wheel.
I’m looking for a car that’s a self charging and plug in hybrid along the lines of a golf gte, where it can either be plugged in or charge when driving.
During the week it would be used for short journeys so hopefully would run on battery, then at the weekends longer motorway journeys.
Other than the golf what other makes and models could I look at with similar capabilities, obviously not all would have the golf gte performance and my budget is around £18000 Read more
Whichever car you look at, make sure you check the boot space is adequate for your needs in the specific plug-in version of the car.
Quite a few fit the battery somewhere within the boot, which leads to a smaller and sometimes less practically shaped boot than the standard petrol version of the same car. The Golf GTE is particularly bad for this, its boot is smaller than the boot in a Polo, and only marginally larger than what you get in an VW Up....
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As a strong believer in simple direct systems wherever possible, I would say that you know [a] how much meat is left on the pads and [b] the approximate rate at which your style of driving wears them. Ignore any untrustworthy electronic gizmos and rely on actual inspection. Just hope that if that system calculates that you have a negative distance left, it doesn't put the car into limp mode ... :-(