Hi all

I was looking at a Renault Captur Plug in Hybrid on line over the weekend, are they any good? Through the week I work a hybrid system whereby 2 days in the office a 25 mile round trip and the rest at home. So I think easly coverable in a PHEV as according to ZAPMAP they have around a 25 mile range and charging overnight would cost around £1... Read more

I'm helping Son and Daughter in law to get themselves mobile by buying a car for them. Son does not currently have license (other than provisional), DIL does but she is Estonian.

Not sure what the best course of action would be regarding insurance. My initial thoughts was that because i'd be picking the car up and driving it home, plus i'd be traveling from my home to theirs (60 mile round trip plus whatever miles we did in Aberdeen) in order to take DIL out and get her familiarised with driving on the left, I'd register and insure it in my name initially, with her (and possibly Son depending on cost) as a named driver. Then transferring ownership and insurance responsibility to therm once she is happy and confident driving on the left (prob no more than two months). Is this a sensible course of action, or would I better off registering it and insuring it under her name and making myself a named driver?. Also, is her being a foreign national likely to make insurance very expensive (either to insure themselves, or as a named driver if I insure it)?. Not sure at the moment how long she has held her license (she is similar age to my Son though, so about 24/25) if she has any NCB (and if that would be transferable anyway). ... Read more

Hi there, I've been told by a couple of garages now that my 2004 Hyundai Getz 1.3 CDX Automatic has a timing chain instead of a belt and therefore there is no need to replace anything at the 60,000 mile point.

I keep getting mixed results online and just wanted to clarify this with anyone who may be able to give a more definitive response if possible please? The manual and looking under the bonnet suggests a belt may be more likely...... Read more

And before anyone panics, i'm not talking about anything military!.

No, what I saw in my local Morrisons car park was a 5 door Lada Niva. Being a big fan of the Niva, I was well aware of the existence of the 5 door, but we never got them in the UK and this was the first time I'd seen one in the flesh. They don't really look like a 5 door version of a 3 door car, more like comparing a Lincoln Town car to the limo version, because there is a big difference in the wheelbase and overall size of the car. ... Read more

A 21 plate Mercedes eSprinter has appeared at work today, tasked with replacing the workshops 66 plate Ford Transit diesel breakdown response vehicle - aka, the Greggs van.

My first thoughts were that it would never save money when considering the workshop hack really only nips to the local bakers for pies and pastries for our ever hungry mechanics and to the occasional breakdown. The price paid must’ve been fairly hefty for a tidy 4yr old Sprinter, surely it would never cover itself? List prices of electric vans are insane when new, upwards of £60/£70k!

Imagine the roasting the fleet manage who originally ordered these things must’ve had when they came to sell on. We paid less than £8k plus vat. A Quick Look online shows that used electric vans are hugely cheaper than equivalent diesels.

Only time will tell if it’ll work out in its intended role. I certainly wouldn’t want to be waiting on rescue with a broken down coach a couple of hundred miles away when the driver who brought the van up from down south said he only managed to get 90 odd miles from it sitting at around 60mph. You can see why values have gone through the floor. But at that money it is a bargain. A decent electric van can be bought for proper diesel van banger money.

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