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• Reverse sensors - smarter than you think 23 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  When I bought my Citroen C8 last October, the dealer politely declined to fit my trusty Hollywood towbar-mounted bike rack on the grounds that it would make the tow hitch protrude into the reverse sensors' line-of-sight and would confuse the system. This I accepted. The plan was to fit the rack when I needed it and remove it when I didn't. On Saturday, I had to retrieve my daughter's push-bike from Nottingham, so I fitted the rack.
• Cheap, reliable new diesel car 16 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  Good fuel economy and reasonably priced main dealer servicing is important and it will quite likely be used to tow a ligh trailer at some stage. Tricky bit is the money, an absolute max of £15k but ideally something around £13-£14k would be easier to swallow.
• Scam Alert Buyers Beware 23 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  You can tell I suspect the seller, especially since the car's alarm (Thatcham approved factory fitted system) did not go off and there was no broken glass. VW reckon the only way to nick it is with a tow truck or the Keys. So my question is, what is there to prevent someone selling you a car, then using a spare key to nick it the next day...?? and is this common? Brains
• Preserving an autobox 15 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  So my questions about any autobox are: Apart from checking the colour and level of the fluid, what else can I do to preserve it? I am a gentle driver with most miles done in the urban areas. No towing things. What style of driving should I use? What should I not do? I have a sport / normal button. What are the signs of impending doom? If the worst happens should I have it rebuilt or get an exchange box?
• omega rear damage 18 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  can anyone please help me. on friday night i was hit up the rear end. the other car was only doing about 20-25mph when he hit me. the tow bar saved my car from major panel damage all i got was a slight mark on the bumper or so i thought.... the guy was going to pay for the damage himself. but when i went to the garage to get cost of damage the bloke asked me to open the boot. to my shock the guy who hit me has only hit me so hard that the inside of the boot has been pushed upwards and i think slightly inwards... im i right in thinking that the car will have to go on a gig. or may the insurance write it off?????
• Start Xantia TD with 3 duff GlowPlugs? 7 Feb 2004 (Forum)
  Called a few garages and am getting quotes of £100 - £130 / 1.5 to 2 hours labour plus about £9 per glow-plug. 1) I was surprised at the 1.5 – 2 hours labour 2) As I live several miles from the nearest garage, how do I get it started to get it in for repair – I can’t even tow it due to the suspension. Simon
• Blown up 325tds 1 Feb 2004 (Forum)
  and the oil filter exploded! So no oil left and it grinds to a halt/seized on the motorway. A new starter motor, some and a tow has got it going, but it's not happy, looks like 1 knackered cylinder. Anyway, getting to the point, he's been quoted 4k for a new engine. £2800 for the engine, £500 recon deposit and £700 labour (a bit steep).
• tyre service RIP OFF 22 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  Because i\'m a member they would waive the call out charge, 2 new 205/50/16 Goodyear Ventura £176 each, I normally pay £85 each total. How to rip off the stranded motorist, the patrol arrived 1-50hr later, put on the spacesaver, towed me to their local depot . £108 each for 2 Goodyear F1, still not good, but not deleted Rip Off, if you read this deleted you should be ashamed. {All names removed due to the strict No Naming - Shaming policy of this site.
• Buying a Focus 16 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  This looks slightly high compared with a book dealer value of about £9300. Should I 1. Knock him down to £9500, and ask for a tow-bar to be fitted (to occasionally pull a small trailer)? 2. Go for a brand new Focus 1.6 Ghia from a supermarket for about £10,500? 3. Pay a bit extra and seek out a 1.8 Ghia. Is the extra 200cc worth it?
• 1998 Omega 2.5 V6 blown EGR valves 10 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  I've owned the car from new, it's only done 35000 miles and it's in mint condition, I still adore the car and I would cry my eyes out to have get rid of it due to sudden poor reliability - I've just been towed home 40 miles along the M6! Clearly there's something causing these valves to fail and I'd like to get it sorted out - any ideas? or is there a good Vauxhall specialist that I can entrust the car to in the Stockport area?
• The snow circus comes to town 3 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  Do these guys (and sorry, gals too) really not think ahead? Local residents were manning the grit shovels and a couple of 4wd's were giving tows, but really, have any lessons been learned? Oz (as was)
• ZX and MINI 5 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  In the light of the Cars of the Year success of the MINI and the ZX (as a bargain banger), I thought it might be of interest: >just to add next door has had a new Bmw mini for a month and it refused to >start today, two 'rapid response' teams where here for 8 hours and had most >of the interior out in my garage and still it wouldn't go, its going to HQ in >special transport (hidden undercover inside a recovery truck) for further >investigations , a courtesy car arrived another mini towed on a trailer by a >ZX 1.9td , so they do have there uses and if there [sic] used by BMW to >move there [sic] trash let Citroen move yours.......... Is this kind of clandestine treatment the norm for new, or flagship models?
• Tune Up. 9 Nov 2001 (Forum)
  It broke down on the A23 - loss of power, pulled over, failed to start. AA say it isn't the HT Circuit and thought it might be Fuel Injection. AA towed to her driveway. Do you folks have a Southampton franchise? Contact number? Is this the sort of thing you can do? I suspect it may need some diagnostic work if the AA couldn't get it going... BTW The Rover's done nearly a thousand miles since the helicoiled plug and runs like a dream.
• More on water in the gearbox 20 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  In early '99 I successfully (so I thought) drove it through about 50m of floodwater up to bumper height, avoiding a collection of locals who were offering to tow me through using assorted tractors and 4x4s, and not for free, either. This is the only time it has seen serious water. At 72,000 miles (last week) the dealer changed the gearbox oil and reported getting a quantity of rusty water out of the gearbox as well as the oil.
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  A car hit my car, with a towbar fitted, and broke my fuel tank - why won't my insurer cover the cost of repairs? 11 Oct 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I was sitting in my Toyota RAV4, with a towbar fitted, at a set of traffic lights when I was rear ended. I thought there was no real damage, but when I...
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  Which SUV to replace our 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan? 26 Jan 2013 (Ask HJ)
  I am looking to replace a 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0TDI 4-Motion, which has a towbar and has been a delight to drive. The whole of our grown-up family...
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  My two-year-old Peugeot 307 has a major clutch problem. What should I do? 3 Sep 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I bought a two-year-old Peugeot 307 in July 2009. It came with six months' warranty left and they gave me an extra six months, which obviously has recently...
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  Downsizing to one car, what should we buy? 3 Oct 2022 (Ask HJ)
  I have a Kia Sorento 2.2 KX-3, which was bought as a tow car, but we have now gone out of caravanning. My wife has a three-door Kia Picanto, which is easy...
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  Are there any fully electric estate cars? 30 Nov 2021 (Ask HJ)
  I have a Mercedes E-Class estate which has been brilliant so far. It’s got about 100,000 miles on the clock and down the line I’d like to replace it with...
• Ford focus econotec diesel 2008 - Car chooses when to start - Help!! 21 Aug 2021 (Forum)
  It was fine for a few days, then one morning it wouldn't start again. We had parked it away our driveway so we had the car towed back to our mechanic. He changed the Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor. He kept the car at the garage to over night and tried the engine the next morningto prove it would work when the engine is cold. It worked fine.