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• Citroen C5 - 2010 Citroen c5 2.0 163 HDI - aux belt 21 Sep 2018 (Forum)
  My assumption is that the symptoms are consistent with a snapped aux/belt, and I’ve been very lucky that it hasn’t fouled up and taken the main cam belt out (like my Volvo s80 d5 did-horror show that) Cam belt changed a couple of years back at a Citroen specialist and serviced properly as you’d expect. Would appreciate any reassurances/advice from the assembled experts here!
• 6 weeks with the Superb 1.4 TSi 150 PS 31 May 2018 (Forum)
  No need to touch the button ever, simply brilliant. But Skoda do put the button in a logical place exactly where the handbrake wuld be unlike Volvo and Toyota who put theirs in places where you would never think to look. Its lovely and quiet and the space is phenominal. Parking requires long spaces, not tried parallel parking it yet. So all in all more than happy.
• Skoda Octavia vRS - Help me decide which car to get next year. 16 Feb 2017 (Forum)
  There are a few TSI Golfs available which I would be tempted with.   I really like the S40 Volvo to be honest but the majority are diesel same goes for the Saab 9-3 as well. Plus the petrol engines available seem quite poor as far as MPG and Tax goes.   Basically im looking for a drop in road tax, something that isnt worn out as my car seems to be, fairly reliable as my old Golf was and reasonable performace and MPG say under 10 seconds to 60 and around 45mpg.
• HJ; answers - repairs 11 Sep 2012 (Forum)
  The 3rd party insurance (Saga) has been exemplary in arranging a hire car and to have the bodywork repaired at the local Volvo dealership in Warrington. However, the body shop allowed me to drive the car away without repairing the damaged suspension. As soon as I approached motorway speeds, the vehicle began swerving violently and cork-screwing after hitting road undulations and proved difficult to control under braking.
• First Time Buyer Need Advice 9 Feb 2011 (Forum)
  Also the car MUST have an AUTOMATIC transmission, not manual or robotic manual (like the Honda Jazz II) otherwise the wife cannot legally drive it in France. I have only driven two cars myself a Volvo 240GS Stationwagon (manual) and currently a Citroen C3 at the auto school. I keep hearing bad things about the realibilty of French cars (mostly from the French) so I would prefer something thats not likely to leave me stranded in the middle of the highway.
• Care to repair? 24 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  He does a fairly high annual mileage but keeps his cars until they are well and truly worn out. His current one, a large Volvo estate he has had from new is 17 years old and while mechanically sound and religiously maintained under the bonnet, it does outwardly look its age. It has many a battle scar in its bodywork. A parking ding here, a scratch there, a hole in the rear bumper where he got too close to something or it got too close to him an unremembered number of years ago.
• Volkswagen Eos Coupe Cabrio (2006 - ) - VAG group platform sharing - a good thing or not? 13 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Skoda drivers benefit hugely from this sharing, they get the same quality of fit and finish as VW in a cheaper package, but does it harm VW? especially at the more exclusive end of the car range? I will go and look at the new Volvo C70 soon, and from what I have seen, the interior is not lifted out of a Ford Focus... so this is not a universal rant over platform sharing, I just wonder if VAG group have taken it too far. When a car like a coupe/cabriolet is sold, it is largely sold for its looks and the way it makes the driver feel, for outright sportiness you would chooise something else, and for practicality, you certainly would.
• Traffic flow vs. speed limit 14 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  I also think that if these limits really do improve flow, it would make sense to use SPECS cameras, as that would do a better job of keeping speeds steady, and if this ultimately makes people's journeys shorter, it's a good thing (though the problem with this is the ridiculous 10% overstate that are legally permitted on speedometers - my Volvo seems to be perfectly calibrated, but generally most cars are not).
• The benefit of a good dealer 5 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  Could be the newness I suppose but it could be that it's been more refined by the company over the last couple of years. Why a Saab? Well, the new 3 series is way too expensive as is the C Class and Volvo for that matter. We got £1000s knocked off for being a Vauxhall Partner and having GM points so it was a bit of a no brainer. Went to look at an old shape 3 series but that was still way too expensive and the BMW "salesmen" ignored me anyway.
• Executive diesel automatic saloon 9 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  So I've looked long at hard at the different mid-sized diesel autos and have found the following: Volvo V60 D5 SE - Nice car, mpg sapping gearbox BMW 320d auto - Very nice interior, drives well, 40mpg bit low for the size of the car BMW 525d auto - Bit 'old man' in the styling. Pricey. Audi A4 1.9tdi auto - Too new to fit into my £12k budget Audi A6 1.9tdi auto - Seriously considering but what is the gearbox?
• Very cheap car suggestions 8 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  She's a nurse who works nights (so it must start reliably), doesn't do long distances, and has 4 kids aged 6-12 (but rarely has them all in the car at once) so needs something with a bit of room, but is easy to drive (she's a mere slip of a thing). The last two cars she's had have been Volvo 340s. The first, an F-plate 1.7, cost £300 privately and lasted a year before failing MOT on rust and brakes. The second (and current) one is a 1.4 on an H-plate, cost £200 from a dodgy dealer, looks very presentable from a distance but overheats, refuses to start now and then, and the MOT is due at the end of the month.
• Punctures (again) 4 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  As they nonchallantly threw the trolley jacks under the various cars without appearing to check for correct jacking points, I recalled a previous incident, (different shop) when a tyre fitter managed to bend two box sections on my wifes Volvo by putting a trolley jack in the wrong place (both sides). I could not stand it any longer and drove away. I now notice that this depot usually has very young people working at weekends and most of the older staff are not seen.
• Any economists out there?! 26 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  Car are getting more durable in terms of finish and core mechanics but more complex and more expensive to fix as they get older 4. The german brands (and maybe volvo?) seem to be the only ones relatively immune to the collapsing prices. 5. The availability of prices via the Internet from auctions and places like the great trade centre push dealer?s prices down.
• Sold the S-Max; Now what to get? 2 Mar 2015 (Forum)
   The Mercedes ML250 is good value to lease but I am not sure I like the interior and I find that some cars just do not work for me internally.  The Volvo XC60 is too cramped in the rear - with the centre console blocking access across the rear for feet bigger than size 1. Any other ideas?  I would love to go back to a Subaru Outback, but I think the tranmission tunnel will get in the way of the centre rear passenger.
• Any VW/Audi etc - Why do people still buy VW group cars. 24 Jun 2013 (Forum)
  Son owned a Diesel Toledo 1.9 130, nice enough car, but the heater matrix failed and the quite fantastically complicated job of stripping the entire dash assembly out which meant removing the front seats and centre console to gain access didn't endear it to either of us, replacing the standard radiator meant removing the entire front of the car too, CHG failure followed in short order...cheerio car at just over 100k. I did have a Volvo 940 Diesel estate with a VW engine, the 6 pot 2.4 lifted straight from the LT van range, an excellent if noisy engine that from VW's old school.   We have lots of threads running at the moment and have over time, there have been so many oft reported problems with the cars from balance shafts to injectors to electric parking brake failures to DSG and Multichronic gearbox problems, in almost all cases the manufacturers group have spectacularly failed to cover themselves in glory as regards standing by their product once warranty has expired.
• Audi A6 Avant - Used estate advice 27 Oct 2012 (Forum)
  It seems that for the same amount of money I could also get a 2006-2007 Audi A6 Avant (with high mileage) which has plenty of spec, or a 2007-2008 Volvo V70 (high mileage again). So given the choice of Avensis, A6 and V70, which one do you think it would be the best choice if I keep the car for, say, five years? I really like the A6, but iI'm afraid I'll end up with huge maintanance/repair bills.
• car stolen off driveway 16 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Volvo 240 estate reg mark D688HNX was stolen off a driveway back in March. I parked it on my driveway to stop a nasty neighbour with an attitude issue from parking there, in fact I bought it for 122 quid just for that purpose.
• Musings on motoring in France 15 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  Perepherique was OK, though I really think it is high time for an outer Paris ring road, along M25 lines (though preferably without the traffic!) Total mileage 2704, average 29.5 mpg (not bad for a Volvo S80 2.4 with a heavy foot) and not a murmur of mechanical difficulty. I love France, and also managed 125 bottles of vin rouge... Just waiting for the next trip! O -- Career: (n) Job, profession.
• A4, V50, C Class, A6, Mazda 6, Passat, BMW 3 and 5 - Does HJ or Anyone even read the questions? 26 Jun 2013 (Forum)
  Which 6K family diesel estate car is best out of 407, Passat, Mondeo, BMW 3 and 5 series, Merc C class..Volvo V50 Mazda 6, Audi A4 and A6 please?   I asked this question yesterday and have a look at the answer I recieved...
• 2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? 3 Feb 2012 (Forum)
  Premium like Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (£97 + fitting, because they are on the local Constabulary's high performance Volvo estates so, good enough for advanced Police drivers, good enough for me!). My priority is good grip and stopping. My question is that all the above tyres come with a choice of standard or Extra Load / XL / Reinforced - bar the HPX's, which only come as XL.