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• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - Replacement car - suggestions? 23 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  I've finally decided to cut my losses and get rid of my terrible Ford Focus 1.8tdci estate. Since I've had it I've had problems with ecu/fuel injection (£1,100 quoted to fix), blocked injectors (£250 to fix), battery problems (£150) and now I've been told that it needs a new flywheel system and possibly a clutch (at least £700). So it's going!
• 3 kids - what car? 30 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  I currently own a Disco3 diesel (family car), Toyota Supra (station car) and a GSXR-600 (my fun). The Disco is perfect as a family car as I have three kids aged 10-13 and it has seven separate seats. Previously I have had three Ford Galaxy's for the same purpose.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - Estate options for 5k 2 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Obvious choice (to me) is a Focus estate- never driven one, but appeals because: 1. supposedly great drive (ie. better than equivalent Astra) 2. choice (again, seems to be better than Astras) - don't want to take too long waiting for the right vehicle 3. running costs, although lower than average mileage so don't need a diesel (but would be happy to have a TDCi) 4. highly recommended in the Car-by car breakdown IIRC 1.6 is supposed to be the sweetest unit and performance would be adequate, but wouldn't say no to the 1.8 or 2.0; the extra fuel/insurance isn't a major issue.
• Peugeot - 306 d turbo starting problems 2 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  It has a major starting problem in mornings it just wont turn over. the starter is running but engine just wont tick over. I usually add this diesel starter spray i add in to the air intake at the front of the grill and it fires up, but a puff of white and blue smoke does burn from exhaust when it does start. i don't know what the problem is i have just done a full service on the car today as well changed the glow plugs oil air filter oil filter fuel filter as well. it just will not tick over at all if the car is cold. it does start later in the day without the spray being added but it does struggle to start usually takes 10secs. there also seems to be turbo lag on the car as well as well i have owned 2 other 306 d turbos and they seemed to be fine and pick up speed fine but this 1 has turbo lag and u really have to put the pedal to the metal to get it going, please help me guys thanks
• How to buy a car 4 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  I have picked up some bits of advice along the way... 1) start off with the idea that you will buy their finance (and warranty) 2) walk away 3) aim to be buying at a "month end" 4) when you have got as far as you think you will get, ask for tax, tyres, fuel, mats etc just before you sign 5) blah de blah What tricks can one best use to drive the deal down? Do the above actually work? Tips from any old hands (or better still, an insider) would be great.
• Dream garage with a twist 10 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  I'll not be greedy, the 230 Kompressor is fast enough. I want to keep my licence, and I prefer the roof open on sunny days. 2. S class. Diesel for economy and less fuel stops. Maybe a driver to go with it. 3. A second hand A160. Nice high driving position, easy to park in the smallest space, and second hand to I won't cry over car park knocks and dings. 4.
• Meaningless report on new VW by BBC 6 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  Meaningless figures given were that the reporter had driven it from Wolfsburg to the BBC in London. I think he said 450 miles, but it may have been 500. He also said the fuel cost £37 and was impressed by the fantastic economy. Now, a quick calculation suggests that he did (say) 500 miles for £37 - about 52 euros. That diesel in Europe costs about 1 euro a litre so he did about 500 miles at (optimistically) 10 miles a litre.
• congestion charge discount 20 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  There is nothing resembling a simple list of exempt or partially exempt vehicles. One would expect some small modern diesels to be on such a list, but they probably wouldn't be. Biofuel or dual-fuel/hybrid seem to be the only categories. Does anyone have any idea what is exempt or partially exempt, and whether any such vehicles are obtainable for reasonable money?
• New Car for Aged Parents 19 May 2006 (Forum)
  Purchase price is not a major issue but running costs in terms of tax, fuel consumption and servicing are. Neither have any interest in gadgets such as sat nav, cruise control, etc although air conditioning is a must. I'm sure there will be more wants/needs over the next few months but from what they've come up with already, are there any suggestions where to start?
• Which mid-size 5 seater MPV? 17 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  Other than that the basic criteria is ... decent reliability, decent safety/crash worthiness, decent fuel economy - doesn't have to be diesel, but 35+mpg (combined) would be great, decent luggage space .....and a switchable front passenger airbag would help. Image and/or badge are not a concern, though value for money is ....budget is around £6-8k.
• Starting problem on Audi A6 2.5 TDI 25 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  I recently replaced all 6 of the glow-plugs as a first stab at fixing it, but it only made a marginal difference to the car's starting performance. I nearly always use Shell branded Diesel and have also tried one of the 3rd party (Redex) fuel additives for cleaning the injectors. Does anyone have an constructive suggestions as to what other things might be causing this problem?
• Cavalier 1.7 TD. Cold starting Problem. 22 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  I\'ve had my 94 Cavalier diesel (1.7 TD) for over three years now. For the first two winters there was never any problems starting it in the morning. During the third winter it became more difficult to start, usually only starting on the second attempt.
• Renault 19 1.7 - slow and jerky starting 19 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  ., most of the winter) the car has had new plugs, air filter, HT leads and distributor cap - which it needed - a new starter motor - again needed, regardless of this fault - and will soon be getting a new fuel filter. Nevertheless, when the car is cold, and irrespective of the manual choke setting, the car takes several goes to start. Changing the HT leads helped briefly, but now the problems are back.
• Car history check - not guaranteed 23 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  Didn't buy the Merc, btw - looked like it had been repaired after an accident, although nothing was recorded in the data check so probably didn't go through insurance. Nail in the coffin was that it had had a new fuel pump after just 90000 miles - probably a thanks to lots of bleached red diesel, if so injectors will be next. Also, 3 new tyres seemed a bit odd - why not two, or four? Or is that reasonable in an 8-year old car?
• Cheap LPG? 16 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  Now, LPG is a great consideration, particularly when you can get fully integrated cars (eg Vauxhalls+Volvos) these days - I am aware LPG does not run as efficiently volume-wise but I could in theory save about a third of my fuel bill a year which is still very tempting. I can't help but think that this is going to go the same way as diesel in a few years time (particularly if more people do invest in an LPG vehicle) and the government will start piling the tax on the gas.
• Looking for a "hot-hatch" type car (second ever) 23 Mar 2013 (Forum)
  This gives you an idea of the driving conditions... and explains why I'm only interested in urban fuel consumption and acceleration instead of top speed. My daily commute is 5 miles each way, so I think it probably makes anything Diesel out of the question because the DPF would be blocked in short order!
• What to buy? 29 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  Need to buy another car PDQ (don't ask why, it's a sore point, but if you put 'unsalted road' and 'my wife' in the same sentence, you might guess, but she walked away thankfully). Budget £5-7k,annual mileage 25-30k, mainly motorway.My criteria are reliablity, fuel consumption, safety, and ease/cost of maintenance (I diy most things), in that order. Petrol or diesel, though prefer petrol.Image doesn't bother me.I'd like aircon too.I'm considering the following: Toyota Avensis, Subaru Forester, Legacy or Impreza (not the boy racer one), Ford Focus or Mondeo, Nissan Primera, anything else?
• Hyundai Tucson (old model) - Just Bought a New 19 Mar 2021 (Forum)
    It does mean that I will have a depreciation risk but with the lower price and 5 year warranty it means that I shouldn't have to worry about buying another car for 5 years.  It will probably be my last diesel car.  I'll keep you updated with fuel consumption and running issues / good and bad. 
• small 6-7 seat MPV - Best used small MPV (£5k - £10k) 4 Aug 2010 (Forum)
  Reliability is important (though I recognise that guaranteed reliability of some makes can be a myth, as can unreliability from other makes), safety is important.  Fuel economy not so important, but I don't want to lose too much on depreciation, so it'll probably have to be a diesel. Initial thoughts were Corolla Verso, but didn't like the back seats or the overall feel.
• Volkswagen Passat (2001 - 2005) - 02 1.9 130 BHP - White(ish) smoke. 3 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  The amount of smoke does not appear to vary greatly - ie its the same amount of smoke after being stationary for one day as if I left it for 3 days. The first problem is I can't decide what the smoke is, whether its oil / coolant / diesel etc. It appears a blueish / white and I think it smells of diesel (although the garage say oil !) Heres a vid clip of the smoke www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBgCa__sQoc So far the car has had the following work done to rectify other problems / attempt to fix this problem: replaced injector on cyl 2 replaced injector wiring loom replaced wastegate (N75) replaced turbo vacuum hoses (there was a leak on a small tube) replaced all glow plugs changed fuel filter / air filter / pollen filter.