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• Skoda Fabia (2001) - Car Repair Following Accident - Being Scammed? 26 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  Following an accident, a garage towed away my car and provided me a quote for a repair. The front left wing of my car was damaged with the bodywork and suspension needing repair. The engine was working fine as I drove the car off the motorway and it did not overheat.
• Ford Escort van N reg 1800 diesel - sluggish/bad fuel consumption 24 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  It started getting sluggish so i put a can of injector cleaner in what a mistake that was it vertualy killed it ,coughing,spluttering,wouldnt start , smoking like a bonfire , after being towed home the rac had a look he bypassed the fuel filter and all was ok for an hour then it went back to all the mentioned problems. So then my local garage had it in all the injectors were blocked so they were all sorted all new filters and pipes £250 later all was ok for about a week.
• Ford Focus Zetec Climare 05 - head gasket 29 Oct 2010 (Forum)
  Very soon after buying my 05 Focus 1.6 Zetec Climate 2 years ago I experienced engine problems and was recovered by tow truck . The breakdown man told me that one of the spark plugs had blown out of the engine and wasxsplit in two.  The dealer I had bought it from expressed surprise but after a check in his garage he replaced the full set of plugs which was apparently the only problem.he could find.
• Jaguar S Type - Jaguar Crank Problem 29 May 2010 (Forum)
  On a long trip the car suddenly stopped. Called the AA who thought the timing chain had broken, got towed to the local Birmingham Jag dealers where it was discovered the crank was broken. The car has done 62,000 miles. The service guy asked if it had ever run low on oil, which it had. I had a regular service with the local Jag dealer where I live in Kent in Oct 08.
• Economical family car c£2k 3 proper back seats 13 Apr 2010 (Forum)
  Most of the time it's only me and one young child. I love being higher up on the road, and ugly cars don't bother me. A tow bar would be helpful for the odd occasion we need storage. I don't want to drive a big car for the odd time we go on holiday. I would love to find one about £2k but could go to £5k for the right car.
• Mazda Mazda 6 (2002 - 2007) - 05 2.0 Black smoke/knocking noise 2 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  Managed to get it to work by this time it had stopped so only lasted about 2mins. Started it at work and did the same. AA man towed it back home and since then it has been idle until approx a week ago (was convinced id blown the engine) A family friend/mechanic had a look at last week, started it and it was perfect no noise no black smoke?
• Wasting money again 25 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  This means that, as all the popular visiting days, Mothers day, Fathers day, Easter landon Sundays, there are no parking facilities and cars then block the narrow road and park on the wide grass verge ( shortly to become narrower ) sinking into the ground and having to pay to be towed off......brilliant idea, and all for the sake of leaving one gate open. Going away on the Honda tomorrow...I'll be going the long way round to get to the M56 ! Gripe over. Ted
• A lot of petrol into a diesel...should I laugh.... 9 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  The problem is, the car isn't really that old (07 plate Mondeo) with less than 20k on so writing it off as "bad luck" isn't an option. It's getting towed tomorrow to get the tank drained but I think he's as good as signed the death warrant for it. I hope I'm wrong...please tell me I am. Adam P.S. If it was me that had done this to his car, I'd now be dead.
• Citroen Despatch (2007 - ) - 04 1.9 diesel poor running 5 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  I posted a previous question about non starting and had to resort to getting an auto electrician firm out to fix the problem after spending 2 hours outside my house on tuesday in the rain they decided to tow it to there garage where they claimed to have worked on it all day wednesday cutting some security device off the back of the diesel pump telling me on Wednesday eve that it also needed new glow plugs so it would run just right.Got it back today with £350.00 bill but it now has a different problem than before,it starts ok now so that problem seems to be fixed but it flattens out like you have run out of fuel at between 20/30 it is as if it is being starved of fuel temporarily then as you drive through it it springs back to life.
• I think I am a cursed car killer! 24 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  Not content with the sunroof leaking and ditching water over me said car decides to break down last Friday afternoon. It coughed, then died completely until cooled down so it went off to the garage on a tow truck. Greenflag couldn't work out what was wrong with it as it decided to start when they thought it shouldn't and not start when they thought it should. Now it is refusing to start at all and has no spark whatsoever so it is in a real sulk.
• Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - 03 Worn brake discs & drums - service limitations? 21 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  How much life is left in the discs and drums? I don't drive on the brakes or heavy and the vehicle never tows anything. I am looking at a parts & labour bill in excess of £300 on a car I have had less than 31 days...
• Street parking - right of access? 29 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Despite having a seperate side access to the shed (footpath from their property), they claim it blocks their access to retrieve a bicycle and pushchair. The final threat included having our car clamped/towed it we didn't move it. Obviously we'll follow up with the council to help confirm the situation, but any general thoughts from the Backroomers? Is that area in front of the shed considered 'public highway' (it's certainly not part of their private property).
• Very costly phone call. 11 May 2007 (Forum)
  ADDED: 4/05/2007 9:54 A man caught using his mobile phone while driving not only received three penalty points and a £60 fine, but had to endure watching his £60,000 Mercedes sports car being towed off to a storage compound. Checks carried out by officers who pulled over the driver on Queen's Road in Clifton revealed that the driver only had a provisional UK licence and no insurance. He also already had nine penalty points on his licence, meaning the three added for his latest offence would mean it being revoked.
• Focus Filters 5 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  I asked him and the other mechanics if he was something wrong. No they are all like this I was told, the fuel will come through eventually. They ended up tow starting it, after about half a mile it started, the amber heat light came on then went off. They let me take it home. I looked in my Haynes manual which said that you should fill the new filter with diesel before trying to start it!
• Taiwan top for radar trapping? 17 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  Other motoring things noticed: either side overtaking traffic light cameras many motorway cameras mostly around junctions tow trucks in big cities wide scooter lanes in most towns and often in the country signposting mostly English as well as Chinese but it helps to know road numbers the occasional Rover 600 and the odd Freelander Toyotas, Toyotas, Toyotas Don't try drag racing at the lights with a Kia Picanto EuroStar automatic!
• £35 Tracker (Security) 3 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  So I have just bought a Nokia 1100 for £19 from amazon, and when it arrives, I will install it behind the boot trim on a bracket and wire a car charger directly to a permenant 12v (unused towing electrics feed). This will mean if my car gets stolen, it can be traced by me on the computer. The outlay is £19 (free if you have an old phone in a drawer) and £10-15 to register on the site (depending what options you choose) You have to pair your phone with your account on the site via text message pin codes, so you can't really spy on other people if you were thinking of that, you can also use this for parcels, boats, anything large anyone could steal really.
• Italian attitudes 7 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  That includes have a passenger on mopeds, smoking, no helmet or not fastened, one handed riding, one wheel on the ground while being towed by a car ?? Thousands were seized and auctioned off. There has been a tremendous public outcry, including fights between police and motorcyclists, imagine! It?s not fair they say, and the government has had to back down and allow the bikes to be returned.
• Cycle Carriers 11 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  However cons are trying to lift 4 bikes over my head onto the roof of my car without causing damage to me or the car. 2. Tow bar mounted Pros - I feel these are a lot stronger and you can also get ones that swivel out of the way to allow access to the hatch. However, at this moment in time, I do not have a towbar though am seriously considering getting one as my dad has a trailer which I would probably use more; trips to dump etc if I had a towbar.
• Spot The Twonk 23 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  Scoring LIGHTS- no lights in rain , mist or darkness -10 points ; parking lights in rain, mist or darkness -5 points ; unnecessary fog lights 5 points - stupid blue lights 5 points PLATES - unfunny messing with numerals or letters 5; ludicrous typefaces 5 points , with a bonus 5 for copperplate BELTS - driver unbelted 5; both at front unbelted 10; children unbelted 10 , special bonus of extra 5 if child is standing between front seats and just behind handbrake PHONES- normal handheld only 2 points , but 5 if you can prove he was texting MANEOUVRES- 5 each for- slip road to lane 3 in one movement; overtaking within 100 yards of exiting the motorway ; top-class slipstreaming so close to the car in front it looks like it's towing you ; specila bonuses of 5 for completey unannounced lane-changing , especially if that is as the traffic is queuing for an obstruction HOURS OF FUN
• I need a Ford Escort ... 13 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  Apparently, it couldn't even be pushed off because it had locked the driver out, and nobody seemed to know how to tow it. This woman was not very pleased. So she was returning on the ferry, with her car stuck where she had parked it on the car-deck, and was frantically trying to raise someone to rescue the thing on her return to Holyhead.