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• citroen xsara picasso - lost key 23 Oct 2010 (Forum)
  Please can you help, i lost my car key a couple of weeks back and stupidly it was my only one, so on monday afternoon i managed to get it towed to the garage where i had a new key waiting, on arrival i was told it would take around 30 minutes to reprogramme, after about an hour an half i was sent away as it wouldnt work, and told they would try again tomorrow, the following evening i was called by the garage to be told they needed to order a coil to override the immobiliser or something along those lines at an extra 20 pound, on the wednesday they rang and told me the coil wouldnt work and theyd order a new key just in case the other was faulty which didnt work either, on the thursaday i spoek to them and they told me it was the wiring and my  car needed rewiring at a charge of 100 pound plus vat, which eventually i agreed to, so friday came and the garage rang me 1 minute before it shut and told me the rewiring hadnt worked and my computer needed a new ecu at a cost of 800 quid and the 160 pound for the work they had already completed which hadnt fixed my car so i dont agree i should have to pay this, theres no way i can afford 960 pound and the car is only worth 1500 roughly, please could you help me on where i stand i what action i should take next, when my car went to the garage it was worlking perfectly fine all that was wrong was id lost my key.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 03 1.8 Glow-plug light flashing before starting... 28 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  However, the car would stall as soon as I took my foot off the accelerator. I was about to give up and get towed home but it decided to start and I got home (with the engine sounding a little clanky). The next day the same thing happened but it will not start at all now and is sat there with the glow-plug LED flashing constantly as soon as I turn the key 2 clicks.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 02 1.8 Coolant Leak 14 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  Hi- My Focus broke down yesterday- luckily a nice day, hadn't got too far and early afternoon so could get it towed to the garage. It had lost power on the dual carriage way, temperature gauge at max etc. It turns out there was no coolant, and I admit I haven't checked it for a while (will do from now on) though was only serviced a few months ago (no excuse I know).
• Family car for a horsey type 21 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  Hi We need a new family car We are a one car family so it must be a do-it-all Since we bought the last one we have acquired 2 kids and a horse The main driver is a keen petrolhead The rest of the family just want something comfortable to potter around town and go away for the weekend in The complicating factor is that it now needs to be able to tow as well as traverse a steep muddy rutted rocky farmyard on a regular basis, this is currently destroying our present car Im at a loss as to what will fit the bill An Audi Allroad seems obvious but until this month they fail miserably on CO2 emmissions and hence VED I want a 6-18 month old car to lessen the depreciation shocker It will be kept for several years so after I buy it Im not massively worried about further losses On the other hand it must be reliable (bye bye Disco3) because as its our only car we just cant have it laid up for days on end when it breaks down Budget flexible 30k should buy most things I can think of at 18 months old The Audi is the safe option if a little dull A stonking V8 (petrol or diesel) will sort my midlife crisis even if its a 4x4 - I dont care about VED or running costs if its 'cheap' to start with as it will be kept for years And a knackered Defender and an A6 wagon etc is an option we have considered but we really only want one car :) Any ideas - Im spoiled for choice in the current market Anything to a 65k Merc GL or a RR can be had for a stupendous discount at the age Im looking at, the thing with the RR would have to be reliability......
• MINI Cooper S R53 (2002 - 2007) - '06 R56 Needs headgasket replacing. Will it be ok? 21 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  The engine was then replaced, everything was perfect, then after 1500 miles travelling down the motorway the radiator pipe worked its way off due to the mechanic not putting a clip back on the pipe, this led to the water exiting the engine, As I was under pressure for work purposses I had to continue my journey another 25 motorway miles, I made it to the destination where I was met by a BMW tech, they towed the car back to the dealer and gave me a courtesy car. The dealership are now replacing the Head gasket, Plugs, Coil pack and putting the water system right. My question is, will the cylinder head and upper bore area be ok or from your experience do you think it will have warped?
• Help please! Before I'm priced off the road... 3 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  We holiday in the UK so it would be nice if the new (to us) vehicle has the capability to carry two adults, two children (aged 11yrs and 8yrs), one Labrador and all luggage for a journey of several hundred miles each way if necessary. A large towing capability would be an asset, but this will put us into heavy 4x4 territory, an area that we're trying to leave due to congestion charges, the new London LEZ and other anti-4x4 legislation that is crippling us.
• Ford Mondeo II (1996 - 2000) - 2000 2.5 v6 - Won't start 11 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  She often seems to hesitate and often the power delivery will become weak, sometimes in mid-acceleration the get up and go will appear to have gotten up and gone! Any ideas welcome, she gets towed away this afternoon but the guy may not be able to look at her for a few days. Blue
• Vauxhall Cavalier (1988 - 1995) - M 2.0 Eco Whoas - Key/ECU/?? Not start. 5 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  Back to car. She not start! Flashing engine fault light, lots of cranking, no go. Called RAC again, towed to garage in middle of night. Car dumped on forecourt by RAC man, still wouldn't start. RAC man, he say fault with key chip/reception unit thingy. In a.m., self to garage, with spare key. Car started no problem.
• Mk3 Golf GTi fuel/stalling problems 28 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  Got no further than 1/2mile and again it died, and wouldn't re-start so i called a friend and got a tow home. Soon as i'd parked the car on the drive i managed to start the car no problems. Bizarre. Has anyone else had this problem or something similar or can shed any light on the matter i would be greatful.
• RAC - whats going on 25 May 2006 (Forum)
  been a member of the RAC now for two years and have had to call them out a a few times. 1st time my car was over heating,patrol man popped a radseal pellet in the rad and everything was fixed. i was impressed and he got on his way. 2nd time round i just picked up a car from a trader,driving it back on the motor way and started over heating. pulled over rang the boys in orange and about an hour later he pulled up had a 3 second check and told me he was 95% sure the haed gasket had gone. got car towed back to the trader and got a refund. 3rd time was 2 days ago on my 1997 mk3 golf tdi.it was chucking out smoke and over reving on its own then cutting out. patrolmen arrived in 10 minutes, done his walk round and smelt a few things and proceded to explain that the turbo seal had gone.
• Will this stump ya!? Pug 206 1.9D 22 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  Excited he proclaims the coil (suspension) has come off, he tried to pull this loose but no it is stuck (and has no idea how this has happened).. Call the tow truck and he says the same as he drives to the Dealer, making matters worse by saying 'ooh that will cost ya!!! I get to the dealer to be told both coils have come off, the tyres are slashed by the suspension coils and the car slumped forward and the parts guy scratching his head saying 'That's a new one on me'..
• Overheating problem Corsa 1.2 Merit 16 May 2005 (Forum)
  He looked for blockages, but couldn't find any. He ddn't think it was the cylinder head gasket, but he could not be sure, so I was towed home. My car has been in the garage all week (a small local garage that I have used for 4 years) and they have replaced the transmitter, sender unit, gauge and cylinder head gasket, yet the problem remains.
• Timing Belt (again!!) 25 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  . - Finds the fan belt has shredded... tries starting the engine - will not 'catch'. Tries push starting - same. So I tow him to the local garage (same one that carried the work out before), and we find that the alternator has seized, causing fan belt to shred. Tries starting again - same - no joy. Upon inspection of the cambelt find that it had pulled through fragments of the fan belt, damaging the cambelt (three - four teeth ripped out).
• Dare you take the TDCI challenge? 11 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  It is more intermittant than at first but albeit it is still there. The cut out on a multi storey car park and had to be towed away back to the dealership. Check proced there was a fault but they could not source it. The engine was replaced (Two weeks) at approx 9000 miles and relinquished back to me WITHOUT an engine number.
• Weekend observations 7 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  SPECS cameras in place, played my usual game of sticking at the posted limit until some tailgater gets impatient and then let them roar off into the sunset, with fine in tow. Just after roadworks on Thelwall Viaduct (another SPECS hotspot) a totally different approach to mobile speed traps. A very obvious white police van park on bridge, with "Mobile Speed Safety Van" in mile high letters on the side of it, along with speed camera symbols.
• Citroen Xantia (1993 - 2000) - Radiator leak - Overheating 26 May 2002 (Forum)
  Is there a temp fix so that I can drive it approx 12 miles/40min, so that I don't have the hassle of having it towed there. Thanks, Chad.R
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  Lots of serious problems with a recently purchased £4800 car 9 May 2013 (Ask HJ)
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