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  Volkswagen Scirocco Blue moan 15 Jan 2010 (Ask HJ)
  Faced with repeated failure of the Bluetooth in my Scirocco with my Blackberry 8520, I devised my own shortcut to 're-booting' the cars cranky software...
• BMW X5 E53 SUV (2000 - 2007) - Advice needed re: used vehicle 18 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  I had previously sent a letter saying do not do anything to the car without my authority (as advised by the finance company). Suffice to say, I haven't been contacted. I'm not chasing them up at the moment, and will give them another day or so before I do. But I am seriously in danger of losing interest in a car I've just purchased.
• Red light on ? Keep driving ... 7 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  As far as I can gather from a morose 19 y.o. teenager, the events were as follows; a small sharp noise comes from the engine, simultaneously the lights dim and the battery light comes on; son stops car and phones g/f's stepdad to shepherd him to g/f's house (by this time some 10 miles away); son and g/f listen to radio until stepdad arrives; car starts reluctantly and covers nearly 8 miles until lights go to candle mode and engine stops; g/f's stepdad arrives, kicks tyre and they abandon the AX and travel to g/f's house, stepdad slagging off Citroens in general during the journey; son phones me to ask if he still has recovery service, I explain that he is part of the family's pay and reclaim GEM recovery service, something he has known about for 18 months; son goes silent for a long time and then says he has £6 in his bank account and the GEM membership card is in the car; before I go all sarcastic and congratulate him, Mrs H chimes in and says I should go and recover him, I ask what the point of paying for GEM mebership is if I have to turn to on a freezing night with a tin of Guiness consumed and rescue his nibs; having just put a new cat and lambda probe on the car, I insist that no attempt is made to start the car, even with the spare belt (under the boot carpet) fitted; I leave Mrs H and son to sort out the finances and irritably pour a Scotch; Mrs H says if I don't want the car started, I should go and supervise the recovery; I refuse politely; I warm to my subject and criticise son's lack of organisation and expectation that everything will be done for him, quoting the time I bodged a fuel pump diaphragm with a piece of plastic bag by the side of the road on my VW Beetle, and other exaggerated feats of mechanical ingenuity; Mrs H's eyes glaze over, she may have heard this one before; an hour later the car arrives on the back of a low-loader, with the key turned to free the steering, there is barely enough juice to light the battery light; the extremely helpful recovery driver and I push the car to where I can connect the battery charger while son makes phone call to person unknown; the battery charger reports that it's giving 8+ amps and I leave it to cook overnight.
• Ford Fiesta (2002 - 2008) - Does no one want my £8000? 25 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  (and that was the easy bit) 2. Went to look around showrooms at various garages ready to spend £8k cash (or take finance if it got me a better deal). About half of the dealers never came near us. I hate pushy sales men, but a salesman at all might help and even when you show interest they are indifferent.... 3. The test drive - literally 10 minutes down to the nearest roundabout, right round and back up.
• Replacement car suggestions 21 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  m thinking something like a 2001-2004 Golf TDI PD 130/150 or Seat Leon TDI SX 130. Incidentally, any replacement of this sort would be on finance. Insurance is not an issue, I live in cheap area and have 17 claim-free years. Any other suggestions? Finally, I could forget either of those and just buy an old clunker, enjoying ultra-cheap motoring for a while.
• Used cars of the year 13 Oct 2019 (Forum)
  I’ll put a second level at sub £4,000 too which is where I typically bought and sold mostly to cash buyers who hated financing a depreciating asset. Best city car. £8,000 Hyundai i10 A spacious and well made little car with low running costs and an excellent 5yr warranty if you find one with a full main dealer history.
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  What's the best value for money car to do 36,000 miles per year? 15 Apr 2019 (Ask HJ)
  I'm starting a new job and will travel 120 miles round trip each day, about half motorway and half A/B roads. I don't know if it'd be better to buy new,...
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  What's the best first car for a £1000 budget? 4 Jan 2019 (Ask HJ)
  I have just passed my driving test today! I'm on the hunt to by my first car, I don't have that much knowledge when it comes to cars. Is £1k decent budget...
• 2007 Mini one 1.4 - Bought faulty car from dealership. 16 Aug 2017 (Forum)
  She then insisted that they take it to a specialist, which they said they did but she found out that no specialist mechanic had been consulted and that the car hadn't moved from the car park, So she got her money back.When my dad told the dealer about this, he said the woman way lying and that she returned the car because she couldn't afford the finance. The woman also has a friend who is currently in court proceedings with the same dealership. My dad has paid for new alloys, new brake pads and the diagnostics test as well as £1000 for my mums insurance (she's a new driver) and £80 to transfer a private reg onto the car.
• Mini one 1.4 2007 - Advice on faulty car from dealership 16 Aug 2017 (Forum)
  She then insisted that they take it to a specialist, which they said they did but she found out that no specialist mechanic had been consulted and that the car hadn't moved from the car park, So she got her money back.When my dad told the dealer about this, he said the woman way lying and that she returned the car because she couldn't afford the finance. The woman also has a friend who is currently in court proceedings with the same dealership. My dad has paid for new alloys, new brake pads and the diagnostics test as well as £1000 for my mums insurance (she's a new driver) and £80 to transfer a private reg onto the car.
• Buying a car, would like a few things cleared up 24 Feb 2017 (Forum)
  I've read plenty of online information regarding showrooms etc so think i'll be ok not getting pressures in to anything. I remember my parants in the past having severe problems with financing a rover they bought, so i'm very reluctant to go down that road.   I'm saving for a house but have decided to take a large chunk out of those savings to get a car that hopefully won't need a new exhaust/battery/alternator/engine/tyres etc etc a few weeks after i buy it.
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  Scirocco 1.4 TSI engine fault - should Volkswagen replace FOC? 30 Nov 2016 (Ask HJ)
  I am looking for some advice. My 1.4 TSI petrol Scirocco has an engine issue. The issue is with low compression in cylinder one, a further check has identified...
• New Car buying tips.... 1 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  If the dealer is pushed to shift stock then they may contact you a few days later with a sensible offer. 5. Never appear keen to buy a car; always look neutral. If the dealer is waxing lyrical about finance deals/”free” options, etc then appear calm and non impressed. See 3 above. NEVER give out positive vibes about a car—the salesperson is trained to exploit this to their advantage.
• Honda CBR 600 RR - V5C/2 reference number not recognised 1 Aug 2018 (Forum)
  HPI check also reconise the plate changes, not stolen, not scrapped, not exported, not imported, no finance, no write off, no mileage discrepancies. I couldn't check the fraud because I don't have the V5 serial number. Should I contact the police or should I wait to see what happens with the v62 application?
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  I'm looking for an economical, reliable vehicle to transport school pupils - what do you suggest? 14 Nov 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I'm the Business Manager of a Special School in Kent. Our older students regularly go out on short trips in small groups to improve their life skills and...
• Citroen C4 VTRI + Coupe - CITROEN C4 BSI UNIT BURNT OUT !!!!! 5 Mar 2012 (Forum)
  go=search&adv=yes&company_name=4861#start"> finance plan) it’s a personal loan, and no car as it’s a write off. Can anyone help ??? Its really distressing my sister is still poorly from all the smoke she inhaled and its cost me so far £300 in taxi fares in 2 weeks ..no one wants to help ..do i just accept that im in debt for a car that is a write off and have a yr left to pay on it ????
• Motoring myths 13 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Below is a list of top motoring myths according to reseach by the RAC Foundation and Tesco Personal Finance (listed on http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/features/motoring-myths/ ). 1. Men are better drivers than women Sorry, lads. You may think you can handle a car like Michael Schumacher but, on every measure, women are better drivers.
• Sub £1,000 motoring 21 Oct 2019 (Forum)
  Try to think on how much money this family have saved over the years compared to a new or newer car on finance, PCP or lease and they’ve never been left stranded anywhere. They don’t worry about where they park and instead of paying a constant monthly payment they enjoy their regular foreign holidays instead.
• Cash allowance + vehicle age policy = confusion 7 Jul 2019 (Forum)
  If I buy a new car;  I lose a lot of value straight away. This bothers me. But I know this is where some of the best monthly finance deals are. Purchasing used; I need to weigh up total cost, vs. time left on the 6-year company policy-clock limit, before I have to change out again to keep the allowance.
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  Dealer didn’t tell me car was involved in an accident – what can I do? 22 Aug 2013 (Ask HJ)
  Some 14 months ago I bought an approved used Vauxhall Insignia from a dealer. The car had less than 5000 miles on the clock, with a clean HPI and no details...