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• Timing belts/chains 20 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  If it was just a case of slipping on a new belt (like in the old fan belt days), without dismantling half the car, then there would not be a problem. Why do cars now have these belts, surely there is a more reliable way to design without a belt which deteriorates and a pully that wears out?
• BMW 3-Series E36 (1991 - 1998) - A 318se for free? 26 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  Given that I drive old cars anyway (my current "good" car is a Mondeo circa 1996) and I need to replace our second car (ancient small Fiat), would it be wise for me to take on this 318se and get it repaired? Do BMWs make good older cars or do they become too expensive to mantain and repair?
• Alfa Romeo 159 (2006 - ) - Alfa 5 pot Diesel Cambelts 31 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  I shudder to think of the cost.I remember driving a Marea estate hire car a few years ago with the petrol 5 and it looked tight in the bay. That was quite a nice old bus but I suspect if the governments retro car tax goes ahead many will be scrapped(£400 a year for a car worth a few grand but I digress...
• The last car with . . . 20 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  In ifithelp's "That's something you rarely see these days" thread, pmh wrote "What would be interesting, is to take all the items listed in this thread and identify the last car to which they were fitted." Which got me thinking. What (& when) was the last mainstream car marketed . . . without power assisted steering as standard? with an old school diesel engine (i.e. not common rail / pd / high pressure)?
• How NOT to buy a car! 12 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  The only explanation I can come up with is that an 8 yr old diesel Mondeo must be worth a few quid in Poland. Cheers DP
• Best Mega Mileage Safe Car 15 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  I am a self employed contract cleaner travelling about 80,000 miles a year. I am looking at buying another car. With the mileage i am doing i am looking for something safer and more reliable, but i dont want to have to change cars every year. Should i consider the following Renault Megane, Laguna Mercedes Diesel W124 old shape better built merc estate.
• Ideal car for Taxi 16 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  Would it be worth me selling my Volvo and buying a car that'll be less than 5 years old or just drive one of the taxi firm's cars? I would love to hear from you guys and in particular from any taxi or ex-taxi driver. Thanks
• Vauxhall Sintra car alarm problem 5 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  Hi all, don't laugh but I've just bought a used Vauxhall Sintra. My 6yr old daughter played with the spare key fob during the purchase and now the car's power lock unlock still works fine. However, the alarm will not cancel until it has gone off.this is what happens , I press the unlock button on the key fob and all the car locks unlock, I then open the car door and the siren sounds .
• Buying a car before selling mine. 3 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  Hi I am going to look at a car for sale privately and intend selling mine afterwards. I have always traded mine in hassle free for a new one in the past. Just a few points of advice. Firstly, as I will have two cars until my old one is sold what will I have to do as far as insurance is concerned?
• Service Query 16 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  My old car was always serviced at a main dealer during the time of my ownership, according to regulation intervals. I recently sold it to a family member (the original owner), who used to run his own garage.
• Increased Submarining Risk with Car Rugs 7 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Hi, If that doesn't win me the strangest title prize nothing will. We are about to go to France, driving down to the Dordogne over two days. Our 8 year old will be in his booster seat (standard Britax model) in the back. In the past we've put it on a car rug so we can just shake out all the bits at the end of the journey. Is this safe? We've been discussing long journeys and in-car entertainment/games/books at work and someone said that you shouldn't put anything on the seats.
• HP and repossession 4 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  It doesn't apply to me (one old car owned outright, one company car) but seemed interesting!
• Quick car radio question... 17 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  Hi, I'm only prompted to ask this question because a radio station that I used to like to listen to in my car has suddenly given up on FM and moved to medium wave. When I was driving my old R5, I could only ever get FM stations, and I put this down to the car/its electrics/the way I'd fitted the stereo. No big deal.
• Cheap to run cars 30 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  What cars do you recommend that could be purchased for little money, could run for 20,000 in a year without wearing out (as my smaller cars have always seemed to) and return in excess of 35mpg? I'd also like to be able to pick up spares/service parts easily and cheaply.
• Volkswagen Scirocco - 1.4 TSI engine 20 Feb 2019 (Forum)
  They said they would replace the engine, but my son was liable for the labour which would be £3000+! I began researching, as it seems ridiculous that a car with so little mileage as such a major problem and I have found so many. There was even a piece in a car magazine in 2013 saying that it is a known problem. To add insult to injury, our son leases his car and he can return it in September.
• Chrysler Sebring - Chrysler TPMS & new MOT 18 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  I have a six year old Sebring, obviously an American car where I believe it's mandatory to have tyre pressure monitoring systems. Anyway about 2 years ago when I needed to replace all 4 tyres on top of a service, I decided not to have all the TPMS sensors refitted due to the ridiculous cost of parts and labour ( at a guess £600 to replace all 4).
• Fiat Qubo or alternative - Fiat Qubo or...? 8 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  She replaced it, temporarily with a Mercedes A170, with the intention of selling that back to our (friendly) garage in June when she closed one of her  shops (she assumed that only one car would be necessary and our main business car is a FIAT Doblo). Now the automatic gearbox has gone on the Mercedes and she's looking for a second car (having recalculated and found it would, after all, be useful).
• vw golf mk6 gt 1.4 tsi 160 - VW warranty repair 21 Jun 2011 (Forum)
   "You don't want to believe what you read on the internet Sir" .......... The second thing to say is that the vehicle is a lease car so will go back at the end of 36 months with approx 60K miles. The fix was to replace number 2 piston and rings. I regard this as a sub-standard repair. Mixing new and old pistons is just not done in my book.
• Mitsubishi servicing requirements 13 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  I have just bought a used Mitsubishi Colt (05 plate, 8500 miles, registered end of June 2005) as a second car/runaround. I bought it from a 'reputable' dealer with many dealerships nationwide, although not a Mitsubishi garage, and it was just over 13 months old when I picked it up at the end of July. The garage assured me that it was serviced before I picked it up (although they have yet to give me documentation to prove this), and because it was a little after 13 months old I checked that this wouldn't affect the warranty - I was told it wouldn't, and that the car just has to be serviced within 4 months or 500 miles of the time it is due.
• Mondeo TD (Endura DE) oil recommendation 25 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  Car has run fine and in neither case has it needed even a small top up between services. I have since learned that Ford recommend their 5W/30 Formula E petrol engine oil for these cars built from 1998 onwards.