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• Buying S/H in Italy 25 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  The price seemed OK for the local market although the mileage was around 63000 miles. I presume the engine shouldn't be a problem for a long time to come assuming regular oil changes? Any comments on the likely longevity of this model or other things I ought to look out for?
• VW Golf TDi - Service Indicator 6 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  Have any other Golf TDi owners had a similar experience with the on-board service indicator coming on after such a short interval between services? I am all for oil changes at 5-6,000 miles but am concerned that there may be something wrong with my car as the indicator has come on early.
• 93 micra juddering when warm 24 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  can anyone help? Ive got the sparkle plugs changed, sparkles cleaned and interchanged.
• 406 V6 coil (again) 24 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  s only a ten minute job once the right faulty coil has been diagnosed, would I be able to do it myself in future if I carried a couple of spares? How involved is it? I can change brake pads, oil and put shelves up and I carry a basic tool kit. Can you tell a failed coil by looking at it? Am I being realistic? Cheers, Dave
• Mk1 Mondeo Idling Issues.. :( 26 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  Hi, I have a 1.8L Petrol 1995 Mondeo LX. Its recently just had a new starter motor, plugs,oil filter etc. ( Its done 168,000 miles) It used to stall before I had the starter motor changed, but now it still does. It can sit at idle for some time, the idle speed will vary between 1200rpm and 950... and then all of a sudden it will drop off... the engine will try to recover, but then it will drop off and stall.
• Sluggish 95M Xantia 1.9TDi VSX 27 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  Will barely accelerate at 70, doesn't go over 3,000rpm in lower gears without cutting out, smokes like a teenage mother. Car hasn't had an oil, oilfilter or airfilter change in 48,000 miles. I'm getting the owner onto this at the weekend. This may be part of the problem, but I fear things are a bit more serious than that. First thoughts are airflow meter (afm) or throttle potentiometer as I understand these are weak points on this engine.
• Polo. Diagnose drivetrain noise please 21 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  okay i have a 88 vw polo, there been a noise that sounds just like a worn wheel bearing from n/s/front...the typical wurr wurr noise so i fitted a new bearing..old one looked servicable and the new one didnt improve things at all today i pulled back the cv boot...there was enough grease in there and every thing looked good...so i regreased it and put the boot back ive also recently changed the gearoil..no swarf in the old oil so guys...what now? this wurr wurr is noticable from walking speed up to 50-60 where the road/engine noise cover it,its worse when not straight ahead and at its quietest when accelerating( but that maybe engine noise drowning it out)
• Citroen ZX 1.9 Diesel 16 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  The car runs fine and does not produce any black or grey smoke when accelerating. I have also noticed that the economy has dropped off a bit lately around the same time. I have changed the air filter, and the oil recently (the car is regularly serviced) as well as using some injector cleaner in the fuel, and this had no effect on either the economy or the smell. The car has done 79000 miles - and I am suspecting that it could be the injectors that soon will have to be replaced.
• Reviving a Fiat Punto.... 24 Feb 2004 (Forum)
  I want to help but I'm not sure where I should start; The battery is going to be flat - should I recharge it or would it be less hassle to get a new one (£25-30)? What other things should I look at? - oil/filter/coolant change, brakes, tyres, spark plugs perhaps? Bear in mind that it just needs to be MOT'd and will be sold almost immediately afterwards Thanks in advance, Chad.
• Short Journeys & Gentle Driving 12 Feb 2004 (Forum)
  If not, is there anything I should be doing (especially re rpm) apart from making each journey a *minimum* of three miles and changing oil and filter every 5000 miles? Thanks in anticipation of your help.
• Fiesta 1.25 slightly lumpy tickover 6 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  (Ford ones) Strangely enough, the car performs perfectly otherwise - accelerating and cruising without missing a beat! Also, for the last 5 years, I've been running the car on Costco Chevron fully synth oil , changed every 3000 up until a few months ago when I thought I'd give the Ford stuff a try... Any clues??
• Running in New Cars 5 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  How much of a difference does it make? What would other people recommend? Should I also give it an oil change (a fairly expensive one) every 6 months? As an aside, how damaged (if at all) are the ex-demonstrator models, which have obviously been given a good pasting from birth?
• Clatter on Nissan 1.6 at 3-4,000 rpm 13 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  Only used to occur in the first two miles after a cold start, and was really loud. Now it has thankfully gone away. I got the car at 20k miles, 16 months old. iit happened with the oil Reg Vardy had serviced it with, and also with castrol Magnatec when I changed it. It disappeared shortly after I put in 5w-40 fully synthetic, but this could be a coincidence I suppose. I put it down to a sticky hydraulic tapette which had then freed itself, but recently I finally got around to reading up on my engine - 1.6 16v - and have learned that it does not have hydraulic valve clearances, only the 2 litre does!
• How to love a banger? 31 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  He has bought a K reg 1.5 diesel corsa. One owner, FSH, 80k miles mainly motorway and (get this HJ) oil change every six months from new. There is little chance it will be looked after quite like its previous owner. It will be properly serviced, but what are the basic essentials please, particularly to begin with, to ensure as far as possible a useful and lasting workhorse.
• Nissan Sunny- sale advice 19 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  Timing chain (I suspect) noisy on cold start . otherwise mechanically always kept up to scratch and regular oil /filter changes. fairly cheap insurance and £100tax. Any market you reckon!!!!
• Car servicing 6 Jan 2022 (Forum)
  All garages are happy to quote some sort of type of service  £figure( even a free mot if a service is done at the same time) but what does this include? I think not much. In most instances all non electric vehicles have an oil and filter change at every service but what else is actually DONE rather than just checked. The only way of determining whether an item has been serviced rather than checked is to look at the bill where items such as air filters, plugs, fuel filters, coolants etc have been itemised and usually added to the initially  agreed price of the actual service.
• Toyota RAV4 xT3 2.2 d 4d. 2006. 120k - Transmission noise 20 May 2020 (Forum)
  Hello, I bought this car with slight livable noise, it has developed, there is a noise about 6 x wheel rotation frequency, normal running and even when coasting downhill with engine off, depressiong clutch or light braking, noise is there, kind of scraping, gear/bearing type noise, evident from front of transmission tunel inside the car, changed the nearside wheel bearing, no difference, driveshafts seem to be ok, changed the oil in the gearboxes, all good and clean with no metal particles or chunks. I wonder if its time to replace the transfer box or main gearbox, propshaft universals look ok as does central support bearing.
• Ford fiesta - Juddering problem 13 Apr 2018 (Forum)
  I spent £140 on it so far , and totally lost where to go next. Would new leads and spark plugs help as they not been changed for 3/4 years. car has had new air filter and oil changed in the last 3 months
• Ford Focus - Rattle on engine stop TDCi 29 Sep 2012 (Forum)
  I have recently bought one, 2009 with 134k. I decided that given the high mileage and a rattling sound that it would be prudent to change the clutch, DMF, slave cylinder and gearbox oil (as the car is young and in overall very good condition). Having shelled out for the job, I was disappointed to find there's still a noticeable rattle when you stop the engine, right as it comes to a halt.
• Ford Focus - Rattle on engine stop TDCi 10 Jun 2012 (Forum)
  I have recently bought one, 2009 with 134k. I decided that given the high mileage and a rattling sound that it would be prudent to change the clutch, DMF, slave cylinder and gearbox oil (as the car is young and in overall very good condition). Having shelled out for the job, I was disappointed to find there's still a noticeable rattle when you stop the engine, right as it comes to a halt.