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• I've repaired it, and i've saved all these bits! 21 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Anyway, changed the leads around, retimed and all good. Now i know this is a terrible admission to make, and the proper mechs here would have a fit. In mitigation, i was 18. (its a fair cop guv) Has that triggered any memories, or prompted any confessions of jobs done, and discoveries of rather important parts that should really have been inside the repair.
• Citroen Xantia (1993 - 2000) - 99 2.0 HDi clutch release bearing - book time for 11 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Thing is, it's done 165k miles and will very soon need a service, 4 new tyres and the invariable few wee extras they find whenever it's in for an oil change. Car is probably only worth a few hundred quid, so I guess I'm looking for an idea of what the clutch release bearing job might cost - I gather it's a cheap part, but might involve removal of the gearbox, so will rack up the labour costs, in which case I'll seriously consider getting rid of it, given the other work it'll need doing soon.
• Vauxhall Corsa C (2000 - 2006) - 2003 1.7D intermittent loss of gauges & indicators 7 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Friend has recently acquired ex RAF vehicle (a van with 15,000 mls) at auction, which on way home lost speedometer, fuel and water temp gauges, as well as the indicators. Got home OK with these symptoms, and parked up. Next day, fine all working, no problems. Got oil changed the next day by third party, vehicle behaved itself. Next used 2 days later, when this time it lost power. But gauges etc all OK. Driven further that day when it cleared itself (power restored).
• Renault Scenic (2003 - 2009) - Grand Scenic 1.9dCi 2004 undertray removal 29 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Trying to change the oil on the Scenic and REALLY struggling with the undertray, or rather one bolt. I've undone the 3 across the front where it meets the front valance, and the two at the back. These were nicely copper greased and came straight out.
• Mondeo TDCi - Uneven power delivery. 12 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  any other ideas? Its been running like this now for about 20k. The next problem has started today. Changed the oil (which may not have anything to do with the problem) but now i have a problem when accelerating at motorway speeds. For example, when i hit 2800RPM in fifth i get a feeling that power fails and then returns.
• Main Dealer first service experience 5 May 2007 (Forum)
  A nice aspect of the service was the fact they collected the car and dropped it off for me, which saved loads of hassle, but considering it's basically a glorified oil and filter change, the cost was a somewhat high £140. I'd deliberately refilled the window washer beforehand, knowing that they tend to charge a fortune for doing this. When I got the car back I found they'd charged me £1.75 for a bottle of window washer concentrate, which they'd thoughtfully given to me because I had no need for it to be put in the car.
• Don't upset your customers 6 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  In 1990, I was a Ford man & bought a new 1.8 diesel escort with a view to keeping it for a few years. At 1000 miles I wanted an oil & filter change, I phoned my local ford dealer repid fit dept who quoted me £18, when I took it in later that day & they did it, I was presented with a bill for £21, the young spotty lad on reception said ha ha ha, I forgot to add the VAT, he thought it amusing, he wouldn't back down so I just paid the £21, left feeling angry and vowed to myself never to deal with that garage again.
• Real world motoring 19 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  Because I neglected HJ's advice to change the transmission oil when I got it - I didn't even look - my chav Ford Escort's gearbox became noisy a couple of K ago, grumbling final-drivishly around town in the higher gears. For a while the sound would vanish at open-road speeds, but last time I went to Sussex there was a full-blooded howl on the power at 70, which only diminished a bit on the overrun.
• Whats a good price for my sisters Micra? 25 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  The car is a 1994 L, Nissan Micra 1.3LX, its three door, silver metallic, 85000 miles, its been very well looked after by my sister (sadly she has lost most of the service history in the house move). Its had - 4 new tyres, regular services, synthetic oil changes every 5 months or 5000 miles (which ever comes soonest), its recently had the rear of the car professionally resprayed (paint was slightly faded), the interior is always clean (i used to be a professional valet), its had the known micra problems fixed - including the front cross member, and its just had the original gearbox reconditioned and a new clutch fitted (both have 11 months warranty left), and the car has september 05 mot, and june tax. she has set her sights on a T-reg Clio hence the sale of the Micra.
• buying advice for a relative newbie 23 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  I'm probably looking for something of a similar size or slightly bigger as it's difficult to park where I live. Unsure of my mileage at the moment as my work situation has recently changed and I'm now mainly working from home but I have to go into the office usually once a week which is a 100 mile round trip via motorway / dual carriageway (Newcastle to Stockton) so 1.0L engines are out.
• Anyone care to value 1997R Polo? 7 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  Our Polo is going to be up for sale very shortly because we are buying a new MR2. Can't wait! It is a November 1997R with 110k miles, FSH with additional oil changes, 12 months MOT. Recent disks/pads and drums/shoes. I am the 2nd owner and have owned it since Nov 1999 and 22k miles. Bodywork is better than most of the age I have seen though obviously not perfect.
• My 414 finally dead. 18 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  It is with great sadness I announce the death of the Rover. [1] After over 3 years and well over 25,000 miles it got very hot today near Southampton. There's plenty of water and the water pump is fine. Could be the thermostat but the change in shade of the water in the expansion chamber hinted at oil/exhaust contamination. Must be the head gasket. It came home on a RAC lorry and will be emptied of camping kit etc before undergoing one last journey to the scrappie.
• Importing Sprinter: comment/servicing question 6 Sep 2001 (Forum)
  The oil rep assures me it's fine... any thoughts please? Is this just part of a greater strategy to improve spares sales?! Cheers, Simon Howes
• 
  Should my Suzuki SX4 have been sold with newer tyres? 14 Sep 2013 (Ask HJ)
  The original tyres have perished on my April 2012 Suzuki SX4. A report prepared by Kwikfit states that the tyres were manufactured in week 33 of 2010....
• FIAT Panda (2003 - ) - Panda in Austria (review) 5 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  An unusual sight was two Porsche Cayennes driving past each other in Kitzbuhel. A friend told me that because of rules about the disposal of used engine oil in Austria, it was virtually impossible for an ordinary bloke to change his own oil - it really has to be done by a professional. And yes, I drove the Grossglockner road (Großglockner Hochalpenstraße) which was great.
• Drove a few cars yesterday 10 May 2009 (Forum)
  I've now owned this for over 6 months, which is a relative eternity for me ! It has now passed 14K miles and had its first "service" (expensive oil change) a few weeks ago. It has been faultless since I've owned it and consistently returns around 30 mpg in mainly urban use and up to early 40's on the motorway. The most impressive thing about the car is undoubtedly the engine, which is smooth, quick and has almost diesel like low down torque.
• Mazda 2 - Honda Jazz - Toyota Auris - Help Finding The Most Reliable Car 16 Jan 2025 (Forum)
  Cons: It's small, gearbox is "sealed for life" which means I'd have to buy a low mileage one and change oil myself.  2) Honda Jazz 1.3 CVT 2015-17 - CVT isn't sealed for life, so shouldn't be too difficult to change. Very spacious on the inside, small on the outside. Engine is (non turbo).
• Peugeot 2008 1.2 130 EAT6 Allure Premium - The first thousand miles 3 Jan 2020 (Forum)
  The EAT6 box is excellent, even though the relaxed 6th gear (just over 30mph per 1000 revs) is rarely engaged on B or even A roads, although you can persuade it to trundle along the level and downhill bits by nudging it manually into 6th. It won't let you labour the engine, changing down even in manual mode if you try.  And even 5th gear is 25mph per 1000 revs, 5mph more than the manual 5th gear in a rorty revvy 80hp 1.2 Pug 208 we hired recently on hols.  For overtaking you can press the S button to drop down a gear, or just floor it and it goes like a rocket, spooling rapidly to smooth 6000 rpm change-ups.
• 2010 Ford S-Max 2.0 Powershift - Ford admits fault after warranty expires ! 19 Aug 2017 (Forum)
  I returned vehicle again a week or 2 later with same problems and they said Ford Technical told them to change gearbox oil and filter (£205.00) as it was coming up to 3 yrs old (July 16th). Vehicle taken but fault returns a couple of weeks later, go back to Ford dealership who say Ford Technical told them to do a gearbox 'software update'.
• Returning the car I traded in 10 Mar 2016 (Forum)
  Hi all, right here goes, I just traded my Renault Megane in last Monday for a Vauxhall signum, the following morning on the way to work i noticed black smoke coming from the exhaust, I got a friend from work to have a look, the swirl bar was off and one of the pins it connects too was broken, my mate says it will probably need a new inlet manifold , then on the way home the car started squeeling every time I slowed down and even more black smoke when I sped up, I decided to contact the dealer I got the car from and told him about the problems, I took it up to him, he said he will fix it and asked me to buy a swirl bar off eBay and he will fit it, I said ok, while waiting for the bar to come, the car felt even worse, two days later I decided enough is enough, I contacted him and said I wanted my old car back, he said I can't do that, he said he spent money on my car putting it through mot, and fitting a new timing belt, he said he serviced it too, altogether he said he spent 500 pounds on my car, i just wanted my car back so now I'm down 500 quid, when I got my car home I checked it, there was no new timing belt on it, the service was not down because the oil was still black, my tyres where worn down so it couldn't have passed mot, he changed the wheels so it would pass mot then put my old ones back on, I know this because the bolts on my wheels had been changed and my locking nuts where missing, my question is, do I have any rights in getting my 500 pounds back, even if he had done work to it, I'm glad to get my car back, the signum would have ended up costing me a fortune