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  Need a new diesel 4x4, but only cover short trips 6 May 2015 (Ask HJ)
  I live in Jersey, and our Discovery 2 TD5 Auto is about to die. I am looking to replace it with similar, but a bit smaller, with a £20k budget. The...
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  Can you recommend a hire car that will take two passengers and large bicycle boxes? 12 Jan 2012 (Ask HJ)
  Four of us are flying to Spain for a cycling weekend and are taking our bikes in rigid bike boxes measuring 105cm x 90cm x 30cm (see: www.bikeboxalan.co.uk)....
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  Can you recommend a replacement for our Volkswagen Polo with a larger boot? 9 Jan 2012 (Ask HJ)
  Would you please be able to advise me on what car to get? I currently have a 2007 Volkswagen Polo 5-door, and am very pleased with it and indeed this is...
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  Thanks to the RAC for exceptional service when my Mercedes-Benz broke down in Portugal. 10 Oct 2010 (Ask HJ)
  Regarding European breakdown cover, the compressor for the air conditioning unit of my 6-year-old Mercedes-Benz ML 270CDI failed, taking the V-belt and...
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  Penalty kinks 20 Feb 2010 (Ask HJ)
  In 2009 we travelled to Tropea in Italy. Now, 6 months later, we have received a parking fine, that we cannot understand as it is in Italian. We do have...
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  Frogs legs to France 25 Apr 2009 (Ask HJ)
  I had to smile at your comment to M.C. that "buying a French car to use in France makes obvious sense". Some years ago an ex-colleague of mine towed his...
• Ford Fiesta 2009 1.4 / Mazda 2 Sport (2008) - Second Hand - Fiesta 2009 or Mazda 2 Sport (2008) 18 May 2021 (Forum)
    I need a reliable, small car to drive to and from work daily. Once a year I'd like to be able to drive across France and Spain if possible. I'd like something that is reliable and can overtake without issues on the motorway.  What would you recommend between these two cars? Pro and cons? Anything to avoid? Many thanks,  Cathal
• ANY - Quick straw poll Insurance Thanks Bilboman 22 Oct 2019 (Forum)
  I lived in France and Switzerland and had long term stays in USA and Canada/ ". would be fine for me, but beware insurance costs. PS How much do you pay in Spain Bilboman ? Youngrovergirl Dr... and myself.. retired.. £193 fully comp MG ZS 2017   1.5 manual.
• 10 year guarantee - sign of things to come? 12 Sep 2019 (Forum)
  I've just seen an advert on TV here in Spain, which also appears on the website. A limited run of Fiat Tipo 1.4 "Street" models are up for grabs for €11,350 (obligatory 5 years of financing at over 10% APR adds another €4000 and you have to trade in some kind of working motor vehicle in return!)
• No more hidden speed cameras 20 Feb 2015 (Forum)
  The ultimate objective is not the speeding ticket." I almost forgot to mention that this is in Spain, where road safety has improved markedly in the last few years - road deaths have dropped by 80% in under 20 years and, as in Britain, the year 2013 saw the lowest number of fatalities since records began.
• citroen c5 estate 2.0 hdi 2007 - C5 parking sensor 6 Sep 2013 (Forum)
  Does anyone have any experience of these cheaper sensors, they have all the right details inscribed on them, part numbers, bosch made in spain etc etc. Unfortunately, also online you seem the same sort of thing offered for sale (bulk) from china. What I really want to know is if anyone has bought an ebay type sensor and if it worked. I don't condone counterfitting but really £75 for one sensor is ridiculous.
• New Ford Long Delivery Times 23 Sep 2012 (Forum)
  Now four weeks later and much time spent ringing the dealership to find out progress I am still waiting. I have now been told that the car is to be built in Spain of all places (I hope it is right hand drive and the chap building it was not on Siesta) and will take approximately ten weeks to build and deliver. I hope it is worth the wait. Is this correct and should the salesman have told me an estimated delivery date before checking to see whether any stock in the UK matched my requirements.
• Car hire abroad 17 Jun 2010 (Forum)
  Having read several of your readers reports about being caught by 'damages' to a hire car after they have returned it, I was also billed for damages after I had handed back the keys. This summer I am hiring in Spain, and I know I will need to drop they keys - presumably in a box - as I will need to take the car back before the office will be open. Assuming I haven't damaged the car, how can I best protect myself from being billed anything, as I know there won't be anyone to receive the car?
• Vauxhall Vectra B facelift (1999 - 2002) - 01 2 Dti steering column seal 2 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  I have just had the steering rack re-conditioned on my diesel estate here in spain [At considerable cost]. Upon driving it I found the engine noise quite a lot louder inside the car coming from where the steering column goes through the floor! I took it back to the garage and was told it was as it should be.
• UK Roadworks and Speed Restrictions 30 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  I have just returned from an epic 2,200 mile tour of Southern France, Andorra and part of Spain. In all this mileage I saw virtually NO roadworks (other than some minor streetworks in Calais town centre). This begs the question, how can the continentals do such a good job of making their arterial motor route so clear of cones and restrictions, whilst we in the UK are plagued with seemingly non-sensical delays, speed restrictions and phantom roadworks where nothing much seems to be going on in them ?
• Equipment for driving in Europe 8 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  Please can any backroom member advise on where to find the proliferation of rules as to what has to be carried in the car in various European countries and, if it is a hire car, does the hirer supply the ones that are relevant? I am aware of the following, but I am sure there are many more. 1. In Spain you have to carry a spare pair of glasses, if you need glasses for driving. 2. In Germany you are required to carry spare fuel on the autobahns, but you aren't allowed to take it in to Europe in the Tunnel. 3.
• Computer related questions. Volume 43 14 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  Even if I manually insert the .com in the address bar it changes to the Spanish address, (yes I am in Spain with a Spanish fixed I.P address), on activating the search. Does any one know how to ensure that ALL Google searches to to the .com site? -- Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
• French bred 3 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  however deserved, French cars (particularly Renault, it seems from certain regular postings here) do seem to have a reputation for being unreliable, but a recent visit to northern Spain, well off the tourist trail, found me admiring the high number of older models still going apparently strongly and in daily use in the small town where I stayed. Particularly noticeable, and impressive, were the many Renault 4, 9 and 11s, some well over 20 years old, most battered and bruised but still up to the job (and with their current MoT equivalent certificates on the windscreen).
• AA satellite location 3 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  t see any reference to it and wondered if my Green Flag also does the same. On our annual trip down through France and Spain I always try and have an idea of just where I am in case of breakdown, but often I think it would be a vague and not very helpful guess within 30 miles. alvin
• ZX towing 3 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  It only applies to the 1.9TD engine, but when I asked the local Citroen garage quoted me £150 to fit it and said it had been a couple of years since they's done one of them. I have towed a glider to Spain and back over the Pyrenees with no temperature problems at all, but these trailers are narrower and only slightly taller than the car so are nowhere near as draggy as a caravan, for example. Does anyone out there have experience of towing with this engine in a ZX with/without a deflector?