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• What's the point of the MAF? 4 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  The technician at the garage mentioned that no harm would come to the car if it were driven in this way for a few days. Since the car is driving superbly "MAFless", what on earth is the point of the thing? What does it actually do? Am I going to find I have superb performance and a hole in my wallet as gallon after gallon of diesel vanishes through the injectors over the next couple of days?
• Insurance - Fully Comp? 4 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  Hello all, After my first year of car ownership (and third party insurance in my name) I have decided that I will upgrade to fully comp insurance as it's only a touch more in the second year. Anyway, I have been told that fully comprehensive cover entitles you to drive any other car third party?
• Engine steam clean, or not? 10 May 2004 (Forum)
  I'm considering selling my car soon, and am wondering if it is advisable to get the engine (and bay) steanm cleaned. The engine is currently covered with a thin layer of absolutely dry 'road dust' - no hints of oil egress anywhere.
• Flat battery - £184! 29 Mar 2004 (Forum)
  Beware all ye thinking you don't need breakdown service with Merc. This week on calling MB 24h when my car won't start, I get a request for a credit card but it's only a precaution in case the cause is a flat battery, that failure isn't covered and the cost is £184! Anyay the car starts, I cancel the call-out before they arrive, find the card has already been debited, they confirm it will be credited.
• Dusty engine? oil change 12 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  HI I have just taken delivery of a 'new' beetle 1,8 t. The car had been standing for almost a year on a car lot. I have had the coil packs changed ( recall)and at the same time noticed that the entire engine was covered with about 1/4 inch of fine dust..I just wonder where it had been stored!!!.
• Interior condensation 8 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  What can I do to reduce the condensation, and what is causing this level of it? I have checked the carpets and nothing is damp. Would putting a cover (window level, not whole car) reduce it? Its a pain first thing in the morning, specially when its frozen inside and out... Ta muchly Mike
• Volkswagen Golf TDI 2.0 - Help - extortionate bill for hire car damage! 13 Jan 2023 (Forum)
  Hiya. Im not a car expert so have headed to people who are and joined this forum. I have a large and expensive problem. I bumped my hire car when on holiday in France last August and have just received a bill of nearly 3K euro.
• BMW 3 Series 325i E46 - New Shock Absorbers 4 Sep 2018 (Forum)
  Cats eyes or ridges on the road “thunk” through the car while potholes or dips over drain covers cause the car to feel very unsettled albeit damped. Is this normal with new shocks? Do the shocks need time to bed in? Should the springs have been changed?
• All - Barn Finds 5 Sep 2016 (Forum)
  Do people think it adds something to the car. In reality the majority of barns around here were converted to large detached properties years ago and those that remain are in use or falling down. The last genuine barn finds I saw were two cars that had stood for decades and were covered in dirt and birds' droppings.
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  Buying a cheap, used estate- what's best? 26 Jan 2014 (Ask HJ)
  We have 3 large dogs and want to buy a cheap, used car to carry them in. Can you recommend anything? We cover 6000 miles a year and would prefer an automatic....
• 
  What's the best budget estate? 4 Dec 2013 (Ask HJ)
  I need to get rid of three cars in favour of one estate vehicle to do both work (small plumbing jobs) and pleasure trips. I cover 6000 miles a year and...
• Nissan Juke - Loss of Excess on Hire Car due to damage by hail 28 Jul 2012 (Forum)
  We have recently hired a car from Avis for 2 weeks in Austria. While we were there, there was a heavy hailstorm which left small marks/dent in the roof and bonnet. Avis state that, as the damage occurred while we had the car, we are responsible for the insurance excess (790 Euros).
• Vauxhall Corsa C (2000 - 2006) - 53 1.2 problems, advice needed 13 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  Hi Everybody, I have owned a 53 plate Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Design since new. I have only covered 29k miles in the car. All of the following problems have occured since ive had the car: Handbrake Cable snapped. Had to replace gear linkage Had to replace steering rack Had to replace camshaft sensor (I think it was that sensor) Car was misfiring/searching at low revs My question is have I been unlucky?
• Car Anatomy Book Suggestions 6 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Hi, can anyone recommend a decent book on the anatomy of a car - something that provides practical text and illustrations for learning about the working parts of a car and how those components work as a whole, etc, as well as practical sections on fault finding and, maintenance and repair.
• Insurance for Athiests 30 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  Watching the Welsh news this morning they had an item about a mini tornado which struck a village whose name escapes me. One guy being interviewed said the families cars had suffered about £15000 worth of damage between them, but the insurance company was already starting to mutter about Acts of God, which are excluded from cover. So is it possible to actually insure your car against natural disasters, storms, floods etc, and how do you go about adding it to your policy?
• Do any of you lease your car? 9 May 2004 (Forum)
  Hi all, After a long struggle with an unreliable passat, I have now decided to lease a car to help reduce unexpected bills. I need a 30,000 miles a year lease over two years so that I am covered by the manufacturers warranty. I have looked at several lease companies and understand the format for leasing a car, but was hoping I could get some real life leasing experiences from the back room.
• Fiat Panda 1000 1990 9 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  I've bought a 1990 Panda 1000 for my daughter as her first car, as it's appeared a number of times in HJ's column as a reasonable starter car. One job I think needs doing is replacing a rubber cover on the top of the OSF shock absorber. I believe this also acts as a bump stop?
• someone's pranged my car 16 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  Yesterday someone low-speed bumped my car whilst it was parked outside my house, causing significant damage to the rear bumper (colour coded etc.). They got out of their car, inspected the damage and then drove off. My neighbour got their reg. number, swept up their broken glass etc.
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  Dealer tampered with new car speedo - what do I do? 31 Aug 2017 (Ask HJ)
  After owning my new car for two months, I noticed that the speedo has been removed - either when new or when having some paint touched up as they reset...
• VW GOLF MK6 1.6TDI - VW Warranty Woes 29 Apr 2017 (Forum)
  This is reflected on my order form for the car and other documents I received with the car. This month the car began going into limp mode and I had it diagnosed elsewhere that the EGR Valve needed replacing (mileage at 98,000). As I was aware my warranty expired in Dec 2016 I paid out of my own pocket for the repair at a local independent garage totalling £551.79!