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• Bangernomics...I think I've nailed it! 18 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  So far I've bought 2 new front tyres (£50 a corner as they say in the business!) an air filter and set of plugs, an oil and filter change from National and the price of an MOT (passed needing exactly nothing doing to it last month). The only problem is that in accordance the the bangernomic 'buy it cheap and then throw it away when something major goes wrong with it' maxim, I'm going to be lumbered with this for ever as I can't at the moment see anything going wrong with it!
• Ford Mondeo II (1996 - 2000) - Oh no, not another bangernomics post! 17 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  Everything from 2 miles to the shops, to 1500 miles in a week on holiday. And it's been totally abused: Apart from one oil and filter change when I first got it, it's had ZERO servicing. Been washed 3 times. But it's never let me down or refused to start. One day it did begin underperforming - running on 3 cylinders, but still got us home fine.
• 1992 Vauxhall Astra 1.4I 8v SOHC 17 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  Purchased the stuff – thermostat, new cam belt, cam cover cork gasket and a water pump setting tool !!!!. Completed job after also changing water pump and the back hose because I thought I have gone this far – I do not want to be going here again soon! Had a bit of fun (not) farting about getting the cambelt tension correct and got the whole lot together after also changing engine oil/filter and recharging coolant circuit with 50/50 antifreeze mix.
• Smallish 4wd cars 27 Apr 2024 (Forum)
  One comment on the Subarus - if you've never done so, find one and (with the owner's permission) open the bonnet.  The first thing you see is an oil filter right where you can just grab it to replace it.  Likewise the serpentine belt is just sitting there ready to be changed.  It's like someone designed an engine to be maintained and repaired properly.
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  S tronic hesitation 18 Jul 2015 (Ask HJ)
  I have an Audi Q5 2.0T (automatic). The car has an issue where when it slows down to a stop, the car starts to judder, sometimes quite violently and on...
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  Mk4 Fiesta 1.3l petrol overheating 24 Jun 2012 (Ask HJ)
  I have a 1.3l Ford Fiesta (2000) petrol that has an overheating problem. Heres a bit of background: Had a major coolant leak through a dodgy drain...
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  What do you think of the new compressed air-powered Mini CAT? 31 Mar 2012 (Ask HJ)
  The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy N. for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air to push its engine's pistons and make the car go....
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  Why won't the dealer contribute to the cost of repairing the catalytic converter on my cheap Ford Fiesta? 25 Feb 2012 (Ask HJ)
  A month ago, I purchased a cheap runabout Ford Fiesta for £750 from a dealer in Enfield, London. Someone had part-exchanged it, although it came with a...
• Sick Alfa 156 2.0 TS Man 9 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  Checked again and diagnosed failed rocker cover gasket, causing oil leak/loss of compression. Squeek diagnosed as failed front wishbone arms. Took 3 months to order in parts by which time car tended to understeer and vibration developed at all speeds through front of the car, (also changed tyres to Potenza S03's from Pirelli's wished I had put Michelin on). 4. 22 months old, dealer finally fitted new front wish arms, repaired rocker cover gasket and the engine braking improved but the suspension did not.
• Honda, Ford Vauxhall, VW, Skoda etc - New job (Yay!) maybe need a new car.... 20 Aug 2021 (Forum)
  Running costs would need to be on the affordable side and I am thinking about geting some basic kit so I can do my own oil changing and basics. Have a good local mechanic I can trust as well.   TL:DR. 1.4 or 1.6 Petrol or 1.6/1.5 diesels. The budget would put 1.2 TSI VAG cars in the mix as well.
• Citroen C3 (2002 - 2009) - 02 1.4HDi 16v engine cutting out at random 7 Jun 2018 (Forum)
  They (randomly it seems) changed the throttle pot assy on the pedal but this has made no difference. I'm now at my wits end with the thing - Citroen obviously have no idea what's wrong and it's so intermittent anyway they can never actually witness the problem when they test drive it.
• BMW E39 535i - glitches 24 Feb 2016 (Forum)
  Was originally father-in-law's car and so 1 owner since new, 100K miles only. Had been stored for 2 years but 2 months ago I replaced the battery, got an oil change/engine flush, brakes serviced and put her through the MOT. Total cost approx £500 inc parts. As I've spent this on her and the lighter evenings are coming (here's hoping!!) I'm not inclined to sell her at this time - any ads online seem to be <£1K - maybe I could do better?
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 1999 1.8 overheating problem? 1 Jan 2014 (Forum)
  Strangely - if you ease off, it'll often return to the 12 o'clock position really quickly too - takes less than 30 seconds sometimes !? Both the coolant and oil levels are fine and there are no obvious leaks around any of the visible hoses or themostat housing. You can drive around town as much as you like doing anything up to 40mph and it won't happen at all, not even in traffic on a hot day or at traffic lights.
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  Is it legal to remove the DPF from my car? 12 Aug 2012 (Ask HJ)
  Various companies are advertising diesel particulate filter removal services with associated re-programming of the ECU to stop the CEL lighting up. My...
• Honda CRV mark I - Refurbish or Replace ? 4 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  My dilema is;  Do I keep what is now a 13 year old car, and spend what I estimate will be £700 - £1000, as this year it will need the cambelt and tensioners changing, water pump, transmission oil, 4 tyres, and possibly some suspension work. I suspect after this the car will keep going for another 4 years with routine maintenance ? or Sell or part ex the honda and buy, say, a 5/6 year old ford focus or mondeo diesel.
• Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 2000 2.0 Hdi With no power/turbo? 26 Aug 2010 (Forum)
  When under load though, it takes forever to get upto 3000rpm. You can rev it really hard in 2nd, but when you change upto 3rd it takes ages to accelerate up from 1900- 2600. Im not a complete mug when it comes to mechanicing, and iv always serviced my 306's myself, but Im not sure where to start looking with this problem!
• Nissan Primera III (1999 - 2002) - 01 2.0 Fuel economy has nose dived - ideas? 18 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Hi, I have a Primera p11-144, 2001 Y 2l petrol SE hatchback, 111000 miles. In the last few months the cars fuel consumption has increased fairly dramatically, with no change in driving style. In fact it is probably even worse than that-over my previous 53 mile each commute of including 30 miles of single carriageway, with lots of full bore overtaking etc I used to get around 35mpg.
• Peugeot Expert Tepee (2007 - ) - 2001 2.0hdi - running problem 25 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  I am had the following done: Head removed Crack pressure test and skim Refit head New head set and head gasket New head bolts Full cambelt kit (gates) New water pump (had this done just incase) Oil and filter Anti freeze 4 new heater plugs Got it back and after a couple of miles down the road the engine management light came on and it went into safe mode. Took it back to the garage and they said it was coming up with low fuel pressure.
• Ford Fiesta (1995 - 1999) - Bought a new shed - £350 22 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  The great thing is if it turns out to be a shed I can get almost what I paid for it on ebay, I've lifted the carpet up a bit and floor pan looks very good, no rust round the suspension mounts etc. Got it booked in on Saturday for tappets, oil change and he is going to check the steering. Too early to say yet how long I will keep it for but for now its cheaper than a hire car and its cheap to insure.
• 2001 Ford Fiesta Ghia overheating 27 May 2007 (Forum)
  Another example would be that it will never get hot going up hill because you have to give it some gas to maintain speed but going downhill is when it will normally shoot up. Ive changed the thermostat and i bought a new cap for my water as my old one looked a bit dodgy and its still doing it. It doesn't have any of the tell tale signs of a blown head gasket - its not losing water, the oil is fine, the emisions seem fine.