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• Six months with a Skoda 16 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  My main gripe is the service indicator. The first service indicator came on and only gave me 2000 miles notice which was not enough to change around my schedule to get it serviced in time especially over Christmas. Overall the car has been a good companion and I would recommend it, although probably as a 2 litre diesel
• Seat Leon FR TDi 170: 5,500mile report 3 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  Have put in ¾ litre oil so far. Performance. Fuel consumption (I don?t think close to 40mpg is bad, considering the way I drive it) Very comfortable and supportive sports front seats Gadget count. Space (first time I?ve ever driven a car that I didn?
• BMW 5-Series E61 Touring (2004 - ) - 520d SE - 12,000m report 12 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  The run flat tyres are immensely strong - hitting some dry stone walling rocks obscured by vegetation on a tight mountain road, it sounded like the wheels had come off on the passenger's side but an inspection revealed cracking in the sidewall and no wheel damage. Tyre replaced by BMW but no ill affect on anything else it seems. Has used barely any oil, which is not due to be changed until 18k (despite my attempts to get them to change it anyway). Pedals are offset to the right like the Mercedes making left foot braking less comfortable and the windscreen wipers are left hand drive configeration which is annoying, as you get an unswept area in the top right hand corner of the screen.
• Ford Mondeo - 52 Reg TDCI 130BHP Injectors or what? - HELP! 27 Jun 2010 (Forum)
  Hello all (just reposting this as can't change the subject title!). Can anyone help me pleeeeeease (and sorry for the long explanation)? I have a 2002 52 Reg Mondeo 130 TDCI Zetec with 150k on the clock and FSH. It has never given me any problems except for a new water pump and power steering pump at about 140k and new rear sub-frame at about 135k - all in all, costing me over £1k.
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  Chiang chiang merrily on Mai 24 Oct 2009 (Ask HJ)
  I have now done 6 months with my New 2008 model 1.5 L 120 HP Jazz. 6,500 kms on the clock and mostly used around town, Chiang Mai, Thailand, but with a...
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  I want a large van to convert to a camper - what do you consider as high mileage for a van? 1 Jun 2018 (Ask HJ)
  I want to buy a large panel van for conversion to a camper. My price range is up to £5000. Most of the vans I have seen advertised at this price have done...
• Low mileage Xantia - am I sane to reject 6 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  Both plip keys were in perfect order and worked 100%. The engine bay had not been cleaned but it was dusty with no oil stains, new filters and showed signs of good maintenance ? backed by the stamps in the book. There were 2 new front spheres. The radiator was not corroded and heated up evenly down its length as the engine warmed up.
• Bullitt Mk 2 is back 6 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  After I did the tune-up last week the exhaust rumbles very satisfyingly and the trans does what it's supposed to following arrival of (I pulled the carb and did the valves plus oil and filter change and timing, all very simple) bits from US. My local Filipino tech did the trans, these guys are really ace, I have to say. They grovel around shirtless in high temperatures and humidity but still manage to work miracles with anything mechanical.
• Mini Cooper S Coupe - Second hand car problems from purchase 30 Nov 2013 (Forum)
  So all discs and brake pads effectively should be changed. I do not concur that this is acceptable as it is a ‘second hand vehicle’ as you keep saying. You felt that the cosmetic repair was good and on inspection you could see that it was just the same.
• Honda Civic 1.0 SR - First impressions 9 May 2019 (Forum)
  So I stuck in £6 worth and the gauge now shows 1/3 full. Technically I am disappointed that the 1.0 is a cam belt in oil with a 65k change interval.bNo issue to the fleets but a cost for those of us who run to higher miles. The electronic parking brake is not intuitive in manual mode. You can only apply and release it with the foot brake engaged.
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  Why is my dealer taking so long to repair my Nissan X-Trail's turbocharger? 13 Sep 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I bought a May 2004 X-Trail 2.2 Sport DCI (136) back in 2005 from a fleet company with 16,000 on the clock. In 2006, just out of warranty, the fuel pump...
• Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 diesel - First 5 months of ownership 25 Feb 2012 (Forum)
  The engine and auto gearbox work really well and are the stars of the show especially as the engine seems to be bedding in with the miles. Bags of torque whenever you need it and an auto box that works the way I expect it to, changing seamlessly up and down just when I would have done had it been a manual. Kickdown is immediate and provides plenty of grunt but the engine is so torquey it is seldom needed. I played around with changing the gears manually in thew first week and that side of it works really well too but the auto is so good I don't use it.
• BMW 5-Series E61 Touring (2004 - ) - 25,000km report BMW 530d 9 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  So, after much deliberation at the end of last year I ended up replacing my company BMW 530d with?another BMW 530d. I?d actually inherited the first car when I changed jobs from someone who used the opportunity to ?upgrade? to an Audi Q7, though quite why he considered a change from the finest handling mid size saloon on the planet to a boat on wheels to be an upgrade is something I can only speculate on.
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  Audi TT: Difference of a pinion 21 Jan 2010 (Ask HJ)
  My Audi TT 3.2 Quattro broke down with an almost complete loss of power on a dual carriageway in late December during the freezing weather. The car just...
• Citroen Xsara Picasso - Xsara Picasso 2006 1.6 Hdi - Power Steering Issues 23 May 2016 (Forum)
  Wednesday 20th April 10 year service - New Timing Belt, Antifreeze, Oil Change and MOT. Not sure it's relevant but for completeness. Thursday 28th April Steering suddenly goes exceptionally heavy when turning, improvement is seen at high revs but parking is a total nightmare - even half a turn on the steering wheel is difficult but feels looser once you get past that point.
• Skoda Yeti - Skoda Yeti - my thoughts on 10K miles / 1 year 1 Sep 2013 (Forum)
  The car was exceptionally quiet at high speed. I came to the Yeti from a "proper" Lexus and didn't in any way feel short changed in the refinement department. I found the ride a bit unsettled on the motorway. I assumed this was due to the relatively short wheelbase and low profile tyres. The roadholding was however very positive and reassuring.
• Buying my first car - my experience 24 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  He couldn't stop repeating that it had "original mats" - he mentioned it like 5 times. When I opened the bonnet to check the oil level/condition, he got all funny - "what are you doing, is that cloth clean?". He also tried on the "I've been selling cars for 20 years...blah blah blah..." crap. So, he left us with the car (me and my mother).
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  What advice do you have on buying a Toyota Alphard? 5 Jan 2022 (Ask HJ)
  My daughter and her husband are thinking of buying a Toyota Alphard as an alternative to a Mazda Bongo. What are the service intervals? Does it have a...
• BMW 5-Series E60 (2003 - 2009) - Problems after car "repaired". What can I do next? 31 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  In the 60's a wheel nearly came off my Elan 2+2 and ruined the threads on the hub while driving home from a service. Initial response was that I had changed the wheel on route home!! In the end they paid for a new hub without too much argument. 2. In the early 80's I had a Turbo fitted to a Golf Gti with a 6 month warranty. When the bearings failed after 2 months I was accused of putting dirty oil in it!
• Porsche Boxster 986 + Boxster S (1996 - 2004) - 'S' first impresions 1 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  So its not quite what I set out to get, though that's so often true in so many things in life, I only need think back to some of my ex's. Hopefully the reliability, maintenance costs and the cost to change will be slightly lower than some of those. -- I read often, only post occasionally