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• Not so perfect Lexus 18 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  It was an 04 reg and was leaving a trail of smoke like the red arrows! He eventually caught up with another car and slammed on, this was followed by a huge plume of smoke leaving the exhaust, when we passed through the cloud our cabin stank of burning oil. It looked like this car had had a hard life from leaving the dealership and at less than three years old looked almost ready for the scrapheap.
• GAP Insurance 13 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  Given that my Mondeo will depreciate fairly steeply even though it's 14 months old, I'm considering Total Loss GAP insurance which should pay the difference between the car insurance payout and what I paid for the car should it be written off. Got quotes for £125-£160 for 3-5 years which doesn't seem too bad even though I hope never to claim on it.
• Advice on buying a used diesel hatch 8 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  Hi I'm looking for some informed advice on my next car purchase. My basic criteria: Diesel Price old mileaqe car but looks to be slightly above my budget.
• Swift Opinion? 30 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  We had a very brief test drive and it seems to go well enough and is comfortable and spacious for a small car. Does anyone own one of these cars and, if so, what is your opinion of them? Thanks. Ashley.
• VW warranty issue 29 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  Some of the 'soft feel' plastic trim on the driver's door is starting to break up (peel off). The car is less than three years old and still under VW warranty. However VW are saying that this is wear and tear and so not covered. The car has had a gentle life and has not yet done 36000 miles. Any comments on how I can pursue this.
• Polo Twist 2004 1.4 squeak 4 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  Anyone have any experience of this problem or comments on the cost ? Apparently this problem is not included in the warranty. The car is about 18 months old.
• Warm feet - cool face 23 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Advice from fellow readers requested ... My Nissan Primera is getting old and needs to be replaced. I can set the heater to warm the cabin and cool my face at the same time. Great for keeping alert on long winter motorway journeys. Most new cars these days have sophisticated systems that cannot achieve this simple setting.
• Zafira 2.0DTi - what's it like? 14 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Am thinking of changing the car. Top choice at the moment is either another Mondeo TDCi or Focus estate, but since the arrival of daughter number 2 3 weeks ago am seriously considering an old shape Zafira. Daily commute is a 100 mile round trip so would need to be Diesel, problem is the perfomance figures quoted don't look that great.
• How much gearbox oil Fiesta MK3 20 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  Could someone please let me know how much gearbox oil I should fill my gearbox which I have just put in as a replacement for my knackered old one (Ford Fiesta XR2i 1991 Hreg). It was sitting in my garage for about 3 months and was completely dry of oil, when the car was back on the car I filled it with 1 litre of transmission oil but am wondering is this enough?
• Why buy second hand. 11 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  I was one of the many that said I would never buy a brand new car. However, I've been back looking at Leon 1.9TDi Cupras and dealers want £14995 for 04 plates. Internet brokers are offering brand new UK cars for £14000 and looking on the cupranet site, others have achieved £14500 from dealers.
• Unrealistic Prices 8 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  Hi all, I was having a perusal of EBAY and happened across a 9 year old BMW M3. Now one thing - I love my BM's - Dad's mate has a new M3 and it is absolutely gorgeous...but I digress. The bidding is at £6,600. That seems awfully steep for a car with 130,000 miles on the clock.
• How not to sell a new car! 23 Aug 2004 (Forum)
  Went with son yeesterday to see about changing a one year old MG ZR, not a mark on it and tyres barely showing sign of any wear, for something a bit quicker....
• MOT criteria wrong? 9 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  I have seen some pretty grotty two-three year old cars and it's made me wonder whether the 3yo/1st MOT rule is correct. Most examples will have travelled around 30k miles in 3 years, some double or more. Equally, a lot of older cars will only have travelled a very few thousand miles since their last MOT.
• car stereo - no code 20 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  My brother is selling his sony minidisc head unit (about 4 years old) and I am quite tempted to buy it off him as it will only cost me a couple of pints. The...
• Mazda 323 Steering hiss. Any ideas? 17 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  The power steering on my 2 year old Mazda 323 hisses once the car is warmed through and can be heard easily in the cabin. The noise occurs when turing the steering wheel a couple of degrees to the left - not even as far as full lock.
• What IS average mileage? 12 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  I'm looking at replacing my wonderful old Corolla, it's an 1988 E reg and has less than 118,000 genuine miles on the clock, so many car adverts say low/average mileage, and an N reg I found seemed to imply that 80k was low mileage? I realise that I've been spoilt but is there a guide anywhere as to what is a realistic mileage?
• Devils advocate, fuel cell cars 8 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  When we eventually all drive around with a fuel cell, what are the risks of explosion? Hydrogen is I remember from a botched chemistry experiment very...
• japanese parts 7 May 2003 (Forum)
  Having popped into the local branch of german and swedish to get a couple of bits for me, the old man was sufficiently impressed with them that he asked me if I know any similar suppliers of parts for japanese cars - nissan especially. Of course I don't know any as I don't drive a jap car. But I know a man/backroom that might.
• HJ and VW advice 30 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  In a recent DT article,there was a chap asking about purchasing a 60,000 mile, 18 month old company car. HJ said it should be OK providing all servicing is carried out. However he stated that VW group cars should be avoided. Why? I'm a bit puzzled as he usually sings the praises of VWs. Also, without wishing to be a nuisance, I would like to ask HJ about the markets attitude towards the MGZT.
• Twenty million tyres 17 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  I read somewhere that 20 million tyres are scrapped each year in the UK. They are a problem. Would it be a good idea to thread (as it were) 10 or so old tyres onto all the lamp posts on our streets and roads especially where they are in dangerous positions for cars which leave the road ? I ask because my lad has just come within a whisker of having his leg amputated after the driver wrapped a car round a post in the centre of a dual carriageway on the exit of a roundabout.