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• Mondeo Automatic - 2.0 or 2.5 9 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  Considering getting a Mondeo II for my next car. I am downsizing from a Volvo S80 - see my other post regarding theft and recovery of this car! Anyway, come September I am handing it back to the HP company, having achieved 50% of the payments.
• Premature belt failure 4 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  The car is out of warranty now, although does have an independent warranty that may contribute part of the replacement cost. One bonus question guys - How much can I expect to shell out for this work assuming it is a belt replacement only with no engine damage?
• VW electric windows 24 Dec 2002 (Forum)
  I tried to shut it again several times using the switches on both doors, and by manually pushing, but it wouldn't have it (just what you want in tesco's car park with a car full of christmas presents) 20 minutes later,pressed the switch and it shut (phew !) (1) will someone tell me its a known problem and is solved by replacing fuse 3 with a champion NG9Y or adding redex to the washer bottle, because I really don't want to get into taking the door trim off.
• Exploding Batteries 7 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  I called the RAC and 40 mins later they were out , and replaced the battery for me...he also flushed out where the battery had been with water. RAC man said that he's seen this in about 1 in 300 cars and its usually the lead plates connecting and igniting the gas that causes it - any one else had experience of this? As far as I can tell the old battery was the original one that came with the car when new.
• Becker Mexico (2330) radio question ? 29 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  Hello All , I wish to update my old radio to a quality RDS one. The Becker radios always get a good review , have a simple intuitive layout and do not have the Las Vegas style flashing lights that most car radios now have. However they are very expensive : £500 upwards.
• Battery mystery 23 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  I attacked it with a multimeter and found the battery was only delivering around 8.5 volts when operating the starter. It was nearly three years old, and the car had been in storage for a lot of that time, so I wasted no time replacing it. I also checked the battery and earth leads and cleaned up the connections. The replacement battery delivered 10.5 volts when operating the starter, which is fine from what I have read, but the cranking speed didn't seem a lot better, even after I had charged the battery in case it had lost charge while sitting in the shop.
• Toyota Carina Oxygen Sensor Problem? 30 Jun 2002 (Forum)
  2) If the oxygen sensor is indeed faulty, what sort of money am I looking at for a replacement, including both the part and the labour? Is it economically viable on an 11 year old car? I’d much rather fix it and keep the car but I have to consider if I’m throwing good money after bad. 3) Is it something only a Toyota main dealer should do? I’ve got no problem in principle about using the main dealer but it’s much more convenient and cheaper at the independent garage I use.
• Steel Wheel Blues 12 Jul 2001 (Forum)
  Do they think we are amused when pulling up at traffic lights to see yet another trim detach itself and roll gently across the junction, to be crushed to a pulp under the wheels of the passing traffic, making one's gleaming nearly new car instantly look like a ten year old banger? Please don't suggest cable ties, it's bad enough getting a puncture on a wet night without having to search for something to cut the bloody things Maybe there is a reason, but I can't think of it.
• Citreon AX 1.5 Diesel 1 Jan 2001 (Forum)
  I have a 5 yr old (N) AX 1.5 diesel with 64000 miles on the clock. It's had regular servicing and recently new pre-heater plugs and a new cam belt. I want to keep this car for 200,000 miles if I can (as it's cheap, does amazing MPG and I'm now doing about 25000 miles each year), but this winter it's been dreadful to start.
• Nissan Note - 16000 miles with Nissan Note 1.4 Petrol 3 Sep 2012 (Forum)
  Avant's report on his Skoda has prompted me to do the same for our Note, now 3 years old.  To explain the relatively low mileage it is almost always used for 60 mile trips, only once or twice a week, plus weekends away, rarely any trips less than 20 miles.  We have kept a tatty old Vauxhall for local journeys around the local mud and muck filled lanes.
• Xantia vibration at speed 19 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  ve had the wheels rebalanced, and checked the spheres, all four corners have a nice give in them. Rear 3 spheres replaced in feb this year, and the front 2 in august 05. I also have an old xantia (the hydraulics were leaking gently for years and I just topped her up with lhm here and there, so eventually they broke badly) however, the car itself is fine, and I have new tyres on her and new spheres..
• ASTRA head gasket 17 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  Any help would be greatly appreciated. Paul PS the head gasket was changed before under warranty at 2 yrs old
• Vauxhall Corsa E - Cleaning the throttle body 8 Feb 2025 (Forum)
  We have a 2015 Corsa E with the 90bhp 1.4 petrol engine.  Tedious car but it costs us peanuts to run, and it has heated seats & steering wheel which seem to be very expensive extras on any new car these days. The car has 75,000 miles up and was running OK, apart from an irritating fluffiness / slight stumble just off idle rpm.
• Citroen C3 Aircross - Hire Car 22 Apr 2023 (Forum)
  Just had one of these as a hire car for few days. The seats are squishy and the engine is pretty good.  The SatNav works and infotainment in general is OK, if a little hard to navigate.  We had four adults sat in it in comfort and five could fit.
• Audi Q5 - Buying an SUV - help! 23 May 2022 (Forum)
    I'd like to do what we did with the CH-R, which was to buy it 'nearly new' (up to a year and a half old sounds about right) and pay the bulk of it off up front.  Given how similar the cars I'm interested in are, I'd love any advice on where people feel the best value would be found currently?  Specifically, I'm wondering if any of these models are slightly less fashionable and thus depreciate a little quicker (giving me more value at point of purchase - it'll probably be our family car for a good few years).
• Vauxhall Antara - Bought used car without warranty - Advice please 5 Aug 2020 (Forum)
  I bought it without warranty, as it was a part-ex and unfortunately this particular dealership has a policy of no test drives, due to the current Covid-19 situation. The car has a full Vauxha service history and a great MOT history, as well as appearing physically looked after. Unfortunately, on the drive home I noticed excessive vibration in the car. After a bit of googling, I found that the dual mass flywheel is a common issue and creates this exact problem.
• SUV or MPV - Cheap car/van, SUV or MPV 17 May 2019 (Forum)
  Hi, I need a new cheap car/van. I work for myself in art and antiques and currently run a Renault Grand Espace It’s great to use as a van, but also a great family car at weekends. Only problem has been removing, then storing, the putting the VERY heavy rear seats back in again, all the time.
• Ford Mondeo Mk4 - European Breakdown Cover - General France Driving 21 Apr 2018 (Forum)
  Hello fellow back roomers, I'm taking the Mrs and Kids to Franch at the end of May, overnight Car Ferry to Le Havre, then staying in a place Legronne around Normandy. I'm going to be doing two long drives in the week to Disney land Paris (3.5 hours) each way (I know!!). So, the Mondeo is just approaching 10 years old, Full Service History and will be serviced the week before I go.
• BHP Doesn't mean much 16 Mar 2018 (Forum)
  Being of a certain age, I look at (for example) a Fiesta with 100 or 125 bhp. That's the sort of power to weight ratio of a sports car but now seems to be the norm. When I first started as an old bill 40 years ago we had Escort 1100s as panda cars. (?60 something bhp?). Adequate when driven properly. 2001 I bought a Citroen Xsara 1.4, 75 bhp on a deal and used it for work (blues and twos fitted).
• Underbody rustproofing or sealing 8 Feb 2018 (Forum)
    I always thought this was something these days which only affected cars of over about 15 years old.  So I'm thinking of trying to do some rustproofing of key areas so I don't get future problems.  I have seen hammerite with waxoyl although somebody who was s mechanic in the 80s said they used to use a sealer however water would seep underneath and rust and bubble and make it worse.