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  Power steering failure on Vauxhall Meriva 2 Feb 2016 (Ask HJ)
  The power steering on my 2004 Vauxhall Meriva has failed. My local garage has examined the car and told me a new steering column is needed. Is this correct?...
• Ford Focus - Seeking tyre recommendations please! 18 May 2011 (Forum)
    Which of the Continentals would you buy, if any, or what else do you suggest?  Plus is it worth buying wheel alignment?    Also, I was going to order them from blackcircles.com, but please let me know if you have any other recommendations!  Many thanks in advance for your advice.
• Focus TDCi - New set of alloys at 35K - road humps to blame? 17 Jun 2010 (Forum)
  After a recent tyre change I'd noticed a lot of vibration from the steering. Two visits to the tyre place failed to solve the problem, which turned out to be not wheel alignment but damaged alloys - there were a total of about a dozen dings and flat spots . Three of the four have been replaced by the leasing company and the Ford main dealer told me this kind of damage is all too common, now that speed humps are so "popular" all over Spain, just like in the UK.
• Servicing: mileage or time? 26 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Is the sensible thing to do, the obvious one - to have it serviced again 12,000 miles after the last time? Or should I try to re-align it with the 12,000-mile intervals buyers may look for when I sell it? If it makes a difference, the extra miles are mostly gentle motorway driving - so gentle that I'm now getting 49mpg instead of the previous average of 42 - and the car is running on Mobil One (supplied at sky-high Volvo dealer rates).
• Front lower arm replacement 9 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  The tyre bod who checked the tracking and steering couldnt believe I had got away without much damage when he checked the alignment. In truth I did not get away with it but neither he nor all his colleagues spotted it. I am of course talking about the suspension arm, which they said seemed fine. Finally (lacking all trust in anyone these days but knowing nothing myself I had a look and I can easily see it is twisted, god knows how they didnt.
• Front lower arm replacement 6 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  The tyre bod who checked the tracking and steering couldnt believe I had got away without much damage when he checked the alignment. In truth I did not get away with it but neither he nor all his colleagues spotted it. I am of course talking about the suspension arm, which they said seemed fine. Finally (lacking all trust in anyone these days but knowing nothing myself I had a look and I can easily see it is twisted, god knows how they didnt.
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  What should I look out for when buying a used car? 21 Aug 2018 (Ask HJ)
  How much should I pay for 2001 Renault Clio? What should I look out for?
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  Do I have to allow a garage three attempts to resolve a fault with my new car before instituting a rejection process? 8 Jan 2018 (Ask HJ)
  I purchased a pre-reg Mazda MX-5 2.0-litre from a dealership with 170 miles on it in the summer of 2017. The handling got progressively worse and I took...
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  Is my Volkswagen Scirocco suffering from rear tyre "stepping"? 14 Jul 2012 (Ask HJ)
  I have a Volkswagen Scirocco 2.0 TSI and a friend has a 2.0 TDI, and we have both experienced the same problem. It appears that the rear tyres can develop...
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  Tyred out 24 Jul 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I own a 2003 Ford Mondeo Ghia Estate 2.0 TDCi (130). The car has run very well since I acquired it when 12 months old. Last year I hit a pothole that resulted...
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  Bling low, sweet chariot 27 Feb 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I bought my BMW E93 330d MSport cabrio new on 25/06/2007 from Almondbury BMW Huddersfield With 19” wheels. After 5,000 miles the rear tyres badly scrubbed...
• Any - Dart Charge - Reduced Discount! 16 Aug 2018 (Forum)
    After nine years of operating a 33% discount for cars, the Government has reviewed how fairly the benefits to account holders are spread across different vehicle types and have aligned the Class B rate more closely to Classes C and D.   The new discount rate of £2.00 for Class B vehicles still offers road users a 20% reduction whilst making for a more equitable rate between different vehicle classes.
• Avensis T27 1.8 Estate - Problem fitting new ball joints 22 Jun 2018 (Forum)
  Bought them and fitted them today...which went fine, only to find that when the car was lowered from the jack, the wheels were well out of alignment (pointing opposite ways). Struggled to find what had gone awry, until I eventually removed the ball joints and compared them closer with the ones removed, only to find there was a small difference.
• Jaguar XJ - Michelin Super Sport Vs PS3 and fitting error.... 16 Jan 2016 (Forum)
  I thought things a little odd, when they told me they couldn't fit the fronts, as they had ordered the wrong size, and that they would do the rears today, and could I go back on Monday to have the fronts fitted....no problems, I thought, we all make mistakes, and they offered to do a 4-wheel alignment for my trouble. However, I have just noticed that they have fitted Pilot Super Sports to the rear, and I assume that they will be fitting PS3s to the front. Is this a problem? I like to find a balance between wear and performance.
• Seat leon - Engine cutting out 26 Apr 2013 (Forum)
  They never changed the sensor as they said there was nothing wrong with it, it was actually out of alignment which caused the engine to cut out whilst driving. This is very scary and after several months of the car spending more time with them than with me they swopped it for another, same make, model and age.
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  Why are some car headlights so bright? 24 Mar 2012 (Ask HJ)
  Is it just me or have you and your correspondents noticed how bright some vehicle lights are? I think it may be time to revisit the motor vehicle construction...
• MOT Failures 27 Oct 2011 (Forum)
  Evening all,  My car had its MOT today and failed on tyre with damage to side wall (although when I got it changed for part worn the guy couldn't believe they would fail it for that!) and also for head light alignment.  As they hadn't called me, I went down to ask how they were getting on with the MOT (almost 3 hours after they had got the car at booked in time!) and they told me it had failed on the above items.
• Do garages check cars before selling them on?? 29 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  Anyway, off I went fell in love with the TT Convertible 225 (with every added extra) ? BUT found a few things which immediately caught my eye ? centre of steering wheel not aligned properly ?. Hazard button pushed right in and wouldn?t pop back out? tear in the loather of passenger side. I questioned it to which they confirmed it was fully hpi clear blah blah but they?d have it sent to their repair centre and I could pick it up once it had been looked into.
• Ford Mondeo II (1996 - 2000) - 01 1.8 New Clutch behaving badly...? 5 Apr 2009 (Forum)
  Does any of this ring any specific alarm bells for anyone? It leaves me wondering if something is ever so slightly off alignment and the intermittent knock is something like a shaft working it's way slightly out of place and then dropping back in. Of course, I know almost nothing about clutches, but I think on the MkII mondeo it's a full on engine and gearbox out job, so there's a lot to be potentially got wrong on the refit...?
• Budget - VED changes Volume 1. 14 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  providing a £15 or £20 discount for alternatively fuelled cars in 2009-10, and £10 in 2010-11; and aligning the alternative fuel and standard rates of VED in 2011. 165 posts in this one - now locked and called Volume 1.