Showing results in  Forum [Show all channels]

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Tinted window glass - a warning 14 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  Briefly, a chap was stopped by the police and 2 \'government inspectors\' who proceeded to check how much light was getting through the windows of his Chrysler Voyager. The test showed not enough so he was ordered to remove his car from the road within the hour. Fortunately for him National Breakdown agreed to take the car, him, his wife and 4 children back home to Reading from Manchester. For more details see this link: http://www.getreading.co.uk/pfriendly.asp?
• Horror expenses !!! 27 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  Some of these huge costs relate to \'consumable\' items or parts that tend to require periodic renewal within the life of the car yet their costs are astronomic. Wouldn\'t it be a good idea therefore for all those BackRoomers who\'ve had a major shock in this manner to post details of just how much these parts have cost so that it would be possible to compile a listing of horror costs for various cars and add these costs to the CBC breakdown.
• Best Small 4 x 4 28 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  I was dreaming about the Freelander, but then saw some press ads WRT the Suzuki Grand Vitara at about £14,000 (5 dr) about £2,000 cheaper than what seemed to be the same spec Freelander. I read up on this on HJs Car by Car breakdown and I was disappointed. Friends say go for the CR-V or RAV 4. I see that Ford now do a new Terrano (Nissan built?) Just when I thought that I could not possibly be faced with more choice I am confronted by the Kia version (they boast that their Focused sized car is half the price of the Focus).
• 156 JTD. Am I mad? 4 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  I know Alfa haven't had the best reputation, but I've also heard that the JTD ain't a bad lump and this car is dripping with equipment. Should I be sectioned? Am I doomed to buy this car and live with it's "features" (aka breakdowns) whilst admiring its gorgeous lines? Should HJ take a large plank of wood and batter me until I accept the futility of this line of thinking and buy a Mundano or a Forgettable Focus?
• Vauxhall Crossland X - Car Broken Down - Advise Needed. 2 Sep 2023 (Forum)
  I don't like to think my daughter is out in a car that could be faulty. It look like it will be still in the garage till next week so we'll try for a courtesy car. Thanks for listening, John
• Car has vanished into thin air! 29 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  I find it hard to believe the car has been stolen (who would nick a 13 year 405? with a knackered engine?) and I'm worried that there's been some sort of admin error and the car is sitting in a yard racking up a massive storage charge.
• Reliable and fun to drive for £4k? 23 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  Having looked in HJ's car by car breakdown and at the Parkers guide my shortlist is Corolla, Civic, Almera. Any views on these or alternatives that I should consider? At what sort of mileage are these starting to get tired?
• Lexus LS430 - Driving to Europe in an old large engine Lexus 4.3 24 Aug 2018 (Forum)
  So on a last minute impulse I have just booked a ferry trip to France in my 2002 Lexus LS 4.3 litre an old beast which hasn’t been in use for a while now . Now I have just realised that there may be some additional issues with driving a large engine car. Apart from getting the warning triangle, breathalysers, spare bulbs and high visibility jacket... Would there be anything else that is required? Or any precautions? Or any areas to avoid? Running through a last minute checklist as below MOT- Yes Recent service -Yes Insurance-Yes Breakdown cover-Yes Lights -working Any areas I should avoid.
• Ford Fiesta Saloon ..M Reg - '94 M Reg Fiesta 1300 pushrod engine-cut out prob 31 Dec 2016 (Forum)
  Called the Breakdown, they didnt look at it at all !! Just said we will take it to your home .. Next day I went out with box of tools to find the problem .. It started first go without cutting out and had it running for about 15mins ..
• HJ Real Insurance Initiative 21 Sep 2013 (Forum)
    As with the "real mpg" initiative, I think there's a very subjective feel to it, as (similar to the mpg one not including driving style and the type of driving you do [town, motorways, etc], which can often account for a large variation in mpg on cars) it does not include the following:- Whether you use the vehicle for business purposes (either travelling to meetings, etc, or [more importantly] as a tradeperson [which supposedly bumps up the premium A LOT more]); What your excesses (both compulsary and voluntary) are - this obviously can make a huge difference to the headline price, which at the moment is the only one the survey goes by; Any "add-ons" to the policy, such as medical, legal and breakdown cover, which people might forget to remove (if they are given what they are on the policy document); Whether payment is one annual charge or in installments, which can increase the cost by more than 10% if memory serves.
• Trade in Golf for a Jazz? 15 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  I'm basically waiting for the next breakdown. I bought it for £5500 in Jan 06 and it's probably worth £3500 to £4000 now. Typical driving is 16 miles a day (commuting), short trips into town and the occasional long motorway journey. I typically get around 38mpg on my commute.
• Ford Focus 2000 TDDI - Ford Focus starting problems 1 Jun 2011 (Forum)
  So a trip on a breakdown truck to a local garage, where it is at present. The truck driver decided to "bump start" the car and it burst into life as if nothing was wrong!. All the garage mechanic has done at present is test the battery that's OK, the immobiliser light appears to be functioning as it always has.
• Golf 160 GT - Lease Company - rights and wrongs 5 Apr 2011 (Forum)
  Hi, My lease car has broken down on three separate occassions now. The net result is that it has been off the road for a total of 42 days and it is not yet 2 years old. For two of the breakdowns I phoned the emergency assistance number on the lease card that they sent me.
• Volkswagen Touran MPV (2003 - ) - 05 1.9tdi out of warranty major repair bill 10 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  I have a touran 1.9 tdi (105 bhp) 57k miles with full VW dealer service history on the longlife service program. It suffered a breakdown 2 months out of warranty and it has taken almost two weeks for the dealer to come to some kind of proposal to pay for the repairs needed. The car lost power while accelerating around 50 mph and a cloud a black smoke bellowed out the back and all kinds of lights lit up on the dash, we stopped the car asap.
• SEAT problems 11 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  After excellent response from the AA under the SEAT assistance scheme, I was also disappointed to find from the dealer the car was towed to that this breakdown is not treated as a priority, and they told me on Monday that they "wouldn't be able to look at it until Friday" (despite it being a fairly quick job). My AA-provided hire car had to go back on Monday, so I faced being without a car for most of the week (in the event, the dealer fixed it on Tuesday - they "had a cancellation").
• Ford Focus - Misfuel - Diesel in Petrol Car ( 9 May 2016 (Forum)
  Then eventually after few miles, car breakdown and the mechnic came from the same company and checked and said it was fuel misfire. Then after 20 minuts he relaized it was Petrol car. I was taken by big surprise as the branch Manager who gave told it was Diesel car.
• Ford Fiesta - Immobilizer fault 23 Aug 2021 (Forum)
  Unfortunately I allowed a chap to try and give me a jump,.when he did, the cables started to spark and smoke heavily, and the rubber on the able melted, and obviously my car didn't start. I called out breakdown company who told me it was an imobiliser fault and he recommended taking it to a Ford garage.   Are there any alternatives to this?  I've been reading articles about bypassing or just resting the imobiliser, which I would be willing to do rather than spend money I don't need to at a garage Because it's Sunday I haven't taken it to a garage yet anyway.
• Vauxhall Meriva - Radiator hose popped off 9 Aug 2010 (Forum)
    After putting water in the rad' the car still didn't start, so I am wondering if by this hose popping off like it did has caused further damage? i.e. cam belt? I shall be incontact with the garage today to see what has happened and why.
• Nissan Bluebird (1986 - 1990) - 1990 1.8 Head gasket blown 13 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  Once the RAC started the engine, tons of white smoke was being emitted from the exhaust, so I think their diagnosis is the right one. Knowing the good history and general good condition of the car, it might make more sense to repair it than spend the repair money on an unknown replacement car. So my question is this. Is there anything else that will likely need replacing (thermostat etc), and how big and time consuming a job is this on a Bluebird?
• Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 99 1.6 faulty relay?? 1 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  The clicking continued and then stopped and now only come on when either the door is left open or it is trying to be started, there is also an odd smell on the inside of the car, almost like a burning. Now i called my breakdown company and the chap came out had a look at it for about 10 seconds, said it looked like a problem with a relay and told me to take it a garage. Thats fine, however im really not very technical when it comes to cars and was wondering if anyone could give me any more information or if anyone has had the same problem and how it was fixed/price etc?