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• Low mileage bmw compact - advice 15 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  It's now done 23k and is loosening up nicely! it was serviced by BMW before I bought it and due to it's age they changed the brake fluid, coolant, and plugs along with the oil. It has only had 2 oil services in it's life previously (I guess it was serviced on the "lights", and it has been used infrequently). It has a 4 spd auto box, should I be looking to change the fluid in this kind of transmission to prolong the life of the box, and what about the differential, would this benefit from change at this age or shall i leave it for a few more miles.
• Citroen BX Turbo Diesel. 21 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  Full history, always garaged, a couple a supermarket type dings but otherwise good, MOT to Jan 2004, tax June 2003, towbar fitted but only used a few times for a light boat. Boot will contain spares such as new discs/pads, brakes hoses and some other used items parts. Located in Bridgewater Somerset but owner is coming up to the Aylesbury Toyota dealer next Tuesday 4th March to collect their new Yaris. He will be in the BX that day and could sell it there and then to someone who would meet.
• "The Ultimate Driver's Machine"? 8 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  For those unfamiliar as you look down to the pedals, the clutch is exactly in line with the centre of the steering wheel and dead in the middle of your legs. The brake pedal is subsequently over to the right whilst the throttle... How it can possibly be comfortable driving this I don't know - for me to sit in the car with my feet on the pedals involved a very twisted (and painful) back position.
• Passat ESP System 26 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  I felt I was going slower and slower which was a bit alarming with the hill getting steeper all the time. The system packed in eventually -presumably it timed out to avoid overheating whichever brake was working. I tried switching the system off to see the effect , little difference except the car weaved a little bit. I abandoned the car eventually as the roads got so slippery I could not keep the car stationary on hills.
• Value for money? 7 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  You get: Extra, or substitute on Comfort:- rear parking sensors; 16" alloy wheels; leather wrapped gearknob, gaiter, parking brake lever and steering wheel; multi-function steering wheel; 6 CD autochanger; cruise control; front and rear sill covers; auto dimming rearview mirror. Extra, or substitute on Elegance:- 17" alloy wheels; part-leather upholstery; wood trim on centre console and gearknob; bi-Xenon headlamps with integrated pop-up washers; electric sunroof; heater front and rear seats; electrically adjustable front seats with three memory settings for seats and mirrors.
• Hit and Run follow up 8 Sep 2002 (Forum)
  Yesterday a 34 year old male was sentenced, as the driver involved in this incident, at Leeds Crown Court to 2 years imprisonment and banned for 10 years for: Causing Death by dangerous driving (of the four brakes on the car only one was working and that was impaired) Failing to stop after an accident. Failing to report an accident. No Insurance. Driving Licence irregularity. Apart from the emotional bang the hastard how do we stop such people from being on the road and is this a fair punishment?
• Correct fluid/oil types ?? 29 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  How important is it to stick to exactly the same make and/or type of brake fluid, coolant, engine oil, power steering fluid etc. etc. when topping up their levels ? My Volvo manual states for example that I should top up with their own coolant (type C - blue/green @ 50% water/50% coolant) but doesn't seem to give a specification for this that I could try to match elsewhere at less cost.
• Service intervals 17 Jul 2002 (Forum)
  I'm sure this must have been discussed before but came to my mind reading a post in another thread when DAve W mentioned difficulty in assessing potential brake pad wear with longer service intervals. I don't care what the manufacturers say, unless you do your 12K- 20K over 6 months or less, any car needs to be given the once over, if not a full service, at least twice a year and items like pad wear, condition of exhaust system, steering and suspension units et alia, should be reported on as a matter of course on those occasions.
• MOT failure points? Newbie query. 11 Jun 2002 (Forum)
  How badly corroded do brake disks have to be in order to fail the MOT? Is there somewhere on the net that has photos of what would fail and what would pass? I have just bought a car which was MOT\'d on Saturday and I have noticed that the rear driver\'s side disk has quote corroded, worse than the rear disk on the other side, and the outer edge has chunks missing out of it but not within the area swept by the pads.
• the unbreakable car 5 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  Every part tested to destruction far beyond any road user could emulate. And then we hear of manufacturers recalls on new models with such items as wheel bearings, brake disks, handbrake cables etc etc which have built in design faults. And yet a component such as a wheel bearing which had been perfected decades ago to the extent that on some models they simply never failed during the life of the vehicle.
• ABS Awareness! 23 Nov 2001 (Forum)
  Three teachers (ladies) talking about ABS; they were aware that their car(s) were fitted with ABS, but one individual, describing what happened when she braked in the prevailing conditions, 'the pedal started banging and thumping so I took my foot off it straight away!' How many drivers (off both sexes) are not aware of how ABS manifests itself? Also how the pedal effects can vary from car to car, and what you should do, and not do.
• Main Dealer Rip Off 3 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  I had a sticking piston on a dual piston front brake. I booked it in to a Toyota main dealer to have the piston freed off and new pads. i was told that they had tried to free it but failed, and I needed a new caliper £358 + VAT, (which was not in stock) new discs £240 + VAT the pair, and new front pads £68 + VAT Plus labour.
• calculating tyre sizes 20 Dec 2000 (Forum)
  I need to know this so that I can calculate the speed that I can get on the road. Can anyone help, or do I need to measure actual tyres? (the car will be running disk brakes, front roll bar, and spax adjustable gas shockers to cope with the increase in power)
• The complete driver. Why worry? 27 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  When one is particularly annoyed with the driver of a car ahead, one may use the headlights to gently cook the driver and occupants. For this reason, it is good to set the headlamp aim rather high. The brakes Modern cars have immensely powerful brakes and anti-lock systems. It is impossible to brake too hard. Much fun may be enjoyed by giving braking tests to following vehicles. Motorcycles are particularly good sport.
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  Can I reject a car that does not have a full service history as advertised? 1 Nov 2023 (Ask HJ)
  I have recently purchased a car from a National Car Dealership under the distance online regulations. The car was delivered last week just before I was...
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  Do I buy my own ‘black box’ or does the insurance company supply it? 28 May 2021 (Ask HJ)
  What is black box insurance? Do I buy my own ‘black box’ or does the insurance company supply it?
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  Why are some dealers dishonest when recommending the replacement of parts on my BMW X5? 4 Jul 2012 (Ask HJ)
  I wonder whether the 18-month-old Polo that needed new front discs and pads after 8500 miles really needed them? In my experience the worst people for...
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  Drive shafted 17 Apr 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I am appalled by some of the tales of dodgy behaviour by dealers. Here's one to add to the list. In February 2009 I bought a used 05 VW Passat 2-litre...
• GS 1200 brief road test 28 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  With a shortish inside leg similar to my 28" he's had the seat lowered, but even so I was on absolute tiptoes when stationary with both feet down. Start up, and the characteristinc BMW flat twin wobble mildly oscillates the bike. Tweak in the brake lever and the servo pump spins up to speed; yes servo assisted brakes, and I loved them though thankfully didn't have reason to sample the ABS. Light (one finger) but with stacks of feedback and feel.
• Kia Ceed 3 - Dual Clutch Transmission review 22 Nov 2017 (Forum)
  More so, car should be placed in N for all stops including stoppage at traffic lights on flat ground. Leaving the car in D and then using parking brake is not advised in the handbook (if you do so, the car will possibly move it to N from D internally as handbook says you must do D-N-D routine to move the car again if you apply parking brake while in D).