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• Unrequested work at garage 21 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  When I went to collect it the owner, its a small independent place in a village, had gone home. However, he had left the MOT and invoice with the pump attendant. Turns out one of the the brake drums had siezed and needed to be released (or something like that) Cost was an extra 30 quid. I was most unhappy about this as I had specifically asked him to call if there was a problem. Now, the garage do not take credit or debit cards and I did not have a cheque book.
• fabia engine warning - oil overfill 5 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  Had my Fabia 1.4 16v in last wednesday for an annual service, mot, brake fluid change at skoda dealer. £350. Used the car little during the week, a couple of miles and this tues went up the road 130 miles or so. A day later a little into the return journey the amber engine warning light came on so I pulled into the services not knowing what it meant.
• The deep joy of driving in France! 12 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  Light traffic, no fist shaking, no glaring looks, Then....horror of horrors, Dover, M20 - London bound. Jockeying for position, boxing and coxing, ducking, diving, brake, accelerate, honking and hooting, rude onbnoxious drivers everywhere, flags of St George a flutter. Wished I was heading back to France instead of coming back from my hols. By the way....not a single flag to be seen there on any vehicle or any house.
• car probs 13 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  hi ive a motability car (cmax)...weve had nothing but trouble with it since december 2004.. its been ok for the past 4 months just after its 1st service..now it makes a nasty grinding noise from the back brakes when put into reverse! window wiper keeps catching the screen and makes a funny sound..driver window wont go up or down when we want it to.weve developed a vibration when it goes to 1500 rpm..or go above 60...mph.i dont know what to do now as i dont want to sound like a moaner when i tell ford its now got these probs...i really cant trust the car..as i keep having a "power steering failure" come up on the computer..and other warnings...but ive had this problem before and it took them(ford) 4 weeks to do diagnostic checks to tell me that a meter had gone wrong...i dont know whether to get a second opinion??
• my tappets are noisy! 1989 Nissan Micra 8 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  Helo everyone,i was hoping i can get some advice....... im new to the internet and having trouble finding a site that might list the valve clearances for my 1989 1.0 gsx nissan micra (87000 miles one previous owner no history) its not worth buying a haynes manual because its the only job i have to do that requires spec.Besides,the car was only £20, but i expect it to be a reliable a run-around seeing as it went straight through the mot after being stood still for a year outside(i only serviced the brakes before i took it down mot station) Its in real good condition other than the clearances needing doing.Im not expecting much power out of it but i do need to do this so can anyone tell me where/if i might find the spec?
• MOT Tests 13 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  I knew it was going to fail because they like to fleece me.This time it was the back brakes.So I said I would take away the car to get it sorted, but they told me under the new law if I took it away I would have to pay another £44.15 for a full re-test. So £80.00 later for back brake discs which were done at the garage in question and £44.15 for MOT, I'm broke. I don't understand why we Brits are letting the govt take us for a ride like this. Surely a new car doesn't need an MOT for at least 4 - 5 years and a car under 10 years should only have an MOT done every 2 years.
• Sharan TDi stutters 6 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  Occasionally, the problem will also surface when cruising at low to medium revs in fourth. (The stutter itself feels like a very short but sharp dab on the brakes). When this problem was in its infancy I took it to a vw mechanic who ran a diagnostic check and found nothing wrong. He did say however, that from my description of the problem that it may have something to do with the air filter regulator/controller (may have the exact name wrong) but couldn't be sure without being present when the fault arose.
• Repair your own car - get insurance hike 19 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Insurance companies do things to absolve themselves of responsibility which suggests to me that vehicle defects and accidents due to them must be on the increase, hence the desire to avoid paying out. Could this be in part due to the increased wear and tear on braking/suspension components with worsening roads and use of humps? Of course it might entirely be due to lengthening servicing intervals so no-one looks at a car often enough so dangerous faults are being missed. teabelly
• Out of control Auto 7 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  He said he was forced into getting an auto because of ankle problems. He admitted that he had accidentally touched the throttle rather than the brake. (Okay easy mistake to make) My point is that there seems to be a misconception that driving an auto requires less skill than a manual and that if you can drive manual then naturally one can drive an auto without much difficulty.
• Danger of long service intervals 5 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  The Lesson to pass on to all motorists is that oil will only be good for 15,000 if there is enough of it left in the engine - ie you still have to check the oil evry 2-3000 miles as modern engines do use oil, in fact are designed to I believe. Another probelm with 15,000 mile service intervals is that Disc brakes can needed servicing much earlier e.g if rears are sticking like on many cars or pads are worn Charles Fox South Croydon
• Ford Focus - DIY pad change - uh oh! 21 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Secondly, can somebody run through what to do please? I don't mind getting my hands dirty and I could have a good stab at it but with it being brakes, I want to get it right! Lastly, what pads should I get and where from? I don't want cheapo ones and if the more expensive ones mean better stopping power then so be it. Would going to Ford be the best option or are there better places to buy better pads?
• Service History 12 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  However they never went back to the dealership for servicing and the service books remained unstamped. He did his own servicing - oil changes, brake pads, contact breakers, plugs etc etc. Parts all bought from the local motor factors (no Halfords in those days). Only jobs like decokes and new clutches were farmed out. Even when I got my first car in the late 80s (a 7 year old Capri) it had no paperwork other than the current MOT and reg document.
• Nissan Almera 1.5 SE W Reg 23,848 Miles 27 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  I had an expensive experience yesterday had my car in for full service and mot and it failed on the o/s/r brake caliper had seized not due to corrosion . The garage i used advised it was down to a component failure inside ! They were quite amazed as they seem to think a part like this should have lasted a lot longer .
• Ive Gone And Brought the E320!!! 19 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  A fully loaded Mercedes Benz E320 AvantGarde in Black, with nappa black leather ( soft as a babes bum), satnav, panaoramic roof with solar panels to run the a/c or heating when youre not in it, Bose auto change cd and 12 speakers, parktronic back and front, sports set up, massaging seats, auto boot opener, each seat with its own air con control (upgraded)auto boot opener and closer, rear window blind, full telephone kit, radar on the cruise control that applies the brakes when too close to the car in front!!! This car is fantastic, 6 months old ex demo with 7k on the clock, I cant wait to pick it up and Im as excited as hell. I know the extras are gonna hit the residual but you know what....
• Some advice please 17 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  On Monday my mother was using the Proton, and whist driving it, the car cut out on her (The same fault or similar problem as the pug's 207s) the total loss of engine power - so no brakes, etc... RAC has said that the car is now unfit and unsafe to drive, so it has been towed to another Proton Dealer in Notts this time to find the fault. HQ has been informed and trying to locate the fault.
• Lane Hogging on the M25 24 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  If you try to follow the Police advice and move into the left lane when it is clear ahead you rapidly come up behind a truck or other slow mover and then other drivers in the middle lane wont let you back out! Most of the time you end up braking and using far more fuel. I have tried staying in the middle lane but then you end up undertaking slower traffic in the fast lane. I think we should use the US system Find a lane and stick to it undertaking is legal and the whole system just works better!
• Dangerous is the new safe 31 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  Up to now, haven't all efforts on traffic planning been directed towards making the roads safer and easier for all to use? Will this new thinking spread to car design? Remove seatbelts and airbags, reduce braking efficiency by 50% and design steering mechanisms with an inbuilt wandering tendency and you have a more dangerous car. Naturally drivers will drive these death traps more cautiously, leading to fewer accidents!
• A/T tyres - Toyota Rav4 24 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  The current tyres are Bridgestone Dueler H/T 235/60/R16 100H, these do not grip well on these tracks (gravel, grass, wet etc)and slide even under braking at low speed (13k miles on the clock and plenty of tread left) I cannot find any A/T tyres in 235/60 so is it possible to fit 235/70/R 16 with a different speed rating? Would I need new rims, would it affect the performance on road i.e. make the car unstable, would it cause any other problems?
• galaxy no go 8 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  member of my family finally got round to getting rid of his galaxy tdi. its a 51 late, 64k, full service history, new engine mounts, clutch and brakes and tyres - the works. its the 1.9 hdi 90 lx - still has air con and elec windows. he even had side airbag option put on to it. placed it in the auto trader. anyhow, long story short - he told me today, he has only had 1 offer of someone who rang up and said 9 k without seeing it.
• Tailgating - to be bullied or not? 24 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  He was talking on his phone too, and even worse, had a little kid in the front seat with no seatbelt on. Pulling over to let him in would mean standing on the brakes to slow down enough to fit into a gap, and he was so close I really didn't think he'd be able to slow down in time. So I carried on, and eventuallly he undertook me, frightening the pants off a lorry driver, who almost went off the road.