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• My worst motoring moment 16 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  I realise that, to some people, this will seem pretty trivial, but it still sometimes comes back to haunt me after several decades:- Driving down what was then a nsl country lane at around 35-40mph, I rounded a sweeping left-hand bend and spotted a family of four walking on the raised grass bank on my offside. What I could not see was their lovely old spaniel exploring the ditch amongst the long grass on the nearside. From the way he emerged I would guess someone instinctively called him without thinking, but it gave me no chance to avoid him - I simply managed to miss him with my wheels and he went under the centre of the car.
• Golf Mk3 cuts out on hot restarts 26 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  Apparently the engine management is too old to have detailed fault code diagnostics (is that true?), but obviously still has several sensors that could be defective and stop the engine management from generating spark signals for hot starts.
• Pleasure or danger ? 13 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  Whilst I don't drive just for pleasure there have been occasions when on a lovely day and an clear/open road I've truly enjoyed driving. I am conscious, however, that some people seem to derive great pleasure from pushing their cars to the absolute limit whether it be in terms of pure speed, handling or whatever. What is the pleasure in this? Is it just the knowledge that they have the skill to handle their cars properly in any legal circumstances or is their pleasure derived from the 'buzz' they obtain when they're right on the limit ?
• subaru legacy exhaust 8 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  I have been quoted a staggering £440 just for the front part + cat (fitted) from a usually reliable & reasonable exhaust & tyre place. I realise the system is 10 years old and is probably due for replacement but the whole thing is stacking up to about £1000!!!It was my understanding when cats first came in, they were supposed to last the lifetime of the car and it was only the connecting pipes & silencers that needed to be replaced - or is this just wishful thinking?
• I'm sorry to have to say this but... 23 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  Just been chatting to my neighbour - a retired and fairly well-to-do company director who's just replaced his ageing Rover 416gti with a new Rover 45. Knowing how fastidious he is about his cars I thought I'd have a quick look and I'm sorry to have to say this but I was rather disappointed. The car is a very well specified model (leather, climate control, full electrics etc.) but after even a cursory 'inspection' it was evident that the attention to detail was lacking.
• Spares pricing. 19 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  Amazon car parts anyone? And what about the car makers? If ??? can knock out these brake calipers (for example) at £52 how much should the dealer reasonably charge... 50% more? ...100% more? ...but 200% more...come on guys.
• Golf mk3 rear axle bushes 1 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  I have read a description of the work in a couple of manuals and feel that I could manage it. The Haynes manual says to get a VW dealership to press the old bushes out and the new ones in. I was thinking about buying a hydraulic puller for this part of the job (on test in the latest edition of Car Mechanics magazine). Is it likely that this will do the trick?
• Should she really be driving ? 7 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  I don't want to sound ageist and realise that there are other, far more serious, problems on our roads but should the rules on driving beyond a certain age be changed and tightened up. There seem to be hoardes of old folks who can't see past their steering wheels in cars round here.
• A Big Hurrah for the Backroom 3 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  But.......If this is a common problem, what is the cause behind it? It may be straightforward to fix, but the idea of throwing plugs and leads at the car on a regular basis is unappealing. And does anybody have personal experience with any plugs these Zetecs like - I removed a set of Champion (Eon 4?) and replaced them with the old NGK ones that were lying around.
• Top tip 21 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  It was a flat bit of road (so I couldn't push start it myself), nobody else around and the engine wouldn't turn over because the battery, which probably was not in its prime of life, had been flattened. I fitted another belt I had floating around in the back, jacked up a rear wheel, put the car in gear and placed my toolbox on the accelerator (as you need to give it a half throttle to start it when it is hot). I then wound an old length of seatbelt-type webbing I had as a tow strap round the circumference of the tyre and pulled it like a lawnmower, being VERY careful not to pull the whole car off the jack.
• Servicing BMW 318i 30 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  I'm hopefully picking up a replacement car for my wife's aging Merc next week, and would very much appreciate advice re immediate servicing needs. Car: BMW 318i SE Touring, August 1998 S reg, 134,000 miles. 1 owner, full BMWSH. Last service at 122,000 miles. 1.
• Comfortable midi-MPVs 3 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  Anyone offer advice on a comfortable midi-MPV? I need to get a car with three proper seats in the back (three point seatbelts) and more head / legroom. I'm 6'3" and am finding that since testing some of the midi-MPVs, I feel like I'm sat on the floor, squashing my back when I sit in a normal car.
• My wonderful Xantia - - 29 Jul 2002 (Forum)
  - - - will have to be replaced one day. It is seven and a half years old,has done 64000,has had its cambelt changed and 6 new spheres,had new glowplugs a while back unnecessarily when a main dealer failed to cure bad starting, has 2 brand new tyres on the front,rides perfectly,has no rattles,no rust (but paint is flaking off the bonnet because of a lousy repair done by my insurers when a deer impaled itself on the front)and I would start it up in the next 5 minutes and drive it to the south of Spain with no worries at all and have in fact done this 3 times in the last 6 months.Fantastic car.
• Seized sump nut. 6 Dec 2001 (Forum)
  I thought I had found something close to it today.........But, A major high street tyre specialist are offering oil and filter change for £10 with Duckhams oil or £15 with semi synthetic. Any car up to 2:3L. My 10 year old Volvo 360 (two litre B200K non injection) fitted the bill. The outlet in Warrington were very obliging, ordering in a filter as they didn't have one in stock and today I went along for the job.
• Fuel Injector Cleaner update 5 Dec 2001 (Forum)
  For anyone with a petrol car that is a few years old the following might be of interest: 1.8i Cavalier 1993 MY [with catalyser] Week ending 04/11 = 35.8 mpg over 411 miles Week ending 11/11 = 36.1 mpg over 386 miles [Average = 35.95 mpg] After using STP Fuel Injector cleaner in two-thirds of a tank of petrol Week ending 25/11 = 38.1 mpg over 427 miles Week ending 02/12 = 37.7 mpg over 372 miles [Avergae = 37.9 mpg] All 4 weeks very similar driving speed/traffic-jamwise over the same routes.
• BMW 7 series? 12 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  However, when I return to the UK in six months or so I am tempted to treat myself to a BMW 7 series, as all the write up's I have read state what an amazing car it is and what great value they are second hand, except that is for the running costs which sound potentially horendous. I have a budget of around £12,000 - 15,000, which means that I would be looking at a car about five years old and also possiibly with high milage.
• Audi A3 + S3 (2008 - ) - crash damage not repaired properly 15 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  Hi All, Unfortunately someone rear-ended my 7 month old A3 S-line in June of this year. They hit me at about 20mph I would say. I was able to drive the car to the Audi dealer, and the next thing I knew, it was at the "approved" Audi repairer for the region.
• Car for a vicar and his family! 5 Jun 2019 (Forum)
  However, my BiL is also a very anxious individual, and a bit of technophobe, all of which adds to make this a challenging dilema of car choice! HIs budget, he tells me, is around £ 8k and for this he wants a 3-4 year old vehicle with 30k-40k miles. He would want this vehicle to last a long time, at least 5-6 years. Their annual mileage is around 11k miles now.
• It's a rattling good car, anyway 14 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  Since it is the holiday season, emboldened by a glass of Oxford Landing's best, here goes. I have a 6 week old Ford Lynx, a very neat little car locally assembled in the Philippines and exported across Asia-Pacific, based on a Mazda derived engine. My partner, the lissom Growlette, also has one, bought last year.
• Ford Ka etc - Small city car - runabout/learner car 6 Aug 2025 (Forum)
  I’m looking for a small city type car that I can use to pop into town and park easily, and that my 17 year old can learn to drive in. I have a hybrid Renault Arkana as my main vehicle, so a small manual gearbox car is all I’m looking for, A/C required.