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• 1.9 TDI 115PS - Ford Galaxy Turbo Problem 20 Mar 2010 (Forum)
  I am suspecting the N75 pressure control valve but having taken the the engine cover off this a.m., there is this'unit' bolted in the manifold just prior to where the manifold joins the cylinder head and underneath the front vacuum unit which is part of it, there are signs where oil/oil vapour has been leaking which would explain the smell of burning oil in the cab.
• Winter Biking. 7 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  Somewhere near Dijon I stopped to put plastic bags over my gloves and boots. Then it started snowing. I was riding with my feet down, following some car tracks in the snow. I remember stopping at a bar and asking how far it was to the border - they all laughed at me and said the pass was closed - I would never make it on a motorcycle. I carried on regardless (Seems foolish now of course - no breakdown cover or credit card in those days!)
• Vauxhall Corsa C (2000 - 2006) - 2005, 1.4 SRI, CV Boot 23 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Hi, Earlier on today, I removed the drivers side front alloy wheel to give it a good clean as I noticed that the inner side of the alloy was covered in grease. I had assumed that it was just road grime, however upon closer inspection I have found that the clip on the end of the CV Boot has broken and that the grease on the alloy has leaked from the CV Boot.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 52 reg TDCi - Warning Light Problem! 2 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Fuel consumption is fine, runnings good so why does it keep doing this??? Im going to be selling it soon - not cos of this but cos I've just got a new company car (Focus Ghia 2.0 petrol - now I know why everyone goes on about the "handling" - nice but it doesn't half take time to accelerate - certainly missing my TDCi on slip roads!!! - sorry, I digress) s
• Mazda Xedos 9 A/C problem 17 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  This week I noticed a stale smell from heater and first thing that came to mind was the A/C - Although the service book doesn't say anything about A/C filters I took out glove box and cover underneath to expose A/C unit and found filters and by look of it they hadn't been changed from new - also after thinking about it I never noticed any water under car when A/C was on so poked around and found outlet in engine bay - managed to poke a thin wire up and water came out -in centre of hole is a plastic peg thing and at first the wire hit something soft and rubbery but moving it about it then went right into unit - the question is- is the drain hole free to air or does it have a valve or anything to stop air coming in -- when took filters out water came out of the opening as bottom of A/C unit was full of water and water was black hence smell. - since the wire poke I have found a length of plastic tube that fits in hole and I can blow into A/C unit and then when I suck I can hear water sort of bubbling as if it's trying to come up pipe - so far I haven't had time to take it out for another spin.
• VR6 auto gearbox problems 22 May 2003 (Forum)
  I own a 1995 Golf VR6 automatic which has covered 57,000 miles. Having noticed a slight whining noise that coincides with the auto-box changing up at around 35-40mph I had a VW technician road-test it with me. Further checking with his diagnostic kit revealed faults with the gear-box and engine.
• Vintage Merc or a Skoda Octavia ? 27 Mar 2002 (Forum)
  Am in a dilemma of either 1: Selling the honda and buying an Octavia 2: Keeping the Honda and buying a good, well maintained Merc 124 (love the build quality and no complicated electronics) - hace seen a doctor owned 300E with 58000 miles. My plan is to use this car during weekends (need something to accomodate two golf sets) and long journeys. (around 7500 miles per annum). Have covered secure parking space for it The attraction is that I could pay cash down for the Merc whereas I need to finance the Skoda ( have already splashed out on an upmarket house so no additional drips would be welcome).
• Insurance warranties 8 Dec 2001 (Forum)
  On a 10+ year old car this could be weasel words in that all components are subject to wear which just gets more noticeable the older the vehicle. The costs for 1 year are Warranty Wise about £273, Drive Assured (Warranty Holdings) £295; for 2 years WW £483, DA £395 HJ replied "I've just had a letter from a reader whose claim was rejected by Warranty Holdings because the part was deemed to have worn out" Anybody else got any experiences or thoughts ?
• Bmw 116i 2005 - Premature timing chain failure 23 Nov 2019 (Forum)
  Since I experienced what I'd call a premature timing failure on my bmw 116i 2005. What really annoys me is the fact that I wasn't wise enough to read the cars reviews before ever buying it. I'm just 22 years old and I'd always wished to have a 1 series. I saved for like a year in order to get one for myself. I bought the car in march from a private seller,drive alright for like 3 months,took the car for MOT and it passed(delighted)this reassured me because I was sceptical about buying second handed cars.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 06 2.2 Water in the footwell 13 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  They resealed said item and told me to see how it was. 3 days later, I noticed water in the footwell and was told that the resealing hadn't worked and that a new scuttle panel was required. This I paid for as I knew trim wasn't covered after year 1. The fault still persisted and the car was booked in on Tuesday. The dealer took 2 days stripping the entire front interior out and has found what appears to be a missing drain pipe from the heater box, but Ford CRC are saying that as the car is out of warranty they will not pay anything.
• Legal info for small claims court 28 Apr 2016 (Forum)
  Upon taking it home a friend noticed mini chips over the windscreen and when placing things on the back seat I realised the back seat was not attached to the car at the bottom, I had someone click it into place but the right side had a noticeable gap between the seats And the left side seat clip was broken, I got in contact with the person I was dealing with for the car when I found out about the chips and he said he didn't know they was there but wouldn't fix it as it was cosmetic damage and not covered by them, only a mechanical or engine fault they would cover I also said about the back seat and they said it could of been the people who Valeted the car as they removed the back seat to fully clean it, but on the day and upon taking the car home it was very noticeable it was filthy so I'm not sure whether that was correct, 2 days later I rang for a refund and was told I would not receive one, I asked to speak to a manager and he said he would get them to call me back Saturday morning but that they would also refuse me a refund, the same day I wrote a letter to the manager asking for a refund after speaking to trading standards and stated it was under my short term right to reject and consumer rights, they emailed back but said I wanted a refund because of niggly reasons, I test drove it, I looked it over before purchase etc.
• Vauxhall Astra - Legal info for small claims court 27 Apr 2016 (Forum)
  Upon taking it home a friend noticed mini chips over the windscreen and when placing things on the back seat I realised the back seat was not attached to the car at the bottom, I had someone click it into place but the right side had a noticeable gap between the seats And the left side seat clip was broken, I got in contact with the person I was dealing with for the car when I found out about the chips and he said he didn't know they was there but wouldn't fix it as it was cosmetic damage and not covered by them, only a mechanical or engine fault they would cover I also said about the back seat and they said it could of been the people who Valeted the car as they removed the back seat to fully clean it, but on the day and upon taking the car home it was very noticeable it was filthy so I'm not sure whether that was correct, 2 days later I rang for a refund and was told I would not receive one, I asked to speak to a manager and he said he would get them to call me back Saturday morning but that they would also refuse me a refund, the same day I wrote a letter to the manager asking for a refund after speaking to trading standards and stated it was under my short term right to reject and consumer rights, they emailed back but said I wanted a refund because of niggly reasons, I test drove it, I looked it over before purchase etc.
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  Dealer won't pay for DMF failure on a new Focus - what can we do? 11 Mar 2015 (Ask HJ)
  I have a Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost with 5888 miles on the clock. I purchased the car 12 months ago, but it has spent the past three months at the dealer...
• Recent purchase - obtaining a refund? 1 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  The car came with 11 months MOT which was passed by another garage not the trader. After driving back home, the next day I notice my drive way was covered in oil. I rang my friend a mechanic and he came and had a look.
• second hand car problem 9 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  Ive looked at the 3 month warranty I bought with the car, and it only covers me for up to 500.00 of work. Im really worried. All my savings went on the car, and I dont have more money to spend on it. Im waiting for a call back from the warranty people, but dont know whether I will be able to get it looked at because of the Easter holiday.
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  Is my car incompatible with bio diesel? 18 Feb 2014 (Ask HJ)
  Since purchasing my Hyundai i30 I have kept its full service history. The car was serviced in October 2013. The car showed no issues - although a fuel...
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  Why does my car knock from the left side when turning to the right? 29 Nov 2018 (Ask HJ)
  I have an Audi Cabriolet 1999 2.6 final edition that has a knock from the left side when turning to the right. My mechanic has checked the ball joints,...
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  Will a modified Morris Minor be difficult to insure? 19 Feb 2018 (Ask HJ)
  I've come across a garage that specialises in selling Morris 1000. They also improve/modify them by fitting disk brakes, brake servos, Inertia reel seatbelts...
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  Could you suggest a low tech, low maintenance classic? 6 Dec 2017 (Ask HJ)
  With all the publicity about over complex, money pit, unfit for purpose cars - what do you recommend as a low tech alternative? I realise regulations don't...
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  Could you publish my positive experiences with Warranty Direct? 30 Nov 2013 (Ask HJ)
  We have had Warranty Direct cover on our Citroen C6 for two years now. During that time we have had cause to make, I think, three claims, the latest after...