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• Ford Fiesta (2002 - 2008) - The current model- any good? 24 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  Any other suggestions for a better car for £8k new also greatfully accepted, but mainly looking for advice on the Fiesta. Thanks s
• Volvo 850 (1992 - 1996) - Volvo 850 GLE 2.5 estate real life fuel mpg? 11 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  The fuel consumption figures are likely to determine if i look at them any further. Anyone know if govt fuel figures were compiled for cars back in the mid 90's? and if so can one access them anywhere. Thanks in advance Mark W
• What did you learn to drive in? 10 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  I did my initial driver training whilst in the forces. The first ever car I drove was an (1970's) Escourt Estate. Upon learning the core basics and spending many ours driving around a disused airbase near Beverley East Yorkshire - I was then put in to a Bedford 7.5t and let loose on the roads!
• Sullen Service reception staff, What do you do? 5 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  To say nothing of the sullen looking girls forming the reception staff (allegedly told off) looking anywhere but your face. Eye contact and a smile for a repeat new purchase customer. You must be joking. But then, It`s perhaps not much of a customer who just comes back for parts.. Best perhaps to try to look straight at the parts dept, when in the showroom and ignore it back.... It could be resented though.. and that will eventually extract its price.
• Paintwork/rust on 1999 Merc Sl 3 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  I took the car to have the hardtop resprayed at a local paintshop and they advised to talk to mercedes as they had a similar case on a 1999 S class and the customer complained to mercedes on several occasions and in the end they aggreed to respray the car. Thanks Dave
• Volkswagen Passat (2005 - ) - 06 Central Locking - Single Door vs.Global unlock 1 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  I?ve just been given an 06 Passat as a pool car and it?s central locking is two-stage, the first click unlocks the drivers door, the second click unlocks all the doors. I know in my ford you could disable the one-door unlocking so that all doors opened on the first click.
• DIY- Interest, Summer Servicing completed (you?) 16 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Both cars now fully serviced, on the drive. All the detailed `extra`s` such as antifreeze and distilled water, rustproofing of brake pipes/sumps/subframes and so on. Best synthetic oils, clean latex gloves on handling fuel/oil/air filter elements. All those little details that you do yourself with no time constraints on the job.
• Volkswagen Golf IV (1998 - 2004) - 2000 1.4 Brake overhaul-bleeding 7 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Any ideas- have not come across this before? many thanks Incidently when Haynes talks about RH first is this from the driver,s seat?
• Recession and dodgy insurance claims. 11 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  Worked arranging motor insurance in the early 90's and can remember loads of cars being stolen, as owners could not sell them and it was the only way of getting decent cash for the vehicle.........in theory. It had occurred to me that this time round this could not happen as immobilisers are so good, bar getting a mate to knock you around in a fake key snatch or a pretend burglary on your house with the car being torched afterwards, not much could be done to fake claims on a wide scale.
• Your `old tool` favourites collection. 29 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  I`m still using a `Hilka` half inch drive socket set (in a battered gold coloured tin) bought in the late 60`s. I should buy new I suppose to benefit from the `feel` of modern tools, but for nostalgia cannot bring myself to do it. (This post was inspired by buying 16 inch water pump pliers yesterday and reflecting that I had managed without since 1964.)
• Subaru Legacy and Outback Diesel (2008 - 2009) - Is a good engine or not ?! -possible purchase. 6 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Honest John: "Starting from cold, the engine sounded like someone was shaking an old metal bucket of bolts under the bonnet. " Jeremey Clarkson: "No. It?s crap. Normally, diesels are happiest at low revs in a high gear. Not the Legacy. It has the torque of a pencil sharpener, the life and soul of a corpse. You need to be in first until the whole engine has revved itself clean off its mountings, and even then when you go for second it judders and shivers in protest. " However: Autocar, Autoexpress, and What Car reckon it's brilliant!!
• Almost 80mpg, getting nearer as engine loosens 22 May 2008 (Forum)
  Trying for a personal record without resorting to severe unsustainable driving techniques. 79.3mpg yesterday, cold start, then staying between 50 and 55mpg, over a 60 mile return trip with a semi warm start at the mid point. That`s better than the 78mpg of a few months back on a return trip of 120 miles to the East coast. Went to France last week ( drivng for speed and not economy) and covered 800+ miles at just under an indicated 80MPH and obtained 61.6mpg.
• BMW - R1150RT 2003 1150 - input shaft splines stripped. 11 May 2008 (Forum)
  I think a 4 and a half year old bike should not fail like this, especially a tourer. I have serached the internet and there are a couple of cases, but I would expect not to many 1150`s have reached high enough mileage yet to fail? The bike has been BMW serviced since new and I feel BMW should repair the bike for free. Any help comments etc will be good. Thanks tweak to header to include brief summary of problem
• Ford Mondeo 1 (1993 - 1996) - P reg / any car - suspension strut bolt seized 24 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  Coil spring broken so I?ve got the whole leg from the scrapyard. As expected the pinch bolt?s seized. Tried a 4? scaffold bar, hitting a spanner with a lump hammer, warming the joint & WD40. Any ideas please? Also is it practical to remove the strut and knuckle to drill the pinch bolt out on the bench if necessary?
• Fuel (What do you do?) 28 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Over the last month I have actively been looking for garages that sell their fuel cheaper than others. I have never done this before, as I never thought it?s been worthwhile to save a few pence. This got me thinking. (Too much spare time) I always used the Jet garage about a mile from my house. But at present I have been using a Shell garage, which is about 3 miles from me as it is always about 2p cheaper for its fuel (diesel) Also every garage I drive by I am now looking at there price for there fuel.
• Peugeot 405 Diesel (1988 - 1996) - 1993 DT - Ball Joint replacement 24 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Hi, i took my 93 405 DT to a garage today because it has a knocking noise, the mechanic says the o/s bottom ball joint needs replacing. He has told me that the ball joint is part of the wishbone on the 405 and the whole unit will need to be replaced at a cost of £130. Does this sound right? I have never used this garage before as my mate always did work on my car but he emmigrated to Australia in january, so now i have to use a garage. cheers Jon {year, etc, added to subject header - perhaps we need a 4th prompt on top of the 3 already in place?}
• Rover 75 (1999 - 2005) - 2.0V6 opinions please. 22 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Hello All, Father in law has always liked Rover 75's and has taken a fancy to a yr2000 2.0V6 model stickered at £3400. It has 50k miles. Not sure which model. Has anyone got any information about this engine? There seems to be more info on the 1.8 (not very positive), the 2.5V6 (better, especially in MG 190BHP form) and the BMW sourced diesel (recommended in the CbyC, with the XPOWER pack).
• Which small car will suit my trailer? 10 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  I need a small car that has enough oomph to tow my trailer but I am unsure how to work this out. The trailer is a Brenderup 1205 S. Total weight 750 kg Working load 610kg I was looking at a Clio 1.2 (weight 1080) but it has an unbraked towing weight of 535 kg. Am I understanding this correctly, this car is not suitable? Do I need to find a car with an unbraked towing weight of 750+ or should I be looking at the weight of the car.
• Simplest to service new small petrol engine? 8 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  I remember an old 1.3 Polo that just seemed to need oil, filters and plugs at about that time, but what`s its contemporary? We discussed the small Japanese engines and these seem to need tappet adjustment. How about the smallest petrol engines from Ford, Vauxhall and VW? for simplicity of home servicing and reliability?
• Toyota Prius II (2003 - 2008) - Rear leg room, shallow boot 28 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Like me, he is over 6 ft tall and he has his pushed seat right back. I had plenty of space to get my size 12's in and sit very comfortably. In fact, the rear space for passengers is better than my C4 Picasso (5str) Dammit! However, the batteries take up a lot of the floor space in the rear hatch area so the storage space is very shallow.