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• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 04 2.0 Cruise Control Cutting Out 3 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  On a long (over 400 miles) motorway journey in France recently, where the Cruise Control was more or less permanently engaged, it dropped out on numerous occasions, mainly I believe after I had made some sort of adjustment to it. The car is a Ghia X TDCi built in January 2004, and does not appear to have any other problems.
• SEAT Altea XL (2007 - ) - 2007 2.0TDI Missing air intake pipe - problems? 24 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  And certainly havent been under it since Friday. I want to go in prepared for them! And I am off to France in car at end of week!
• C`Rail misfueling Engineers solutions? 18 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  (With emphasis to elegant mechanical/electrical engineering rather than ( for example) a triangular *cat flap* on the filler neck and matching pump, oh, and with just a nod to occam`s razor :) Some suggested parameters It needs to work anywhere, not just a UK solution, so its ok at that rural garage in France and over the EU borders. Its a good engineering solution before cost cutting is considered. Misfueling costs to be limited to a tank drain exactly the same as if an old type engine was completely filled with the wrong fuel. ( Therefore completely removing the common rail issue and restoring the status quo) My thoughts on the subject Minimum expense all round would be some sort of filler neck device, but how would it work in Istanbul for example?
• UK car prices v import prices. The facts. 21 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  Er, no, as more than 70% of new cars in the UK are not made here, the strong pound ought to make ALL cars on sale at UK garages cheaper, not more expensive. Is it because of our tax system? Er, no. Countries such as France and Germany have similar taxation on new cars as the UK but their prices are still way below the UK. Holland, where average tax on a new car is a massive 58% as opposed to our 17.5%, still have cheaper end car prices by some margin.
• Getting the gear 9 Jul 2001 (Forum)
  A couple of hours later it relented and, without any fuss, in it went. Last week, whilst facing a brick wall in France, it decided to do it again. A very helpful local mechanic showed me how to push down on a bit of cylindrically shaped metal under the bonnet whilst my wife pulled the gear stick in the general direction of reverse.
• Car breakdown woes 19 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  Car breakdown woes. Afternoon all. I had a nightmare in France. Below is my letter to the manufacturers of my beloved car, hopefully edited so DD can sleep at night. Lets just say I?d have expected said vehicle to be reliable! I?d be interested in any comments.
• Landrover Discover 5 HSE Luxury 3 years - Windscreen sealant failure - serious leak 4 Dec 2023 (Forum)
  However, I have a caravan, a horse trailer, 4 children and we have two holidays booked in Cornwall and France which we are relying on taking the Land Rover. One is in July and the other August. We cannot fit our holiday kit in the Tucson and there is still no date provided for our windscreen - not even an estimated one.
• SUV - Help on How many KM on a used car 13 May 2021 (Forum)
  I am giving strong consideration toward hybrid as my driving habits favor it, and the French Government is offering huge incentives to buying Green cars (Yes I live in France) So given this, what do you suggest?
• Jaguar X-Type 2.0d 2004 182k miles - Annual Trip Report 2 Sep 2018 (Forum)
  Limited use in Andorra, but climbs via mountain roads to ski stations (2500m +) in high temps.  Slower drive back up through France avoiding motorways. Dover to Newmarket via Dartford crossing etc. Horrendous, stop/start. Newmarket to Pembs via A14, M5, A465 etc. Not much traffic but many roadworks. 300 miles, took 4.75 hours.
• Jaguar X-Type 2.0d SE - Wheels and tyres 23 Jul 2018 (Forum)
  Over the summer will be doing 3,000+ miles with several trips to East Angular and one to Andorra. Mixed use, but in France will be many miles at 85mph cruising. Heart says get 16s done up, fit Cross Climates and hope for the best, i.e. car will do another 20k.  Head and wallet says get two new 17 (budget) tyres.
• Jaguar X-Type 2.0d - Breakdown/Recovery Insurance 6 Aug 2016 (Forum)
  The call centre diagnosed it well, sent out a mechanic with a van, and the problem was fixed quickly. 2. April 2016, after a 1200 mile trip to France and back, overheating at the western end of the M4. Waterpump failure, recovered 60 miles. Interesting chat with driver who told me that if this had happened during working hours the breakdown insurance would probably have paid for repair/replacement at their depot - cheaper tha the recovery.
• Citroen Xantia - vibration in a Xantia 20 May 2015 (Forum)
  It also needs about £250 - £300 spending on it for the MOT. Got it from a local nloke who moved to South of France, dorve it there then realised it was not going to work with a RHD in a LHD country and drove it back 3 months later to pick up a french reg car in the UK. Question 1 Appears to be a rare beast now so am wondering what to do with it.
• Continental Jottings 19 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  I have just been to France/Belgium/Holland/Germany by car and have the following up to date comments and info. 1. Check in for the Tunnel at Folkestone was a doddle, 2 minutes. 2. Security outbound was a 100% check of all vehicles for explosive residues.
• Citroen C4 Picasso 5-st (2007 - ) - Seduced by Picasso 23 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  What could I get to take my one small piece of luggage and all the myriad bags containing my wifes shoes and makeup for our long leisured hols abroad, mainly France? I was seduced by the C4 Picasso. It has all the kit necessary for comfortable motorway cruising for weeks at a time, looks funky. I rather liked the EGS system, coupled with the 2.0L Hdi engine.
• Renault Scenic (1999 - 2003) - 02 1.9 dci power loss and black smoke 3 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Hi out there,I hope someone can Help me, I have a 2002 scenic megane RX4 1.9 dci ,She used to run just great until i did a long drive down to south of france and back, I was heading up the Alps when without warning i had no real pulling power, i climed the Alps at about 15 miles per hour, which made it hell for me and also anybody following , the strange thing is on the straight she ran just fine,??
• Norfolk Lines......pretty flipping good! 16 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  However, as I have mentioned previously, Norfolk Lines is the chosen carrier these days for my all too infrequent sojourns to France. They have free WiFi on board. How cool is that? That is how I am sitting here alerting you back roomers to this fact. Helps the two hour journey go quickly. Food? Piping hot, simple and tasty.
• Registration Doc'- Delayed by "Dealer" 3 May 2006 (Forum)
  When I mentioned that none of this had been stated in our previous conversations he said, "I would have told you if you had asked" Well, you can imagine my reaction: 1: I paid in full for the car on delivery 2: It is my car 3: I do what I damn well please with it, 4: My use of the car is not their concern 5: What if I had picked up a GATSO or speeding summons I would not have known as the paperwork would have gone to them 6: I have broken the law in France by not having it with me when I drive there 7: I will be speaking to Trading Standards in Manchester As it happens, when I got home from work, there was the DVLA envelope on the doormat. So, no need to battle with them anymore.
• Keep car? Change car? Lease Car? 22 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  Annual mileage would be below 10,000 as the Picasso's mileage has a couple of trips to the South of France on it that won't be happening again. If you've read this far, thank you! What makes/models would you recommend and what are the potential pitfalls etc of leasing? As regulars will know, I plead complete ignorance on most car stuff so do not be worried about stating anything obvious!
• Compensation from VW 18 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  The biggest problem, however has been a problem with the engine electronics which has caused the car to completely stop on three occassions. The last time was in July in France. Fortunately the French dealers are better trained that their UK equivalents and they quickly found a faulty engine sensor and some wires that had been damaged during assembly. It runs much better now.
• Executive saloon purchase 13 Feb 2004 (Forum)
  I need a reasonably large saloon for relatively low mileage motoring in the UK for most of the time, but with a lot of long distance trips in Europe (France, Germany, Scandinavia, Austria and Switzerland) thrown in also. It will need to be able to take 3-4 people with a lot of luggage, and I don't want to be put off having a long weekend in Europe by the thought of the driving, so it must be quiet and comfortable.