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• France/Italy or Scotland - Early March or May? 26 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Unsure of the latter - but need to start planning the March trip shortly Any advice on missing school holidays in March and May in France and on the best chance of finding hotel vacancies (on the day) abroad? Previously we have only headed south from Calais in late May or September. It`s around 500 miles to get up to north of Applecross from here - only a little less than Reims.. another day from there would be passing through the Alps.. Which would you prefer and why? ;) I`m having trouble deciding - or to put it another way - I have to present viable plans to the boss shortly ;-) Cheers
• New car required - help please? 17 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  The budget is around £1500 pound and MUST have a diesel. I have suggested that she spends around £1000-£1250 to save a few £££'s back for repairs if needs be as it will be 8-10 years old anything she gets. She has her mind set on the Vectra B facelift 2.0 diesel turbo/non-turbo so a few questions; Is this engine a chain cam?
• Heater switch - inside story + Pic 3 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Strange though, it was still very stiff even with the backplate off. In other words - with just the ball and spring on the shaft in engagement. I notice that there`s no grease on the ball or the housing on the right it works in. Grease it? Modify the spring tension - putting it outside design parameters? Incidentally - I fitted a new one before noticing the old one was designed to be DIY friendly (£20 ;-( notice those integral housing clips.
• Mazda Mazda 6 (2002 - 2007) - Tyre Time 2 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  They are low profile and, even though I've never kerbed them, still seem to have worn on the outer n/s edges. Anyway, the alloys are new and mint so, in the north surrey area, any ideas??? When the Mazda dealer changed the alloys under warranty they did a good job and they were spot less, I had a puncture repair done by KandP in Ewell and they did a good job as well, so trying those places.
• Peugeot 406 (1999 - 2004) - 01 2.0 very sluggish 110 hdi 8 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  If i am doing 70 in 5th on a motorway and try to accelerate it will not get above 80 without me dropping into 4th and putting my foot to the floor. Once it hits the 2800rpm power band in any gear the car suddenly picks up and she,s off. as long as i keep the revs up hi it drives fine . but its just not right and its also thirstier when driven like this. Any help and advise will be greatly appreciated (I havent had it on a fault code reader as yet ) Cheers Bigun
• Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - Front Suspension spring broken - just passed mot! 8 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  Dear All, I've recently put my car through it's mot and passed with flying colours. All was well, then on a cold morning my front o/s suspension coil broke off and lay there on the road! I've read some of the discussions and this appears not as uncommon as I would have thought. On closer inspection the coil seems to have rusted and obviously this contributed heavily to its weakness.
• The courtesy of `comrade` vans and commercials 11 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  The `same regiment` courtesy extends to other commercials too, to some extent. Pop out in the other, car version of the Punto though and there`s a marked difference - it seems to be visible in the pecking order of cars and no longer a comrade to commercials. The odd neck turns in traffic with the old Punto car and you occasionally detect that supercilious little lip curl of self satisfaction of being embedded , commode-esque, in the comfort of a `proper car`. ;)
• What is it island lane markings ! 12 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Some of these take the form of an ?outward spiral? and should you follow them, deliver you correctly to your turn off. There?s a lot that don?t though, one local island has three lanes around it. If you are taking the third exit off, you start on the inside, then pass the second exit, where the lane you should be in is suddenly on the outside of the island.
• Citroen Xsara (1997 - 2004) - 2000 1.4 air con probs 3 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  So i thought there either a leak or low on gas- pooped of to kwik-fit for regass, they let the machine do the work and according to their own gauges the temp has only dropped from 13c to around 11c- i.e. pretty much the same as before the regass- to be fair they did not charge me for their work. So i think there?s probably no leak (or it would not start the compressor) and has the right amount of gas is in there. The only thing i can hear is a clicking noise now and again when the air con is on (a bit like the compressor click) however the fans are still turning so not sure if this clicking is relevant, other than that i am stumped
• SBA Rally 2008- Car Choice! 30 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  Its that time of year where we are requiring another car for this years rally, which involves us driving to Croatia, via belguim, Switzerland, Italy and Slovenia, and i thought who better to ask for advice than you fine people. Shortlist so far is; Lexus LS400 Volvo 960 (3.0 24v) Mercedes S-Class BMW 7 Series (again) Volvo 850 T5 Honda Legend W124 E Class estate Please feel free to suggest any others though, bearing in mind our max budget is £1k
• `Cosmetic` Grease The oil-less Con? 13 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Because I`ve just replaced a worn out door check strap, well greased of course, but looking at the new one before fitting its bushed and `tight`, no way would an external coat of grease do anything. Presumably that`s why the old one wore out. The new one needed `working` with spray 3 in one oil, on a bench, for a few minutes before the oil penetrated and it eased. The same with door hinges I suspect too, I`m now back to using motor oil not grease on them.
• Peugeot 307 (2001 - 2007) - 02 2.0 Petrol Xsi noisy new exhaust 3 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  This Xsi never sounded meaty but this new exhaust does make it sound a bit boy racer-ish. I wouldn't have minded if I was in my 20's but it is a bit annoying driving around - especially on motorways.
• Not so impressed with SureSell 25 May 2008 (Forum)
  Mixed messages from this BCA subsidiary. I'd seen it mentioned in the HJ Telegraph column, so, now our S-reg Peugeot 306 is off to pastures new, I thought I'd give it a go. The helpline number was very helpful, but they wouldn't deal with me directly. I had to call my local BCA - in this case Blackbushe, Surrey.
• Zero Rate VED for Classics 30 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  Does anybody know: - a) How many cars were zero rated at that time b) How many are still in use (i.e. have a zero rated VED disc) c) How many cares it would apply to now if the 25 year limit were re-introduced? I realise that the chances of this are similar to those of winning the jackpot in tonight?s lottery! Sorry lost the fight to get c) to display properly!
• Secondhand car for driving instruction 21 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  Dull but potentially hassle free; I am discounting the diesel because IMHO common rail is more trouble than it's worth, and I would expect the 1.5 to manage low 40's in the MPG stakes... Thoughts comments and other suggestions most welcome! Jonathan.
• Audi A3 + S3 (1996 - 2001) - 2000 1.8t - Oil/Filter Change - Auto. Transmission 18 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  (A3 1.8t 2000, 50K)' I am just slightly nervous that the transmission oil/filter should not be touched, only the Oil should be topped up as Audi insist that the ATF fluid and filter are lifelong.. Thanks I am aware the Audi mutli and s-tronic transmissions need to have their oil changed every 40k but not the older version transmission, but why, given the evidence that Oil is a major reason behind transmission failure.. (am I missing something)
• Renault Clio 1 Petrol (1991 - 1998) - Williams - revs high only on full throttle 1 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  i found the tps settings should be red - yellow 5.78kohms red - green 2.01kohms yellow - green 4.27kohms s
• Vauxhall Vectra C (2002 - 2008) - 2003 2.0DT - basil fawlty impressions..... 23 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  IDEA`S PLEASE >>> ive gotta 03 vectra `c` 2lt.dt , no probs for the first 155,000 ( YES .. 155,000 ) miles but now has developed a very anoying fault that has baffled a vauxhall main dealer and another garage .
• 1st baby on the way, £3.5k to spend - suggestions? 31 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  The in laws have retired to the south of France - we're in Aberdeen, so a car that could handle THAT journey would be great - but to be honest it might be just way too far to drive. So far I have been looking at Volvo V40's (with high mileage), Citroen Picasso (seem pricey), Renault Scenic (not seen any in our price bracket), Skoda Fabia Estate (top end of budget). I'm open to any and all ideas really ... what car, what age, what to look out for?
• Renault Clio II (1998 - 2001) - High milage or scratched door/wing?? 28 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Would anyone reccommend against a car of this milage? Apparently the timing belt was recently changed. Car2: 1999 S Reg RENAULT Clio 1.2 RT (£1500) This car (89K miles) is also mechanically sound, but has significant scratches on the driver side wing and door. Would it be expensive to remove the scratches? Both cars look great and have the mod cons I'm looking for (power steering/windows/locks & Alloys) but I wonder which would be the best to go for?