Showing results in  Forum [Show all channels]

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Blown up 325tds 1 Feb 2004 (Forum)
  and the oil filter exploded! So no oil left and it grinds to a halt/seized on the motorway. A new starter motor, some and a tow has got it going, but it's not happy, looks like 1 knackered cylinder. Anyway, getting to the point, he's been quoted 4k for a new engine. £2800 for the engine, £500 recon deposit and £700 labour (a bit steep).
• tyre service RIP OFF 22 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  Because i\'m a member they would waive the call out charge, 2 new 205/50/16 Goodyear Ventura £176 each, I normally pay £85 each total. How to rip off the stranded motorist, the patrol arrived 1-50hr later, put on the spacesaver, towed me to their local depot . £108 each for 2 Goodyear F1, still not good, but not deleted Rip Off, if you read this deleted you should be ashamed. {All names removed due to the strict No Naming - Shaming policy of this site.
• Buying a Focus 16 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  This looks slightly high compared with a book dealer value of about £9300. Should I 1. Knock him down to £9500, and ask for a tow-bar to be fitted (to occasionally pull a small trailer)? 2. Go for a brand new Focus 1.6 Ghia from a supermarket for about £10,500? 3. Pay a bit extra and seek out a 1.8 Ghia. Is the extra 200cc worth it?
• 1998 Omega 2.5 V6 blown EGR valves 10 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  I've owned the car from new, it's only done 35000 miles and it's in mint condition, I still adore the car and I would cry my eyes out to have get rid of it due to sudden poor reliability - I've just been towed home 40 miles along the M6! Clearly there's something causing these valves to fail and I'd like to get it sorted out - any ideas? or is there a good Vauxhall specialist that I can entrust the car to in the Stockport area?
• The snow circus comes to town 3 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  Do these guys (and sorry, gals too) really not think ahead? Local residents were manning the grit shovels and a couple of 4wd's were giving tows, but really, have any lessons been learned? Oz (as was)
• ZX and MINI 5 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  In the light of the Cars of the Year success of the MINI and the ZX (as a bargain banger), I thought it might be of interest: >just to add next door has had a new Bmw mini for a month and it refused to >start today, two 'rapid response' teams where here for 8 hours and had most >of the interior out in my garage and still it wouldn't go, its going to HQ in >special transport (hidden undercover inside a recovery truck) for further >investigations , a courtesy car arrived another mini towed on a trailer by a >ZX 1.9td , so they do have there uses and if there [sic] used by BMW to >move there [sic] trash let Citroen move yours.......... Is this kind of clandestine treatment the norm for new, or flagship models?
• Tune Up. 9 Nov 2001 (Forum)
  It broke down on the A23 - loss of power, pulled over, failed to start. AA say it isn't the HT Circuit and thought it might be Fuel Injection. AA towed to her driveway. Do you folks have a Southampton franchise? Contact number? Is this the sort of thing you can do? I suspect it may need some diagnostic work if the AA couldn't get it going... BTW The Rover's done nearly a thousand miles since the helicoiled plug and runs like a dream.
• More on water in the gearbox 20 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  In early '99 I successfully (so I thought) drove it through about 50m of floodwater up to bumper height, avoiding a collection of locals who were offering to tow me through using assorted tractors and 4x4s, and not for free, either. This is the only time it has seen serious water. At 72,000 miles (last week) the dealer changed the gearbox oil and reported getting a quantity of rusty water out of the gearbox as well as the oil.
• Ford focus econotec diesel 2008 - Car chooses when to start - Help!! 21 Aug 2021 (Forum)
  It was fine for a few days, then one morning it wouldn't start again. We had parked it away our driveway so we had the car towed back to our mechanic. He changed the Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor. He kept the car at the garage to over night and tried the engine the next morningto prove it would work when the engine is cold. It worked fine.
• Ford Fiesta - Warranty Issue 21 Jan 2014 (Forum)
    In Oct 2013 he broke down due to having no drive (clutch wouldn't engage gears), he had the AA tow him to a Ford dealer who after 2 days told him there is nothing wrong and handed him back the car.   2 days ago he broke down again this time he had it towed to the Ford dealer where he bought it from.
• Mazda MX5 - Car been in the garage for 6 weeks! 17 Jul 2010 (Forum)
  Well where do I begin. My car broke down 6 weeks ago. I'm in the RAC so they towed me to the nearest garage, which they said were reasonably good - That was all that RAC would do since I have subsequently spoken to them for assistance. This is where the trauma begins - they still have it and I'm not really any where near getting it back / repaired!!!
• Emergency kit in the boot 24 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Instructions and any simple tools to access them. (If I cannot sort it then perhaps some other soul can.) 5. A tow rope and instructions. 6. A small coil of suitable gauge of soft wire ( wire coat hanger?) and pliers. 7. Hose bandage. A first aid kit and a fire extinguisher are the two items often required in other countries and are good additions to the list above.
• Hyundai Tucson 2016 - Replacement Car Battery 1 Apr 2022 (Forum)
  It has a flat top which I read somewhere implies that it is.  For info the car often goes for weeks without being used. I use it to tow a caravan.  Grateful for any advice. 
• Parallel Parking Against The Traffic 9 Sep 2020 (Forum)
  Did this when I broke down yesterday, since the only parking spot was on the other side of the road and I didn’t think to push the car through a U-turn, which would have been more difficult and obstructive. Apparently this is illegal in Taiwan, Fine, tow and storage fees of the order of 60 quid. Legal in the UK in daylight but illegal in darkness. Fines up to A GRAND (!!!! ). I didn't know that, and probably did it quite often.
• Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall 24 Jul 2020 (Forum)
  They pulled over and switched it off. A passing fire engine pulled over and doused the engine bay with water. They had it towed to their usual garage. He jacked it up and had a look underneath. The under tray is completely melted and it's lost all it's engine oil so presumably the sump has cracked. A relative told them that there's a recall out for the Kuga for exactly this problem so they contacted the Ford dealer they bought it from.
• Vauxhall Corsa D - failed timing chain 15 Nov 2017 (Forum)
  my friend has a 2013 1.0 ecotec corsa with 37.000 miles that failed to start the other morning. i thought it was the battery as it was very sluggish to start so tried jump starting. even though it was turning over really strong it wouldnt start. he desperatly needs the car got it towed to a garage who diagnosed a failed timing chain. i think the reason the battery was sliggish was because his good lady gave it a good few tries to start it up in the morning. apparantly this is quite common on the corsa. the question is have there been any recalls on this engine?
• Hea***/Limo as family car? 3 Dec 2015 (Forum)
  I've noticed some for them come with huge engines and others with more modest 2.4 engines. I'm not sure how these things are built, would there be any problem fitting a tow hitch to a limo? Would it be an issue teaching my son to drive in one? Not sure about car lengths and provisional licenses. Thanks very much, Kev
• Volkswagen Scirocco - VW Scirocco new engine diagnosis sounds suspect 15 Nov 2015 (Forum)
  It has been running like new with no signs of any engine issues. I get it in one morning at home and the engine wont start. The AA tow it to VW. VW have told me that the timing chain has jumped, snapping and bending the pistons and valves. They say it needs a complete new engine. What I don't understand is how I pulled up at home the night before, engine running smoothly and quietly, no issues and the next morning this catastrophic damage could have happened to the engine.
• Mercedes A140 (2002) - Issue with Door Not Closing/Door Handles 12 Feb 2015 (Forum)
  Eventually, the handle stayed out and the door wouldn't close at all (it just bounced, like there was nothing to catch the latch). We were towed home and the garage took a look and found nothing, jiggled something and the door closed fine. The garage told me to come back when it happened again (bit difficult to drive with a door that won't close!)
• Tour de France and disruption 3 Oct 2014 (Forum)
  Car parks are barely adequate in normal times, not to mention the charges (several pounds a day), so chaos will reign across the area, aggravated by the 12 hour road closures. What twisted logic requires parking to be banned (with the threat of towing away) from Friday to Sunday when the entire procession will pass in maybe an hour on Sunday afternoon?