Refine by channel:  Forum (7407)    Ask HJ (2998)    News (2267)    Article (67)    productReview (66)    Good Garages (50)    Classics Reviews (16)    FAQs (13)    Reviews (12)  

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Lousy Design 22 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  Acres and acres of cheap plastic (cheaper than the stuff used in my Z28 which I'd assumed would be impossible), switchgear that looked like it had been swiped from a '70's Datsun Loganberry and a horrible little 1.2L engine that sounded like a swarm of killer-bees under the bonnet (less than 20mph/1000rpm in 5th). The brakes grabbed badly at low speed and the A-pillar and door mirror hid any view of the kerb when negotiating the inside lane on roundabouts.
• Which Estate? 16 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  2.Speed is not a concern of mine so under 2 litre will suffice. 3.Budget of up to 13K. 4.Car can be up to 3 years old. 5.Must be as cost effective as possible i.e when considering depreciation, maintenance, fuel and insurance. This is probably the biggest deciding factor for me as I hate losing 000's on cars!! My shortlist so far: 1. BMW 318 Touring - My BMW has been extremely reliable and reasonably cheap to run. 2. Audo A4 Avant - Recommended by a friend. 3. Ford Mondeo - Recommended by a work colleague - I had a Ford Sierra once which was a pile of rubbish, so I would need some convincing on this one!
• Ford Fiesta Mk4 Central Locking Problem 12 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  Hopefully when I take it to a ford garage tomorrow I can ask them to dismantle the metal lump to insert a new spring, or whether they're likely to try and sell me a new one... :s R. resistance; the door didnt open. I went around to the passenger
• Garage Issue - Help Sought 11 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  No more information today, chased again to be told dismantling complicated job, lots to do including skimming head (surely that?s a reassembly issue!). I?m not happy about the level of info provided generally or any sort of hint that we?re talking a £1k plus job here. Any comments and hints tips about tactics in handling this greatly appreciated.
• Getting a car into Ireland sans tax? 17 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  I'm english, been living in Ireland for five years, and am looking for a new car, personal preference is for a Seat Leon 1.6 lite. The market for these in Ireland is painful, all 1.4's and overpriced. I'm contracting in England, and have an address here, but have an Irish Drivers licence. legally I'm resident in Ireland, work in London for three days of the week, and am back at the weekend, the car would end up in Ireland immediately if I bought it here, dont need a car in London, and have no-where safe to park it.
• Toyota Avensis Advice 5 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  Having read in another thread what one get for £12K I am now reviewing my choice of cars and my eye has fallen on an Avensis. There are 2 cars I quite like the look of. Both are 1.8 T3 S 5 door, 03 plates, registered in 2003. Both have very similar mileages but differ a bit in displayed price. One is £11,995 (silver and 12,800 miles) and the other is £10,445 (grey and 14,500 miles).
• tapping engine. Fiat Punto 14 Jan 2005 (Forum)
  Initially I was told by a mechanic this was from worn valve guides and/or cams. Though I no longer think that?s the problem... I decided to do an oil change so I bought some Castrol 10w40 and some engine flush... I put the engine flush in and within 10 mins the sound was gone!! I changed the oil and all was great.
• Chipping etc 9 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  Likewise an Audi A4 TDi 130 Quattro tested at 147bhp in standard form, this being more than the 2WD TDi 130's, the comment is that the Quattro ECU is set differently to the 2WD by the factory. However a Rover 75CDT tested at 116bhp, spot on stanadrd spec. Makes me wonder how many cars are infact more powerful than that quoted by the manufacturer.
• Alfa 146 - Erratic Idling 31 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  No garage seems to have come across this before and because everything is electronic, unless a problems shows on the computer, they seem reluctant to search for the problem. If I could at least get some idea of what\'s wrong, I can ask the mechanic to search for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sharron
• Rapid Trye Wear - VW Passat 10 Aug 2004 (Forum)
  OK, for 100% precision, maybe - but surely adjusting the steering so frequently could in itself lead to problems with locknuts and threads. I thought steering linkages are the one item that\'s always over-engineered for safety reasons - I can\'t believe it could be so delicate. The fitter used a blowtorch to free the locknut when he did the tracking - I\'ve since learned that this should never be done.
• Computer related questions volume 21 29 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  t=20892 PLEASE NOTE: When posting a NEW question, please \"Reply to\" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it\'s own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.
• Dithering over new car 26 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Head says this one Vectra 1.9 td SRI (£100/ month inc tax) - Think I'm a bit of a badge snob, but I dont think the Beemer is twice as good. Cooper S Chilli (£150/month inc tax) - Made me burst out laughing especially when the supercharger kicked in but I think it would make me frown on the M'way after a while (anyone doing lots of M'way miles in one ?).
• Commuting times increasing 19 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  It blames people using main roads for short journeys, naming the M62. As we know, the M62 is mentioned every day on Radio 2's travel reports. As I see it, the M62 problem is that Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Hudds, Oldham and Manchester are all very close to each other, so close that they are all seen as commuter towns for each other.
• Peugeot 106XR Quiksilver 19 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Peugeot 106XR Quiksilver - Engine cuts out Help! I purchased the above S Reg (Sept 98) in May 04. Whilst driving the car home from the garage, a distance of 6 miles, the engine cut out 4 times. The car started immediately on turning the ignition key. I immediately contacted the garage once I finally got home and the car was collected by the garage.
• Decisions Decisions. Vectra for Vectra. 7 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  Anyway, to cut a long story short:- Been offered £5100 for my X Reg Vectra CD (yr 2000, 2.2i Auto, with 40,000 miles on the clock) against a 5 month old Vectra Elegance (again 2.2i auto, yr 2003, 53 Reg) with 9,000 miles on the clock, priced at £12,995. Book price on mine is around £4500 (glass\'s guide, similar pricing with Parkers) I\'ll soon need 2 new rear tyres, and have a worn rear suspension bush (hence the visit to the garage to confirm, and the reason for needing some new tyres) costing around £230.
• New Audi A8 W12 22 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  In the dry, the way it serenely picked up its skirts and flew, totally drama free, was just as impressive. The built-in phone system is the best I have used of any car (though a colleague\'s Merc runs it close), and the list of gadgets would fill an encyclopedia. Remote controlled air conditioning and heating to prepare the interior environment before you arrive to get back in, anyone?
• Rear End Shunt - One for the Legal Commu 1 Mar 2004 (Forum)
  My friend has now received a letter from the local police requesting details of the driver in relation to an alleged offence of careless driving / failing to stop. Question: My understanding of s.170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is that there is no legal obligation to stop, give any information to any person or report any incident to the police follwowing a collision with a vehicle and there is no damage to that vehicle or no injury to any occupant of that vehicle or my vehicle other than myself.
• Repair or Scrap? 20 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  The timing belt on my brother's S Reg Vectra 1.6 went on Saturday night. I am getting information second hand just now but as it stands he has been advised that the engine is goosed and will need replaced. Car has done 108,000 miles, he still has 5 x £200 payments left to make and he has been quoted £800 to repair, but at this stage I am not sure if thats for a recon or what, and whether labour is included.
• Pug 309D Mystery Coolant Leak.... 11 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  Due to the near impossibility of actually being able to see exactly where the leak is comming from - even when the car is on wheel ramps & cam belt cover off - I\'m suspecting perhaps the water pump seal has finally gone and I\'m getting a very small leak somewhere round it. This seems to flow it\'s away around and drip off the lower part of the engine. All hoses are fairly new and show no sigh of cracks etc. So I\'m intending to have a go at removing the water pump and fit a new gasket. Q: Can the water pump actually be removed and re-fitted with the engine in place??
• Fiesta engine (?) problems, Help! 9 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  I've got a fiesta 1.3 finesse, 98 s - reg. it's a really good car, but.... it loses power. not all the power, about 15% of it at various times and only for about 10-15 seconds or so. e.g crusing along the motorway, keeping up with traffic (you know the speed), then the "power loss" kicks in and the engine can be heard slowing down, and the speed drops thro 70 down to about 65, then after 15 seconds it all picks back up and normality returns. it used to do it once in a while (once a month (?))