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• VW Sportsline 2012 - VW TRANSPORTER SPORTSLINE tyres 9 Nov 2012 (Forum)
  I am the proud owner of a 2012 VW Transporter SPortsline and I am off to France shortly.  I need to fit winter tyres as is the law.  Does anybody have any specific recomendations as I have of course looked at all the websites but it is something of a minefield.  VW seem to know little or nothing about the subject but the only recomendation they gave was for a Dunlop SP LT 60 which only gets middling scores from some testers.
• Ford Mondeo diesel 2L - Mondeo diesel 2L keeps loses power and revs drop 3 Sep 2012 (Forum)
  However the Ford garage couldn't find a fault with the car. The problem got worse until it was doing it all the time and we have had to leave the car in France and be recovered home. Can you please shed some light on this for us as we need to advise the foreign garage, as they have already had the car for 10 days without finding the fault.
• Citroen C5 - Replace a crashed C5 Petrol with what 7 May 2012 (Forum)
  What should i replace with ? Only do about 10K a year with 16 Mile return commute travel to gym etc. Do go to France and Scotland sometimes camping so need comfortabe relaxed cruiser. Dont think Diesel worth it. Tempting for another cheap C5 or go go the whole hog and spend 11K on avensis but the electric parking brake bothers me  
• 
  Buying a car in Geneva or exporting one from the UK? 17 Apr 2012 (Ask HJ)
  My daughter has secured a job in Geneva for at least a year - would she be better buying a left hand drive car here in the UK and driving it over, or...
• Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel Auto 2007 - Can I use heating oil as fuel in an emergency? 23 Nov 2011 (Forum)
  I am due to go to France on Saturday. The country is currently suffering turmoil from strikers and there are fuel shortages in some regions. I can get down to the house on a tank of diesel from home in the UK but don't want to get stranded.
• Honda Accord Tourer - Changing ATF 10 May 2010 (Forum)
  I wish to keep the car for as long as possible so am wondering if changing the ATF every 2 years is ok (my annual milage is circa 15,000). Also I tow a camping trailer (weight of 280 kg) to the west coast of France (from West Yorkshire) - is this an issue with an auto box ? Many thanks for your help. Matt
• Vauxhall Zafira - Difference between Zafira A & B 3 May 2010 (Forum)
  Generally though, budget  £7-8K  expect to keep for about five years. Annual mileage 10K mostly short runs, .  2000 mile round trip to France each summer when it'll be crammed with camping equipment plus two or three  500 mile return trips to Yorkshire. I'm tall so need plenty of legroom. Any advice most welcome    
• Renault Clio Sport Tourer (2008 - ) - 09 1.5d French fuel 13 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  I noticed that My Clio appeared to have greater turbo lag than usual and seemed slightly down on power around 200rpm on a recent 3000 mile trip around France. I also noticed an increase in diesel knock. Could this be due to the proportion of bio diesel they now put in all French diesel? I usedwhat seened to be the premium fuels hoping to take advantage of the fact that this engine ( according to my main dealer ) has an anti knock sensor and should be able to benefit from an increase in cetane number.
• Driving in Austria, tax and route advice 17 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Second question, we are doing the Hull - Rotterdam ferry then heading for a night in Basel with relatives. Which is a recommended route? The route planners seem to go through Luxembourg then into France near Metz. Someone else has suggested going all the way down in Germany. Thanks
• Is it a Benelli 6? 16 Apr 2009 (Forum)
  First visit here cos i haven't been a biker since 1988 - but never lose hope of becoming one again before I'm too old even for a Beemer. Been in a few bikers' caffs tho. Today I saw a rather nice looking Benelli (near home in SW France) and when i got up close to drool I saw what looked like a Honda CB1000 transverse six in it. It certainly had Benelli badges on it (the engine) but was it? I recall being told years ago that my Honda 400-four had a lot of some other make in the engine dept - maybe that was Benelli.
• Peugeot 406 (1999 - 2004) - 2002 1.9 HDi turbo failure 5 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  My mechanic thinks it's the Mass Air Filter, but reading various forums on the tinternet I'm not so sure - some threads suggest the high pressure fuel rail. I need to get this sorted before I take the Pug back to it's native France for a two week holiday next week. Any ideas?
• Mazda Mazda 3 (2004 - 2009) - 07 2.3 Driving abroad with Xenon lights (reprise) 30 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Having searched the web, and then here ... I'm taking my Mazda 3 MPS to France on Friday. Looking at the (Xenon) headlamps, it's not obvious how to stick bits of plastic to the headlight lenses to avoid dazzling other drivers. The manual is no help. I cannot see any levers or other obvious forms of adjustment that would allow me to do this.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 04 1.6 (auto) water pump leaks 28 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  After 47,000 reliable miles it decided to spring a major leak the night before we were due to drive across France - I suppose that's better than doing it on the way! Thanks for your help
• Breakdown cover for travelling abroad 5 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  I am travelling to France (and possibly into Spain for a day) for the family holiday this year. Anyone any recommendations on good breakdown cover policies? My Altea is covered by Seat Assistance but this seems to be a case of if you breakdown we will tow you to Seat garage.
• Driving on Continent lights,triangles,bulbs etc 27 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  I am planning on driving over to France for the first time and am aware of all the legislation that says you should have a triangle, spare bulbs, beam reflectors (which I hear are a nightmare to remove and a host of other stuff. I know you can buy Euro driving kits but they are expensive.
• Where from, Reg? 27 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  Is it better for us to know where the car in front/behind was registered; do you want other drivers to judge you by your apparent origin; or does it make no difference at all? Spain (as well as Italy, and France from January 2008) changed to "generic" non-regional registrations years ago, and the traditional enmity between Spanish regions - rivalry bordering on psycopathic hatred between certain areas; drivers from the Basque Country routinely stopped by police patrols; incidents of vandalism after football matches, etc... - have all but disappeared.
• Laying up car for 2 months at a time 11 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  The time to take the 1997 Peugeot 306 1.9 diesel (non-turbo) to its new home in France is approaching. It's had a year of my ownership and 3000 more miles in UK making a total of 105k (and giving me 45 to 50mpg) and all seems well (touch wood). The plan is to park it in a barn and use it for a couple of weeks every 6 to 7 weeks or so.
• New Twingo and Pug 308 31 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  Saw both these in France over the weekend. Both disappointments. The Twingo looks for all the world like a faclifted Citroen C2, especially from the side and rear. The front is just plain bland. What with the new Laguna, whatever happened to Renaults design flair??
• How is a New Car "Prepared" 20 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  I am collecting my brand new car at the end of next week, and a week later I am driving to France in it. Now normally before a large drive like that (especially in the summer) I would apply lashings of wax to the front of car and polish it up to make it as "smooth" as possible to minimise the amount of dead insects.
• Xenon lights: switching left to right 2 May 2007 (Forum)
  (A Seat Alhambra that required the front bumper to be removed was one - a dealer job at £150 each way.) Since I go to France once or twice a year, and have always managed with stick-on deflectors on my halogen lights (not an option with xenons, of course) this makes me rather wary of specifying xenon lights on a new car - £300 on the cost of my holiday and illegal lights on the journey from dealer to ferry port and back.