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• More 2nd Hand Vehicle after sales faults 25 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  My brother bought in last year a Vauxhall Brava 4x4 pick up 1995 M from a 4x4 independent specialist, we have subsequently discovered that there are two severe cracks and corrosion in the rear chassis members running all the way from the rear to the cab, this is following problems with air getting into the fuel system, due to corroded fuel lines and fuel tank leaking. Is there any comeback, the Vauxhall dealer says that it couldn't have legally passed its MOT with this corrosion.
• Fiat Punto revs on its own 24 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  While idling in traffic it revs to what sounds like 5000 revs on its own accord. The only way to cure the problem is to take it on a long run. The local dealership cant find the fault so they cant fix it, FIAT uk dont know of the problem either. I know that this isn\'t limited to my car as the dealership have confirmed that others have the same problem (and they have not been able to fix there cars either).
• Service Due Warning Lights 9 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  For example my father used to have an A Class and when he enquired of the main dealer when his first service was due they were able to run some diagnostics to tell him. However I have recently bought a VW Passat TDI and the handbook appears to indicate that service should be carried out every 10k miles or earlier. Does anyone have any knowledge about whether the operation of these differs between manufacturers?
• NEW MONDEO TDCI STALLING 5 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  I have had a new mondeo tdci since september,i have just completed 5000mls in it.It runs lovely except on occaisions the engine stalls approaching a junction.I hasten to add this was the second car i had in sept the first one stalled three times in first 60mls all 3 times was when i was over taking coming down from Motorpoint of Derby.The fault couldn't be fixed within 2 weeks so they gave me a new car.I was wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and have you had any joy with the main dealer repairing?
• Warranty or a holiday? 3 Dec 2002 (Forum)
  My Passat TDi exits VW's warranty in February 2003 so I'm wondering if I should shell out for another 2 or 3 years for an independent warranty. 3 years is £700 which goes a long way towards a holiday or covers quite a few repairs. The car's done 53K and runs like a dream (albeit a slightly PD noisy one!). I've had the oil changed every 5K. Am I likely to get some heavy-ish bills in the next 50K and if so can anyone recommend a decent warranty firm? Or should I chance it, keep it properly serviced and trust in VW's outstanding reliability and book my place in the sun?
• insurance requirements? 28 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  I have an old banger which I run as a second car and i'm trying to work out what the least I can pay to insure it is? I have a policy in my own name for another vehicle which allows me to drive other vehicles third party only.
• New Galaxy petrol smell 21 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  I have a 2002 model Galaxy. When stopping the car after a run you can smell a very strong smell of petrol at the rear on the car coming from the petrol flap. Also when driving with the drivers window down you can also smell the petrol. No smell inside the car.
• Yaris advice 7 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  I've recently bought a Yaris 1.0 GLS, but it didn't come with a handbook, so I was wondering if someone could advise me a good place to obtain one from, or at least give me a brief run-down on basic things. I'm mainly interested in: What the tyre pressures are. How the double-locking works. What the temperature indication means. Anything else I really need to know. Also, I realised after I got it home that it didn't have an aerial.
• Carlton and ECU problem! 6 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  Thought ECU was faulty but jumping diagnostic output plug reveals a stream of code 12s - code for ECU initialisation (with engine running) and code 12s plus 31s with engine off (31 = no crank rpm!)so in theory - ECU seems OK! But!!! Sport mode light flashes continously, auto box dos'nt function and have to drive manually. Anybody any idea where to start looking for fault?
• Small autoroute cruiser 29 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  The long journeys call for excellent autoroute cruising--10 hour days behind the wheel,need good seats ,economy ,reasonable speed, reliability. The local runs call for little more than a gutsy battery. How small can I go ,car wise , before I`m in silly territory. A Smart would be silly So would a Yaris I suspect. Any views on a C3 ? A Ka ? Fiesta ? A 206 ?
• Rover 220 Coupe Problems 10 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  Rover 220 Coupe N Reg 96 2.0L DOHC Engine Problem: Engine cuts out when the car is in traffic (idling for long time after long runs) and won't idle until temperature under the hood drops. I've tried disconnecting the following to determine a problem: Lambda Sensor ATS CTS TPS Idle control stepper motor Changed fuel relay, HT Coil, rotor arm and lead to distributor.
• Supermarket petrol??! 8 Sep 2002 (Forum)
  I posted a question earlier and mentioned the fact that I put supermarket petrol in my car (a Rover 620 Ti which I've run for four years, has 78,000 on the clock and still no smoke!. I'm about to change and buy a '96 BMW 728i with 30,000 miles on the engine. Shell Optimax seems very popular on the web (but expensive on only one garage in Cardiff) - so my question is this.
• 205 DTurbo 6 Sep 2002 (Forum)
  Suspect this may be related to the underbonnet temperature, but would appreciate any advice. The car runs well and is very lively (within its narrow rev range when the boost picks up around 2000 rpm). I like it apart from the extremely harsh ride that only seems to calm down when theres a decent bit of extra weight on board (single occupant mostly).
• Car Restoration Courses(UK) 24 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  Hi everyone Just a quick reminder for UK readers that if anyone wants to gain the proper restoration skills for their beloved car then your local Further Education College might be running a Car Restoration Course. New courses are starting within the next few weeks ( End Aug/September/October) and skills covered usually include welding/metal fabrication/body repairs/painting and lots more.
• Vectra 1.6i 16v misfire 23 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  This will be going in under warranty but I am interested to know if others have any idea what may be up? Incidently the car is often run on optimax (otherwise standard shell) and goes like stink for a 1.6 in a large car - even with the air con on! Thanks in advance
• Mondeo Air Con 1 Jul 2002 (Forum)
  Now the air conditioning has failed, only picked up when I had a new Lambda Sensor fitted (ANOTHER FAILURE IN ITS OWN RIGHT). The weather hasn't been good enough to run it recently. The green light on the vent knob comes on when you push it in but when the guy was reading the fault file on his ECU reading unit it showed that the air con wasn't actually coming on.
• Mondeo TDCI Starting problem 25 May 2002 (Forum)
  The main agent says they can find nothing wrong, having had the car for a day, but there clearly is something amiss. It makes no difference if the car has been used for a long or short run and otherwise is a real pleasure to have. Can any of you clever folk give me a clue as to what might be wrong?
• Toyota Masterace 28 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  I run an imported Toyota Masterace. This is one of the Townace/Liteace type vehicles and, for it's low initial cost, and because of it's specification and interest to the owner/mechanic, I am very pleased with it.
• Men should pay less for petrol! 19 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  I have been considering the usage of cars by men and women and it seems clear that men drive smoother and cleaner although all be it less greener cars. The adverege women stalls and starts and uses the car for school runs and 100yd drives to Sainsburys, thus being extremely inefficient on fuel. Gents on the other hand tend to take longer distant journeys and will always take the chance to pull out of a turing rather than hesitate and thus stall.
• VW Polo is the new Morris Minor 18 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  It needs a couple of tyres and a rear light unit, and the brakes are even worse than normal for a Polo, but the body is rock solid and rust free apart from a small hole at the end of one sill, where it has clouted something and taken the paint off. Underpowered, underbraked, but simple, solid, cheap to run and dependable - it has to be the new Morris Minor.