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• Time to treat myself 2 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  Fair bit of poke, at least 120bhp, preferably more Some toys to keep me happy, ie elec windows, cruise control would be nice 5 doors Luxury rather than outright sportiness Group 14 insurance or less Cheap to service Reliable Not too thirsty, V6 would be nice but too expensive to run at the mo HER requirements are: Decent size boot for all the clutter that goes with kids of 4 and 2 Manual, not auto gearbox Remote central locking No more length than the 405, that's difficult enough to park!
• Fiat Punto diesel 2 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  When I borrowed it one day I noticed that the temperature gauge was only coming up about a quarter, and was liable to vary a lot when the heater was on (which seemed cold). I know the diesel will run cooler, but not this much. Recent radiator by the previous owner and full of antifreeze, so I diagnosed it was probably a failing thermostat. Years ago I used to take them out and test them before replacement, but you always lose some coolant, so I just decided to swap the thermostat.
• Laguna - franchised dealer problems 1 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  If I hadn't complained to Renault, I'd be down £730 on a 3 yr old, 24000 mile car. Almost as much as it cost to buy my wife's car! And that's cost far less to run over the same period.
• Toyota Corolla 26 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  And any hints abour buying a banger welcome and appreciated. PS. The Old Accord I asked a question about a month or so ago is running sweetly (touch wood) and seems like a damn good buy. Paul C
• Death of my Xantia 11 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  Finding an enthusiast and expert like Mr Woollard was a real treat. I went on to get his tips on running and chosing a Xantia from his web site. My Xantia was a 96 vsx diesel. I bougth it from the company I was working for at the time. I bought it blind trusting the service manager. The car was sound but when I picked it up it was clear the clutch was in need of replacement and the tyres were worn off on the edges at the front.
• Renault laguna RN -collapsing seat backs 9 Aug 2002 (Forum)
  When the fixing breaks the seat becomes uncomfortable as the frame is then presses into your back. Having run out of fixings I decided to try to be more inventive and came up with a solution that is cheap and effective using an everyday item. I took a standard giant sized paper clip (2-3 in) and with a pair of pliers bent it and cut it into the shape of the fixing rod.
• Insurance cover demands - Am I dreaming? 20 Jul 2002 (Forum)
  The problem is that I have just called Direct Line, who I have used for home insurance for years, and car insurance for years before my first company car, and learned: 1) Because I am not surrendering my company car, and want to buy the Pug as a second car, I am allowed zero NCD. Why? What's the difference between running one car and a hundred? Surely NCD should apply to all of them, and if you have a claim on one of them, be lost against all of them? 2) They won't touch my wife, who has many years Czech driving experience, with a barge pole.
• Fiat Cinquecento problems 6 Mar 2002 (Forum)
  Today I had an interesting development: when the car goes into a mad revving stage it is calmed down when I remove either of the coils (but still keeps running). I was very hopeful I'd found the problem but I've replaced the coils and it's still the same! - Revving and not revving on a 30 second cycle then going into a complete mad rev after about a minute and stumbling when I drive it at low speeds (when you put your foot down on the accelerator the revs actually drop causing a flat spot and when you take your foot off they drop too) I think I'm going to give up soon, it's looking impossible to fix.
• Why is my fuel mixture getting weaker? 19 Feb 2002 (Forum)
  I have a 1991 pre-cat Toyota Carina 2.0 GLi Exec Auto with the 3SFE (Fuel injection) engine and 103,000 miles. I have had various intermittent cold starting and cold running problems which the family owned garage I normally use couldn't get to the bottom of and so I took it to my local main dealer for a diagnostic. The code that came up was"28" which is an irrelevant code -- it shows there is a fault but it doesn't tell you what or where.
• Honda Legend 2.7 12 Feb 2002 (Forum)
  The main thing worrying me about an otherwise heavily loaded fast coupe is that the bulkhead on the right hand side has rusted through on the forward edge, apparently from water running off the windscreen and being trapped under a plastic cover. There is about six inches breadth of complete rot on the fold. Just underneath is the windscreen wiper motor and the bulkhead seems solid there but it is impossible to see under the plastic cover without a lot of unscrewing and removal.
• Warning! Volvo & Chrysler a/c 16 Jul 2001 (Forum)
  Cost of the entire job is about £1000, bit less for Volvos. It is also hard to diagnose, so don't be fobbed off with a simple recharge until the warranty runs out. If any of these vehicles needs substantial gas in the first 5 years, then you have a leak. In order of time to failure, it seems to be Grand Cherokees 1st, then Voyagers and Neons, then Cherokees last.
• Getting the gear 9 Jul 2001 (Forum)
  My Talbot Express (same, I believe as Peugot J5) Van, drops, with some complaining, but nevertheless drops into reverse. Two years ago, it wouldn't and no amount of running it around, avoiding reversing then trying again, would alter that fact. A couple of hours later it relented and, without any fuss, in it went. Last week, whilst facing a brick wall in France, it decided to do it again.
• Volvo S60 (2000 - 2009) - Two weeks (almost) review and update 18 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  It's reported to have a flat torque curve from 2000-5500 RPM. Being a light pressure turbo, the engine still runs a relatively high 9.5:1 compression ratio, meaning it responds well from idle. Definitely the best sounding car I've ever owned. It took a week before I stopped extending the engine over 4k just to listen to it.
• VW caddy sdi long distance buying experience 29 Dec 2017 (Forum)
  But after wasting most of a day waiting for close up photos which ultimately never appeared, and speaking to (i think) the father of the guy who runs the garage, i also discovered that they would not be able to have it serviced (including belt, water pump, etc), mot'd AND get it to me before Christmas. So i moved on to the one in Blackburn, at an outfit called Globe motors.
• Toyota Auris - Honda Civic - Civic 1.8 VTEC 9th Gen (2012) vs Auris 1.6 VMATIC (2013) 13 Oct 2017 (Forum)
  I assume the reason is that the 1.6 engine needs to work harder than a larger engine to build and maintain motorway speeds. But given that the Auris has 6 gears, does it still need to run at that high revs? Anyone here has expereince of motorway cruising on the 1.6 V-MATIC Auris vs the 1.8 VTEC on the Civic? I am putting below my thoughts on the Pros and Cons of both the cars.
• BMW 2 Series Active Tourer - A weekend test drive in a BMW 225xe plug-in hybrid 22 Jan 2017 (Forum)
  Overall, I did 285 miles, of which 220 was a long motorway run at a steady cruise-controlled 80.  This together with some, er, enthusiastic testing of performance gave fuel consumption of 38mpg during the time I had it (measured brim to brim, not on the computer).
• Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2008 DPF and Turbo Woes 25 Mar 2015 (Forum)
  Hi all, I am posting here to share my as yet unresolved Ford Focus issues and plan on updating over the next few days as the proposed solution goes ahead. Hopefully it will be of help to somebody in the future. The car has run smoothly since I purchased a few years ago with around 55k miles on the clock. I am now up to 92k, mileage consisting of around 50/50 short trips/motorway runs, and for the last 9 months increased motorway driving with 2-3 North West-West Midlands round trips per month.
• Vectra 3.2 V6 2003 - Vectra cuts out and wont start......sometimes 5 Jun 2013 (Forum)
  After about 25 minutes I got a slight judder from the engine and a flash of a red light from the dash but the car continued to run and the light went out so fast that I didn’t actually see what it was. I travelled for a further 8 miles on tender hooks and I then pulled into another shop close to home and switched it off.
• BMW 3-Series E90 (2005 - ) - 325d 2nd Impression 24 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  The novelty of seeing the little bug racing round the speedo has me setting and resetting it all the way along the road. I almost run into a truck in the process. Gaining a little in confidence the temptation to experience the torque asserts itself. An excursion to 80mph ensues without getting anywhere near the initial 3000rpm limit.
• Both cars stolen last night - Vol 1 2 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  I ran to the back door, grabbed a cricket bat and saw 4 hooded thugs getting ready to attack the patio doors again. I ordered my wife and son to run upstairs quickly, my wife having the nous to pick up the phone and run to hide, with son, in a wardrobe and dial 999. There was then an almighty crash as a paving stone was hurled through the patio doors - as I entered the lounge to see what was happening, I can only describe it as akin to an SAS raid - 4 hooded, thugs piled through the broken glass screaming and shouting at me, and weilding long, machete-type blades.