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• First ever prang... any advice welcomed 5 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  Annoyingly I have just changed insurer - have two years NCB with Direct Line but was a named driver on my mum's policy with them for three years previously ( had another 2 years NCB before that but it expired), however got a better renewal quote from Halifax Guess I'll have to take the hit on my premium, and then probably change my car (Mondeo Si) for a much smaller one to try and claw some of it back. Obviously it's a pretty run of the mill accident - just thought I would ask for any advice on not getting hammered too badly by my insurers! I do have a direct number for the cabbie, but given the above I doubt it'll be "Yeah, £50 should do it mate" P.S.
• Renault Scenic (1999 - 2003) - 02 1.9 dci power loss and black smoke 3 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Hi out there,I hope someone can Help me, I have a 2002 scenic megane RX4 1.9 dci ,She used to run just great until i did a long drive down to south of france and back, I was heading up the Alps when without warning i had no real pulling power, i climed the Alps at about 15 miles per hour, which made it hell for me and also anybody following , the strange thing is on the straight she ran just fine,??
• MG MG ZT (2001 - 2005) - 03 2.0 (135)fuel lift pump 8 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  By this time beginning to loose all faith in the car but felt unable to change it due to the Rover bankruptcy and the huge loss we could ill afford to incur.Since then we have had another loss of power at high speed in the outside lane of the M25, rescued,another episode whilst towing a caravan,middle lane of the M25,each time taken to main dealers in the local area by breakdown company and supposedly repaired either by fitting new fuel lifter pump.Had all work done last year in france again when it failed again after running perfectly for 12 months. Ran for 12 months and has now done the same thing and needs another pump we have been told.We have done 34000 miles and wonder if this really is a fuel pump problem or could it be electronic/electrical.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 01 2.0 Noise from rear brake(s) 23 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  The car isn't mine, it's a company car which I have from Friday-Wednesday this week (therefore not particularly familiar with it) and it's the estate btw. Seemed fine driving home Friday evening but having taken it out since for a decent run I have noticed an odd sound coming from the O/S rear brakes. I'm fairly certain they're disc brakes on these though haven't checked to be honest! The sound couldn't quite be described as a grinding but it's definitely a friction-like sound.
• Young driver- help with first insurance,first car 17 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  My son is 18 and about to take his 2nd practical driving test (he failed the first one 2 weeks ago), he is due to start work very soon and will need a car to commute the 10 miles each way and - living in rural Gloucestershire ? there is no public transport between work and home. I?ve run his details through Confused, ComparetheMarket, and so forth and it comes out around £1700 on a group 2 car TPF & T with my wife as a named driver- it?s actually over £2K without her on the policy!.
• Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - 2000 1.6 8v No spark after timing belt change! 30 May 2008 (Forum)
  I checked all the electrical connections and all seemed okay. The only thing I disturbed (electrical) was the fuel pump relay which was removed and the engine run to depressurise the fuel system as instructed by the manual. I understand that there are many components in the ignition system that could fail (sensors, wiring, ECU, etc..). and cause this fault.
• Volkswagen Passat (2001 - 2005) - 02 1.9 TDi 130 - Misfire advice needed 15 May 2008 (Forum)
  I only question this as they told me the car may need a new turbo system, or injectors. They want to run a compression test at 2 hours labour and then depending on the results rebuild the head gasket (??) or replace the turbo system (ata cost of 1500!) any thoughts anyone - I've seen a lot of talk about the mass air flow on these cars but have no idea if that might be relevant in this case...
• Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 1998 2.0d - conrod failure. 5 May 2008 (Forum)
  Just got into Salisbury and BANG - conrod through the side of the block, smashing radiator and starter motor........ no warnings, no lights came on, no change in engine noise - thought I had run over something until I looked in my rear view mirror!!!!!! This car has only done 46k miles to date (plus 150 miles on the back of a trailer coming back from Salisbury!) On Monday I rang Peugeot UK, they wanted me to take it to a Peugeot dealer garage to strip it down and take a look at why this has happened!
• Ford Fiesta (2002 - 2008) - A question for Screwloose & other 'old-time' mechs 15 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  My own car-owning history only goes back 20 years or so; I began with an '82 1.0L Mini and I'm currently running around in an '03 plate Fiesta TDCi. Whats striking for me, as a not-very-good fixer of cars, is how little it seems 'modern' garages can actually do in the way of fault diagnosis that isnt computer-driven- and more importantly, how often these diagnostic tools can prove to be wrong.
• Renault Megane (1996 - 1998) - 97 pressurising coolant tank and other symptoms 6 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  I just want to arm myself with some knowledge before i take the car back on Monday. When i was driving the car i could hear a sound like fluid running, it was coming from behind the dash area by the passenger footwell. I lifted the bonnet and saw that there was water being forced out from the cap of the header tank. The windscreen seems to mist up easily and also there is a slight mist on the inside of the plastic "screen" where the speedo and rev counter etc are.
• Court Summons for Parking Offence 18 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  Now I face a court appearance with a potential for a fine and already there are £35 costs against me. I find it staggering that a) the police can waste so much time and money running around hand delivering NIPs and b) that a parking offence can go straight to requiring a court appearance without a fixed penalty being offered. The summons has required the two CSOs to write formal witness statements and I have been required to fill in a detailed questionnaire asking me to detail my weekly income and outgoings down to the level of asking me how much I spend on cigarettes and the lottery each week.
• Apology to a BMW Driver 8 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  A446 dual carriageway, BMW 1 Series doing 55-60 in outside lane beside Mondeo, Toyota coupe behind the BMW. on the run to Coleshill police station the Mondeo disappears into the distance having overtaken on the inside, I gain on the coupe staying in the left lane. At the police station roundabout I stay in the left lane and end up beside the BMW on the exit, unfortunately I am occupying the piece of road (outside half of the inside lane) which he wants to occupy in cutting the corner on the exit to the roundabout so I brake and am now just behind him.
• Peugeot 307 SW (2002 - 2008) - 03 HDi 110bhp Limp Home mode 30 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Suffice to say they came back and told me they could not find anything, but mentioned that the flywheel and exhaust needed fixing. Car had been running ok. Within days the car seized and flywheel had gone. I had it recovered to a local Kwik Fit and had repairs done. However on taking the car back it had gone into "limp home" mode under 2500revs.
• Audi A4 (1995 - 2000) - 99 Avant auto B5 Tdi - engine vibes through body 25 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  Has only been used for motorway journeys. The only thing I could find wrong when I test-drove it, was a vibration on the over-run, most pronounced at around 2200rpm, most noticeably when cruising at 60-70mph. Same vibration is also evident when revving the engine whilst stationary. So, it seems there is some coupling of the engine to the bodywork in some way, particularly when the drive-train is driving the engine.
• Car insurance - to keep or cancel? 1 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  My plan is to put the car up for sale after i collect my new car. I will let the current insurance run till i sell the car. It is taxed till end of this year. Will use it now and then for shopping where i sometimes come back with the car supporting a new dent. If i don't sell the car before end of Dec i will scrap it.
• 2002 Polo 9N sporadic starting problems 18 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  The battery has been replaced recently, however I don?t think this is a battery related problem as once the engine starts, everything runs fine (no low charge/alternator warning lamp, nice bright dipped beams etc.) The problem first occurred about 2 years ago and, like I said, is sporadic. The local Volkswagen dealer checked the fault memory when fitting a new battery recently, however this did not show up any malfunctions.
• Random starting problems with MK3 Fiesta 10 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  Then the car remains puffy until taking it round the block and the smoke goes. Once the car starts it runs lovely. Am I right in thinking this is a problem with sticking valves? There is all sorts of rattles from the camshaft area when cold. Can anybody else suggest what I can do why does turning the key for a constant 5 minutes cause the explosion and then make it start?
• Time for a change ...................... 21 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  We've had our Mazda5 for 18 months now and feel we would now like to get back to a normal / hatchback type car. We do around 7-10K miles a year, made up of the school run and commuting a short distance during the week with longer trips 150-200 miles/day at the weekend (seaside etc). I've narrowed it down to a choice of 2 new cars and a "wildcard" 2nd hand choice: 1.
• Whats it worth - Car Value 4 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  Toyota Corolla 2.0D XL 'L Reg' 112K miles This car is silver and owned from new (14 Years). Used to be main car until audi arrived so has done less than 4-5K per year. Has a good run every so often, doesnt smoke like some old diesels. No major bodywork problems, no rust. Engine superb, I wuldnt say it was a quiet engine, but is relaible and rock solid. Steel wheels are rusty, but not a major problem.
• Help needed with my Fiat Punto P reg 20 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  There was no water in (But I had only checked my water 2 days before) So took car to a mechanic who found a leaky hose thingy and changed it (Its black and looks like a hose anyway) Then I noticed my water was sometimes fine for weeks and sometimes disappears in days! and Oil not great either??? Then my car started doing bunny hops after a few minutes of running (Normally when I am entering the main road near to my home!) There is also a slight smell of petrol sometimes?? Then I was hoovering my car yesterday when I found my mats where soaking wet and both footwells have fluid in (Which my dad told me to taste to check to see if it was water or antifreeze.