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• the battery that came in out of the cold 25 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  No problem, I used my portable starter, which has been on permanent stand-by in the rear for a couple of years, to get going; however I was surprised that a seven mile run did not seem to charge the battery up at all, so I decided it was time to accept the inevitable and applied the starter again and headed for Halfords (Sat pm, so the local factors was closed) As usual they were ridiculously expensive so I walked across the road and bought one from the supermarket; this meant of course I had to fit it myself and take my old one home.
• Unpaid VED 27 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  But, 80 per cent of that is expected to be recovered through subsequent improvement, a DfT spokesman said. In recent years the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has run a high-profile TV advertising campaign telling people to pay their road tax on time or face certain prosecution. Evasion rates are highest for motorcycles and "other" vehicles, the figures show. In addition, evasion among cars and vans that are more than 10 years old is five times as high than those which are less than a decade old.
• 1999 Peugeot 306 1.9 TDi Meridian 10 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  I've been given quotes in the £1400-1800 + vat region to either recondition or replace the engine with dire warning attached that the fuel system may also be knackered which would cost another £1000 and it may never run properly again. Unfortunately - being in my last year of study I can't actually afford to replace the car. Is there anything other than a worn piston ring that could cause this - could it be a problem with the turbo or the fuel system?
• My new Passat - first impressions 7 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  easy to use and nice sound, powerful. Big boot. On the road ? assured, comfortable and solid feeling. Obviously, I?m running it in and taking it easy (controversial, I know!) but it seems to have plenty of power. It comes into its own on the open road, and cruises nicely at 2000rpm at 70mph in 6th gear. Gear change a little notchy but this will hopefully improve over time.
• Ford Ka PAS and spark plugs 25 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  According to her friend, it was perfectly OK until about a month or so ago when it suddenly started playing up. My sister reckons it's very noticeable on cold starts, but then slowly improves with running time. However, even then it always requires more effort to turn left than to turn right. The seller had the garage look at it, and they drained the PAS fluid, flushed the system through and refilled it (documented in the s/h).
• Ideal vehicle for 200k miles in a year? 24 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  We would be looking at the van versions (ie 3-door hatchbacks minus seats and rear side windows) of the Fiesta, Punto and 206, the old-shape Astravan (now built in SA), also at cars such as the Fabia and Octavia, and maybe a last-of-old-shape Focus or Astra. Should we try to run something for two years or change it after one? Which vehicles would give us the best real-world mpg figures at 70-80mph? Can anybody suggest any other vehicles which might fit the bill? All comments appreciated.
• Good Customer Service 30 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  No movement so I thought probably looking at a new wiper motor £100 or so including fitting- I thought well I have had a good run , the first problem with the car in four years and that was not covered in warranty. I decided to drop in to my local Honda dealer on the way to work and asked if somebody could have a quick look.
• Got a TomTom ONE; special offer this w/e 1 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  Usefully slimmer than a TomTom ONE, it doesn't seem to be missing any features I need, and it was up and running within four minutes of walking out the door of the shop. The only downside so far is that it is yet another piece of kit to carry around with me :(
• Parking on private land - help please 7 May 2006 (Forum)
  Appropriate XYZ clamping signs go up. 3 - if there are still cars there, get the clampers (or buy our own clamp) and get clamping! 4 - last resort - don't know? if someone leaves a car with a clamp attached, i run out of ideas. Am i allowed to remove the vehicle? Can i trace owner legitimately? Stages 1-3 seem ok, but stage 4 needs a bit of work. I could report any leftover cars as abandoned to the council, but they may not be interested as it's private land.
• Toyota 4Runner Rear Fog Relay 18 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  I've checked every fuse under the bonnet and inside the driver's footwell with a meter, and I've pulled out every relay I can find, and put power across them to check they work, and tested them with a meter whilst doing so and they're all fine. I've had the glove box out and looked for fuses behind there and there weren't any. I've now run out of ideas. Is there any thing else I can check? Does anyone know which relay is for the fog light? Every other electrical item on the car works, including all inside and outside lights, the cigar lighter etc so I don't suspect a fuse unless there is one that only does the rear fog light and it's somewhere I haven't looked.
• Mk1 Leon temp gauge & fuel gauge 31 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  Both the fuel gauge and temperature gauge have been intermittently faulty for a while now - I had the dealer run a diagnostic check and the fuel gauge sender needs to be replaced (fault code 00771 030 - open circuit or short to positive), as does the coolant temperature sender (code 01039 030 - open circuit or short to positive).
• Oil Spec VW 505 500 or 505 501 20 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  I have always driven VW diesel cars (Golf, Jetta GXD and Vento 1.9 Tdi) and am sure that changing the oil midway between the recommended intervals must have contributed something to their longevity (400k, 200k and 200 k miles respectively - and the last, the Vento, is still running happily.) I recently purchased a Skoda Fabia 1.9Tdi estate (Comfort), with which I'm very pleased: in all respects (except price) it seems like the Vento Tdi. I changed the oil at 5000 miles, using Castrol GTD Magnatec.
• Car finance agreement, advice please? 1 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  So with this third option, are there any other implications (legal) other than making the finance company a bit upset?! If he does this, does he have to notify them before the lease runs out, ie. within the next 2 weeks? Any advice much appreciated, Rich.
• What price 5* Ncap crash protection 30 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  RF escaped with two cracked ribs, severe bruising of shoulder and airbag burns to inside of r/h wrist and l/h inside elbow. Bus driver cut free and escaped with cuts and bruises. (bus was fortunately running empty) Now to the title. Any of you doubt the benefits of 5 star NCAP crash protection, you look very hard before you scoff. Thank you Renault. It may have had a dicky clutch and a whining gearbox, but when the crunch came your promises came through.
• Genuine Renault Parts ? returns policy!? 19 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  To cut a long story short, after 5 hours on the phone yesterday (glad I work from home) they finally agreed to send a replacement to the dealers for me to collect today. I have now fitted the coil and car runs as normal again. The dealer in question was useless and carried out illegal practises (in my view) and were happy for me to take them to court (or so it seemed). Moral of this story is avoid dealer parts at all costs (which I would have done if I had been able ?
• SORN & poss £5000 fine. 17 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  Yet, in my local paper each week, there are details of court cases where people with no TAX, insurance or MoT have been fined a pittance {no where near £5000} ? indeed often less than the cost of the tax, MoT and insurance. Some have run their cars like this for years. A car thief, if caught, certainly has no insurance and one could argue no tax, as they have not paid for it, nor MoT as they have not paid for the maintenance and MoT.
• Sensible Car up to about £3000 28 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  I don't suppose the (N-reg I think) Fiesta is worth a huge amount as a trade-in. Criteria are: smallish, reliable, cheap to run, not too ancient, power steering (something the current car lacks), comfortable for driver and 11-year-old daughter, and likely to survive being used for frequent short journeys. Her previous car was an Escort, and she doesn't want anything larger than that, so there's probably no point in recommending Mondeo-sized vehicles without a compelling argument to persuade her that such cars aren't significantly harder to drive and park than superminis.
• Falling foul of little hitler 25 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Witness the lady using her Oyster card on a bus and found to be 50p short when the card was checked by the all powerful, all seeing and smirking hitlerite inspector of Oysters! She says her card did not make the noise which would warn you that your Oyster had run out. I am sure that research would show that she is a law abiding fully fare paying upright doyen of this land. She is being summonsed to court over a 50p shortage at goodness knows what cost. Despite pleas from other passengers and an offer from her to pay the full fare, Hitler cocked a deaf'un and with the lack of humour and goodwill and sheer humanity most of us possess to scrape through our lives, issued her with a summons.
• Keep car? Change car? Lease Car? 22 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  Work is just about as secure as it gets with long notice period. The Picasso does about 26 mpg with urban school run/commute/supermarket and the odd weekend away. Should I consider personal leasing instead? On the face of it I could get a decent car for less than £320/month and pocket the difference. Annual mileage would be below 10,000 as the Picasso's mileage has a couple of trips to the South of France on it that won't be happening again.
• GPS road charging dead in the water? 9 Feb 2005 (Forum)
  David Lamberti answered that unfortunately trials have established that satellite based systems cannot distinguish parallel roads with sufficient accuracy to determine which pricing structure to apply. Furthermore studies have also shown significant problems in obtaining accurate distance run measurements using GPS systems. Mr Lamberti concluded that satellite systems are profoundly unreliable in this application. The Chair then challenged the team to explain why road tolling was being considered for lorries using similar technology.