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• Skoda Yeti SUV (2009 - ) - First 150 miles in my new 2 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  The older 1.8T unit in my MKI vRS's by comparison was very much a turbo unit, which little below 2500rpm and then wallop. We also run a Qashqai 1.6 petrol and the difference between the 2 is huge. The Qashqai is much noisier on the road (engine and tyre roar) and feels significantly slower, despite figures suggesting the 2 cars are virtually identical in terms of performance.
• Nissan Almera (2000 - 2006) - - time to replace, but with what? 2 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  , having had the dullmobile and seeing an RX8 and Civic Type R in the family I'd like something that looks sporty, even if performance doesn't necessarily reflect that. The Almera is relatively costly to run without returning a very good MPG (34 around town) and that disappoints me somewhat. Sorry for the long post, I was always taught not to be vague but this I fear may be taking the proverbial biscuit!
• Hyundai i20 (2009) - A worthwhile deal? 10 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  What we do need is a cheap, economical, safe runabout which can be used for the occasional longer, motorway trip and even the odd run down to the south of France. It is important to be able to get my elderly and somewhat arthritic MiL in and out of the passenger seat, and a dog in a similar state in and out of hatchback. Your feedback would be very welcome, thank you.
• Volkswagen Touran MPV (2003 - ) - Sell privately or in auction? 23 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  I find myself drooling over ads for nice 530i sport tourings (still E39), and I'm seriously contemplating getting rid of the boogie bus and heading back, and most probably end up with £10k cash in the bank to boot. I don't do much mileage around 12k a year, so I would/should be able to afford any increase in running costs. It was an expensive mistake to make and all that but life is too short and thankfully I can swallow any financial loss that making such a tardy move has meant. I will have exclusive use of my parents volvo estate for about 6 months from November onwards, so I'm planning on selling the Touran mid November-ish and then sitting on the cash until May at the latest, so I have plenty of time to look for a good 530i or 530d.
• Day trip to France - LD Lines 12 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  This resulted in about 5 queues forming to get to them and a lot of bad tempered barging in, hooting, fist waving and the like. Auchan on the outskirts of Boulogne, inland across the M way was excellent and I took a quick run up to Calais to collected pre-ordered drinks from Sainsbury's. They accept an order on-line, phone you if there is anything they can't supply, and it is in a trolley ready to pay for and take away which works very well.
• Nissan Micra (1992 - 2003) - 02 1.4 Engine Management System 14 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  We left it for repair, but fortunately for us the garage said they had difficulty in locating a replacement part, so we took the car home. Throughout all this, the car has been running faultlessly, albeit with the engine management light on. If anyone can offer any advice or suggest a way forward I would be very grateful Ideally, we would like the fault sorted and the light extinguished without a continual cash haemorrhage.
• Day trip to Germany - Random Ramblings 9 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  Pressed the clutch and the engine re-started and away we went - an introduction to BMW's stop start system. I think the engine can be made to keep running when parked by putting the handbrake on!? The car was an odd spec. Heated seats but with fabric not leather, only speedo, RPM and fuel gauges, no temp gauge. Steel wheels with Korean Hankook tyres, surely they aren't original eqipment on any BMW?
• Jaguar XJ6 and XJR (1994 - 1997) - 95 3.2 The oil just vanished 20 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  I live in Jersey, and walk to work, so it only does about 10 miles a week these days, except when I take it back to the UK. There's 130,000 miles on the clock, and it always gets a couple of long runs on the motorway each year. It always uses quite a bit of oil in winter, but in summer is usually fine. The oil pressure sensor is apparently a bit weak and needs replacing (which was the case when I bought it), so that after hard acceleration (which I do often!)
• SAAB 9-5 (1997 - 2009) - Blown turbo woes 12 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Bought from a Saab main dealer who had looked after it from new. Has now done 68,000 miles. It has been relatively trouble free although not cheap to run. It has always been serviced regularly in line with Saabs recommendations as we are aware of the sludge problem. (The timing chain etc was changed under warranty at the time she bought the car) Two months ago she had a problem starting the car and said it kept stalling so she booked it in to the dealers.
• A motoring diary`snapshot` - you, yesterday 4/6/09 6 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Whole engine bay washed and re-applied WD40 over all alloy. Cleaned rubber hoses with a wipe of degreaser and rinse. Test run, top up antifreeze. By now it`s 5.00pm - and the evening is spent reading History - watching TV and using the Eee pc.... on The Forum. If I were to keep a recording diary of yesterday - that`s the `motoring context` it would reveal - of the day and typical of me in retirement - (garden excluded) Do you want to post your own snapshot of (preferably) 4th June.
• MG MGF (1995 - 2002) - Modified MGF - worth a punt? 2 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  I've seen a 1997 MGF advertised (UK£2850), with the following "boy racer" apparel fitted. I've no idea if this list of accessories is impressive. Should I take a look at the car or run away..?! 68600km GAZ 16 way adjustable shocks (GAZ GT2-4621) 17 x 225 Rears/215 Front wheels/tyres (LVV certified) Bridgestone tyres Drilled and slotted discs, EBC green stuff pads NZ motorsport approved removable roll bar Removable over engine stiffening bar Racing belts (not fitted) Front air splitter Mike Satur SSK slick shift gear change kit Shortened shift, Momo gear knob.
• Volkswagen Polo III (2000 - 2002) - 01 1.6 Gearbox Nightmare- Specialist help required 26 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  There should be a 0.1 - 0.2 difference between the 4th and 5th gear ratios, but the difference between 4th and 5th in my box was only 0.01. Because of this the box was running excessively hot in 5th gear and the oil had been burnt off through the breather, the lack of oil had then caused the failure. I explained the history of the box and he said most likely with it being warranty work the garage had just used the 5th gear from another model Polo (probably the diesel version, he thinks) and not ordered the correct part for my GTI.
• You can't sell Betsy ! A Christmas tale... 22 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  Her predecessor was a Merc which had to go as a result of the financial pressure. Having had Mondeos before I was happy enough to run another. She has given faultless service for 155 thousand miles. She has got me to Italy and back a dozen times, often crossing the Alps in winter, laden to the gunwhales as usual. A similar number of business trips to Germany have been completed without fuss and every summer she has phlegmatically dealt with the bike racks and kitchen sink levels of detritus which we apparently need when camping in the south of France.
• Drink and Drug Drive Campaign 11 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  We will step up our enforcement and do all we possibly can to keep death and injury off our roads over the Christmas period." The Christmas Drink and Drug Drive Campaign runs from Monday December 1 to Thursday January 1, 2009. Leicestershire's campaign supports the national Think! campaign - with brand new radio, internet and in-pub advertising - to remind drivers, and young men in particular: If you get caught drink driving you'll be processed like any other criminal.
• 1.8 versus 1.6 - car buying advice please 4 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  The other car is the Honda CRV but that too is a diesel and about 5K more for a 2007 model than the 10K I wish to spend on a car - plus it has higher insurance and presumably higher servicing/running costs? So here I am, 6 foot 2 inches tall with long legs and have now been carless for 6 months. I need to buy a car sometime in the next month so I would be grateful, if the above makes any sense, for recommendations and advice.
• Mitsu Colt vs Toyota Yaris 19 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  Are there any big issues with them other than not being very fast? Both have extendable warranties which we like and both seem to cost a similar amount to run. The Colt LOOKS narrower but may just be the boxy styling making it look so. The Colt also has more space for drivers knees as my misses being all of 5 ft has to sit close to the wheel and in so many cars we tried her knees fouled the lower dashboard.
• Are small cars impractical for tall people? 16 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  I have begun, for green reasons and economic reasons, to think about a Yaris but, heck, it is a push to fit in one and I expect, apart from being easier to park and cheap to run, there would be serious downsides in being to transport anything 'big' if I ever needed to... oh, and in such cars I have to push the seat so far back that no one could sit behind me anyhow... but this is the same for Focus, Golf, Asta, Mazda 3 and so on.
• Physical degeneration and the motor Car 12 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  Sitting here in the lounge, I still feel about the same psychologically, could still get on a bike and set off.... but I know that despite still being fit and able to run flat out, as i approach 60, enduring the cold wearing the same clothes would be different. Very different.. Perhaps being slim doesn`t help, but I was even slimmer then. Lets hear it for heating from central vents.
• Volvo 740/760 (1984 - 1990) - Should the garage proprietor also do the MOT's? 30 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Therefore if the proprietor gets a reputation for harsh testing he will lose most of his trade. The facilities are fairly low tech so his clientele are those, like myself, who run older vehicles. Luckily my P4 is not due for test for another nine months so I have a little time to find a 'sympathetic' MOT garage, otherwse at nearly fifty years old it has no chance. ---------------------------------------------- One mans junk is another mans treasure
• Legacy 2.5 Tourer - 40,000 mile report 22 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  The 4WD was a big plus on some snowy/slippery transits through back roads last winter. Summary - not the cheapest car in the world to run, but I didn't buy it expecting that. I like the fact that you don't see that many others around (at least in the South/SE). Would I buy another? Yes but a second-hand Spec B :o)