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• What car did you learn to drive in? 11 Feb 2016 (Forum)
  I had no idea how to drive I had just turned 17 and when I turned a corner at 30mph in 4th and nearly loosing control my dad decided he wasn't up for the job of teaching me :( I then got a proper instructor who had a 1.0 12V Corsa B, no ABS or PAS again and I remember having no torque at all. Had a few lessons before this until he upgraded it to a run out W reg Corsa B with a 1.4 16v with ABS and PAS. At this point due to personal reasons and the fact I was working hard in college and university I gave up. I started again a year later same instructor this time with a Clio MK2 P2 1.2 16v which I really liked driving.
• Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 (2013 on) - your opinions please 28 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  So I thought, who better to ask than the fine folk in the HJ forum, especially those (hoping there will be some) who've lived with the latest 3 and probably know it inside out by now.  Any views on that little lot?  How have you found running costs, performance, dealers, body quality, space, visibility (parking especially), ride, steering, noise levels and not least, reliability? Any views or tips much appreciated.  
• 30,000 miles with an Octavia vRS estate v2 25 May 2015 (Forum)
  As promised in another thread a few days ago, some thoughts on the past 30,000 miles - almost all positive thoughts. Not really a running report, as nothing's gone wrong (so far of course). This is my third vRS estate - the first was a diesel manual, the second a petrol DSG, and this one a petrol manual. This isn't just me being fickle: I did 20,000 a year when I went for the diesel, following several other diesel cars.
• Mazda 3 Saloon - Outcome of COURT case against Mazda dealer 27 Jun 2014 (Forum)
   The new engine still gives a lot worse fuel economy in comparison to the original one, despite that it has been run   in. I am short of about 100-150miles per tank.  Well, I got my compensation, but I truly expected more understandable approach by the dealer and Mazda Motors.
• FIAT Grande Punto - Fiat GPunto starting problem, glow plugs 13 May 2014 (Forum)
  Once or twice it started without smoke or spinning, but that is very rare. Once started, the car runs beautifully, no alien sound, full engine power. Any ideas or advice? My questions are along these lines: 1. I am surprised that before drilling the car started way better on three plugs than now on all four.
• 1.2 VW Polo - Hire Car Misfuelling Incident 27 May 2013 (Forum)
  There is lots of information available on the web for putting petrol in a diesel, but it seems fairly unusual for somebody to put diesel in a petrol (probably because of the filler nozzle size). Does anybody know how much damage I am likely to have caused to the engine by running it for several minutes? I am assuming that the best case scenario is that the tank is drained and refilled, and the worst case scenerio is a new engine. Is it likely to come to this?
• Honda Jazz - Honda Servicing - Am I getting a proper Service ? 26 Jun 2012 (Forum)
    Bought the car as it got good reviews from HJ and wanted as little trouble as possible - she is very happy with the car and finds i-Shift no problem. Most journeys are cold starts and short runs, as you would expect a driver her age. (Btw, she only tops up with Shell V power petrol, again a HJ recommendation) ISSUE = on her 2nd Annual Service, the Engine Oil and Oil Filter NOT changed as stated in Honda Happiness Fixed Price Servicing Plan.
• Peugeot 306 1.9 D - electrical / starting problem 3 Mar 2012 (Forum)
  As this didn't make a lot of sense to me I decided to do a bit of research online and ended up going down the route of suspecting the immobiliser, but everything I've seen referred to that would fix/reset it don't seem to apply to my car (I have no fob - which I think is what's commonly referred to as a plip; there's no 'grey squares' under the rear seat behind the driver; and no reset button on the right-hand side of the steering column; also, the spare key gives exactly the same result) Last night I was again testing things and the good news is that it's behaving a lot more deterministically now (I can run the same test multiple times and get the same result each time). This is making me wonder if I've got a short somewhere, due to water ingress, that is slowly getting better as it dries out? Things that I've witnessed that I believe are significant so far include: 1) Although right before the fault I was able to get the glow plugs to activate (although the only evidence I have of this is the glow plug light on the dash illuminating and then going out a few seconds later), I am now no longer able to get this far in that starting sequence.
• Audi A4 Cabriolet (Auto) - Warranty Nightmare!!! 19 Feb 2012 (Forum)
  I had to explain and forward my email trail of proof that a warranty plan was already accepted via email and the sales rep at the time had advised my warranty was up and running. However they required me to again send a confirmation email that I accepted their T&S's before they could progress my claim and they would not deal with me until I did regardless of the fact of the email trail proof and monies taken.
• Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Zetec 2007 (56) - Focus 1.8 TDCi turbo woes 14 Sep 2011 (Forum)
  There is no hiss, no smoke, no juddering or clanking, but there is a bit of a blowing noise (sounds a bit like when the back box went on my old rover, but not as loud, and I can't locate it from outside the car with the engine running). I ended up limping home with no boost and when I got home it smelt a bit, well, exhaust-y (I can't really describe it any better than that). There's still no smoke, noises, judder, overheat, lights on the dashboard, errors or fault messages and no appreciable loss of MPG, there's just no boost.
• Buying 2nd hand - Overpriced dealers or is it me? 5 Nov 2010 (Forum)
  I know Traders use Glasses guide, but come on guys there is a recession. Again am I unrealistic (I realise they are running a business), or are they just out to rip off the unwary, or leave plenty of room for negotiation? All I want is a good car, with full history, that is the right price! I can't be a***d with the auctions again, by the time you've paid the premiums, taxed the car, taken the 'chance' that you've been lucky and driven 60 miles each way to Blackbushe you may as well have bought privately any way, andhad the chance to test/check the car properly.
• Ford Focus TDCI Mark 2 - Ford Focus Steering wheel vibration 22 Oct 2010 (Forum)
  I am hoping someone can give me some idea of what to do, I feel like I have run out of options with this. I know it goes on a bit but please bear with me. Back in March 2008 it got to the point where the when braking there was a lot of noise from the back indicating that they were on their way out.
• Vauxhall Vectra B facelift (1999 - 2002) - 02 1.8 Various electrical problems 13 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  The Air conditioning is of Auto type (you select temp on the display and it then increases/decreases temp/speed of fan to get right temp inside car) It started with the air cond not auto regulating the fan it was running on full speed all the time. Was only possible to adjust temp. Then after some time it got worse and it was not possible to start the air cond at all it was always of. I then found the ?control regulating unit?
• Customised cars help 18 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  I repeated asked for evidence of the work being carried out which all i received are texts to say everything is running smoothly, he told me it was in a paint shop and the painter takes ages sometimes with it but he has repeatedly ignored my requests for the paintshop location and details, I believe the car to be in his workshop but he stated it at the paint shop and has even texted me and said he is in a 2K debt for paint because of me asking for my money back.
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 04 2.0 TDCI 115: Flashing glow plug light 2 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Hi, have just seen this forum and thought I'd run my problem past the knowledgeable readership... Wrote this on another forum last week: Was driving my 54 2.0 TDCi 115 on the M50, mucking about a little with the cruise control being a bit lazy. Went through some roadworks at 40 then when I tried to pick up speed again the glow plug light started flashing on the dash and engine was very slow to respond.....eventually called the AA out and the very nice man plugged his lappie in and came up with error code P1330 "injector control pressure lower than desired".
• Red light on ? Keep driving ... 7 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  We are now at a Mexican stand off where son expects me to put the belt on so he can continue in his role as g/f's taxi driver, and I think it would be good for his life skills if he put the belt on; it's simple. I also have to consider the effects of running the battery completely flat; it's a tiny budget thing about the size of a tin of Spam. Don't feel a need to comment on this ramble, writing it is good therapy for me.
• Big cars: further to fall? And what would YOU do? 22 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  So, reasoning that the car was paid for, reliable and well suited to the task, that it had done the worst of its depreciating, and that it was unlikely I could justify another car with a five-cylinder engine, I thought it made sense to run it on for another couple of years before trading it in for something a little smaller ? I?m one of the few to have an eye on Volvo?s perky little C30. But now the S60 seems to be costing me more than I?
• Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - Common rail crap or what. Views please! 6 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  Maybe they have had issues, attempting looking it up on net and have all found these sites which facilitates their shared experiences in dissing the engines and having a rant? I would love to see stats for these cars Ford / Mazda / toyota for those models that are still running versus those which have packed up. At this point, belive it or not , I am considering returning for the car in newcastle once ford sorts it. Im thinking ' hey a brand new fuel system, must be good for another 100k or so.
• Internal combustion, 60 years on 19 May 2007 (Forum)
  Given that the last 200 years have taken us from the blacksmiths forge in what seems like a logarithmic progression into special alloys , materials and expertise, what are the possibilities now and for that enginneer of the future who is looking back at our engines as we in turn look back at the Old A4 Gresley Pacific? Turning heat into energy... Imagine a car engine with the exhaust running through a heat exchanger,a fully insulated engine exterior (as on a domestic hot water tank. The cooling system set up to store the heat with only emergency flow through the conventional radiator.
• Motoring in Tenerife 3 Dec 2006 (Forum)
  ve just spent a week in Tenerife, we had a car for three - some of my experiences. First car we were in was a Merc W124 Estate taxi - V6 petrol. Nicely run in at just short of 500,000 km. Auto box sounded a bit clunky, but we covered the miles very quickly. Easy to see why 99% of cabbies over there drive them. Plenty of the cars were also of considerable age.