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• Audi A4 3.0Tdi v6 s-tronic auto quattro jul-2012 - Audi A4 auto idling at only 590rpm 9 Sep 2016 (Forum)
  Car has about 42K miles on the clock. I've been back to the garage several times and even Audi France took control of the calculator 'at distance' but have so far been unable to improve things. They apparently had trouble getting into the calculator for some reason. The garage even told me "there is no solution" but I don't believe that and I'm concerned that I am somehow damaging the car by using it like this.
• Audi A4 3.0 Tdi V6 Quattro July 2012, 28000 miles - S tronic problem 25 Dec 2015 (Forum)
  The stronic box mostly feels fine BUT I constantly experience the following : At constant 80 mph on the motorway (in France!) the box becomes immediately noisy (boomy, which can seem to ring around the cabin of the car), and with the additional noise comes additional vibration (through the floor?) and trembling of the horizontal part of the driver's seat.
• to be decided... - What car to replace loyal SAAB 9-3 18 Apr 2015 (Forum)
  At some stage it will need to be replaced but we are struggling to decide what to buy. We have 2 young children to accommodate, do ~6k miles a year including a couple of trips to France to visit grandparents, my preference is for petrol. So far I have shortlisted: Mercedes b-class. Plus points are that it is reasonably spacious and is chain cam engine. Downside is that the engine isn't very powerful.
• VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability 30 May 2014 (Forum)
     I now only do 10K miles pa with lots of short runs and need a small car for day to day use but which is large enough and powerful enough for comfortable holiday touring in France.   Having read all Honest John's warnings about the potential problems with modern turbo diesels particularly on short runs, I have been looking for a petrol engine.     The VW Golf with the 1.4TSI 122ps engine seems to meet all my requirements and the flexibility of the engine makes it a good replacement for the turbo diesels that I have been used to.
• Speedometer error 26 Aug 2013 (Forum)
  My C5 speedometer shows 7 miles below real speed since I had the cambelt changed in October last year. 3 GPS systems agree with actual speed and radars that show your speed too. I recently made a long trip through France were before the sped cameras they had radars that advise your actual speed. I noticed that I was always over the speed limit, (even though it showed the right speed on the clock for the road) and that the difference between my speedometer and my 2 GPS was about 7 to 8 miles difference.
• Car Delivery waiting times 2 May 2012 (Forum)
  I am getting suspicious, espicially because they havent yet sent over the "carte gris" the ownership papers in France, which I need for the auto insurence. they also refuse to give me a date for delievery. So am I just impatient, or does this sound like a snow job? What should I do?
• Peugeot 307 SW - Starting problem 15 Dec 2010 (Forum)
  I have taken the car back to Peugeot who have run a diagnostic and the want me to spend Euros (i live in France) 850 for a new battery (even though I have already just done this) and an Vanne EGA (some sort of valve?), I don't believe they have found the problem as it is so intermittent and I will be wasting my money.
• Any vehicle - Online tyre retailers .... winter tyres! 4 Nov 2010 (Forum)
  Been searching for winter tyres - existing tyres need replacing anyway and after last winter seems to be a sensible idea. Also will make me legal when I visit France / Switzerland in January. UK channels have limited choice / stocks so I've looked at some euro sources - priced in sterling and aimed at UK consumers. Now it is reasonable to expect the price to change broadly in line with exchange rate changes, but prices have yo-yo'ed considerably - mainly upwards.
• Buying winter tyres - online or otherwise 12 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  Second choice would be to buy winter tires....but these seem to be impossible to find in the UK at the moment. Someone suggested to me that there are websites in France and Germany where you can order online and have them shipped to a local UK fitter. I tried using mytyres.co.uk (Germany-based), but it seems rather dodgy (my credit card was refused and they are asking me to send a copy of a utility bill as proof of identity.....have also now seen many negative on-line comments about service).
• Speeding punishments 18 May 2009 (Forum)
  As for speed limits, leave them as they are except for motorways, which should be 80 mph day and night except on unlit sections at night or in poor visibility (similar to in France). Over to all you BR's .............
• What`s your risk assessment on breakdown? 12 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  the outcome perhaps being a relatively cheap part or two carried, that could then be made available to the breakdown service if a weekend breakdown occurs. (I`m thinking of France for example) Regards
• 1st baby on the way, £3.5k to spend - suggestions? 31 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  A 4x4 would not go a miss as we will be living out in the Scottish countryside, but not that bothered. The in laws have retired to the south of France - we're in Aberdeen, so a car that could handle THAT journey would be great - but to be honest it might be just way too far to drive. So far I have been looking at Volvo V40's (with high mileage), Citroen Picasso (seem pricey), Renault Scenic (not seen any in our price bracket), Skoda Fabia Estate (top end of budget).
• Diesel waxing 14 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  Last week I travelled back from southern France to the UK by way of Belgium. When I set off, my vehicle (a 2.5 DI Transit) had a full fuel tank and the weather had been hot and sunny for several weeks, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 20's.
• Carbon Taxes 7 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  Taxi to airport, low cost flight B to M, taxi to my hotel. or 2. Drive B to Channel, ferry across either to France or North Spain, drive from Calais or Bilbao to M. Apart from the 4 days travel involved in the drive my guess is that flying is way better for the b***** environment than driving my car!
• Petrol, diesel and beer 24 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  Having cut the grass I sat down last night to watch the France v Togo match with a couple of tins, this got me thinking. Unleaded is around 95p a litre, I reckon the little Honda used around 20p worth to cut the lawns Diesel is £1.00/ltr on which the Mondeo will take the family, I and a load of luggage perhaps 12.5 miles.
• New Focus tdci 90 - underpowered??? 30 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  I was just wondering if this car feels underpowered, it having the smallest power output on the new Focus diesel range??? Any experiences??? This centre is in Grenoble, France. You often see good deals on good cars in which the French have little interest, e.g. Fords, Skodas, Nissans. The French buy French cars.' Why'would start a very interesting thread. You can take a look at ac38.com Then click on 'notre stock' The word 'break' means estate.
• Bad Cars or Urban Myths? 13 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  On holiday in France,I had just driven into a camping site when a man came over and asked me what I thought of the car I was diving.I was perfectly satisfied with my car,comfortable,ultra-reliable,good economy and performance,so I asked him why he was interested-he told me his neighbour had said never to buy one as they were no good.I showed him round the car and took him for a drive in it-he liked it,so I asked him if his neighbour had ever owned one.Yes,you've guessed the answer--NO!!
• Volvo V70 vs back pain 31 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  I'd be reluctant to move to a much smaller vehicle, although I use the full capacity of the Volvo only when I fill it with wine in France! Thanks.
• Getting on with LHD. 6 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  A quite rare experience for me last couple of days, had to take a LHD French registered Renault Laguna back to France that a errant punter had brought over here when she shouldn't have. Now I get along with left handed cars just fine in the past, I enjoy driving something a little different and in some ways I prefer driving on the 'wrong side'.
• LCV - speeds and definitions in Europe 20 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  t=23988&v=f for those who are interested) We'll be trucking on down to the Alps on Boxing Day in the L200 and I was wondering if similar limits will apply "en France". I'm particularly aware that my usual approach to driving down to the Alps (find fastest French driver and follow at a 1/2 mile distance) is not likely to work this year as (a) The truck won't do those sort of speeds and (b) les flics are getting rather hot under the collar at Jean Etrangeres* sticking two fingers up, Agincourt style, at the speed limits.