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• 
  Need a higher off the ground car with a spacious boot - what do you recommend? 18 Jan 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I have happily owned Citroen estate cars for many years but we now find we need a car that we can climb up into rather than down into. However, we still...
• Jaguar XF - BMW 5 series 2011 Manual or Jaguar XF 2011 20 Aug 2016 (Forum)
  So the question is more around manual vs automatic, I love driving and I go on driving trips to Switzerland/France/Spain/Scotland from London, so the question is will I love automatic as I get used to it or if driving pleasure is the priority, is manual the one to go for ?  
• Jaguar X-Type 2.0d - Positive Story 22 Feb 2016 (Forum)
  Took it for a good run and I really am pleased with it.  Looking forward to a 1200+ mile run to France in Spring and a 2500 mile run to Andorra in summer. Had the car been terminal I planned to buy a new Dacia on PCP at £100/month. The sensible thing to do now, of course, would be to put away that £100/month.
• Renault Clio II - Clio II pollution - how to read 4 gas analysis 12 Feb 2015 (Forum)
  I've changed the spark plugs and filter and put in an additive, and although the values dropped from the initial fail, it's still not good enough: Acceleration (max CO 0.3, max lambda 0.97-1.03) CO 0.92 Lambda 0.978 Co2 14.4 O2 0.18 HC 90 And Idle (max CO 0.5) CO 0.54 CO2 13.2 O2 1.93 HC 169 I live in France so I'm not sure whether acceleration and idle are the correct ways if translating the two tests but I hope you might recognise them from UK terminology (I've never had to MOT a car in the UK). I'm stuck and don't know what to look for next.
• 
  Volkswagen Touareg - engine clatter 18 Mar 2014 (Ask HJ)
  My 2009 Volkswagen Touareg is starting to make a clatter on start-up, which lasts for 30 seconds. My local dealer has said that nothing shows on diagnostics...
• Citroen Berlingo Multispace - Citroen Berlingo Clutch problems 2.0 HDi 14 Dec 2011 (Forum)
  Our 2003 Citroën Berlingo 2.0 HDi has been amazingly trouble-free for 200 000 km. (we live in France). Extremely reliable, comfortable, roomy, we love it. Then Oct 2009 the clutch cable broke. A main dealer replaced it but said that the diaphragm had become hardened and the clutch mechanism needed replacing.
• Toyota Corolla - Returning with an untaxed, un-MOT car 16 Sep 2011 (Forum)
  We can't get a MOT without getting in to the UK. We are having to drive from Morocco through Spain and France with our vehicle that will not be taxed anywhere. I'm expecting that we can buy insurance online and print off the emailed cover note (but I might be wrong on this score?) We're concerned that the moment we approach Dover the customs people will give us grief or that on the way home (Bedfordshire) we'll be stopped at least once by the police.
• Foreign drivers let off 25 Dec 2008 (Forum)
  However police said that if a driver is registered outside the UK, the camera offence is currently "rejected".'' Now go to France and try speeding or choose another european country and fail to carry your fluorescent jacket, spare set of bulbs,warning triangle and see if you get ' let off ". Gives me a clue as to why so many foreign registered cars with their weird and wonderful number plates are increasing in my town and why their users don't seem to be in a hurry to change their details.
• FIAT - Buying flawed 70s Gems.... 16 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  All despite having fantastic engineering were built from useless recyled steel and rusted away over here. However do cherished cars still exist in the south of Italy and France, where is the best place to look and are pristine examples of such cars expensive? I remember them all as great little cars as a kid and the Alfas and FIATs used to sound brilliant when driven "con brio" as they usually were.
• punto cylinder head at main dealer 15 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  I've a 2001 Punto 1.2 8v and the head gasket just 'went' at 75000 Kilomteters (I live in France - thats about 50,000 miles). THe local FIAT main dealer took two weeks to fix it, offered no courtesy car, and charged 800 Euros (about 520 pounds) for changing the head gasket, water pump, cam-belt,temperature gauge on the radiator, sparkplugs and purging the cooling circuit.
• What's in your boot? 9 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  Foot pump 2 socket sets - 1/2 and 1/4 inch drives Small tool kit Set of alum keys Security screw bits and holder Roof bars Ratchet straps and ropes Warning triangle 4 cardboard bottle carriers (for the next trip to France) Car rug for picnics 4 large towels (used for stopping items rubbing or moving) Screen wash concentrate Deicer Car polish Interior plastic polish Roll of kitchen paper Set of spare light bulbs and fuses Set of jump leads Torch Plastic fabric sheet (for dirty items or roadside repairs) Umbrella Thinking about it, I seem prepared for almost anything.
• Car hire in Europe -- help! 6 Aug 2004 (Forum)
  The last time I hired a car it was a Ford Zodiac, so I'm yonks out of date on these things. We spend a chunk of each year touring France, but it's a 250-mile flog each way just to drive to the ferry, and Lady Stripey and I are starting to feel the strain a bit. Consequently, I'm now thinking of combining Ryanair (we're 10 minutes from Ryanair's Blackpool base) with a hire car at the other end.
• Which Oil Filter for VW Polo Classic 12 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  Now its my car - and its been almost 5k miles since last change - and seeing as I'm about to do a long drive through France next week, i've decieded to do a change of oil this weekend. HOWEVER (you knew something was coming!) the oil filter on the car at the moment is a very large diesel oil filter (according the local spares shop who had to check what I was going on about when I said that the one they sold me was too small!).
• Rebecca's next question 16 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  It's mainly used for the school/work run and the occasional trip to the Cotswolds. It's been to the south of France once. But - at the end of the day I am a girl after all and maybe I should just think of it as a means of getting from A to B and 'downgrade' to a different car to save on the tax bill (40%) So any thoughts about what I might replace it with?
• Zafira 16 Sep 2002 (Forum)
  I must say here that we use it for two things: daily school runs & shopping, and long haul trips to the south of France. As a result the clock show 28K Miles. I must say that I am very happy with it (handling, etc...). But... As I started hearing a whining noise I took it immediatly to the dealer for checking (that is, after coming back from Paris, with a detour in Brittany, a mere 0.5K Miles..).
• Premium unleaded 7 Sep 2001 (Forum)
  After that it falls off lowest about 32mpg speeds over 125-155. One of Motorcyle mags had less than 30 in France on a looney trip. Bill
• Supercharged Harley 8 May 2007 (Forum)
  To be fair though, our guest rider had fitted aftermarket plug caps replete with LEDs triggered by the firing pulse, and it was one of these at fault!! Still a good day out though, and roll on France next month.
• MGRV8, XJS Convertible or TVR Chimera - MGRV8, XJS Convertible or TVR Chimera? 5 May 2025 (Forum)
  I live on the South Coast and am looking for a car to do my usual 1hr commute to Brighton 3 days a week (about an hour). But will also take the car down to France from time to time. I love the looks of the MG, but realise it’s not the biggest. The Jag would be great for motorway cruising and is probably the sensible option, as well a classy looker. But I can’t get past the fun I had while test driving the TVR, but will this be short lived?
• Automatic Family Car 21 Apr 2024 (Forum)
  Ideally I'm looking for an automatic (bad knees), that has plenty of space and can handle reasonable long journeys a couple times a month - currently I do about 11k miles a year, which is a mix of commuting on a motorway a couple times a week, and visiting family a few hours away. We also semi-regularly drive to places in the UK and France, and so something that can handle carting around child paraphernalia and luggage would be ideal. Realistically I don't want to spend more than 15k, especially with the baby guaranteed to up costs.
• ANY - Electric vs ICE cars - why not use a bicycle? 19 Mar 2019 (Forum)
  In reality, the 'well to wheel' carbon footrpint of the electric car is still around 60% of the typical ICE equivalent - because in UK, Germany and many other EU countries a large amount of fossil fuel is burnt to generate the electricity. So unless you charge your EV in France or Sweden - or pay out £8000 for a full 4KW SOLAR PANEL ARRAY on your rooftop you are not really saving the planet. Are we all being hood winked and bullied into buying electric cars - maybe we should consider  truly lightweight electric vehicles instead?