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• Ford Focus 2 - Soft paint 6 Jun 2011 (Forum)
  I know modern water based paints aren't that good, but can they really be this bad? The bodywork of my metallic Tonic blue Focus is covered with small scratches simply caused by catching  finger nails etc on it. These are only cosmetic, and don't go through the paint, but still look a mess. Is this the norm for modern paints,  are they particularly bad on Fords, or is it just the paint on my car that is poor?
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 2002 1.8 Oil leaks 27 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  I have an oil leak around the engine, and top up about qtr litre every 3000 miles. Is it normal for cars to have leaks after a certain age? Mines 7 years. I normally don't do anything about it unless its major. Should it be checked out and what are the likely causes - worn gasket cover etc? And can it lead to long term damage to engine or any components (if I keep the oil topped up)?
• Volkswagen Polo III (2000 - 2002) - Blocking EGR Valve outlet 21 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  will the car run properly? if any one out there has done this could you give me some advice before I block the Valve sincerely J Velasquez
• Renault Espace (1997 - 2002) - 99 2.2dt clutch 20 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Renault have replaced the clutch master/slave unit 3 times, the pipework failed twice and the third time the unit sealed but the clutch is still not releasing fully. Renault suggest the problem maybe a faulty clutch unit cover but £600 is a lot to spend on a maybe. The car has done 43000 miles. Any suggestions please!
• Switching to private plate - cost 26 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Saw some friends over the weekend and immediately noticed his new (second hand) van had my initials on his number plate. That'd be nice for my car I thought. I'm sure he'd give it to me for nothing so long as I covered any costs for him (and bought him alcohol) but I have no idea what those costs would be. Can anyone advise on the costs involved?
• Advice on which used diesel ? 2 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Im looking to buy a diesel and have been attracted to the mondeo tdci and the peugeot 406 hdi (110) prices vary greatly but seems i could get hold of either of them (Y to a 51 plate ) but with quite high miles ranging from 80000 to 140000 for *aroun* £2,500 to £3,000 My question is are both these cars good and reliable *after* covering 100,000 miles ? Lots of ads say "nothing for a diesel" but i cant help feeling its a lot. Whats my best bet and any advice would be appreciated. Cheers
• 2 litre VW engine uses oil 10 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  The petrol engine on my 5 1/2 year old Passat uses about 1ltr of oil every 2 to 3 months. I do about 8.000 miles a year, mostly 7 mile runs to work. The car has covered just over 40,000 miles now and has always been serviced at a VW dealer. Is this normal? Prior to the Passat I had a 15 year old 1.3 petrol Golf with 60,000 miles on the clock that never used a drop.
• Vectra 04 Sri - Rear Brakes 8 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  I always thought that the fronts (on a FWD) should wear down quicker.i don't drive particularily hard (honest!).The car has covered 26K miles and its still the original pads/discs on the car.I expected to be changing the fronts in a few 'K'.On this subject,what pads would anyone recommend?
• Vectra 2004 Sri - MPG 9 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  Just looking for some info.I filled my Vectra up today with a full tank of Unleaded.The computer showed a range of 280 miles.I know that this value is based on an "average" and refreshes every so often.I had just been driving around town prior to filling up.Surely a full tank should cover more than this?. I thought the Vauxhall "Direct" engine was meant to be more economical.I am sure when I bought the car it was displaying over 350 miles for the range on a full tank.The combined figure for the SRi is 37mpg.
• Dog chewed door handles Rover 75 4 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  The dog has chewed the rear door handles on the girlfriend's courtesy car, a Rover 75. Can anyone suggest where I can get replacement handles if not from a Rover dealer and how do I get the handles off. I presume that the inside door covers need to be removed and that they are screwed on to that from the inside??
• Delaying tactics? 17 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  Another thread in Technical raised a question in my mind (always a dangerous thing): Is there anything to deter a dealer from failing to resolve (either deliberately or by ineptitude) a serious fault until the warranty is expired and the repair(s) become chargeable to the customer? In such a case does the owner have any realistic legal redress? Surely, if a car has been suffering the same problems for some time and the dealer has failed to resolve them within the warranty period, why should not the warranty be automatically extended to cover any associated repairs undertaken until the fault is found/fixed?
• Any Lasting Damage? - Toyota Corolla 29 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  Last night I endured the worst journey of my life.8 hours in terrible conditions and total gridlock to travel 25 miles home.My toyota corolla D4D thankfully didn\'t let me down but it ran solidly for this time crawling along. It has only covered 1500 miles since new last month. Will this journey have done any lasting damage to my car, should I have the oil changed earlier than the initial 10 k service etc??? Thanks
• Cam chain - when to change? 3 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  My brother has today purchased a 1998 Nissan Almera GTi which has the 2.0 16V Twin Cam engine. The car has covered a verified 64,000 miles and has a full Nissan service history. I am told that these engines have two cam chains as opposed to belts. Does anyone know at what mileage these should be changed according to the manufacturer or experience?
• carlton diesel charging problem 28 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  The charge light does not come on when with the rest of the ignition lights so i dont know whether its a faulty alternator or a wiring fault has any one else come across the same set of problems and are they related Can anyone help As the haynes workshop manual doesn't cover the diesel car. Any help would be appreciated thanks
• Cruise Control for my Mondeo? 19 May 2003 (Forum)
  I wonder if the combined brilliance and depths of knowledge in the backroom can solve this one for me? 1999 Mondeo 1.6LX. Like the car and want to keep it a few more years. We cover lots of long motorway journeys and have begun to hanker after cruise control. Does anyone know if it is possible to adapt and fit the cruise control system with steering wheel buttons as fitted to some 2.0 and 2.5 Mondeos?
• BMW V8 25 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  Is this the Nicasil liner problem and what can he do about it? The bill is scary. Does anyone know if BMW will foot the bill (or part of it)? It's a 1995 car I think. If anyone has any websites or forums he can visit when his computer is working again (it hasn't been a good couple of weeks) he'd be grateful. Sorry if this has been covered before but I couldn't find it.
• Nonsense Marketing Waffle 4 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  Do folk have favourite examples of car-related marketing spiel that makes no sense at all? To give you an example, Mazda sent me some info. on the appealing new "6". However the effect was rather spoilt by the inept wording of the covering letter which included the following phrases: "Our...diesels let you enjoy the *ride and handling* of a petrol engine.."
• naff naff 8 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  Glancing through some old postings here, I see that someone mentioned naff motors. Until recently I thought the worst was the set of leopardskin seat covers I saw years ago on a Beverley Sisters' car. But one of my neighbours has the reg A 15 OPV, which has been tortured so as to appear as ALSOP V. To make matters worse its in a bizarre sort of cursive script, which must be illegal, and its on an elderly doom blue Corsa.
• Vauxhall Astra k - refund for hire car when car getting warranty work 22 Jun 2018 (Forum)
  hi as my car was in for multiple attempts to get clutch fault fixed on my car. i anaged to get a courtesy car after the second attempt failed. and car was in the garage for checks and investigation on the fault then got car back eventually and within a day of driving it failed again so had to haire a car out to see me over the weekend untill tuesday as couldnt manage to get a courtesy car this time around then at the 5th attempt it failed within 10 miles of driving the car was in for another 10 days and eventually the fault is now fixed..but the fact im out of pocket for a known fault and its covered under warranty. i contacted vauxhall and says they dont refund for hire cars and dont think thats fair tbh 
• Any - No car insurance 7 Feb 2013 (Forum)
  Hi all. an interesting article in our local paper . A local motorist was stopped by police because her car insurance didn't appear on the police national computer . The police had her car towed to a secure compound ,but gave her a lift home because she had her young daughter with her . The woman then showed police the cover note for her car which she had reinsured with her usual broker two days previously .