Trending topics in January 2010
Questions from January 2010
Your reply in a recent Sunday Telegraph 'Life' section entitled 'Out Burst' concerned me greatly as AW reported having suffered two blowouts with his Mercedes. I have two cars, a Mercedes E320CDI estate...
I'm considering buying a 2-berth caravanette or similar for around £6k to £8k. I realise it would be very old, but a dealer in nearby Pevensey Bay, Sussex appears to have good quality vehicles. I am unlikely...
Recently (and I have the receipt to prove it) I filled my Vectra CDTi with V-Power Diesel (from just on the red to a full tank). The car subsequently started running very roughly, so I booked it in to...
My wife and I have been trying to decide on a new car for some time now, and are now looking at the Nissan Note automatic. However I was surprised to learn that Nissan is owned by Renault, and the car...
I read a letter in your column regarding lease purchase. HPI covers
hire purchase information, not lease purchase. Some finance companies don¹t seem to both to register lease purchases with
HPI because...
I'm hoping you may be able to find the answer to what seems to be an unanswerable question. Why does the UK 1988-1991 UK Honda CRX 1.6i-VT have 150bhp whereas the Japanese import CRX Si-R has 160bhp? I...
My experiences regarding courtesy cars have always been where the car was provided by the accident repair company. My 87-year-old sister has recently had an incident where a van has shunted her parked...
Some 5 years ago I wrote to you asking about merits of dealer offered exterior and interior treatments on a new car. You gave good advice on the use of Autoglym as a DIY alternative and I successfully...
I have a 2009 FIAT 500 1.2 Sport Dualogic. I cannot get my iPhone 3G to function properly with Blue&Me. I have programmed the phone onto the system but cannot complete the call as it just ends the call...
On a recent touring holiday in Spain I parked my car on a Saturday afternoon in a street near a prominent landmark in Lleida. On returning about half an hour later the nearside front door window had been...
You frequently mention the state of the roads, suing the council for damage to vehicles etc. where negligence can be proven that they knew of a pothole and did nothing to repair it. I have a story perhaps...
If you are insured with Norwich Union/Aviva and have recently renewed your car insurance, have you read your Certificate of Insurance carefully? A few years ago, third party cover for comprehensive policyholders...
At our home, we often have very restricted access to our driveway due to a neighbour who parks a commercial van in the road opposite. There are no parking restrictions in this quiet, residential street...
I have just read your verdict in the BMW Gran Turismo. I had a look at this car last week and thought it was pretty good. I would like to change my S Class now nearly three years old and I feel this BMW...
I have two cars and my wife has one and we have significant NCD on all three vehicles. The discount has been earned separately in each case, and we are the only drivers on each car. Earlier this year,...
I had a spring broken by one of those confounded ‘speed cushion’ hazards and realised that to refer to them in the politically correct format will never make anybody understand their lethal (and anti-environmental)...
My wife has just had her 3-year-old VW Fox written off. A possible contributory factor was the over generous roof strut at the drivers side. She only uses it as a ladies shopping trolley and fills the...
In May of 2008 we purchased a 2,000-mile Mazda 3 TS2 first registered in March 2008, for £8,400 including VAT of £1,097 from the Mazda main dealer in Tunbridge Wells. We were told that it had previously...
I am considering buying a MINI Cooper Clubman and wanted to understand the benefits or otherwise of buying runflat tyres/wheels with this car. Do they create additional road noise? What are the pros and...
I am currently in negotiation for a Golf from a local VW dealer, and he is pushing a leasing deal whereby I pay £280 per month (old car trade-in £5,750) and can trade in the car at the end of the period...
My son is 16 and wants a quad bike to go to college and back. I am understandably nervous of this as I am well aware of the risk factor of kids on motorbikes. But I do not wish to pass opinion with my...
I am having difficulty in sourcing a vehicle with a high seating position. I am disabled and need a high seating position and relatively easy access. I don't like the Vauxhall Agilia. Any other suggestions?...
Last November my new car had its bumper dented by a reversing car. The driver drove off but my wife had witnessed it all and noted its registration. I immediately informed my insurance company giving them...
Your recent mention of “unintentional acceleration” of automatics, reminds me of a gravestone epitaph my brother claims to have seen on the rocks at the base of Niagara Falls in Canada (just below the...
Could you please explain the different driving technique of a DSG gearbox, and a standard autobox? Do you need to put the car in neutral at every stop, lights etc. My new car is a Skoda Octavia 1.8TSI...
Had a warning light come up on my 2005 BWW 1 Series. The manual suggests Suspension Stability Control. BMW diagnostics states "brake hydraulic malfunction " DTC at a cost of £1,200 part + £500 labour....
I have owned a 2006/56 FIAT Panda 1.2 Eleganza from new, now 7 weeks out of warranty. An intermittent failure of PAS started yesterday. The nearest dealer will do a diagnostic check, but having checked...
I have a dodgy back, and a large dog, and I have to do a high mileage. But I also want to be as green as possible. I therefore want a diesel automatic with a big enough boot to accommodate the dog. At...
I am intrigued by your support for using both feet when driving an automatic. I have tried it and while finding it very strange am sure that in time, like most things, it would become natural. What interests...
I write of my Mazda 3 that shows a DSC fault warning light. I had the fault analysed by a Mazda garage and found it to be Code C1288 Pressure transducer Main Primary Input failure. The garage contacted...
I recently visited the Asda supermarket at Shipley, which operates a two-hour parking limit policy, but unfortunately I was late in returning to my car and found a parking notice attached to my windscreen....
I’m considering a replacement for our Volvo V40 under Scrappage
and would be grateful for your advice on suitable alternatives. It has to be automatic and big enough for two of us and a large dog plus...
I’m in the process of buying a car. What I need is a small car to use in the city to and from work. However, since I live in northern Italy, I will need to make a couple of trips to London every year....
A speed-warning device was attached to a lamppost outside my daughter's flat: the kind that flashes up a driver's speed. Immediately she began to experience problems with her mobile phone, which would...
I just bought a Mercedes C220CDI on a finance deal and think I've made a huge mistake due to clever salesmanship and my ignorance.
1st deal: £4k for my part exchange plus £2k deposit, then 36 months at...
I purchased a new Golf 1.4TSI DSG [7-Spd] on 2-9-2009. It is used for long and short trips and I use Superunleaded if available. It does not live up to its claimed mpg. The brochure shows urban 37.7 extra...
I am looking to change from having a main vehicle as a 4WD. We live 700ft up in North Wales. Currently we have an Outlander 2.0 diesel. I am considering buying an Ibiza Cupra as an everyday vehicle (if...
In 1990 or thereabouts Wandsworth Council installed road humps - one directly outside my house. The vibration as cars and large vehicles fail to slow down on it really shakes the house. I noticed that...
I recently replied to an Auto Trader on-line ad for a Land Rover Defender. Despite taking as many precautions as possible, including viewing at the seller's home (name and address on V5), doing an HPI...
I said I was not happy with the automatic gear change of my eight year old Mercedes-Benz E270CDI. So my MB dealer did some tests and he tells me that the oil in the transmission has become 'contaminated...
Mercedes-Benz front lights at night on many models look tacky and sadly it is not Mercedes fault. The owners and drivers should give them feedback but they do not bother.
Just fresh last night I had...
My son bought a 2006 BMW 330,on Friday from a private vendor. The car came with car tax and MOT. He insured the car and was stopped yesterday in Brockley, South London, by traffic police. The police told...
An article in yesterdays paper that recommends, "Never coast in neutral; idling uses more fuel than running in gear on a closed throttle.” I don't understand how this can be. If you go down a hill for...
The retiring manager of a car dealership in Dartford, Kent was talking to a reporter from a local paper about his life in the motor trade and when asked what was the hardest part of his job, he replied...
I drive a Subaru Forester automatic with cruise control. Having been widowed recently, I'll possibly change to something smaller at some time in the future. What effect on petrol consumption does an automatic...
You recommended www.keyrepair.co.uk to a reader with problems with the remote key fob for a Renault. I had similar problems with the key fob for my Volvo V70, and had been quoted about £200 by Volvo, so...
I have been looking at the web site for an independent car servicing organisation and see that you can have your vehicle serviced by them, as opposed to a main dealer, without any detriment to your warranty....
I thought you might be interested to hear about my DPF experience. I drive a 2010 VW Golf 2.0 TDI GT, which I love. The mileage to date is less than 3,000. I always use BP Ultimate diesel despite the extra...
Having been a 'petrolhead' for many years, owning a string of high performance saloons, I am afraid the time has come to change habits. With ever increasing fuel costs, car tax, insurance, poor road repairs...
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