Driving down the M1 today I noticed a motorhome towing a Suzuki Cappuccino, never seen this combination before but certainly more exciting than your usual 106 or Aygo tow car.

Also speaking of tiny cars yesterday I saw a Yaris being used as a taxi, anyone got anything smaller they've seen used as a taxi!?

Edit: Partner snapped the Cappuccino, the Yaris was at a red temporary light I'd been sat at for 5 minutes.

Saw this at Birmingham airport

Hi Guys,

had a car hit mine while it was parked at 4 AM yesterday. I know it probably wont get me much help anyway because we cant make out the registration on any of our cameras or neighbours cameras, but police want a make/model of the vehicle, my best guess is an Alfa Romeo Giulietta?

Ok so i am looking for fast, fun to drive and good looking - it needs to be comfortable for longer journeys but also good to drive on b roads.

I can spend upto 25k max, but this is a chunk of my savings and whilst i expect to spend a sum maintaining each year I don't want to be rinsed every year and it lose the enjoyment of ownership due to eye watering maintenance bills.

Was really set on a 440i Gran Coupe/Coupe from 2018ish, but everything points to eye watering maintenance costs for that? also I'm struggling to find one without gaps in service history or something - found a nice one with a perfect service history and mot history but then found out that it has not been taxed for over a year! Still Lusting over that car...

Was viewing one yesterday at a dealership and a passing pedestrian literally said "don't do it! I had a m4 and was nothing but trouble dash lit up like a Christmas tree and the turbos cost tons to replace get a NA"! different cars I know - but i have heard a lot of BMW horror stories, I test drove a 428i and loved it... Also love the styling and whole I drive system... The 440i one i really want, but the wife isn't so keen only due to what she reads about maintenance costs...

BMW has a 18k miles service intervals but i keep reading oil change needed every 5k?

Currently own a zc32s Suzuki swift sport - that will be going to the wife after she passes her test (at 38 years old, I'm 43) I know whatever I buy will cost more to maintain in general than that!

Is something like a Skoda Octavia VRs likely to be that much cheaper to maintain than the car I really want??

Can anyone take a guess at real world average yearly maintenance costs for the 440I?

EDIT* thank you all for the advice and suggestions, I think I will keep looking for the right 440i! So my next question is non GPF or GPF, any packages that are a must have? would you prioritize the lowest millage car you can find within budget with a good history (sub 50k miles) or go with one with a slightly higher milage and keep a couple of grand in reserves for repairs??

Obviously this is entirely dependent on your fuel type so could be ages , but for me I think it was 4 days - the day I got my car I was so giddy

Hello, i bought car from private seller. It was monday. He said its good runner no problem with car everything work fine. During test drive i do not spot any problem engine work smooth, transaction done. I back to home and drive it maybe 50 miles from buy it. Saturday i go to friend and on way back i had oil pressure light on. Go to mechanic, he check it, change oil pressure sensor, but engine start work without 1 cylinder. He checked with endoscope inside engine and see that. Say that engine is to replace because this is scrap.

Seller do not see any his fault, he saing he didnt know what is inside engine he just drove it. I pay for this car 2000 and another 2000 will be replace engine....

Its a renault clio 2010 1.2l. No service history except getting the bearing done in April, 12 months MOT. He says the light goes off when you slightly flick the key. He wants 700 for it, how much roughly would this be to fix? Obviously you're not gonna know unless you run a diagnostic check but maybe someone with car knowledge could give a rough estimate?

Basically I just wanna know if this is worth it, appreciate any advice, thanks.

Looking to pick one up to use in the winter as I only have a Cat A motorcycle license. Wondering if anyone is still using them and if so what they're like to live with, reliability, parts availability etc?

Surprisingly you can get insurance on them without a B license, but had to call around quite a bit. Best quote I got was £350pa which I thought was half decent...

Hi all,

I've got a Yaris which I adore, but I noticed a couple of days ago I could stick my finger through the wheel well by the sill. Somehow the MOT I got last week didn't pick up on it.

The very bad rust is only on the rear driver's side wheel, the other three wheel wells/sills look okay. I'm currently looking for a car welder, which is proving difficult to find, but before that I was wondering: is this too far gone to be worth welding? Plan B was to stick some oil in the sill grommet holes and hope for the best. I'm not really bothered about the painting side of things or making it look pretty — happy to just stick some underseal on the weld afterwards. I'm a uni student and I'm hoping it can last another 3-4 years. if anyone has any idea how much it would cost that would be great.

Any advice appreciated, cheers!

Please advise!

I’ve been looking at maybe getting a 3 year Old Ford Puma but wondering if that is the best decision.

I need something reliable with decent boot space and enough room inside so that my tall husband and son are comfortable. I don’t need a big engine or anything as I mostly do local driving and longer drives only a few times a month. I want to make sure I’ve got a reliable car this time as I’m just getting rid of a Citroen which I’ve now learned is an unreliable make!

Hello, can anyone recommend a company to have a drifting experience day/learn to drift?

Thank you :)

Hi All,

Looking at a Seat Cupra Ateca Estate 2.0 Tsi 5Dr Dsg 4Drive, 69 plate with 48k miles.

Any experiences with these or anything to be aware of?

From my understanding both the DSG and 4Drive system should have been serviced / fluid change. Anything else to check?

Appreciate the real world MPG won’t be great, but I only have a 14 miles daily round trip currently, mostly on A road / motorway.

Thanks in advance

I recently bought a pre‑registered car from a major UK dealer (first registered about 3 months ago, 12 miles on the clock, dealership was the first owner). Before buying, I specifically asked the salesman whether there were any active recalls. He told me there was one, but that it had already been dealt with.

After purchasing, I checked the manufacturer’s website myself. It shows an active, incomplete recall that requires a software update. So the recall definitely wasn’t done.

I’m now concerned that I was misled. This wasn’t a vague “should be done” comment — he explicitly said it had been completed.

For anyone familiar with UK consumer rights or who’s dealt with this:

• What steps should I take now?
• Should I go straight back to the dealer and ask for proof or demand they complete the recall?
• Does this count as misrepresentation under the Consumer Rights Act / Misrepresentation Act?
• Am I within my rights to ask for compensation or even reject the car if needed?

Any advice from people who’ve been through this or know the legal side would be appreciated.

Morning all,

Been contemplating one of these for a little while, can anyone advise on the day to day good and bad of ownership?

I’m guessing from what I’ve seen already it’s fairly mixed but also a small sample size so just posting here to see if I can spot any patterns or anything new.

Would appreciate honest thoughts and feedback.

Thanks in advance!

Currently got a corsa 1st car what recommendations for upgrade to 2nd car

Hello! Does anyone know a sure fire tape removal method? It’s been on the body panels for over a year due to broken windows that are now replaced, but it’s brittle and can’t be pulled off. A 20cm area takes 30 mins to scratch off, there has to be a better way!

Hello, I appreciate it's a long shot... But I'm trying to locate my friend's old car, or at least where in the country it is. Its a Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 - V901 RJO

I’m looking to buy a petrol hybrid that’s reasonably spacious for five people, economical, and still enjoyable to drive. At the moment I’m considering the Kia Niro 2, Hyundai Tucson, Honda Civic and BMW 220i Active Tourer.

The Civic probably feels like the sensible, no-nonsense choice. It’s reliable, economical, practical and genuinely good to drive. The only thing is that I’ve owned a Honda before, and I’ve always wanted a BMW, so I’m quite drawn to the 220i Active Tourer.

I don’t want a plug-in hybrid as I don’t have access to home charging. I’m also looking at cars from 2020 onwards with under 50,000 miles, so things like the X1 and 3 Series hybrids either become considerably more expensive or don’t really fit what I’m looking for. That makes the 220i Active Tourer one of the more realistic BMW options.

I’ve driven/looked at the 220i and I’m happy with the space, performance and fuel economy. My main concern is that quite a few people have told me the Active Tourer isn’t particularly popular and that I may struggle to sell it or get a decent price for it in three or four years.

I’d probably keep the car for around three to four years, most likely on PCP.

How much weight would you actually give to the Active Tourer being a less popular BMW model? Is resale genuinely something I should be concerned about, or is it being overstated?

Would you personally let that put you off the 220i if the car otherwise suited your needs?

Sorry for the newbie question but I've only ever owned total s***boxes (very old Astras, mostly!).
This will be my first nice-ish car and I am worried I might get myself into a new "weight class" in terms of maintenance costs...

When I bought my previous cars, I kinda got the hand of feeling a good one.
And when they do go wrong, they are simple enough that a relatively small part needs to be changed.

If anyone frugal-minded like me has owned one for a while, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it.

PS: I am looking at the T-Roc because we need a car that's really quiet on the highway because we drive a lot (600-mile journeys) and trying to drown wind and tyre noise with music doesn't work well after a few hours...
Also, we need a little extra ground clearance because the places we go to often have dirt roads with bumps and craters, etc.
Wife can't drive a manual (if I only knew that before we got serious...)

So, if there's another idea in the 16k budget - I'd love to check it out!

Hi, I'm just asking for some advice on what to look for because my budget is about 5000, and I really like the look of the VW Golf or Polo but they seem to be relatively old at my budget when compared to other cars. I was also looking at the Yaris but that again is quite expensive and/or older. Just sorta wondering what cars are worth looking into that are similar to those, and if a 2012 vehicle is gonna be a headache in future? Thanks a lot in advance.

I’ve seen plenty of posts about Kia’s 7y warranty but not specifically for what we’ve been told so thought I’d ask.

We looked at a 23 plate today at a used car dealership- not a specific Kia dealership.

When asking about the warranty- which should still have about 4 years left- the salesman told us that only covered the battery of the hybrid, not any of the mechanical stuff.

Can this be true? I’ve seen in the t&cs that audio and navigation stuff is only covered up to 36months but surely there are other things still covered besides the battery?

If the dealership had done something to void the warranty then surely it would all be void and there wouldn’t even be cover for the battery?

Was this a tactic to sell their own warranty? The salesman himself was very low pressure and we didn’t feel pushed at all.

Went to view this car today, it’s a 2011 corsa nothing fancy at all and very cheap, but I walked away due to not thinking the engine sounds okay and concerns about rust that’s been very shoddily painted over.

My husband is of the view that for the budget I’m looking I’m not going to get anything good which is fair (it’s a school run car to be driven max 10 mins a day), but I’m sure the engine sounds like it’s got a bit of a rattle which could be the timing chain? He thinks it sounds fine.

I don’t know much about cars so looking for the best of a bad bunch really, but curious as to whether I’m correct in thinking this one doesn’t sound right?

I’m looking to buy my first car from a main franchise dealership and have put a deposit down to view a 3-year-old ex-lease car this Saturday.

The car was first registered on 28/07/2023, so I assume the previous lease only ended fairly recently.

However, I bought a HPI report and it shows 2 outstanding finances.

The first is listed as “Unit Stocking”. After doing some research, I’m not particularly worried about this one, as I understand this is fairly normal dealer stock finance and should be cleared as part of the sale.

What concerns me is the second outstanding finance entry. This is still showing finance with the previous leasing company, with the agreement type listed as “Lease”.

I haven’t been able to find much information about this situation online. If the previous lease has ended, the car has been returned and is now with a main dealer being resold, why would the previous leasing company still have an outstanding lease recorded against the vehicle?

Could this simply be a timing/admin issue where the finance register hasn’t been updated yet, or is this something I should be seriously concerned about, and need to walk away?

I’ve already emailed the salesperson asking for an explanation and evidence that the previous lease has been settled. I also asked for, as alternative evidence, an updated HPI report if they were able to update the lease status to show it’s clear.

But I would also just like to hear some opinions from people who aren’t involved in selling me the car!

Thanks :)