Was looking at cars and noticed that the Nissan pulsar 1.6 DIG-T has the same engine as the Clio RS 200, just slightly detuned. I reckon if you put a stage 1 remap on it the car would go like the clappers and everyone would think you're driving a grandad Nissan on the outside. Also helps that its only 1.1k to insure for me vs a Clio RS 200 that is £1660 to insure.

Another car that comes to mind is the F20 BMW 114/116/118i, these have the exact same engine as the R56 Mini Cooper S but detuned, if you get them remapped you can easily get 200+hp on them. The reliability is not great on those engines though.

What other cars are factory or very easy to modify sleepers?

How do you hit a car with a meter gap in between each bay?!

Car got hit and run today whilst I was having a Chinese at Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall. No details were left, parked in the car park opposite M&S in a disabled bay.

P*ssed off as I’ve had this car for 3 weeks. Driven for 5 years never had this happen before. Spent over two hours in the car park in shock about what happened and attempting to call Parking Eye LTD / the insurance. (Saturday evening - only automated robots to speak with) Now I’ve got a £100 PCN on the way in the post too for ‘parking’ to long. Hopefully I can appeal that.

Currently regretting speaking with the insurance after researching my premium will go up.

There are cameras all over the car park whether or not the police can get the footage we will see.

Asked for a few SMART repair quotes waiting to hear back, heading to a few body shops tomorrow morning.

Worst part about this is my colleagues at work all asking me “who did you hit with your new car” ffs can’t be arsed explaining it.

Having a bad day so I’m venting on Reddit.

This morning I stopped to get petrol and was called on speaker to come inside. They've showed me a screen saying my plate is blacklisted for leaving without paying at a petrol station I've never been before. Is it more likely that it's just a mistake or that someone cloned my plates? They've let me fill up and gave me an email to contact about it

In what turned to be a very bizarre situation, I traveled almost 70 miles to buy a car I saw on AutoTrader from a private seller. Test drove the car and liked it. When I was about to pay the listed price, the seller changed their mind saying the other car they wanted to buy had been sold. Which was 100% true!.

Even after highlighting that having cash will make it better for them when something else comes up.

I thought these kind of situations only happen when buying houses and never cars. Have this ever happened to you?

Hi guys, I’m just looking for a bit of advice on my situation with my recent car purchase.

In April of this year I bought a car from a dealership in London. I drove the car back home (400 miles) and the next day when I started it up I heard the dreaded rattle of a timing chain needing replaced.

I got in contact with my local BMW specialist and arranged for the timing chain to be checked over to see if that was definitely the issue. I took my car in on 28th of May and left the car in the garage. I was told originally it would take 1 hour to check the chain but when I got to the garage I was asked to leave the car with them. I messaged the mechanic on 1st of June for an update and was told he was waiting on his main mechanic coming back from holiday then I was told more excuses. I felt like they were taking the piss so after exactly 4 weeks of them having the car I was told he was just waiting on the warranty company getting back to him. I called the warranty company myself and was told nobody had been in contact with them regarding my car/reg. I collected my car off them on June 24th and took it home. The garage said once the warranty company got back to them they’d phone me and get the car back in to complete the work. At that point I didn’t trust them or want them to work on the car.

On July 18th while my car was in a different garage I messaged the dealer who I bought the car from just to let him know that the car was in getting assessed for timing chain and rocker cover and that I’d be using the warranty he provided (when I bought the car he said to contact him before contacting warranty company as he had a good relationship with them and he’d probably be able to make sure they would accept a claim).

On July 24th I got an email from the warranty company rejecting my claim for a stretched timing chain because they only cover snapped timing chains. At this point I wasn’t surprised to be honest because I’ve always heard bad things about 3rd party warranty companies. I sent the following message to the dealer;

“Hi mate, just had a email back from the warranty company rejecting my claim for the timing chain to be replaced. I noticed the noise coming from engine bay the day after I picked the car up when I started it from cold. I don’t think I noticed it when collecting the car because the engine was warmed up by the time you collected us from the airport in it. I’ve got videos dating from as early as April 24th of evidence of louder than normal ticking coming from engine bay. My only option now is to make a claim to you under my statutory rights instead of a 3rd party warranty claim. I’ve been advised that the car wasn’t of satisfactory quality or fit for purpose at the time of purchase due to a stretched timing chain. I drove it the 425 miles home and knew an issue was there but wasn’t 100% sure on the cause. I booked it in with a BMW Specialist and they had the car from 26th of May until the 24th of June and they confirmed the noise was coming from the timing chain but they couldn’t complete the work due to being too busy. I then took it to another BMW specialist on the 12th of July and he confirmed it was a stretched timing chain and also discovered a leaking rocker cover. I have his breakdown and report available if needed. The car has covered a total of 1800 miles since purchase. I’ve not been able to enjoy it really due to time in garage and knowing there’s an issue with the engine.

I have videos showing the excessive ticking dated;
2 on 24/4/26
3 on 25/4/26
2 on 29/4/26
I can send these videos to you as well if needed.

I’ve been advised that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 under UK law, any defect that appears within the first 6 months is legally presumed to have been present at the time of sale, unless the dealer can prove otherwise and between 30 days and 6 months post-purchase, the dealer has one chance to repair the fault at zero cost to me, within a reasonable timeframe and without causing me significant inconvenience.

I hate to be quoting legal terms and to cause you a headache mate but this is just what I’ve been advised. I’ve had 3 quotes and the cheapest being £1800 and the most expensive being £2900 so not ideal for a car I bought 3 months ago and have had in a garage for a month of that time. Let me know what you think is best course of action to take next.

Sorry again and thanks”

He replied saying he was on holiday but would get back to me.

On August 12th he asked me for all the video evidence and all the quotes from various garages I’d been in touch with.

On August 24th I got an email from the warranty company saying they will cover £750 of the repairs as a good will gesture. I messaged the dealer to ask if he was happy paying the remainder of the bill and he replied he wouldn’t pay it but was happy to split the remainder of the bill. I said “fair enough, I’ll get the car booked in” he replied “let me know when it’s fixed and send me the invoice”

The earliest I could get the car booked in for was the last week of September so I did that and got the job completed. It was £1875 for the timing chain + rocker cover, I sent him the invoice on 6th of October and he’s ghosted me since.

I know that’s a lot of bullshit to read but I’m just wondering if I would have a case in regards to the consumer protection? I feel like I gave him the opportunity to get the car fixed himself and he wasn’t interested. I fear I may have fucked it for myself by saying “fair enough” when he said he’d split the remainder of the bill with me.

It looks like taking him to small claims court is the only option I have but I’m not sure that’s even an option. I have screenshots of all conversations and videos of the car rattling. I’m just not sure what to do now.

Thanks for any advice you guys can give, I see this kinda thing come up a lot on here so just hoping someone who knows more than me can chime in.

EDIT: I sent the dealer a WhatsApp;

“Hi, it’s clear you aren’t intending to cover the costs for the timing chain and rocker cover repairs. As you agreed to use this specific garage to carry out the work when I gave you the chance to fix the faults, you are responsible for the agreed cost.

Also, I have videos showing the faults occurring the very next day after I purchased the car from you. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, because these faults arose within six months of purchase, the law presumes the defects were present at the time of sale, making you liable.

I am fully prepared to recover these costs through the Simple Procedure in the Scottish courts. Before I initiate this, I will be sending a formal Letter Before Action to your address this week, giving you a final 14-day window to settle the balance. I’d prefer to resolve this without escalating to court proceedings, but the choice is yours.”

Hopefully he’ll send me the money for the repairs but if not I’m gonna go through small claims court.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I’ll keep you guys updated.

Long story short: I had a garage change my brakes last week as I couldn’t get the discs off - They were rusted onto the hubs.

£135 labor, no problem.

I came to refit the undertray today after having the car parked on the drive all week and notice the passenger cv boot has had a right old rough arse repair! They nicked the boot and cable tied some plastic around it to hide it.

Mistakes happen, but don’t try and hide them like this ffs!

…..

Long story, and for reference, picture 3 shows the same driveshaft/cv boot from the week before after I’d changed the control arms on both sides, and pictures 4 & 5 show the cv boot that I’d replaced at the same time as the control arms.

And all this started because Halfords couldn’t align the wheels stating the ball joints (pressed into the control arms) needed replacing… and I’m sure they damaged the first boot in the process. They quoted £500 all in to replace the ball joints. I did it for £150 + a £15 boot they split. Then had money left to do the brakes while I was down there.

The Mrs is getting frustrated that I keep finding things to fix on this car… but I think I’m justified in doing it myself as I clearly don’t have a reputable garage to turn to.

So I'm looking at these images and if my knowledge serves me correctly, that is an Ibiza 6J Facelift front and a Ibiza 6F rear? The wheels & wheel centre caps are also questionable. If this is AI, should autotrader allow that? Here is the link to it so you can see: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202608265463170

Short-term lurker here whilst I’ve been shopping for a new car and every time I search a model I’m immediately put off by the scathing reviews.

Cars are very much a means to an end for me, my most recent car needed a new engine and my fiancé’s not long after has forced me into the market.

Looking to spend no more than £20k ideally as low as possible though.

I'm 19 and bought my car outright 2 years ago (2019 Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost) It now has 47.5k miles
My job now has me doing about 320 miles a week, roughly 1,500 miles a month including personal use. My employer pays me £600-750/month in mileage/car allowance. Fuel costs me about £200/month, so I'm coming out ahead.
I'm worried about depreciation and upcoming repair costs at this mileage. I could probably sell for £7-8k and lease something instead. An EV would pay me less (just electricity costs), so I'm thinking petrol or hybrid.
Should I sell now and lease, or keep the Fiesta until it needs replacing? Any advice welcome, I don't have many people to ask.

I dislike matte coloured paint jobs, as I cant see reflections as well in them.

I’m kinda scared lol, what will happen next?…

I’ve just bought this car two weeks ago, my dad’s insured on the car and someone went into the side of him so he wasn’t at fault. I’d got the phone call whilst I was in work this morning.

I’ve just never had to do this myself so I have no idea how it works and especially because it’s my first car it means a lot to me.
The paint is not so much the issue if I was to buy it back in the case it’s written off however the wheel is not straight anymore so it’s something to do with the alignment but again I have absolutely no idea.

Anything would be helpful.
Feeling absolutely devastated , mainly because as a young driver I’m already paying ridiculous insurance and now it’ll go up even higher considering I’ve not long passed so literally only bought the car two weeks ago.

Me and my wife are going to test drive and Audi A4 Avant, and a Volvo V60 tomorrow. Both are 2016 plate, with around 55000 miles ok them. Both are automatic.

The Audi is the 2L TDI ultra SE the Volvo is 2L diesel r-design lux nav

The Volvo is definitely a higher spec, but the Audi feels a lot more modern

I just wondered if anyone has owner either (or even both) of these, and would share their own experience?

Both are from the same dealer, look clean, have good service history and clean mot history (minus tyres a couple of times)

Any advice or insight would be much appreciated

the suspension on this is not best in terms of ride comfortability, so i need some suggestions on a fix around , what are some after market dampers or coilovers that would make the ride more comfortable and less bumpy, and is at an affordable price, my budget is around £150-£200. Ive put new wishbones, links, track bar as maintenance and the owner before me put these lowering springs but tbh they arent the best, anybody got any suggestions?

not a mechanic, not even close. just someone who got tired of paying £180 a time at a local indie for jobs i could do myself with a trolley jack and a half decent set of sockets. these are the things nobody tells you before you start.

1. the cheapest listing is often not from the cheapest retailer once you add delivery. autodoc will sometimes show a lower unit price but the delivery band on heavier items like discs or arms pushes the total above what euro car parts charges for collection. worth doing the full basket comparison before committing, especially if you're in a hurry.

2. oem-equivalent doesn't mean oem-quality but it also doesn't mean rubbish. i've had brembo pads from autodoc that lasted longer than the pagid set a garage fitted the year before. i've also had a febi coolant hose that started weeping at a join after about eight months. brand recognition matters less than whether the part was made for your specific engine code.

3. order filters and fluids separately from anything heavy. learned this the slow way. a 5 litre drum of engine oil shipped in the same box as an air filter is a bad idea that at least two couriers have proven to me.

4. check the part number against your vin before you click buy, not after the package arrives. most retailers have a registration lookup but it's not infallible, especially on facelifted models where the same reg can have two different alternator specs depending on build date.

5. saturday morning deliveries from small carriers are essentially a rumour. if you're booking a job for saturday and the tracking says friday delivery from a non-evri, non-royal mail carrier, give yourself a buffer day.

6. keep every box until the car has done at least 200 miles on the new part. returns are straightforward in theory and genuinely annoying in practice if you've already flattened the packaging.

7. the forums are better than the fitment guides. a real thread from someone with the same engine and gearbox combination will tell you things a pdf torque spec sheet never will, including which bolts will shear and which sensors need unplugging first.

Hi all.

I learnt to drive back in 2016 in a manual, and had no issues. In 2022 I bought an automatic car, now, I have bought a new car yesterday but its manual.

It’s a Volkswagen t cross.

Mostly everything is fine, gear changes are smooth, but every now and then (it’s happened twice or three times now) I will be slowing down to stop and I’ll be working my way down the gears, I’ll try and go into the 1st gear and suddenly it will not let me. No matter how much you force it, the car will then not go into any gear, it’s like it physically won’t do it.

The car is silent when it stops, so part of me is wondering (am I just stalling it) even though i don’t get any of the motions of a stall.

It took me 10 minutes to get it back into 1st gear sat at a light with my hazards on, I had to turn the car off and on numerous times, my partner said I clearly didn’t have my foot on the clutch the whole way down

But I promise you, that’s not the case, my foot was on the clutch to the point it would not move forward, it was all the way down as far as it could go, but he continued to tell me it was clearly that I’m not on the clutch the whole way down. I assure you I am, so what’s going on?

Is it stalling? Even though the engine still sounds on?

I turned the car on and off and still couldn’t get it in gear, then I turned the car off, took every foot off everything (including the break) and suddenly then, when I turned the car back on, it let me go into gear.

I was driving manual for 6 years and I have NEVER encountered this, I’m guessing I’m doing something wrong and have forgotten about in the 4 years I was driving auto, but what is it, what am I doing wrong

As the title says I’m looking for a nice, used luxury 7 seater. I’m torn between these two cars and could do with your opinions? I like Audi, but the V6 diesel concerns me, as I’m not particularly fond of diesel. Whereas the XC90 I can get as a hybrid. But you seem to get more for the money with Audi

As the title suggests my 2023 Vw POLO’s heating does not turn on whilst on idle, it turns on maybe 30 seconds to 1 minute after driving.

This could be a pain in the arse once it starts getting frosty in the morning. This is my first car so I am not really to knowledgeable about this.

I think the coolant level might be low, so I will check tomorrow morning and buy some at Halfords. but if it is not what could it be?

I have a car that WeBuyAnyCar currently values at £6K. It requires over £3K in repairs to pass its MOT, which is due at the end of this month. What is the best course of action here:

1) Do I stay quiet and just try get them to pay £6K for it and let them sort out all the repairs and MOT?

2) Do I show them the invoice for the required repairs and ask them how much they’ll pay based on all the work required?

FULL CONTEXT:

I am currently in possession of the worst car I have ever owned. It is an electric Vauxhall Corsa. It is not a durable car and every year I have owned it, I spend approx £3K on all kinds of repairs.

A month ago, I had a major service done on it and with the incurred repairs spent £800. Knowing that this car is a liability, I decided to get rid of it before the next disaster and visited a We Buy Any Car store, at a local shopping centre and they offered £6ishK for the car. In the interim, I started browsing around for a new car.

However, at the start of this week, it started making a new weird sound and apparently the brakes have gone, the seat base is cracked and the suspensions arms are failing, so my same mechanic is quoting £3K in repairs to fix it, so it gets through an MOT.

I am sick off this problematic turd of a car, but feel stuck… what would be the best way for me to get rid of my vexing Vauxhall ?

My Dad has been banging on at me that I need a battery booster incase I'm in the middle of nowhere, and need to jump-start my car. Halfords sell one but its quite steep for something I may never need. TIA.