What has the Honest John team been asked this week?

[Web Version]( | [Update preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Facebook icon]( [Like]( [Twitter icon]( [Tweet]( [Forward icon]( [Forward]( [Is my Kia 7 year warranty valid?]( Posted by on 4 April, 2024 I have just purchased a 2020 Kia Stonic advertised with remainder of 7 year warranty. On checking the service record it has not maintained the Kia service requirement of 10,000 miles or 12 months. There has been a service interval of 13,400 miles. Dealer is speaking to its warranty team. What should I do? [Read more →]( [What do I need for driving in France and Spain?]( Posted by on 4 April, 2024 We're driving through France & Spain in July. Apart from the obvious, passport, driving licence, insurance etc, what will we need for driving in France then into Spain since Brexit? [Read more →]( [How do I reset my Renault Captur's trip meter?]( Posted by on 4 April, 2024 Bought a 2021 Captur 2 Auto and very pleased - lovely styling as you said! My problem is (and others have said the same) I cannot locate the trip ie miles done since setting off! I have the model with 2 dials and digital speedo in middle. At bottom of middle screen to the left is total miles and to the right miles to next petrol station. Manual tells me to use the keys to right of steering wheel - so I first set it for vehicle using the little '3 book button' Next I go up/down on the arrows which gives me lots of options like fuel used - miles to next fill up - but going through all of them there is no rest to zero anywhere! What am I missing please? On my previous Kadjar there was an easy trip odometer. How can I tell how many miles I have done this journey without subtracting from total mileage? Main dealer says this option not on new models. [Read more →]( [I bought a cat X car at auction but a history check shows it is cat S, can I get my money back?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 I bought a car at auction and it was marked as category X. However, once car was delivered I ran a HPI check and it was showing category S. if I take the auction house to the court, what chances of winning the case will be? [Read more →]( [Where can I get a Ford Ka 2010 rear brake drum ABS sensor?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 We have been looking everywhere including on Ford website and can't seem to find the ABS speed sensor ring that goes on the rear brake drum hub. The brake drum has 4 threaded bolt holes for wheel bolts and two dowels to locate the alloy wheel. It is 180mm internal diameter and marked as Fiat internally. it has integral bearings with an abs sensor ring on the end. The Ford website has two ABS sensor rings but neither of these are correct as it looks like the magnetic surface is on the face and not the side. The ABS sensor is not flush with the back plate but it protruded in about 10-15mm to detect the magnet poles on the side of the ABS ring. Any ideas where we can get new ABS ring and how many poles it is likely to have, failing that new complete drum/bearings/ABS ring? [Read more →]( [What seven-seater car rental for Iceland in February would you choose?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 Holiday in Iceland's winter! We have a choice of 4 cars as there are 6 of us plus luggage. Obviously the weather will be snow/ice, which, living in the UK I'm not used to driving in very often. Our options are all 7 seater and 4WD - Nissan X-Trail Kia Sorento Toyota Highlander Toyota Land Cruiser I've read your reviews but obviously we only need the car for a week of snow/ice so wonder if your reviews would be different in these circumstances? Do you have any advice for us please? I'm a fairly confident driver but the terrain and weather in Iceland will be something new to me. [Read more →]( [Why is my Fiat X1/9 not tax exempt?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 I own a Fiat X19 which is SORN at the moment while I make repairs. The car was made in 1984 but I was told by the DVLA that since it was not registered in this country until 1989 ( it was used in Jersey for the 5 years previous) it will not be eligible for tax exemption until 2029, is this true and why? it is still a 40 year old car. [Read more →]( [Why is there a big difference between purchase price and valuations?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 I am currently looking to purchase a small automatic petrol powered car with low insurance for my daughter, however whenever I go into the insurance comparison websites I am discovering that there is a huge discrepancy between what the vehicles are being sold at and what value the websites are stating the vehicle is actually worth. For example a VW Polo automatic is advertised at £3500 but the website says it’s only valued at £870 and another advertised at £4000 but valued at £1000. The issue comes if the purchased vehicle is involved in a collision she could potentially lose a substantial amount of money. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s private or trade selling the cars. Do you have any suggestions on how to get such a vehicle at a reasonable price without being ripped off? [Read more →]( [How can I tell the age of a car battery?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 I want to know if the battery that's fitted to my 2015 Audi is original to the car, as a replacement is very expensive. It does not have an obvious date stamp on the top or sides, but I've been able to photograph the label on the top and my phone has deciphered the QR code. Would this data enable anyone in the know to determine how old the battery is? [Read more →]( [Can I turn off lane keep assist?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 I read today Judith Ridgers question on a replacement for an Outlander PHEV. I had one of the last of these and there was no lane assist. I replaced it with a Renault Astral which does have it but it can be switched on or off. It remains in the chosen state until the driver decides otherwise . So my question is what is the regulation referred to when Andrew says it has to turn on automatically when a car is restarted? [Read more →]( [My BMW broke down overseas and I'm being asked to pay for the repair labour, is this fair?]( Posted by on 2 April, 2024 I own a 430d x drive and in October 2022 it failed in France. It was recovered to a BMW dealer in France and diagnosed as an EGR failure. BMW UK refused to help in any way so I had the car fixed by BMW France as the alternative was to wait 3/4 months for the car to be recovered to the UK. In November 2023 it failed again and was diagnosed by BMW as a bearing shell that had disintegrated and damaged the crankshaft. This part was one of many that were replaced by BMW France and on which I had the usual warranty. However the France warranty is not recognised in the UK and France will not help as the car is in the UK. BMW UK are funding the parts but want me to pay the labour of £2800. The car is a 2018 model, full dealer service history and 30000 miles and given the original failure was a faulty EGR under recall and then a faulty part or result of the EGR failure I do not see why I should have to fund this. Since 2022 my car has been off the road due to this for 7 months with no courtesy car etc. Can you advise as even going to BMW Munich they simply refer me back to the UK who are treating it as a goodwill issue rather than warranty? [Read more →]( [LV are not insuring my Dacia Duster, why is this?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 My wife has bought a 2021 Dacia Duster Bi Fuel but on advising LV, our insurers, we were told they will not insure the car. No explanation. We had to try elsewhere at a much higher premium, yet the car reviews show good reliability, high driver satisfaction and now highly recommended by the motoring media. LV no longer insuring those of us who are 80 years of age. My wife moved to AA insurance paying an extra £400 with a reminder also that there is no insurance at 80yrs. We are in our late 70s. What is going on? I had been told to expect a lower insurance premium for a Dacia. [Read more →]( [How can I improve the headlight performance of my son's VW Polo?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 My son has the above Polo and the headlights are not good enough to safety drive at night as they do not give a bright enough light. Could you please confirm what to do to make it better? [Read more →]( [Are Autogreen tyres any good?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 Have you a view of Autogreen tyres? We're thinking of a set for my wife's Hyundai Ix20, mostly local use, very occasional 100 mile motorway travel. [Read more →]( [How can I fix my BMW's telematics fault?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 Hello, On our 2018 X1, we are getting the SOS System Failure warning. It's well known that this is usually the battery in the system requiring replacement. In our case though, the problem disappears in warmer weather, sometime for a short period in cooler conditions. I feel that this is unlikely to be the battery, more likely a connection fault. I have limited faith in my local BMW dealer. They will .almost certainly want an hour to diagnose (£150+) and the pronounce that the system needs replacing, at a cost of thousands. [Read more →]( [Should I buy a diesel if I only do short trips?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 Should i buy a diesel if mostly doing short journeys? [Read more →]( [What is the most efficient petrol car for under £6000?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 Just wondering what is the most efficient petrol car or petrol hybrid if its better for less than £6000. I saw a 2023 post however not sure if new vehicles have come on the market. [Read more →]( [Does the VW Polo 1.0 Turbo R-Line have a timing chain?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 I have just bought a brand new Polo 1.0 R line 3 cylinder Automatic. I can’t get an answer whether this engine is a belt or chain. [Read more →]( [What's the difference between self-charging and plug-in hybrids?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 What is the difference between a self charge hybrid and a plug in hybrid and which one would you recommend [Read more →]( [Is a SORNd Lexus UX a good deal?]( Posted by on 1 April, 2024 There are quite a few Lexus UX for sale at the present time, all registered April 2023, and all sorned in August 2023. These cars have usually just under 10000m on the clock, which equqtes to 2500 mls per month, all their reg plates begin WR23. Are these likely to be Lexus company cars, and are they going to be a good buy or should is it best to say goodbye to them. [Read more →]( You received this email because you signed up to our mailing list. If you’re not interested in receiving our newsletter any more, you can: [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( Honestjohn.co.uk 5 New Street Square London United Kingdom EC4A 3TW