miscellaneous

Hi, I am about to buy a 2009 Opel Astra 1.4 five-door hatchback and I have just noticed that it has a lot of creamy stuff round the oil cap. I am buying the car from an Opel garage and they are saying this is meant to happen on newer cars as the engine is different and there is no temperature gauge in the car.

Even their engineer told me this and I also rang my local garage and they said the same. The car has only done 6,083 miles so may need breaking in as basically new... Is this right or are they just trying to sell me something dodgy? I am worried I will get a lot of problems with this as I have always been told to stay away from cars that have this problem. Please help!

Hi and thanks for your BMW i8 review. Any chance of getting HD wallpapers of the photo gallery?

I regularly travel through the North. Should the need arise, how do I contact the NI emergency services from a Southern registered mobile phone?

Thanks Philip

Hi there. What common brands of cars are the quietest inside? In this country and with modern car engines, that means mainly mitigation of and insulation from road noise, I suppose.

Regards David

Looking at buying a standard 100 series, just wondering if the GLX third row seats will fit one and does anyone know where I can get it fitted in Victoria?

How many Golf GTIs and GTDs were sold in 2013? And with regards to the Golf R (mk 6), were there any registered at all?

A question for Neil: where has The Irish Times Motors podcast gone? I need my weekly fix and haven't been able to download any recent ones!

What are the different Saab models?

I need advice on front-wheel drive cars... like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Do they have driving probs in snow, ice, frost and heavy rain? I am hearing lots of horror stories. Are the stories true? Can you account for big sales of these type of cars in Ireland and UK if such problems exist?

Help please!

What do MPV and HDi mean?