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Hi Barry,

I think this sounds more like a tyre issue than anything else. Is there a possibility that the car is on cheap, aftermarket, tyres? If so, get them replaced with a set of something decent — Michelins or Bridgestones. Going for xDrive would help, of course, as the extra bit of traction is never a bad thing, but it does add (slightly) to your running costs because of the weight and the extra frictional losses.

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Hi F D,

Sounds to me like the Audi garage had it right. The rear callipers could be binding slightly, or perhaps even the parking brake mechanism is sticking. Very limited use in any car can do that. If you know you're not going to be using it for a long time, consider parking it up without using the parking brake (if safe and feasible). Leave the car in gear and place something in front of the tyres for extra safety.

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Hi Renate,

Well, there’s no legal requirement to change the valves, but it’s such a simple and cheap process to do so, one would wonder what other corners were cut? Was your car’s tyre pressure monitor reset as well, assuming it has one? Were the wheels properly balanced? I’d go back and ask a few tough questions. 

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Hi Sally,

That’ll vary from lease to lease. Generally speaking, if it’s being leased by a company and they’re giving you use of the car as a company vehicle, they’ll pay the running costs, usually minus fuel. If it’s a case of you being given a car-buying budget as part of a job package, generally you’ll pay for all that stuff, and if you’re buying a car for yourself on a PCP finance deal (which is effectively a personal lease) you cover them too.

There are always differences and details, though, and car makers (Volvo especially) are starting to move towards a mobile-phone style system whereby you pay one monthly fee that covers everything, and change and upgrade your car at regular intervals.

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Hi Claire,

The process is different in different cars. Some have a button on the centre console that you hold down. Others have an option within the on-board computer system of the car that you'll have to go digging for.

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Hi Anthony,

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Hi Philip,

In very simple terms, the jack must be able to take at least half the car's weight. Actually, to be safe, you'd have to say a little more than half, just in case there is any variance between passenger and driver side. Every car has its own weight distribution and centre of gravity, but for the purposes of this, imagine a car with its weight perfectly distributed. Position the jack in the middle of the side of the car and jack it up. When viewed from the front or back, the centre of gravity moves to the side of the car not being jacked up, so as the car goes up, the jack is actually under less strain than when it started.

With all of these things, we would recommend building in a safety factor, of course, and use a fixed stand to hold the car up before you go underneath it.

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Hi Afeez,

I’m assuming that’s a 1.6 HDI diesel model? If so you need to watch for excessive black smoke from the exhaust, which could indicate a blown turbo. Check too to see if the diesel particulate filter is working properly — if it’s a low-mileage car (and that is quite low miles) then it may not have been driven regularly enough to keep the filter clean, and they’re expensive to fix and clean. If it has air conditioning then that needs specific servicing so check that has been done and, if you notice that the car pulls to the left at higher speed, then it might need new front tyres. Other than that check that all switches and buttons are working properly, and that the car has a full and complete service history.

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Hi Philip,

I spoke to someone from Kia about this, as it's news to me, too, but apparently, since last year, all suppliers of new tyres must charge this per-tyre recycling fee. That applies to the car dealers as much as it does the tyre depots. This fee is collected by the dealers, sent to the distributors and then paid to Repak. There's zero profit in it and no choice in the matter.

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Hi Allan,

Orthopaedic seat covers can help, right enough, but it can be a bit of a process of trial and error, and I’d say the best bet in that instance is to get some advice from your doctor, or your back specialist if you have one. As for cars with the best ride quality, the Yaris is pretty good in that respect (although the heavier hybrid version is perhaps less good), but the best bet is, whatever car you’re going to buy, make sure you go for the smallest possible wheel option, with the largest possible tyre sidewall profile. It’s the secret to a comfy ride.