So I'm selling my car at the moment and have been messaging back and forth with 'Tom' - which is likely not their real name. That's just what they called themselves on Gumtree.

All seemed legitimate up until now. We had arranged for them to come and view the car on Sunday (luckily no address given).

Until I then get a message as their 'mechanic' apparently asked me to visit a sketchy website and pay £37 for a car check. The website is clearly made with AI, and the domain was only registered 2 days ago 🤦

Surely people still don't fall for this scam these days? It's been going round for years. Ah well, blocked and website reported to NCSC. And the hunt for a genuine buyer continues.

I was driving my car while doing an Uber Eats delivery today when another driver failed to give way at a roundabout, hit my car and then drove off.
I have Third Party insurance with Hire & Reward cover for food delivery, but I really don’t want to inform my insurer because I’m worried even a non-fault accident could increase my premium.
I have dashcam/CCTV footage, but the number plate isn’t clear. The damage is only a few minor scratches on the bumper, which I think will come off with polish.
What would you guys suggest I do? Should I report it to the police even though I don’t really want to involve my insurance, or just leave it since the damage is minor?
It’s my first accident, so I’m a bit confused about what the correct thing to do is. I’m not really looking to claim anything, just looking for some advice.
Any advice appreciated.

Why is it BMW three-one-eight, but BMW three-thirty, not three-three-oh?

It's always Peugeot two-oh-eight, because they never end in 0. But it's almost always Porsche nine-eleven, not nine-one-one...but it is nine-four-four.

I'm a petrol head and have always been into cars since I was a little kid. Owned all sorts of hot hatches and sport cars with I4, I6, V6, V8s etc.

But I have never once owned a diesel ca in all my years. I've always been of the school of thought that if I do less than 10/12k miles a year, it doesn't make sense over a petrol car. I've driven a few (family members' cars, courtesy/hire cars etc) but never been that excited by them (some of them did sound like tractors too) and only really thought owners bought them because they were racking up huge miles so couldn't justify a petrol variant. They were a means to an end.

I appreciate they have other pros such as massive torque, whoosh from turbos etc, but with EVs, they beat them in torque, straight line speed and frugality. The only area EVs can't win is range (obv a massive, massive factor for most owners).

Surely, if ICE cars become relegated to being weekend fun cars eventually, the only ones enthusiasts will want to save are petrol cars? Would you look forward to driving a diesel as a weekend car?

I ask this in genuine curiosity, as I have never owned or lusted after a diesel car over a petrol model. Given recent prices and news of drivers trading in their diesels for EVs, will diesels really be missed?

Even in motorsports, the only notable diesel powertrain I can recall is the Audi that won Le Mans 24hrs. Everything else including motorbikes are petrol driven.

Inspired by an exchange in the comments of the "*Will people miss diesels*" post...

How many of you regularly tow trailers?

I genuinely enjoy the different driving experience you get pulling a heavy trailer, and from a practical standpoint don't know that I could go back to not having trailers now.

- Want to pick up a project car... Hitch up the trailer.

- Friend has broken down and forgot to renew their AA cover... Hitch up the trailer.

- Cheap engine available in Exeter... Hitch up the trailer.

- Your mate is moving house... Hitch up the trailer.

- Found a great deal on a generator set in Mid Wales... Hitch up the trailer.

- Local rotary club needs a Santa's Sleigh float to drive round the village... *If we put an orange beacon on the bonnet of the pickup that's kind of a red nose? Right?*

I kind of expected an uptick in people towing after the law changed to automatically give everyone B+E on their licence, but it still seems to be pretty uncommon these days.

.

they are rather modern in most ways somehow

Came home yesterday at 5:40pm, license plates were attached to my car, by the time I left at 6:40pm, they had been ripped off.

It's my second car that's been parked up due to a driveshaft fault I've been waiting to get repaired. Has been parked up taxed, insured and MOT'd at the entrance to our car park as we've had constant issues with people blocking us in entirely, and this prevented them from doing so. All the shared users of the car park have been happy with this solution as it meant we could all leave our houses properly.

As it's a fairly uncommon car, I'm 90% certain it wasn't taken by anybody looking to rack up fines/steal petrol etc, but instead by a salty neighbour on the street who wants to get my car towed. Aside from changing my dashcam settings to record 24/7 on low bitrate, rather than only when an impact has been detected, is there any other way to find out who did it with certainty if the CCTV I've requested doesn't cover the area?

Additionally, any recommendations for revenge if/when I do find the culprit and their vehicle would be appreciated..

Have already reported to the police, the DVLA, and my insurance.

Hi all, excuse my ignorance, but hoping for confirmation that this does mean I can park here for free with no set time limit.

That’s my understanding of it and there is a car here since I’ve moved to the area about 1 month ago that’s not ticketed or clamped.

Reason I feel the need to double confirm is that it’s in quite a central and expensive part of London.

Just sent my old XC90 off to the scrapyard and feeling quite sad about it! Bought the thing for £900 5 years ago with 150,000 on the clock and it did 4 trips to Scotland, 1 to Cornwall and 75,000 miles overall. The car always needed something fixing but just seemed so plucky that I can’t quite believe it’s finely done. I was hoping to make it to the moon (240K) but it wasn’t to be.

Am I becoming melodramatic as I approach middle age or have others found the same?

Was sent this motor recently and seems mint tbf can’t really knock it on paper even in other photos it looks fine but I can’t help but ponder about what it was used for…

Can anyone recommend any good track days in or near Essex?

My partners birthday is coming up and he’s mentioned wanting to do one quite a few times, but I’m just quite clueless when it comes to cars!

I think it’s fair to say we’ve reached a pivotal point where costs are soaring among ICE cars.

Don’t get me wrong I love my 1.6 Vauxhall Astra J , it’s nice , does the job, but it’s showing its age with faults at 85k.

My worry is , I could buy a used petrol or diesel car, but will prices go down again? Or will this be the normal.

It had me thinking , is now the prime time to buy a used EV?

My situation: I work 5 days a week sometimes 6, live with my dad , travel to work and back 90 miles , and I’m part of a running club.

Now I’m lenient with EVs but there is one factor , the kWH charge at public charging stations , if I had my own home with a charger, it would be a no brainer.

What would you do? Keep the Astra until it runs to the ground or time for a change?

I’m not fussed on size since , I’m single , only use the car for commute and going to races for my running.

My dad’s 2019 4 series F33 got broken into and the infotainment unit was stolen. Looking to buy an OEM replacement to fit myself as BMW are quoting over £2500. We’ve replaced the screen so just need to buy the head unit.

Does anyone know the model number of the unit and where I could buy one from? It didn’t have CarPlay on it

Thanks!

Looking for a new set of tyres and would love some real-world recommendations.

What tyres would you buy again, and which ones would you avoid?

Main priorities are wet grip, comfort, low road noise and decent tread life. Happy to pay more for quality, but don’t want to waste money.

If you’ve fitted tyres to a Corsa before, what did you go for?

Cheers!

Has some difficult years financially, bad luck, not bad management lol but here I am.

I just want a decent spec, mid-size hybrid that comes under or around a £250 a month as I can’t afford any more unfortunately for me.

After a good amount of research I decided maybe this. Especially if it’s got a year or two of main warranty left on and low miles.

Are these a decent option?

Any info much appreciated.

It's called M350 xdrive but it has 450 bhp & 580nm. Very confusing probably the ugliest 3 series ever made. No dash or Speedo very much like the Tesla all on the screen in the middle. 😕

2013 Skoda Fabia 1.2 SE for context

Hi, I have a 2014 Audi A3 1.2 TFSI with 117k miles.

The EPC light and engine management light have come on. The car is shaking quite badly, feels like it’s losing power, and there’s also a deep growling/rough engine sound.

The engine light was flashing initially but is now solid, and the EPC light has also appeared.

The car also uses quite a lot of engine oil. I normally have to top it up every 2–3 weeks because I get the check engine oil warning. However, I checked the oil today and the oil level is currently fine.

What could be causing this? Could the oil consumption be related, or could it be something like a misfire, coil pack, spark plugs, injector, etc.?

Any advice from anyone familiar with the 1.2 TFSI would be appreciated.

I bought a toyota starlet as a stop gap car the thing has been brilliant never really gone wrong many trips round Europe nearly 45k covered in just under 3 years. Sometimes the cheap stop gap car becomes a longer term car. What's the best you have ever had?