Car Clinic: Fun, stylish cars for less than £10,000

I have a digital air compressor to check my tyre pressures. It has a 12V plug that fits a car’s lighter socket, but my Jaguar’s handbook says this socket should not be used to power accessories. My wife’s Nissan handbook has a similar warning. Should I plug it in anyway?
CB, Stafford

Although the fitting of general-purpose power sockets in cars is a quite recent development, cigarette lighter sockets have been used to run appliances since at least the 1980s, so your compressor will probably work from the lighter socket without problems. Jaguar gives two reasons for its warning: first, when plugging in an accessory, the user often twists the plug, which risks breaking the contact at the bottom of the socket and blowing a fuse. Second, the socket has a lower fuse rating than a proper 12V power outlet — 15A rather than 20A — which may lead to a fuse blowing if more current than this is drawn.

Nissan is a little vaguer, simply saying it cannot guarantee that the socket will properly power your accessory. An alternative is to buy an adaptor with crocodile clips that attach to the car battery at one end and a socket at the other. Try www.polevolt.co.uk (01477 533 320), which sells such a device for £5.88 under the tab Din and Cigar Connectors. DP

The rubber button on my key fob that operates the MetaSystem alarm and immobiliser for my 1988 Alfa Romeo GTV has worn away and no longer works. Can I get a replacement?
KD, Walsall

It is possible to buy a replacement key fob and it should be fairly simple to teach the new transmitter to communicate with your car if you have kept the alarm’s master code. You will need to open the fob’s casing and use the small switch on the chipboard, normally operated by the worn-away button, to lock and unlock your car as part of the teaching process. MetaSystem (020 8867 2347; www.metasystem.co.uk) can supply a replacement for about £21. If you have lost the code or the fob is unusable, go to a Meta service centre, where the staff should be able to work out a solution. This time, make sure you get a spare. DP

I deliver to shops in my Land Rover Discovery. Last week I parked in a loading area but was issued a penalty charge notice, saying, “Section 23, the wrong type of vehicle”. I paid the £35 fine, though there was no sign saying what vehicles were allowed. How can I avoid this?
LW, Pershore, Worcestershire

If the signs next to a loading bay are accompanied by a blue-and-white sign showing a man pushing a trolley and state, “Goods vehicle loading only”, they can be used by goods vehicles only — that is, vehicles or trailers designed or adapted for carrying goods. If this was the sign that was displayed over the bay where you parked, then the ticket was in order. Your Land Rover is unlikely to qualify as a goods vehicle — as defined in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 — and paying the fine quickly was the right decision. If the signs did not carry the wording or image, though, you should not have been issued with a ticket and you would almost certainly have had it cancelled had you appealed.

Now for the tricky bit. Civil parking regulations state that, having paid the £35, you need to provide the local authority with “compelling reasons” for the penalty charge notice to be cancelled and refunded. You could inform the council that you believe you have paid a penalty that was not valid, that you have changed your mind and want the matter reopened. Do so quickly — the authority can legally disregard a complaint received more than 28 days after the ticket was issued. JSM

Question of the week

I carry two bicycles on a frame at the back of my hatchback but think it would be easier to put the bicycles, with front wheels removed, in the boot of an estate car. Are there any that fit the bill for £20,000?
DP, Newport, Gwent

There is no shortage of estate cars in your price range that will comfortably hold your bikes. With the rear seats raised, the space in the three we have chosen is similar — with the Mondeo slightly ahead — but once the seats are folded the Mazda6 races ahead of the VW Passat by as much as 110 litres, with the Mondeo in second position. Of the three, the Mondeo is the most fun to drive. The Mazda6, on the other hand, is a well thought-out design with great attention to detail. For example, just one lever operates the tilt and fold mechanism of the rear seat, dropping the base and back of the seat in a hassle-free, synchronised performance. The Passat counters with a premium image and good-quality fit and finish, while its turbocharged petrol engine makes it relaxed to drive at low revs and punchy when overtaking. JM

The car clinic panel

Dave Pollard has written several Haynes manuals and has tested just about every car-related accessory.
Jeanette S Miller is a solicitor. Her firm, Geoffrey Miller, specialises in defending drivers.
James Mills is a motoring magazine editor with 18 years’ experience of evaluating new cars.
Jason Dawe is our used-car expert and has appeared on Top Gear, Watchdog and The Morning Show.

Got a problem? Email your question to carclinic@sunday-times.co.uk, or write to Car Clinic, InGear, The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST. Please supply a daytime phone number, your town or city and as much detail about your car as you can. We cannot send personal replies, so please do not send original documents. Advice is offered without legal responsibility.