Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Maintenance 'favours' end up costing more

GETTING help from family, neighbours or friends for basic car maintenance tasks costs the UK public an estimate £300million a year, according to a new survey. Over 2,000 people were surveyed on behalf of Halfords Autocentres and one in six said they regretted asking for help in the first place. 45% who subsequently had to pay a professional to rectify mistakes were left with a bill in excess of £100.

New BMW M5 & M6 Competition Package & new 518d prices revealed

The competition package for the new M5 & M6 costs from £5,500 The arrival of the newly refreshed BMW 5 Series saw the arrival of a new entry-level point – the 518d – and the option at the other end of the scale of a Competition Package for both the M5 and M6 (in all three varieties). Now, BMW has decided how much they are going to cost you. The Competition Package for the M5 and M6 comes in a bit steeper than we’d expected (we reckoned it would cost around £5k), with the cheapest option being on the M6 Gran Coupe £5,500) and the most expensive on the M5 saloon (£6,700).

Mazda CX-5 gets new trim levels

Mazda CX-5 gets new trim levels When car makers come up with trim specifications for their models, they do so in a way that gives easy stepping stones in equipment levels, from hair shirt to over the top. They also expect that many buyers will pay a visit to the options list to add in a few extra goodies to the standard spec, but it looks like Mazda has been getting the same request repeatedly from buyers of the CX-5 compact SUV – give us a sunroof and leather. Until now, the only way to get sunroof and leather was to opt for the range-topping Sport trim – which costs from £27.5k – but now Mazda has added two trim levels beneath the Sport - SE-L Lux and SE-L Lux Nav – which come already equipped with the two most requested extras.