Simon The Vague Cook

All I'm looking for is a used car under £3000: A 4/5 door hatchback or estate that's reliable, economical (the more over 35mpg round town the better), quiet, comfortable ride and fairly spacious. Any suggestions of cars that cover every factor? Doesn't have to be exciting to look at, I'm past all that. I will *not* buy anything French. Apologies to Renault sufferers but that's just the way it is.

I've read lots of Honest John reviews and according to him almost every car ever made will fail spectacularly and expensively, so I've come here for some real-life experiences.

"Don't buy a..." stories are welcome too.

We have a Hotpoint GW74K cooker which has a safety device that automatically re-lights the gas if it is blown out, or if the gas supply fails temporarily. The problem is that when the oven becomes hot, after about 20-30 mins or so, something is telling the ignitor to spark constantly as though the gas has gone out.

I wondered if the flame failure device was at fault but the gas isn't being cut off like it is if I turn the cooker off at the mains - the ignitor just sparks constantly even though the gas is burning.

I've cleaned everything so it's spotless and dry yet the temperature at which this happens is getting lower. It used to be at gas mark 8 or higher, now it's gas mark 5. When the oven's cooled down a bit it works properly until it gets hot again. It's a nuisance!

I am considering buying my council house. I know that I can't sell it within five years without having to pay back some or all of the discount the council would give me (approx. £38,000) but can I rent it out and live elsewhere?