Ask The Guide

These cars have a pretty terrible reputation of reliability over the longer term. Plenty of things seem to go wrong with them (almost certainly thanks to them being built down to a price) and parts supply seems a bit sketchy at times, too.

A loose gearshift mechanism can certainly cause the problems you’re experiencing and a loose, or sloppy gear-stick can be the first symptom. Often it’s a simple case of adjusting the selector mechanism, other times you may need to replace a worn bush or bearing to restore the shifter to its original state. But if the shifter is worn or damaged, then selecting gears can become the problem you’re experiencing.

The Holden Captiva has a terrible reputation in this department, and plenty of owners have had ongoing problems with the electronics in these vehicles which weren’t actually Holdens at all, but rather rebadged Daewoos. It’s a bit of a surprise to learn that a scan of the vehicle doesn’t show up any fault codes, but that also makes us think that perhaps you have a major failure of the vehicle’s body computer which controls all the functions you’re now being warned about on the dashboard. And if the body computer itself is in the process of failing, then it may not respond to the scanning process in a logical manner.

That said, the problem could be caused by something as simple as a poor earth in the car’s electrical circuitry, but experience with the Captiva suggests it will be something more complex and probably more expensive. Don’t rule out a failed electrical connection somewhere in the car’s wiring loom. The catch with the Captiva is that the cost of repairs is often greater than the retained value of the car itself, at which point you’re at an ownership cross-roads. The reality is that your car is probably only worth about $8000 (perhaps less) and a lot less as a trade-in. Spending thousands of dollars to fix it doesn’t add up to too many people.

That’s actually not a lot of kilometres for a modern car, even a small hatchback like a Hyundai i30. Modern cars are actually a lot more durable in the long term than older ones, so I wouldn’t be worried about the distance travelled. Given that the average car in Australia travels about 15,000km a year, 108,000 is actually about right for a car that’s now eight years old.

That said, the car’s chances of being reliable for the next few years will pivot on how it has been maintained by its previous owners. Make sure the car you buy has a full service history with no gaps in that document suggesting it has missed any scheduled preventative maintenance. Unfortunately, many people who purchase budget cars like the Hyundai tend to maintain them in a similar way and that often means corners are cut. But if the service history is intact and complete, there’s no reason to suspect the car won’t offer years of reliable service. The price you’ve been quoted seems about right for the car in question.

The clock-spring is the electrical linkage that connects the driver’s air-bag and everything else that lives on the steering wheel (cruise-control, stereo controls and more in a modern vehicle) with the rest of the car. The clock-spring is needed to allow the steering wheel to turn while maintaining those electrical contacts.

It’s quite a common thing to have to replace and will probably cost a few hundred dollars to have a workshop do the job.

It could be either the car or the remote-control unit at fault, and it’s impossible to tell without actually examining the vehicle. A remote-control unit with a battery that is low on voltage can cause all sorts of mysterious problems with a car’s central locking. But it’s also possible that the vehicle’s body-computer (which controls all the functions involved in unlocking and starting the car) could be malfunctioning also. If that’s the case, it will be a much more involved and expensive job than changing the battery in a remote-control unit.

When the new D-Max arrived in 2020, the big improvements included a step up in standard equipment and a big leap forward in refinement and ride quality. The engine and driveline, however, was carried over from the previous model, so performance and driveability were similar.

With that in mind, you can probably expect the all-new MU-X to offer a similar hike in standard equipment terms. But unlike the D-Max with its rear leaf springs, the MU-X already features coil springs all around, so there may not be quite the same boost to refinement or ride quality. That said, it’s unlikely Isuzu would go backwards in this department. If you can live without the creature comforts, then a run-out deal on the old model seems like a pretty good idea. It really all depends on how much importance you place on having the latest and greatest.

For the 2010 model, Ford switched from a replaceable fuel filter located just in front of the fuel tank under the car, to a 'lifetime' filter which was part of the fuel pump. The fuel pump itself, meanwhile, is located inside the fuel tank, so that’s where the filter lives as well. Despite being a lifetime filter, contaminated fuel and other factors can require the filter to be changed and the good news is that the filter can be replaced independent of the actual fuel pump. That bad news is that the tank needs to be removed from the car to access those components, so it’s not a cheap, simple job.

If this is a new phenomenon, then it’s almost certainly down to the condition of your tyres. As tyres wear, they become less able to clear the water between themselves and the road surface, allowing the car to almost 'float' over the bitumen, leading to the loss of traction you’re experiencing. But even a tyre that is simply old (as opposed to worn out) can cause the same problem as the rubber hardens and loses its ability to grip the road. This will also be most noticeable in wet conditions, which is when you’ve experienced it.

Another possibility is that the car has sprung an oil or coolant leak which is spraying from the engine bay, under the car and on to the rear tyres, causing them to slip. But that’s a lot more of a long shot and a close inspection of the tyres would be the first step to curing what is a potentially very dangerous situation.

Yes, the license status of the buyer makes no difference to you as the seller. In fact, you can legally sell your car to somebody without a license at all. But the buyer will need to transfer the registration as only a car that is garaged in Queensland can legally be registered in Queensland.

If the vehicle was serviced though the Audi dealer network, there would be a paper trail you could follow by providing the vehicle’s VIN or perhaps even its registration details. If not, you’d need to know the workshop or service network that carried out the scheduled maintenance to try for a service history, but without a handbook, that could be difficult to ascertain. Contacting the previous owner (if that’s possible) is the best way forward.

But don’t ignore the obvious: Many workshops place a small sticker on the upper-inside corner of the windscreen to alert the owner of the next scheduled service, and this is a great clue in identifying who has worked on the car in the past. Check the glove-box for receipts and take a look under the bonnet for other clues, including dealer-network branding including oil-recommendation decals.