Ask The Guide

One of the gripes with the Honda HR-V (I’ll assume that’s the model you’re talking about; there is no Honda HR-C) is that you need to pay for the very top-shelf model before you get the full safety package. In the HR-V’s case, that includes full forward-collision warning, autonomous braking and lane-departure warning. The catch is, you can’t even pay extra and option this package of the lower sped models.

In any case, it’s academic from your point of view, Noel, because even the range-topping VTi-LX misses out on rear-cross traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring and the active cruise-control you’re looking for. Plenty of the competition has these features and no doubt when Honda replaces the current model HR-V, those features will get a look in.

I think that a Kia Rio would be an excellent choice as a first car. Especially since a Rio built in the time frame you’re looking at will still have a big chunk of its factory warranty left to run. The Kia seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is the best around, really, and provided the car you buy has a complete service record, that warranty will be real peace of mind.

Also, the Rio is known to be a good, solid car that has a good reputation for reliability and durability. The Skoda Fabia, meantime, suffers from the poor reputation of is dual-clutch transmission. The Fabia is also a bit of an orphan in Australia, meaning that it’s largely overlooked by buyers. That means it will potentially be more difficult to unload when you daughter looks to upgrade her car in a few years.

The early VE model Commodore V6s certainly had all sorts of dramas with stretched timing chains that could run into thousands of dollars to fix. Holden changed the design of the chain and while it did help, we’ve still heard of later post-2008 model Commodore V6s exhibiting the same problem.

The problem is made worse (accelerated) by poor servicing, so if the vehicle in question doesn’t have an absolutely up-to-date service handbook with evidence of every scheduled service being carried out in full, we’d be walking away. Same goes for a car that rattles on first start-up, won’t idle properly or has a check-engine light illuminated on the dashboard.

The vast majority of Nissan Patrols from 2006 have covered a lot more than 172,000km, so that’s definitely one thing in the vehicle’s favour. These seem to be a pretty good thing over time and kilometres as well, but there are still a few things to be wary of. The first of those is how the vehicle has actually been used in the past. Has it been used extensively off-road? Climb underneath and check for damage caused by rocks and try to gauge how hard a life the Patrol has had.

The other thing to bear in mind is that there were two diesel engines offered in this model. The biggest, a 4.2-litre turbo-diesel is a pretty good thing and tough enough to survive. The smaller unit, though, a three-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel doesn’t enjoy the same reputation for reliability and longevity. In fact, the smaller diesel is notorious for suffering an incorrect air-fuel mixture and/or turbo-boost spikes which can smash the pistons to bits. At which point the whole engine is junk. Should this happen, you might find that the cost of repairs is more than the actual value of the whole vehicle.

So that’s the bottom line: If the engine is a six-cylinder, it’s probably worth a punt if it’s cheap enough. If the engine is a four-cylinder, you might be wise to look for an expert on these engines to examine it and give a recommendation in person.

This model Patrol was also entangled in the Takata air-bag fiasco, so make sure the air-bags have been checked and replaced if necessary before driving it anywhere.

The vast majority of complaints regarding the Holden Adventra emanate from under the bonnet. In the case of the V8 version (the CX8) the engine is a bit prone to experiencing wear in the top-end of the motor, namely the lifters and valves springs. A ticking noise when the car is first started each morning is the clue to this and although a lot of these engines will, indeed, make this noise on start-up, if the noise doesn’t go away in a few seconds, you have a problem.

The V6 (CX6) meanwhile which was available in the later version used the DOHC Alloytech engine which soon gained a reputation for stretched timing chains which needed to be replaced at a fairly substantial cost. The first hint that all is not well is a rattling noise from the top of the engine, combined (often) with a check-engine light illuminated on the dashboard.

Beyond those issues, many owners have complained about poor fuel economy and patchy build quality. Make sure, too, that any prospective purchase hasn’t been used off-road beyond its limits. Just because it used a higher ride height and all-wheel-drive did not mean the Adventra was a hard-core off-roader.

The symptoms you’re experiencing all sound like they have something to do with the body computer(s) on the car. So it’s conceivable that a bad batch of computers on Mazda’s production line could affect more than one car. And if that’s the case, you’ve just been unlucky. That said, Mazda is not exactly a stranger to body computer glitches, and Mazda 3 built between 2015 and 2017 were, in fact, recalled to fix just such a problem that was affecting the operation of the windscreen wipers.

If you’re unhappy with Mazda’s approach, you can contact the ACCC to try to organise a resolution. But if the second car is only throwing up bogus tyre-pressure alerts and hasn’t started having other problems yet, then you should give Mazda the chance to put it right. The other problems may never develop, but if they do, I reckon you’d have a decent moral case for getting your money back. That said, Australia doesn’t have the `lemon laws’ that, say, the USA, has so getting a refund is not a simple matter.

It would seem very strange to me that an almost-new Toyota V6 engine would be burning oil to the extent that a new short motor would be required. And it seems that wasn’t the problem anyway, but I agree that more than a litre per 1500km is too much. Had the short motor (pistons and piston-rings) been the problem, the new short motor should have fixed it, but a leak-down and compression test should have given a few clues, too. In any case, the dealer should now be looking for the real source of the problem. I’d be starting with the valve-stem seals or valve guides which are part of the cylinder head and aren’t replaced when a new short motor is fitted (because the original cylinder heads are retained). I’d also be checking the operation of the PCV (crankcase ventilation valve) which can also make oil disappear if it’s faulty.

As for your next step, well, thank goodness for new-car warranties, eh? Basically, you’re covered whatever happens because that’s how warranties work. It’s up to the dealer to decide what steps it takes from here, but while ever the dealer is trying to fix the problem, you need to give them the chance to do so. It would be nice if you were provided with a replacement vehicle while yours is being assessed or fixed, and I’d definitely be asking for that much. Have you contacted Toyota Australia’s customer service number? Sometimes you’ll have a quicker resolution if head office gets involved. The other option if you’re really unhappy with how things are progressing is to contact the ACCC.

Sending you a USB stick in the mail with the updated mapping sounds like a great way for the dealership to make its problem your problem. Why not ask for the update to be done when your new car gets its first service? Dealerships have policies to cope with Covid-19 safely and protect you and their employees. A trip to the dealership to get the sat-nav (which you’ve paid for) working properly isn’t too much of a stretch.

Also, accepting a USB stick in the mail and a set of instructions leaves you open to claims that you’ve done something wrong when the system still doesn’t work properly. Under Australian consumer law and Nissan’s own factory warranty, it’s Nissan’s problem. Don’t let the dealer sidestep you or create an environment where you could be held responsible for a bungle.

There are two main reasons to service a car. The first is to keep the vehicle running in an efficient, clean, safe and comfortable way. The second is so that you maintain your factory warranty. A car-maker is not obliged to honour some aspects of a new-car warranty if the vehicle hasn’t been serviced correctly, so it’s important, especially since the Kia warranty is such a good one at seven-years/unlimited kilometres. In fact, the Kia warranty is the best in the business in Australia.

With that in mind, provided you use a properly accredited workshop that is authorised to stamp your service book, yes you can use a non-Kia workshop or dealership to have your car serviced and retain your factory warranty. That said, the Kia isn’t an especially expensive vehicle to have serviced with 12 month or 15,000km service intervals.

Have you investigated Kia’s seven-year capped price servicing deal? It stacks up very well over the full seven years and, in fact, a Seltos is really no more expensive to service than the little Kia Picanto under the capped-price schedule. Definitely talk to the dealer about capped price servicing if you go ahead and buy a Kia, you might be surprised how cost-effective it is.

Engines like the Honda four-cylinder have lots and lots of electronic sensors scattered around the engine bay to keep them running sweetly and efficiently. High-pressure water can definitely get into places it shouldn’t be and send things haywire. Next time you get the engine up to temperature, park the car somewhere dry and leave the bonnet open to see if whatever is wet will dry out naturally.

Of course, that’s dependent on the burning-plastic smell not being something that’s about to catch fire. In fact, this is the more serious problem as a small piece of trim or soundproofing could also have moved during the high-pressure washing process and could be touching a hot component such as the exhaust system. If that’s the case, it can easily catch fire with predictable results. I would definitely be having somebody who knows what they’re looking at take a look to identify the source of the smell. Keep a fire extinguisher handy while you’re doing so, too.