Ask The Guide

Though they were originally rear-drive, Aussie Corollas have been driven by the front-wheels since the era of stonewash and perms (that is the 1980s, kids). We also had a Corolla-based four-wheel drive in the early '90s badged Tercel, though it didn't last long. Overseas, the Corolla has had all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive variants, some even featuring turbochargers. For Australia, the last rear-drive Corolla was the KE70-series, though the early 1980s rear-drive Sprinter was also based off a Corolla platform.

Hyundai's i30 has won a stack of new car awards since its introduction in 2007. If properly maintained with regular servicing the small hatchback is perfectly reliable with few major faults found on record in routinely serviced vehicles. As always, if you are looking to buy a used car check its service history to ensure it has been looked after as this will give you a good indication it will be reliable into the future.

There is no hard and fast answer, as some parts will need customising to interchange between different body styles or drivetrains. When looking to interchange parts between vehicles, you should do as much research as possible to work out if the parts will fit. Key to this is using trusted sources of information. Generally, you will be able to interchange some parts between models of the same generation, so parts fitted to a T6 (or PX) Ranger will be able to be interchanged, however minor differences in wiring or computer coding need to be explored.

The PowerShift is Ford’s dual-clutch automatic transmission, and is used on petrol and diesel engines. If you really want to buy a Focus buy a manual.

The warning light is telling you there is a problem and that you should have a diagnostic check done on it. The idle speed is probably too low to sustain reliable running. It’s possibly a faulty sensor sending a false message to the computer.

The EGR valve and cooler are common problems. If it’s running ok, and you regularly service it and change the oil I don’t see any reason to panic-sell it.

No, the Smart is in the clear on this one.

You would be able to move up to a 2011/2012 model for the money you have to spend, and for that you get a much safer car, with much lower kilometres, which should be much more reliable. Even though your 20-year-old car has been very reliable, there’s nothing to say that won’t all change tomorrow, and BMWs can be expensive to fix.

It would seem the transmission has somehow been damaged. Get under and have a look to see where the leak is coming from, and hopefully you will see damage that is causing the leak. If it’s a very slow leak as you say it could be that it’s been leaking for a while until the fluid level dropped to the point it couldn't maintain drive any longer.

It could be from any of those, it could also be the tyres if they’re aggressive off-road tyres. Your best course of action is to have a mechanic ride with you to observe first hand the noise that concerns you.