Ask The Guide

The trade-in valuation you are likely to get is between $5500 and $10,500, depending on the model, condition, and odometer reading. There are no rules to say how much more you might get if you were to buy three cars.

What you want isn’t readily available, so I would suggest you survey a number of mechanics specialising in Discoveries and X5s to get the information.

Buying a car sight unseen is not a good idea. I would go for on of the big three: HiLux, Triton, or Courier. They are all much of a muchness when you get to the used car market. The important things are service history, odo reading, and previous use.

Never let things slide if you feel your car has a problem. Pursue a solution until you are satisfied you have the answer. It’s not a good idea to miss services, particularly on cars with turbochargers. Keeping a fresh supply of oil is the key to trouble-free motoring with turbos. There’s every chance the turbo was faulty when you first noticed it, and having missed a service you probably contributed to the failure. There’s probably not a lot you can do, except to pay for the repairs.

You could take the car companies to court to try and force them to work faster, or you could lobby the ACCC to intervene on your behalf.

There’s no easy way to assess the performance of an air conditioning system, other than to leave the car for a period of time and then check the time it takes to lower the temperature to a comfortable level. A more powerful system should lower the temperature more quickly and better maintain the temperature.

It sounds like it could be the fuel supply; check the fuel filter, fuel pressure, and the injectors. It’s a common-rail diesel engine and they are prone to injector wear.

Check the identification plate in the engine bay. It should tell what model you have. If it doesn’t tell you directly you should be able to identify it from the VIN number.

There are kits available for your Landcruiser. You best bet is to talk to a local diesel engine mechanic to find out the best kit for your application.

Depending on the engine, the range is $4500 to $7500.