Ask The Guide

When buying older utes you should be mindful of what they have been used for. Company utes can be abused by workers with an axe to grind with the boss, others can be beaten up by uncaring owners, while others could have a hard time offroad. By on condition, make sure it's been serviced, and look carefully for signs of abuse.

BMW offered two 3 Series wagons in 2007, the 320i and the 323i. The list price for the 320i wagon was $65,800; the 323I wagon was $71,500.

The diesel is fine around town. Being just three years old there shouldn't be anything wrong, so apart from overall condition of the body, paint, and interior make sure it has been routinely serviced.

The best times to buy are usually the end of the financial year, or at model run-out times, that's when the specials are on. The CVT and dual-clutch autos are both still unknowns in terms of long-term reliability, but either should be ok over the five years you plan to keep the car. Any of the cars you list, and the list is a long one, would be ok. It really comes down to what you like.

Ford changed from the LW model to the LZ in 2015. The LW had a dual-clutch automatic, which was very problematic and should be avoided; the later LZ had a regular automatic transmission and has none of the problems that beset the LW. In short the LZ is worth buying, and can be compared to the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla for reliability.

The best engine for economy is the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel. The 4.0-litre V6 is a great engine, but it does consume a fair amount of fuel. In terms of reliability they are much the same. On average they would have done between 100,000 and 150,000 km. Pricewise they would average $28,000-$31,000. The main thing to look for is any sign of hard work or heavy off-road use.

Start by checking the basics that control the fuel and spark, such as the coil, plugs and plug leads on the spark side, and the fuel pump on the fuel side.

In general Hondas are well designed and built to a high standard, so they generally outdo the Holden Captiva on most counts.

You would have to think that it's faulty for one reason or another. It could have had a production fault; there could be a problem with the oil feed that keeps it lubricated, or a number of other things. One thing for sure is that there had to be a fault for it to fail at such low kilometres.

It has a claimed average fuel consumption of 5.5 L/100 km, which is quite good. It would be fine for long trips. The only concern would be the problems associated with its dual-clutch automatic transmission.