Ask The Guide

I wouldn’t rush into selling it, I would get a second opinion on the turbo, and I doubt his prediction of further problems down the track as a result of replacing the turbo.

At 161,625 km the Captiva is still a relatively young car, and should still have a few years of service left in it. Instead of the Captiva, consider a Mazda CX-5, Kia Sorento, or perhaps a Nissan X-Trail.

It’s hard to know how Holden has managed to largely get away with this problem.

Ford was heavily fined by the ACCC for what is a similar situation. An automatic transmission of any sort should not fail to the point of needing to be replaced in 70,000 km, and in my view should be replacing them at no cost to the owner. The fact that your car hasn’t been serviced by a Holden dealer should have no bearing on the problem. It is a dud transmission and Holden should accept full responsibility for it. Talk to the people at the ACCC and get their advice on the approach you should take with Holden.

They have a cam timing belt.

You would likely pay $24,000 to $27,000.

Without being able to see the paint problem it is difficult to be conclusive, but on the basis of what you have told us it is more likely to be the paint quality than bird droppings.

Your best course of action is to consult a paint specialist and have them make an independent assessment that you can submit to Mazda.

If you've never worked on a car yourself, the best way to change the oil in your Ranger is to take it to a qualified mechanic. The oil is the lifeblood of your engine and putting too much or too little in your motor can destroy it, costing thousands to fix. This is on top of the safety aspect of crawling around under your car and working with hot oil that can easily scald you if it splashes on you.

The bonnet release for the Jeep Patriot is situated on the kick panel, near the pedals. Pull the lever marked with a drawing of a car with the bonnet raised, and it opens the first catch on the bonnet. Walk to the front of the car and feel for the second stage release. Pull this and lift the bonnet at the same time to open the bonnet fully.

The current Hyundai Santa Fe is 4690mm long. The specifications for the 2019 model have not yet been released.

Toyota's RAV4 soft-roader is rated by the manufacturer to tow up to 1500kg if using a trailer with brakes, or 750kg if the trailer doesn't have brakes. That is the maximum, which means I wouldn't plan on towing boats with the RAV4 as even small boats will be over 750kg once you include the weight of the trailer and associated gear.

As with the original Mini from 1959 all regular Mini Coopers sold in Australia are front-wheel drive. The Mini raced in the World Rally Championship is an all-wheel drive model, though you cannot buy this model as a member of the public. There are no four-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive models sold by Mini.