Ask The Guide

Take it to a suspension specialist and have them check the alignment and adjust if needed, and talk to them about what they might be able to do to prevent it happening.

It sounds like a nice car. The trade values it at $2500-$3900, but that’s with an odometer reading of 200,000-300,000 km. With such a low odometer reading yours should be worth more. I would suggest $4000-$5000 as a private sale.

Yes, it comes with 4 years free roadside service.

The automatic transmission has been a problem for Captiva owners, but you’re unlikely to get much sympathy from Holden on a car that is now 11 years old. How’s to say what might've happened to the transmission in the past 11 years.

I would use the factory recommended oil, at least while the car is under warranty. Once the warranty has expired you could use the Mobil oil and shouldn’t experience any problems.

You haven’t specified which model it is, which makes it hard, but even though it is new in your mind it will be regarded as a second hand car. See if you can do a deal with the dealer to buy it back, but anticipate a price of about 10 percent lower than the new price.

There could be a number of reasons it won’t start, from a battery that’s down, a problematic starter or starter solenoid, a poor electrical connection in the starter circuit, or a problem with the ignition switch.

The idea of buying an older BMW can be attractive, but it needs to be done with caution. A 10-year-old or older car will typically have done lots of kilometres - expect 200,000 km or more on average - and that means it's in the twilight of its useful and reliable life. You should anticipate more regular repairs as a result. If you use a BMW dealer you’ll pay heaps for servicing and parts, but if you use an independent BMW specialist mechanic you shouldn’t pay any more than you would for any other brand of car.

There’s generally little wriggle room on special offers, the price has already been reduced. You might be able to haggle on the trade-in price.

There shouldn’t be any significant noise if the injectors are within specification. Injector wear on common-rail diesel engines is quite common, so have the injectors checked to determine if they are within spec or not.