Ask The Guide

In going order it’s worth $7000-$9000 depending on condition, so you have to consider if it’s worth spending $5000 on it to get it back on the road. It’s eight years old, has done 180,000 km, it’s probably best to sell it to a wrecker if you can get $2000 for it.

You are jumping the gun wanting a new car so soon, particularly when you have little justification for claiming you have bought a “lemon”. The fuel tank will presumably be replaced under warranty, and I’m sure the dealer will confirm that the pre-delivery inspection was done. There is no chance the dealer would have found the tank problem during pre-delivery.

I understand your disappointment. You need to contact Holden’s Customer Care (1800 46 465 336) and plead your case.

An assessment of the operating environment usually determines the service interval for each country, and Australia is regarded as harsh compared to many other parts of world with its high temperatures, dust, and long driving distances.

I assume you bought it from a dealer, so try and negotiate some form of good will payment to at least cover part of the cost of replacing the engine.

The timing can be important. The dealers you approached obviously believed they had the upper hand and had no problems in selling the Outlander. In that situation they’ll rarely come down on price, but they might negotiate on your trade-in, or they might throw in something extra as a teaser. You could also wait until it’s in run-out model, when you would have much more power to negotiate.

The power steering is an electrical system, so a problem with the battery could affect the power assistance. You should still be able to steer the car even without power assistance. It won’t affect the braking.

The switch is on the light. It should have three positions: off, on when it operates independently of the door switch, and the third position is for when it operates in conjunction with the door switch.

Your choices are limited if you want a four-wheel drive for serious off-roading. You could look at a Mitsubishi Pajero, Nissan Pathfinder, or maybe one of the popular 4WD utes. A ute will do everything you need, and they are quite comfortable on the road.

We are not aware of any plan for Holden to bring in the big Chevy pickup. The Silverado is already available on the local market, with several small importers bringing it in.