Ask The Guide

It seems you have been, and continue to be treated appallingly.

I cannot believe that the problem hasn't been sorted. If it is beyond the dealer, and Hyundai in Australia, to fix it they should fly a technician out from Korea to fix it.

We have contacted Hyundai to seek help in sorting the problem.

UPDATE - 22/03/2017

As a result of our contacting Hyundai we understand you have been offered two free services as a gesture of goodwill and that you are "delighted" with the outcome.

The explanation you've been given doesn't sound right to me.

It needs further investigation and I would suggest you take it to a suspension specialist and have them give you a report on it.

Even though the warranty has expired I would believe you have a reasonable claim against Nissan on two grounds. First, you initially reported it while the car was still under warranty, and second, if the suspension is faulty as Nissan seems to be suggesting you could claim that it is unfit for purpose under our consumer laws.

That is providing you operate within the Navara's load and towing limits.

You won't get anywhere with Nissan, the car is too old, and the dealer is the one that did the work anyway. So it's the dealer you have to negotiate with. You don't say how much money is involved, but I would suggest you consider going to VCAT.

The Carsguide price guide puts the value at between $28,876 and $49,990. Here's the link. With a relatively low odometer reading for its age yours would probably be priced towards the top end of the range, but it does also depend on its condition.

If the diesel has worked for you then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't buy another one. Do your sums on the cost of running a diesel versus a petrol engine and if that works out in favour of the diesel, and you haven't had any issues with the DPF then I would stick with what has been good for you.

If you aren't doing it already keep a record of the oil you put in, recording the date, the odometer, and the amount of oil added. That would give you some evidence to present to the dealer and MB. As you haven't had any satisfaction from the dealer go directly to Mercedes-Benz (Ph: 1300 730 200). There shouldn't be any reason to be scared on driving the car, all cars use oil, it's the amount of oil used that it the question that needs to be answered in your case. In the meantime check the oil level weekly.

Was the paint protection you bought provided by Hyundai, or was it, as I suspect, a product provided by the dealer and not the car company itself? You first need to identify who supplied the protection product, because that will determine whom you need to approach about sorting the problem. If it was a product supplied by the dealer then it's the dealer and the company that provided the protection product that you need to be dealing with. There should be a warranty that came with the protection product, so check that as well to see what it and what isn't covered.

You don't say what your typical driving day is, so I can only guess on that front, but driving short distances without regularly getting out on the highway for a reasonable drive at higher speeds is a DPF killer. If that's the sort of driving you do then that could be the underlying cause of the problem. You can't fix that. To resolve the problem take it back to Holden and ask them to tell you what they think is causing it and try and work out a plan of action. You would appear to have a good case to put to them to fix the car.

Driving through puddles is not a problem, but driving through a creek or river could be problematic depending on the depth of the water. This is a case of you say, they say. I would suggest you sit down with your dealer and ask him to show you evidence of the water ingress they claim has occurred. Then try and reach an agreement with them and the car company on what they might do for you.

Ford says that the Mustang has met all relevant safety standards in America, which they say demonstrates that it is a safe car. But the Mustang is now a relatively old model, having gone on sale in the USA in 2014, and it doesn't have some of the safety features most other cars have. While it's lacking in some areas, it's not an inherently unsafe car, it's just not as safe as other cars that have a 5-star rating. Ford says the 2018 model will have features such as AEB, so perhaps wait for that.