Ask The Guide

You’re right; it is silly advice. The onus shouldn’t be on you to know that there is a potential problem and that you should check these things; it’s the carmaker’s responsibility to design the car such that it doesn’t have problems. When they discover there is a problem they are responsible for fixing it. I would pursue this issue through consumer affairs, and consider taking them to your state small claims tribunal for compensation. You don’t say what year your car is, but it doesn’t matter if the new car warranty has expired, in your case it seems you would have a good claim for your car being substandard and not fit for purpose.

The price is a little high; I wouldn’t pay any more than $15,000 for it. There’s no question about it doing 115 km a day, but at that rate the kilometres would quickly climb and you’d soon be in the danger zone where problems are more likely to occur. That’s where you would strike the problem of expensive parts, repairs and servicing. You would need an independent mechanic to look after it at a reasonable rate. Bluetooth was standard, but a reversing camera was optional. I wouldn’t recommend it. At $19,900 the ASX is a better buy.

A 2008 Mazda 3 Neo would be a good choice, but I would be trying to get it for $8500-$9000, $10,000 is too much unless it is a very low mileage example. Others to consider would be the Honda Civic VTi, which would be my preference, and the Hyundai Elantra.

On the surface it seems a good deal, the price is about right for that model. You will need to pay a transfer fee of $38.30 and stamp duty of $630 to transfer the ownership into your name. Make sure the person selling it actually owns it by checking the ownership papers, and try to find out more about the insurance claim story. It would also be worth having the car checked by the motoring club in your state.

Mercedes recommends you use 95-octane Premium fuel, but you could also use 98-octane. Do not use 91-octane regular unleaded.

Normally I would have expected the car to run roughly when the chain stretched. They stretch progressively, not overnight, so there should have been some warning that all was not well. But it is low kilometres for a chain to stretch, which might mean you have a case for a goodwill claim against Mercedes, although I wouldn’t fancy your chances of success.

Mazda's advice is that you shouldn’t use E10 fuel in your 323. Continue to use regular unleaded.

It has cropped up before. It would be nice if they lasted longer, but I reckon you’d be wasting your time trying to get Ford to cover the costs.

I would have an independent automatic transmission mechanic assess it and if that confirms that your fears are correct take it back to Ford. But if you do that you need to be prepared to argue because Ford will not roll over easily. You could also contact your state consumer affairs department and seek their advice. We have been told about a case of an owner taking Ford to VCAT in Victoria over a different issue, but similar to yours in that Ford was rejecting an owner’s claim and the owner won.

The warranty that came with the car covers the whole car, not just the HSV-specific parts. Talk to your dealer, who I'm sure will be both an HSV dealer and a Holden dealer, he should be able to repair the sat-nav screen and send the bill to either HSV or Holden, in this case it should be Holden.