Ask The Guide

Audi already has the Q3 but the smart choice for someone on a relatively tight budget and who needs some ski-field security is a Subaru Forester.

Yours is not the first Hyundai to have this problem and I have had positive results in the past. Company headquarters should be in touch with you soon about replacing your wheel.

Normally I would tell you to cut and run from such a high-mileage car but it sounds like a member of the family. Besides, you won't get much for $7000 and your Camry still seems to be running fine.

The big thing with capped price servicing is not to authorise any work at all beyond the factory schedule. The capped-price programs — which are not called “fixed price” because it's illegal for car makers to fix a price, although they can set an upper limit — were created so people could plan their whole-of-life costs when buying a car. It's to create certainty on the future scheduled work on any vehicle, although wear-and-tear items such as brakes, tyres and clutch are still not covered.

Your budget limits your choices, but the Liberty is certainly worth considering. You could also look at a Mazda3 MPS, a Honda Accord Euro, or a Mini Cooper.

We have asked Ford for an outlook on the availability of your diff, but so far haven't had a reply. If the diff is being done under warranty then wait it out, but if it's not and you're going to be charged for the diff I would take the car to a diff specialist and have them fix it.

We haven't had specific reports of this problem, but it does sound like a serious one that needs fixing urgently. It can be hard to determine the cause of a problem if it doesn't happen while the dealer has the car, but I would suggest you take it back to the dealer and ask them to check it again. I have heard of one car that had a problem with the throttle pedal position sensor, which on the surface sounds like a likely candidate for you problem.

The cars you have been looking at are all good, sound and safe ones that have no serious issues to be concerned about and would give you reliable service for many years to come. Note that all of them are from Asia; I would suggest that you rule out anything from Europe. Another to consider would be the Mitsubishi Lancer.

You'll have trouble selling it without getting the transmission fixed, so I would recommend that you take it to a transmission specialist and at least get it assessed and quoted so you know what you're up for. I doubt that the trade would be interested in it, unless you could perhaps convince a Citroen dealer to trade it in. Other than that you could try selling it to a specialist Citroen wrecker. Whatever you do, you will take a bath on it if you don't fix the transmission.

It's not a problem we have heard about, but I suggest it's related to the throttle position sensor. Take it to an independent mechanic experienced in Mazdas and they should be able to fix it. You're right not to put up with it.