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The BYD Seal can be charged according to two different methods at home, the fastest being through a 7kW AC wall unit. These can cost anywhere from $800 to $2000, with additional charges depending on your energy provider and the state you live in. On average in Australia, at home costs range between 21 to 36 cents per kW, while there are no additional charges if your charger is hooked up to a renewable source such as solar. The overall charging time on the Dynamic variant is nine hours, while that time extends to 12 hours on the Premium and Performance variants. The other method is a standard AC wall socket, which charges at a standard rate of 240V. BYD says this will take 17 hours on the Dynamic or 23 hours on the Premium and Performance. That said, public charging stations are by far the quickest.

The Seal is built by Chinese automaker BYD in China.

The BYD Dolphin can be charged according to two different methods at home, the fastest being through a 7kW AC wall unit. These can cost anywhere from $800 to $2000, with additional charges depending on your energy provider and the state you live in. On average in Australia, at home costs range between 21 to 36 cents per kW, while there are no additional charges if your charger is hooked up to a renewable source such as solar. The overall charging time on the Dynamic variant is six hours, while that time extends to eight hours on the Premium variant. The other method is a standard AC wall socket, which charges at a standard rate of 240V. BYD says this will take 23 hours on the Dynamic or 30 hours on the Premium. The quickest method overall is at a public charging point. A DC fast charger with 50kW capacity will see a 0-80 per cent charge in 45 minutes on the Dynamic variant, rising to 60 minutes on the Premium variant. A DC fast charger with 100kW+ capacity will see that time drop to 36 minutes on both variants. Costs depend greatly depending on location, whether it is a peak period or not, and what the charger’s capacity is, though you should never pay more than $40 for a full charge.

The BYD Atto 3 is built in China, Thailand and India, with Australian examples being produced in China.

The BYD Atto 3 can be charged according to two different methods at home, the fastest being through a 7kW AC wall unit. These can cost anywhere from $800 to $2000, with additional charges depending on your energy provider and the state you live in. On average in Australia, at home costs range between 21 to 36 cents per kW, while there are no additional charges if your charger is hooked up to a renewable energy source such as solar. The overall charging time on the Standard Range variant is seven hours, while that time extends to nine hours on the Long Range variant. The other method is a standard AC wall socket, which charges at a standard rate of 240V. BYD says this will take 25 hours on the Standard Range or 30 hours on the Long Range. The quickest method overall is at a public charging point. A DC fast charger with 50kW capacity will see a 0-80 per cent charge on the Standard Range variant reached in 50 minutes, rising to 60 minutes on the Long Range variant. A DC fast charger with 100kW+ capacity will see that time drop to 40 and 42 minutes, respectively. Costs depend greatly depending on location, whether it is a peak period or not, and what the charger’s capacity is, though you should never pay more than $40 for a full charge.

The BMW XM is BMW's flagship SUV, and a standalone M model. It also carries a plug-in hybrid V8 powertrain.

Having a bolt snap off while you’re undoing it is a royal pain and can bring take the car off the road if it’s a critical fastener. You’re probably best off visiting a mechanical engineering shop (or good workshop) who will have the tools necessary to remove the broken chunk of bolt still lodged in the car.

Techniques vary according to how much bolt is still showing, access to it and even what it’s made from. In some cases, the engineer will use what’s called a bolt-extractor kit which screws into the broken bolt and extracts it without damaging the existing threads. If you’re lucky there will still be enough of the broken bolt exposed to allow the use of vice-grips to remove it. Sometimes a small section of new metal can be welded to the broken stud or bolt to give purchase and in extreme cases there’s even a process called spark eroding which is more expensive but can really save the day. The last resort is usually drilling the broken bolt out as this can destroy the threads in the part, requiring even more work to ultimately replace the fastener. In each case, penetrating fluid and/or the application of heat will be the first step to try to free or loosen the broken fastener before trying to extract it.

The Rukus was a really interesting vehicle, combining robust mechanicals with a no-nonsense layout that made the absolute most of the car’s footprint without the trendy all-wheel-drive or faux off-roader looks that many SUVs were trading on at the time. For all that, it wasn’t a huge seller in Australia, so they’re a bit thin on the ground.

The 2010 Rukus was about $30,000 brand new, but its Corolla-based platform and Camry-derived running gear means than 230,000km shouldn’t put it beyond consideration (where such mileage might in a lot of less robust vehicles). Even so, you’d want to see a full service history and complete maintenance record to be sure that it still has some life still in it.

A quick online check reveals a few of Rukuses for sale right now with similar mileages and similar price-tags. Which suggests the price you’ve been quoted is about right, all things considered. Once again, assuming that the service record is complete.

Losing particular gears can be a symptom of internal transmission damage, but it can also indicate a simpler problem with the selector mechanism that joins the gear stick to the gearbox. However, if this was the case, you’d probably lose two gears on the same selector plane (such as first and second or third and fourth) not first and fifth which are at opposite ends of the shifter mechanism.

If there was internal gearbox damage, you’d possibly also be noting other noises and problems caused by the internal carnage, which makes me think the internal selector mechanism might be at fault. At which point, it’s probably a gearbox-out repair.

However, a transmission specialist that knows this gearbox well may have a different opinion and should be your first port of call. A specialist will save you time and money in the long run.

Frankly, about a thousand different things. Poor idling and performance can be down to the ignition system, fuel system or mechanical wear or problems anywhere within the engine. And within those three things can lurk potentially thousands more reasons for poor running.

A mechanic familiar with this make and model is your best bet. They will probably start with the basics such as fuel supply and quality, spark strength and timing and a compression test to make sure all is well within the engine itself. This is a case where it’s important to go back to first principles of fuel, spark, compression and then start to look at the more intricate systems that control the engine.

Honestly, though, it could be anything from a dud sensor in the intake system, the same problem with the cooling system (not allowing the engine to reach full operating temperature) or even something mechanically fundamental like a blocked catalytic converter, dirty filter or slipped camshaft timing. Or a multitude of things in between. A good workshop will be able to sort it, however, without simply swapping parts that may or may not be the problem.