Articles by CarsGuide team

Episode 71 - The Mustang Supercar, new Mitsubishi Triton and Elon's rocket to Mars

Here is the lowdown to simplify the ever-confusing conversation with the local mechanic, so the next time you walk into a garage, you do so with confidence.KNOW THE BASICSMost people couldn't care less about the inner workings of their car, but a little book work goes a long way when dealing with a grease monkey. Think of it as a job interview, if you can pretend you know what you're talking about  it's almost as good as actually knowing.TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATIONOnce a mechanic has told you what's happened to your car and how he/she intends to fix it, consider the quote and ask advice before giving the go-ahead. Once they get their hands dirty there's no going back.COST OF LABOURAlways ask how long the job will take and establish the hourly rate up front.SEEK A SECOND OPINIONYou would be amazed at the price difference between one mechanic and the next often for no good reason. It's especially vital you shop around should your mechanic identify a host of unexpected problems when inspecting under the hood.BEWARE THE UPSELLYou don't always want fries with your burger, similarly you don't always want an engine replacement with your oil filter change. Be wary of a mechanic who wants to up sell things like fuel injector additives (to make your fuel system cleaner); oil flush additives (to flush old oil out of the engine) and topping up the windscreen washer bottle with a branded washer fluid (often more expensive than water with a dash of mild detergent).AUTHORISED DEALERSticking to the dealership that sold you the car can often be the best course of action, particularly if it's still under a warranty. Once out of the warranty period you can then shop around for a reputable mechanic.CHECK THE INVOICEMake sure the bill is itemised with a methodical break-down of the work done. This way you will avoid hidden costs.CREDENTIALSMechanics should be certified so check the paperwork. If all they have on the wall is V8 calendars you can assume there's a better option elsewhere.DON'T ASSUME HONESTYIf he/she tells you something's broken, ask them to show you. They don't need to know you're out of your depth.AND FINALLYDealing with mechanics can be difficult, so once you find a good one - show them some love.

The good, the bad, and the ugly of Uber, plus Kia vs the Jurassic period - which has the better Cerato?

Episode 69 - High profile car colloborations & the problem with hybrids.

Episode 67 - Toyota Supra's official arrival, & who asked for autonomous cars?In this episode James Cleary, Malcolm Flynn, and Andrew Chesterton head to the garage to rip into all the car stuff that's caught their eyes this week.Prince Philip has been involved in a car crash at the wheel of a Land Rover Freelander (0:40)The Toyota Supra has finally, and officially, arrived (3:40)In "Blowing a Gasket", Chesto wonders who actually asked for autonomous cars in the first place (12:40)In the CarsGuide garage this week has been a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (24:40), a Mazda CX-9 (27:25), and a Mazda CX-5 (30:20)And as always, MuskWatch (33:00)You can get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter (#CGPodcast) and Instagram, or share your thoughts on what cars are the same as what fruit by emailing comments@carsguide.com.au.You can subscribe to the CarsGuide podcast on iTunes, find us on TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and, naturally, the CarsGuide website.

Wrap it back up - it looked better in camo!

Episode 67 - The best from CES, and the Jeep Gladiator HerculesThis week Richard Berry, Malcolm Flynn and James Lisle head to the garage to rip into all the car stuff that's caught their eye this week.Mal gets excited for the recently announced Jeep Gladiator Hercules (1:00)J3 nerds out on all the best motoring revelations at CES 2019 (7:55)In the CarsGuide garage this week has been a Ford Everest (26:50), a Hyundai Ionic (29:30), and a Jaguar iPace (34:25)And as always, MuskWatch (39:00)You can get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter (#CGPodcast) and Instagram, or share your thoughts on what cars are the same as what fruit by emailing comments@carsguide.com.au.You can subscribe to the CarsGuide podcast on iTunes, find us on TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and, naturally, the CarsGuide website.

Fresh metal we're keen to see and trends to end in 2019

Episode 65 - Bumblebee movie isn't wrong, Toyota Supra, and Ford EnduraThis week James Cleary, Malcolm Flynn and Richard Berry head to the garage to rip into all the car stuff that’s caught their eye this week.Mal talks about the new Toyota Supra pre-production model (0:40).Richard shares his experience in the Ford Endura (9:50).In "Blowing a Gasket" Mal almost wrote a very angry letter to the makers of the newest Transformers movie (17:15).In the CarsGuide garage this week has been a BMW M2 (19:20), a Mercedes-AMG E 53 (21:15), and a Mercedes-AMG G 63 (23:35).And as always, MuskWatch (25:50).You can get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter (#CGPodcast) and Instagram, or share your thoughts on what cars are the same as what fruit by emailing comments@carsguide.com.au.You can subscribe to the CarsGuide podcast on iTunes, find us on TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and, naturally, the CarsGuide website.

Episode 64 - The Aston Martin Valkyrie, arguing about the new BMW Z4 and what's the deal with Lexus?Hello and welcome to 'Tools in the Shed'. This week James Cleary, Matt Campbell and Richard Berry head to the garage to rip into all the car stuff that’s caught their eye this week, including:Mal talks about the Aston Martin Valkyrie and its monstrously powerful engine (0:45)Matt wonders about Lexus' current goals and direction (08:02)Mal gets into a comment war with two contributing journalists over the design of the new BMW Z4 (17:00)In the garage this week we've had a Volkswagen Crafter, Jaguar I-Pace and a Mazda CX-5 Turbo (21:05)And finally, Muskwatch - does Elon still have the keys to his Twitter account? (30:40)You can get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter (#CGPodcast) and Instagram, or share your thoughts on what cars are the same as what fruit by emailing comments@carsguide.com.au.You can subscribe to the CarsGuide podcast on iTunes, find us on TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and, naturally, the CarsGuide website.