Articles by Stephen Corby

When you buy a new television, or a fridge, a phone, a laptop or even a heater, you really don't expect to have problems with them, so why is it that we seem to just accept that, even today, with automated manufacturing excellence and quality control, some new cars will be lemons, and that plenty of cars will have niggling faults, teething errors and software crashes from day one?

If you’re one of those people who likes driving a hard bargain even more than they like driving a car, the process of upgrading to a new vehicle opens up all kinds of exciting opportunities. But where does the greatest value lie; trading in your car and getting the maximum return from a dealer, or selling privately and using the cash towards your new machine?Are you likely to get more Mazda 3 trade-in value from a car dealer who’s desperate to do you a deal, and grab his commission by selling you a new car? Or are you better off selling your used Hyundai i30 on the open market and taking that cash into the dealer to drive yourself a bargain that way?Obviously the resale value - what you’ll get selling a Toyota Corolla privately - and the Toyota Corolla trade-in value - what you’ll get from a dealer who’s trying to put you in a new one - are likely to be two different things.Fortunately, when you want to get a car valuation estimate, a Hyundai Tuscon's trade-in value for example, you can check out these figures by using the CG Price Tool which will make the research part of the decision a lot easier, but there are other factors to consider.Selling privately is clearly going to involve a lot more work on your part, as you’ll have to advertise your vehicle and go through the process of selling it - preparing your Kia Stinger for sale, for example, showing it to prospective buyers, potentially letting them test drive it and then negotiating the best price. For people who love the cut and thrust of negotiating, this can be a lot of fun, but it’s definitely not for everybody, which makes the trade-in option more attractive, even if there’s a chance it won’t net you quite as much money.And that is, essentially, the trade-off of trade-in value. A dealer will make the process easier, but it might cost you more than you’re willing to soak up. On the other hand, going private will cost you time. And time is money.The other option, of course, is that you can sell your car to a used-car dealer, which might be attractive if you’re in a hurry or you need the cash, but it’s unlikely that the Ford Ranger trade-in value, for example, will be as high.Even if you are considering selling privately, there’s no harm in at least hearing what a dealer would offer you and finding our what your Mazda CX-5’s trade-in value is.Be sure to get your car properly cleaned and detailed before trying to negotiate a price, just as you would if you were selling privately. And the key word is “negotiate”, remember that a dealer’s first offer is just that, an offer, and they always have room to move. Also remember that you, as the seller/buyer are in a strong position and if you don’t like their offer, you can take your business, and your car, elsewhere.Always remember that the dealer is likely to offer you anywhere up to 30 per cent less than he or she believes they can sell your car for later, and if it’s worth that much more, you might be able to get that figure for yourself.Once you’ve got a price from the dealer, check our Price Tool and search for similar listings to see if you can do better privately. Then it simply becomes a question of how much convenience is worth to you - time vs money.As is always the case, the newer, cleaner and straighter your car is - and the fewer kilometres it has on the clock - the better price you’re going to get.It’s also worth considering getting an independent evaluation of the trade-in value of your car before you approach a dealer.It’s also important, when negotiating, not to get too focused on the price your’e getting for your car, because what you really need to focus on over all is the changeover price - the amount you’re going to have to pay for your new car once the trade-in value of your car is deducted.Let’s say you’re looking at a Mazda 3’s trade-in value, and you think it should be worth $15,000. The new car you want to buy is worth $30,000, or at least, that’s what it’s listed at. If the dealer says he can give you $12,000 for your car, but that the changeover price will be just $14,000, you’re still ahead, because he’s discounting your new car to meet you in the middle.The fact is that some cars simply have better residual values than others, meaning a dealer will be confident he can sell your car for a good price, so he’ll be wiling to offer you more for it. A Toyota Corolla’s trade-in value will be different from a Kia Stinger’s trade-in value, for example, while a Mazda CX-5’s trade-in value will be different again. All the answers are on our Price Tool.The more desirable the vehicle you’re selling, the better off you’ll be, so consider that when asking ‘how much is my car worth?'.

I know what you're thinking; why should you care about lemon laws (essentially, laws designed to protect you if you've bought a car that turns out to be 'lemon', which is not so much a bitter fruit as a poorly built or defective motor vehicle)? You didn't buy a cheap and Chinese box of asbestos, and nor did you

Unless your ears have been glued closed, you'll likely have heard a lot of chatter about interest rates lately.But just in case you somehow missed it, allow us to cut the story down to size for you; interest rates are low and likely to get lower (courtesy of our lagging economy). And while they’re almost always mentioned in relation to home mortgages, they have anloas, too. Which means? When official rates are high, car loan rates are, too. But when they’re low? Well, it might just be time to get shopping.So to help with that exact mission, we're breaking down the different types of car finance available to help you work out which is the best option for you.

Dealer demonstrators sound a bit like unicorns - new cars with just the tiniest number of kilometres on them, barely driven in, immaculately detailed and fussed over.

Are there trucks that can be driven on a car licence? How light is a “light truck”? The answer to all your car licence truck questions are right here.

Remember “event television”, those shows for which you had to be at home, on your couch, at 7:30pm on a certain night? The X-Files was like that for some, and Friends was too, for a few, but for many people of excellent taste, Top Gear used to be event TV in Australia.

The slightly shocking release of a plug-in hybrid, production Ferrari probably won't greatly accelerate the rate at which PHEVs are taken up in Australia, or anywhere else (at a predicted price well above $1 million they won't sell in large volumes) but t

Change is good for you, they say, and possibly even as good as a holiday, but no one can know for sure if your car feels that strongly about it.

In days of yore, when vehicles were simple, it was quite common for men, and women, who liked the feeling of oil on their skin and tools in their hands to do simple car maintenance, like changing oil and filters, themselves.In the modern world, however, this has become something of an anachronism, partly because oil changes just aren’t required quite as often, and partly because we all just tend to get out cars serviced regularly by professionals.If you want to change the oil yourself in your Toyota Corolla, however, because you’re a DIY kind of person, you’ll need to know how often to change the oil and the oil filter. You might not want to try and do the whole service yourself, because a mechanic at a service centre is going to be better equipped and know more about your car’s specifications.As far as changing Toyota Corolla oil goes, however, you’ll need to know what type of oil it needs, and how often to change that oil. Our helpful tables will allow you to work this out, because there are an awful lot of Corollas and things do change over the years and model changes.What we can tell you in simple terms is that you need to change oil on a Toyota Corolla every six months, or 10,000km, whichever one comes first, and that the instructions for doing so will be in the manual included with your car.That was the case with Corollas sold right up until last year, and if you’ve got a 2018 model Corolla hatch, you can take it easy, because your oil only needs changing every 12 months or 15,000km.Your 2018 Toyota Corolla will require 4.6 litres of oil if you’re also changing the oil filter, or 4.3 litres if you’re not.If you have a 2018 or 2019 Corolla Hybrid you also get the 12 months/15,000km change period, and you’ll need 4.2 litres with the filter or 3.9 litres without.All Corollas of model years up to and including 2017 will need 4.2 litres of oil with the filter change, or 3.9 litres without.Obviously Toyota gives you both of those figures because you can choose to replace the filter or not, but it is recommended that you change the oil filter with each oil change.  If I want to change the oil myself, how do I do it?Here are the details, from our own resident mechanical expert, Iain Kelly:As with any maintenance task, if you're unsure of completing it successfully, our best advice is to use the services of a professional mechanic. If an oil change isn't done correctly, you risk significant mechanical and financial damage, along with serious safety concerns.If you're hell bent on giving it a go yourself, the process for changing the oil in a Corolla is the same as pretty much any other car. Look up what grade of oil your car needs and how much oil capacity it has, all of which is listed in your owner's manual, and purchase a brand new oil filter. Drive the car for approximately 10 minutes to ensure the oil is warm as this makes it easier to drain. Park the car on a level surface, open the bonnet and loosen the oil filler cap so it is just resting on top of the filler tube, then slide a drain tray underneath your engine. There will be a small flap in the undertray to be undone so you can access the oil drain plug with a ring spanner or socket. Undo the sump plug with a wrench, being careful not to burn yourself as the hot oil rushes out into the drain tray. Let it drain for 10 minutes, then do up the sump plug with a new washer and being careful not to over-tighten the plug - do it snug, then turn it another quarter-turn. Slide the drain pan under the oil filter and remove this again being cautious to not splash hot oil on yourself. Before installing the new oil filter check the rubber seal came off with the old filter, then smear a little fresh oil on the new filter's rubber seal before winding it on and doing it up a quarter-turn past snug. Fill the engine with fresh oil as per the owner's manual. Once you have replaced the oil filler cap and confirmed there is no oil leaking out, start the engine, let it warm up and then check the oil level as per the above procedure. If you cannot reach under your car to undo the oil filter or sump drain plug, use the factory jacking points recommended in the owner's manual to lift the car off the ground at the front and rear, lifting the front first, and use four weight-rated chassis stands to support the car at the factory recommended support points. Do not use the scissor jack in the boot for this job. What do I do if the engine oil-pressure-warning light comes on?This is bad. Not just “oh, there’s a warning light” bad, but quite worryingly bad. Do not pass Go, do not drive until you find a Toyota dealer. Pull over, stop your car in a safe place and call your roadside assistance provider, Toyota dealer, or your mechanic, for advice, because if the oil pressure is too low you could be about to destroy your engine. And that’s expensive.  Checking the oil level1. Park the vehicle on level ground. After turning off the engine, wait more than five minutes for the oil to drain back into the bottom of the engine. 2. Hold a rag under the end and pull the dipstick out. 3. Wipe the dipstick clean. 4. Flat dipstick: Reinsert the dipstick fully. Non flat dipstick: Reinsert the non-flat dipstick fully with its protruding areas pointing towards the engine. 5. Holding a rag under the end, pull the dipstick out and check the oil level. 6. Wipe the dipstick and reinsert it fully. N.B. There are two oil level markings, the one near the end is the 'low' indicator, the one further up the dipstick is the 'full' indicator.  2007 to 2013 Sedan / 2010 to 2013 Hatch and Sedan 2010 - 2013 Sedan / 2012 - 2017 Hatch, Sedan 2010 to current Hatch 2013 to current Sedan† If you use SAE 10W-30 or a higher viscosity engine oil in extremely low temperatures, the engine may become difficult to start, so SAE 5W-30 or lower viscosity engine oil is recommended. 2015 to 2018 Corolla Hybrid 2016 to current Hatch* Recommended viscosity (SAE): If you use SAE 10W-30 or a higher viscosity engine oil in extremely low temperatures, the engine may become difficult to start, so SAE 0W-20, 5W-20 or 5W-30 engine oil is recommended. Oil viscosity (0W-20 is explained here as an example):The 0W portion of the oil viscosity rating indicates the characteristic of the oil which allows cold startability. Oils with a lower value before the W allow for easier starting of the engine in cold weather. The 20 in 0W-20 indicates the viscosity characteristic of the oil when the oil is at high temperature. An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.