Holden Problems

It could be a number of things, bearings being one, but I would suggest you have a mechanic drive it to tell you with more certainty. I doubt you would need a new gearbox.

You’re pretty safe with either car in terms of reliability, but resale would favour the Honda.

It’s not likely to be the linkages. The blades are the usual cause of such a noise, and it’s mostly because they don’t flip over when the wipers change direction at the end of each sweep. Try something like Rainex on your screen; that usually does the trick.

It depends on the specific model, but the private price guide for a 2006 VE Omega is $1500-$3400. Because of the paint problem yours would fall towards the lower end of that scale.

The HiLux would be my first choice, followed by the Colorado.

It’s an annoyance rather than a safety issue per se, one that’s related to the car’s computer system. By stopping and restating you are rebooting the computer, same as your computer when it shuts down for some unknown reason. The difficulty for those trying to find the problem is that it happens sporadically, and not necessarily when they are working on the car.

You probably could, but before you commit I would line them up to make sure the 2006 alternator would fit the later model. If they do, and I expect they will, you should be okay.

It’s probably a leaking heater hose or connection of some sort associated with the heater. Take it to your Holden dealer who I imagine would be able to fix it under warranty.

Go back to where you bought the struts, perhaps take a photo with you showing them the problem, and ask them for their advice. Make sure the struts you bought are the correct ones.

Take it to a Holden dealer or an auto electrician and have the sensor replaced.