Holden Vectra Problems

It's most unlikely that the problem is related to the belts. Have the throttle body cleaned and the idle speed checked.

There’s no way of checking it easily. Take it to an automatic transmission specialist who will be able to check the transmission and diagnose the problem.

Yes, parts are available, and will continue to be available for the foreseeable future.

It sounds like they might have got the timing wrong when they installed the new belt. Have them recheck their work, and have them check the crank angle sensor.

You first have to find out why it is stalling when you come to a stop, and that could be that it just needs tuning. I would replace the spark plugs and leads, and clean the throttle body. If you fix that problem you will probably fix the problem you’re having with the battery. It could also be that the battery is old and needs replacing.

It is possible that it could be in limp-home mode, but if it is you should have warning lights showing on the dash indicating a problem. If there are lights on you could try turning the ignition off and on again, which might reboot the computer it it's a glitch in the system. If it won't reboot and there are warning lights on take it to a mechanic to have the problem diagnosed. If there are no lights showing it could be a blocked exhaust. Again you need to have a mechanic check the exhaust, particularly the catalytic converter to see of the ceramic structure has collapsed.

Yes, you can use E10.

Go for the Hyundai i30. It will serve you well, it's cheaper than a Japanese car but just as good as anything short of the Mazda3, and you should be able to get one with some of the five-year factory warranty still to run. It gets The Tick from me.

As I often write in this column tracing intermittent or odd problems can be difficult, and mechanics today are trained to replace parts rather than spend hours searching for the cause, often without finding it. Finding a mechanic who is keen enough to dig deeper into a problem is a blessing.