Hyundai Problems

You should not be obsessed by one brand, even though Mazda makes good cars, because companies such as Hyundai are excellent and have better warranty. I'd suggest you get some extra in the kitty and go for a new Hyundai i20 or i30.

Using oil is not necessarily a problem, it depends on how much oil it is using. Likewise the colour is not necessarily indicative of a problem; oil usually goes black after it's been run through the engine for a short period of time. If it is using a lot of oil take it to a Hyundai dealer and have it checked. There is nothing inherently wrong with Hyundai engines, and at 88,000 km and four years old it should be covered by the warranty.

From your shortlist, the Mazda3 is the best and gets The Tick from me.

With that budget you'll be buying second-hand in that class, and that makes the Hyundai i30 the best choice with plenty of warranty still to run. We do not recommend the Golf after the factory warranty. A turbodiesel gets better economy but you need to drive 30,000 kilometres a year for the total cost to beat a petrol car.

Reputation is one thing, reality is another. There was a time when Toyota stood alone but those days are gone and you pay too much for a T badge on the bonnet, although it still has easily the best aircon in the business. For me, Hyundai and Kia match Toyota in almost every area, plus they have a far better value package.

If the increase in running temperature is only small and there is no loss of coolant there is probably nothing to be worried about. It could be a slight blockage in the radiator that’s affecting the coolant flow, a sticking thermostat, or something like that. You could flush the cooling system, check the thermostat and replace the coolant. If you replace the coolant make sure you use the correct coolant, which will be a mix of water and glycol.

The guide for a private sale is $18,000 to $20,500 ; the price you would be offered as a trade-in is $14,000 to $16,500. While the price the vendor is asking is at the low end of the private range, I would be trying to get it down to around $16,000.

Problems with clutches are cropping up on a regular basis these days, certainly more than they did a few years ago. It's hard to say how long a clutch should last today, in the past I would have said that 36,000km is too low, but it's now not unusual to hear of clutches needing replacement at relatively low kays. As yours is still not worn out it might not actually need replacing until 50,000km or more and that would be within the acceptable range. The only way to determine if the wear is abnormal is to inspect it.

The Kia Carnival gets The Tick, every time, in that price range. And with four kids you will find that a proper people-mover gives far more flexibility than an SUV or even a converted van.

It would seem that a part of a spark plug has dropped down into the engine and caused it to be damaged. If that's the case the only way to repair it is to take the head off and check to see what damage has been done. Once that has been established, and a cause worked out, you can then go forward with a plan to repair and negotiate with Hyundai about who pays the bill. I wouldn't recommend running the engine until the head comes off; if there are bits of a plug floating around inside the engine running it could cause more damage.