Hyundai Problems

MOST mechanics would be able to do the job for you, and you would certainly find a Hyundai dealer prepared to do the work. You could also ask a panel beater, but I would look for a mechanic who works on Hyundais and I'm sure they would happily do it for you.

A DEALER would give you something like $6500 as a trade-in, even though the kilometres it's done are quite low. If you were to sell it privately, you could ask $7000-$8000.

BUYING used is not going to cost you as much as buying new, but you need to know about cars or have the help of someone who does. Otherwise, buy new and get the security of a warranty. The new car will also be safer. Generally they have more safety features built into them and will probably use less fuel than an older car. Look at the Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Tiida, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Getz and VW Polo.

THE X3 Excel is a good little car that is popular with young drivers. Yours has done relatively few kilometres and, with auto and air, should be popular and easy to sell. A dealership would give you about $4200 as a trade-in and expect to get about $6500 when it sells it through its yard. I would aim for the latter if you sell it privately.

THE diesel will be fine with an auto, and I haven't had any bad reports about Hyundai auto transmissions in recent times.

I'M NOT surprised Hyundai wasn't interested. To change a speedo face is a big job. Unless it has received a flood of complaints, the company is hardly likely to do anything. You should have checked it during the test drive. You signed on the dotted line. You should have made sure the car was what you wanted before you bought it.

IT DOESN'T sound as if your Hyundai is burning oil, so I would be looking for a leak that is allowing oil to connect with the exhaust manifold or part of the exhaust system. If you can't see any leak, perhaps have the engine steam cleaned and then watch carefully for a few days to see if you can identify the leak source.

ABSOLUTELY yes. Take it up with Hyundai directly. It seems you have been given the run-around by the dealer and the company needs to know. The clutch would probably need to be replaced when the flywheel was changed as they are most likely to be different, but Hyundai should cop the cost. It sounds like a design problem. And it could be a cause of your belt failures and your ignition problems.

THE overhead indicators are just that, indicators. They have a tolerance, which means they are not 100 per cent accurate. They can also be inaccurate if not checked regularly, so they must be taken as a guide only. The speedo reading in your Terracan fits with what I would expect: it is within the permitted accuracy of plus or minus 10 per cent. I'd suggest you make the same check against the freeway indicators to build up confidence in the readings they're giving you. If they are consistent over a couple of weeks I'd accept them as being accurate and drive accordingly.

THE price is about right for a car of that mileage and registration, which makes it a pretty good buy. The Excel is a good little car with few problems. The engine and gearbox are generally solid and reliable.