Mazda 323 Problems

You can do a band adjustment without taking the transmission out.

You've copped a bad run, that's for sure, perhaps you should consider buying a full sized wheel and tyre to use in place of the space-saver when travelling.

If the coil were faulty I would expect it to play up all the time, not just first thing in the morning. Get the transmission checked, particularly the fluid level.

It sounds like the bush at the end of the selector cable has broken rather than anything in the transmission itself. If it has broken it normally doesn’t cause a problem when you move from neutral to park or back again, but when you go to select drive it doesn’t pick it up until you move the lever past the ‘D’ position.

Most mechanics would skim the rotors when changing pads, and at 52,000 km I would expect that's all you would need to do. On heavier cars I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the rotors were worn, but on a light car like that I would expect longer life. While I can only speculate on your case, I can say that some dealers simply prefer to replace parts rather than repair, or in your case, machine them. They can make more money out of supplying and fitting the new parts than be doing what an old time mechanic might do.

Your mechanic is correct, but so are you. The mechanic's suggestion of a Corolla is a safe bet, one that won't come back to bite him in the long run, but the other cars you mention are also worth considering. All are solid, generally reliable cars, although I would be cautious about recommending the Astra to you. Stick to the well-known Japanese brands and she won't go too far wrong.

A four-cylinder car is the way to go when you're learning; toomany young drivers buy turbos, V6s and V8s and often get into troublewhen they outdrive their skill and experience. The Astra is one ofthe cars I would certainly consider, but you need to be aware of thecam timing belt problems they had with that model. To avoid breaking the belt, and causing massive internal damage to the engine, the beltneeds to be replaced every 60,000 km. With that in mind it'simportant to makesure that any car you consider has had the beltchanged according to that schedule, and be aware that he will have toreplace it every 60,000 km in the future. A 10-year-old Astra willset you back $8000-$9000. Others to consider are the Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Pulsar, Mazda 323 and Toyota Corolla.

YOU'RE right to be concerned because the higher the mileage the greater the chances of major problems. Your car has done almost twice the average ks for a car of its age, so you need to be wary. The Mazda 323 is generally a robust and reliable car and I wouldn't be concerned if it had the average 150,000km or so. Make sure it has been serviced by the book, with regular oil and filter changes, and it should have had two cam belt changes by now. When you start the engine listen for any rattling, and watch for smoke from the exhaust. When you drive make sure the gears engage smoothly without any baulking, and that there are no noises from the gearbox. If you're not sure have a trusted mechanic check it, or the RACV if you don't have anyone you feel you can trust.