Porsche Problems

I have no personal experience but know that car bras can chafe, potential cause overheating and can be difficult to fit and remove. Personally, and knowing that companies such as Porsche fit the clear plastics to all of their demonstrator cars for paint protection, I would choose it ahead of a car bra.

You're in pretty safe territory with the Porsche, they're soundly engineered and well built. They give little trouble if they're properly serviced, although the cost of servicing can be high. It's a good idea to cosy up to a Porsche specialist for repairs and servicing to save a few bucks. Go for a car that might be a little older but in good condition rather than a later one that has been round the block a few times.

Go for the Porsche. You want it, you’ve earned it, you deserve it.

If you genuinely have an unlimited budget, the best mid-sized prestige SUV is the Porsche Macan. If you're being more realistic, the Mazda CX-5 gets The Tick.

The SQ5 has more punch, that's for sure, but I believe the Macan is a better car and it gets The Tick from me.

The Macan is a great car that easily earns The Tick from me. In your case, I would go for the GTS because it's a smart package of equipment and it should also do better on resale as people are generally not prepared to pay extra for optional equipment.

Thanks for the email. Hopefully I can keep this simple. 

I would strongly recommend a Toyota Aurion V6 $30,990 drive away or the Toyota Camry $28,990 drive away (pricing current September 2015). 

Unless you want the acceleration of the V6 I would opt for the four cylinder Camry, which is spritely enough and will also deliver good open road fuel economy. 

For the type of driving you're doing you do not need the hybrid Camry. 

Also, the base model Camry on the smaller wheels and Michelin tyres will be much more comfortable and a touch quieter than the dearer Camry models that come with sports tyres. 

In both the Aurion and Camry you will be protected by seven airbags and a five star safety rating. A rear camera is standard on both models too. 

The servicing costs are among the cheapest in the business. 

Furthermore the intervals are longer than other Toyotas (15,000km rather than 10,000km) and the capped pricing lasts four years or 75,000, whichever comes first (other Toyotas are three years, 60,000km). 

This was done to help Aurion and Camry appeal to fleets. 

However, your warranty is the same as other Toyotas at three years/100,000km. 

Dealership extended warranties are generally not worth the paper they are printed on, so save your money if you're offered an extension. 

Please check you're comfortable when driving the Aurion and Camry. They have ample room inside and a lot of travel in the front seat rails. 

Meanwhile, you're right in your assumption that Toyotas are regarded as a premium over Holden and Ford. The price is cheap because Toyota is trying to keep the factory running until 2017. It is in effect making a loss with each Camry it sells. 

Toyota also has a vast rural dealer network so hopefully you're never far away from help should you need it. 

Lastly, the Camry was at $26,990 drive away for much of last year and the price may limbo to that level again in the lead up to the end of the year or early next, to clear 2015 stock. This is not an inside tip, merely an educated guess on my part.

Good luck and let me know if I can help any further. I hope I'm still driving big distances in my 80s.