Car Servicing

I have a Subaru. I’ve had the car serviced twice at the dealer’s I bought it from before moving to another dealer much closer to where I live. Upon checking the car out, the second dealer tells me the sump drain plug had been cross-threaded at last service, they attempted to fit the old and new plug unsuccessfully, they also had to replace the pan, cost $829.29. I contacted the first dealer and they said all the work carried out was not necessary bar the drain plug cost $80.00 and that was that. Subaru said it was faulty workmanship and referred back to the second dealer. What rights do I have in this situation?

My 2002 Holden Commodore is not starting properly. It turns over but won't go that last little bit; it's also getting really hot really fast. What could it be?

How can I check if the alternator is broken before having to remove it in my 2006 Mercedes-Benz A-Class?

I own a 2016 Ford Ranger XLT. Driving to town the other day I heard a loud grinding noise from the auto gearbox. I pulled over, shut everything down, called the RACQ, and it was towed to the Ford dealership. After a few days they rang and said the torque converter had failed and they would be replacing it only, as "there's no metal filings in the catch pan”. My question is as the torque converter uses the same oil that runs around the gearbox, won’t the gears be full of metal too? I don’t know if they inspected the filter or the pick-up line as the Ford Service staff have been pretty hostile this whole time. Any info would be appreciated. It’s still in warranty too.

I have a 2014 Holden Colorado, what are our rights if we have had work completed at one repairer only to find it has been done badly and needs to be repaired again with out being out of pocket myself.

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Ford should be commended for its recently announced free loan car program for service customers. We're hoping other brands follow suit. But several readers have contacted us to point out in some cases the cars are handed over with barely a quarter of a tank of petrol.Customers are only expected to return them with the same amount of fuel but in many cases it means added inconvenience because the first stop after picking up your free loan car is to a petrol station.Why, as many readers have pointed out, don't Ford dealers simply do what rental car companies do: send the cars out full of fuel and ask customers to return them full? At least then customers can refuel at a more convenient time rather than having a panic attack that they might not make it to work. Some dealers tell us they don't expect the car to be topped up if driven only a short distance.Next time you pick up a loan car...be sure to read the fine print.And there is another sting in the tail, which applies to many service centre loan cars, not just Ford: insurance excess.Prang your free Ford loan car and you're up for a $2000 insurance excess (the going rate for private cars is typically between $500 and $800).Next time you pick up a loan car — regardless of which brand's service centre you're using — be sure to read the fine print.

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I recently purchased a 2019 LDV T60 pro, base model, manual. It has not yet done 15,000 km and I have already replaced the shocks "sacks", as there was no rebound control and the ride was shocking. I am now trying to improve the brakes, which are really bad, especially when towing my van. On first application the pedal goes halfway to the floor, it is spongy and unresponsive, the pedal will pump up. What could I do to improve this as the dealer bled the system and says there is nothing wrong?

My 2012 Great Wall V200 won't go into reverse. Any tips on what might be the issue?