Toyota Problems

Both cars meet all of your requirements, they have 5-star safety, they're comfortable, have a large boot, and plenty of power for overtaking. Either one would be a good choice, but if I were to be making the selection it would be the Toyota for reliability and resale.

With local production shutting down the big-car choices are getting fewer and fewer, but right now you can still buy a Calais if that's what you like. You can also buy an equivalent Falcon or Toyota Aurion. There are more expensive cars, from the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi etc. that would suit, but they come with a much higher price tag than a Calais. Others you could try are a Skoda Superb, a Honda Accord V6 Luxury if you're prepared to give up a little in size, and there's also the Chrysler 300C.

Presumably you will go through an importer to get your vehicle, not Toyota, so the importer is the one responsible for the compliance. Toyota Aust. won't be interested; it doesn't import the model you want and won't have applied for local compliance for it.

The Discovery 4 is highly regarded by owners. It’s a very capable off-roader, comfortable and refined on the road, and there are few issues to worry about. Service costs are high if you use a factory dealer, but there are plenty of independent mechanics able to take care of it for you. When checking a Discovery check for use off-road, and look for one that has been pampered within the town boundaries. If you don’t want a car that will go off-road perhaps look at a Toyota Kluger 7-seater or a Mazda CX-9.

On the surface it seems a good deal, the price is about right for that model. You will need to pay a transfer fee of $38.30 and stamp duty of $630 to transfer the ownership into your name. Make sure the person selling it actually owns it by checking the ownership papers, and try to find out more about the insurance claim story. It would also be worth having the car checked by the motoring club in your state.

You need to decide on whether you want an SUV or a hatch before you do anything else. The SUV gives you a better view of the road, is practical, and the CX-3 is a good choice, but hatches can also be attractive. I would rule out the Mazda2 in your case, as it would seem to be too small for your needs, but the 3, Corolla and i30 are all good cars that would deliver on the things you want.

A Toyota spokesman we asked told us that there are no plans to bring in the 4Runner.

Sludge build-up is a turbocharger killer, but sludge won't build up if the car is regularly serviced and the oil is changed so it's always fresh. The problem is usually only with cars that haven't been serviced. Other seven-seaters you could look at are the Kia Sorrento, Hyundai Santa Fe, or Toyota Kluger.

I don't fancy your chances of getting anything out of Toyota at this late stage, after all the car is 10 years old.

As a guide you could expect to get $1500 to $3000 for your Laser. The RAV4 is a sound choice. You could get into a 5-star safety rated 2014 RAV4 for $20,000-$23,000, a similar 2012 model for $17,000-$20,000. You could also consider a Kia Sportage, Honda CR-V, or Subaru Forester.