r/NZcarfix

Have an older car that has been parked up for about a year. I'm going to tip some fresh fuel in an fire her up, but the last time I did this after having it sit for a while it produced a tremendous amount of smoke and totally smoked out my garage. Had to air the house out to get rid of the smell.

I'm assuming this is caused by oil leaking down into the cylinders over time then burning. If I disable spark and fuel and spin it over on the starter to clear all cylinders will I avoid the worst of the big smoke?

(I would just push it outside but my driveway is on a slope and if it doesn't start then I'm a bit stuck out there.)

I have just purchased a 2022 Nissan note ePower with 90km. Would it be worth getting a mechanical warranty on that. I'm reasonably ok to do basic mechanical stuff. I need to read the documentation regarding the servicing as I had a warranty on a previous car that required getting the servicing done at an approved place. I drive about 2k/month so I want to do the servicing myself.

Edit: I bought a Mercedes GLA250 2020 model last year. Its got 37000 km as milage now and is due for a service and wof later this month. Need recommendation if I shoild take that to the authorized dealer or can I take it to one of the European car specialists for this. I understand that taking it to a European car mechanic might be cheaper but is it worth it or does it not make a difference. I live in West Auckland, any recommended ones out here which I can try?

Thanks

Looking at a first car for my son, have narrowed it down to these two, around the $6500-7500

• 2016 Nissan Note DIG-S
• 2008-2011 Honda Fit RS 1.5

Mostly used in inner city, so parking ease, manoeuvrability etc. are the primary requirements. Fuel economy not so important, as I assume they are both fairly good.

Fit will obviously be a bit sportier, maybe slightly nicer in cabin.

Not particularly interested in the hybrid versions

The Honda Fit would be a preferred car I think, but is it worth getting the Nissan due to them being much newer for the money (some even have the more modern safety features like lan assist etc). Seen some current with only 60,000-90,000km going for like $6900

Hi

I went to look at a potential project car today, it is from a deceased estate.

The chassis has been swapped, so what I can gather the vin number that is on the chassis is different to what is on the vin plate. For some reason, the original chassis is right beside it and could be available as well.

I'm not too sure if this is a good idea to buy or not, or could become a problem in the future, so I thought I'd ask here for people's advice around if I should carry on or not.

Thanks.

After some advice/opinions

My husband and I are looking to buy a liteweight, 3 berth, unbraked caravan (Google says it’s approx 600-725kg).

The cars we have are:

Husband - 2008 Mazda Atenza 2.0 (has done high kms, already has a tow bar).

Google says his car can only tow 500-550kg unbraked.

Me - 2009 Nissan Qashqai TI 2.0.

Google says my car can only tow 685kg unbraked.

We don’t plan to upgrade our cars right now but have been thinking of upgrading husband’s car in the next few years.

We live in Te Aroha (Waikato) and plan to take the caravan to places like Coromandel, Mt Maunganui, Taupo, Rotorua etc which all involve driving over hills.

Are we dreaming? Should we wait until husband upgrades his car in a few years?

I was so excited to get a caravan and now after lots of googling I’m having doubts.

Let me know if there’s anything else I haven’t thought about. I’m not a car person whatsoever.

Edit: thanks for your advice everyone. We’ve decided not to buy the caravan because our cars are not suitable for towing :’(

Hey 👋
The dreaded check engine light came on yesterday. Are there any common issue that I should investigate first or am I in need of a mechanic?

If so, is it best to go to a Subaru dealer or just find a respected independent mechanic shop?

Thanks

Hi,

Just checking if it matters too much if i choose advanced or standard oil with my service to AA, i am due soon and I am wondering if you guys know? I search online and the information is pretty sparse.

But i see Nissan Dealership is significantly cheaper but its probably a trap right?

Hello you beautiful kiwis!

I have to part ways with my 320D F30 M-sports edition as maintenance fee has been a pain in the ass and also I want to drive a sporty/coup car before I get married and have kids.

Is there any recommendation for a fun to drive daily vehicle around 20k budget?

I've been looking at 86 but they mostly seem modded to their ex-owner's taste so corolla gr or Volkswagen Arteon / Volkswagen Golf R.

It doesn't have to be coup but preferably fun to drive with good exhaust sound nothing too crazy with daily drive ability/Cheap maintenance

Thanks all in advance!

I'm not a car guy ok... so be gentle.

My car (2006 Mitsubishi Grandis) was making a bit of a racket for a few weeks. Seemed to be related to the engine rpm. Figured it was a ball bearing or something...

The squeaking finally stopped today as I was driving around town. But the battery light came on. And the power steering stopped. Made it home (5min) but also saw the temperature was getting up there...

Maybe that squeaky noise meant something... I had every intention to get it into the shop and looked at in the very near future but I don't commute far at all and the car seemed to be operating just fine, so yea I had procrastinated. My bad.

Anyway it looks like the belt on the side of my engine has slipped off or packed it in.

I'm wondering if it will start, and what the damage $ might be...

ok, weird one...

My partner's dad is just about to pass away. I'm looking to buy a car, and I thought I'd offer to buy his, it would give them some cash when things are tight and weird for them.

How do I go about making sure I'm not taking advantage of them price wise? They're incredibly generous, and I want to make sure my conscience is clean... Is there a 'blue book' or an accepted way of getting a ball park price?

Hi all. I am still looking for new tyres for my Scirocco and came across these Michelin PS5 tyres. at $412 a tyre is this good? the last performance tyres I had were on my Mk6 GTI they were RE003's I paid $240 a tyre for ( which was a steal! ), Is this a good deal for PS5 tyres? or should I go for continentals? I have the car tuned and it mainly does daily duties. I do wheel alignments on the car every service (5000km) And don't really push the car so I am kind of hoping to get good life out of the tyres. I want responsiveness and comfort. I want to feel what the car is doing when I am driving if that makes sense and have amazing grip around corners.