Mitsubishi 380 Problems

This is definitely not the sort of information car makers publish. Instinct suggests the headliner should, indeed, fit through one of the door openings, as that’s how it would be fitted on the production line. Try a front door opening first with the front seat slid all the way back and the backrest laid right down.

The other option would be to politely ask a motor trimmer how they manage this job.

A typical air-conditioning system in a car uses an engine-driven pump (compressor), heat exchangers and lots of ducting as well as a decent volume of compressed refrigerant gas to make it all work. If any of these things is out of kilter, the air-con may stop working.

Low gas levels, a worn out compressor, compressor clutch, or an electrical problem could be the cause here. The system is also full of interlocks to ensure that it can’t be damaged, for instance, by operating with insufficient gas or if the temperature of the system becomes too hot. At the other extreme, you might simply have a blown fuse that controls the fan circuit, at which point the system will not work either.

The best solution is to take the car to an air-conditioning specialist. The first thing they’ll do is test to see whether the system is holding pressure. If it is, the fix may be a simple re-gas of the system, at which point, chilled air may be miraculously restored. But you may find you need to replace some parts as well. But a pressure test will often be the first thing tried as the typical car air-con system loses gas over time, and that’s just a fact of life. Eventually, it may get so low the system can’t operate and there’s no more cold air.

This is why it’s important to run the air-con (even in winter) for a minute or so every week. This will help keep the seals lubricated and prevent loss of gas in the long term.

You have a couple choices here. You can either go to a brake specialist or a general spare parts store, both of whom should have what you need, or will be able to order it for you. If it’s not on the shelf, metropolitan stores can generally have the parts for you the next business day. If you can wait a little longer, there are plenty of online sites that also sell the repair kits you need. Some of these sites might allow for local pick-up, but the majority of orders will be mailed to you.

Just make sure if you go down the latter route to use a secure payment system that will refund your money if the parts never turn up. Also, local (Australian) online stores will likely have a faster turnaround than overseas sellers, regardless of any price difference. If you do shop overseas, you’ll also need to decide whether you want the faster (more expensive) shipping option sometimes offered.

With a limited budget like yours I would suggest to go for a car with a good reliability record. While the Mercedes-Benz is a good car you are likely to be facing an expensive repair if anything should go wrong. Consider a Mitsubishi 380 or a Toyota Camry of around 2000-2003.

They're getting on in age now and many have high odometer readings, but if you shop around and find one that has relatively low kays, say 150,000 km or so, and has been looked after they are a good car. You can get a Series III for $5000 or less.

Rodney Jane of Bob Jane T-Marts reckons tyres are a grudge purchase and people nearly always want the cheapest rubber — but there is a sweet spot where you can get good value without compromising safety.

Use the manual shift as much as you can and anticipate the road ahead. When you're facing a hill, be ready to down-change manually without waiting for the transmission to do it for itself. Never let it lug at low revs in too high a gear. The other thing to be mindful of is servicing. The transmission fluid should be regularly changed, at least every 50,000 km if not before, and a full service is recommended around 100,000 km. By doing that you should be able to extend the life of your automatic transmission. Servicing is even more important if the transmission is made to work hard, such as when towing.

From the number of complaints we have received about the radio reception in Hyundais it does seem it is below par. But at the same time it's worth noting that other things can influence the reception, like you say your window tint was, so it's worth checking for other causes, and not simply blaming the radio.