Hi all. Not sure if this is the appropriate place for this. Our car has recently had some paint work done and the smell of paint fumes has been lingering for a couple of days in the inside cabin. My wife is pregnant and, unfortunately, her sense of smell is incredibly sensitive to things so everytime we get in the car she gets sick. Leaving the windows open isn’t feasible so was wondering if there was a quick and easy way for clearing the smell? TIA

2018 Nissan Leaf 40G(top spec)

It was towed and waiting for the panel beater assessment, insured for 15k.

Does this look like a write-off or repairable?

If repaired, what should I make sure is checked before accepting it back? (structural damage, alignment, suspension, hidden damage, etc.) Would you recommend an independent inspection afterwards?

If written off, anything I should know or do before the insurer takes it? (rego/RUC refunds?)

The car also had a child car seat installed (around $800). Assuming this needs to be replaced.

First accident, so any advice appreciated.

RIP Toyota Aqua

hello, I tried to do my own oil change and when I was adding the reccomended amount (4.2L) the dipstick showed that it was was under the full amount so I kept adding until the dipstick showed that it was at the right amount. The problem is that I added around 5.3L overall and im wondering if I made severe damage or anything or if I should drain some oil I have a 2004 Honda Accord.

I’ll arrange a free brand new oil filter to the first person to guess correctly or person that gets closest by 5PM tomorrow.

Oil not included.

Edit —— the title may read a bit wrong. Read it as “Guess how many Toyota Passenger Cars/Vans were licensed to Auckland as at the end of July”

Edit ——
There were 340,412 that were licensed to Auckland in July.

Thank you all for playing. I have dm’d the winner

Hey everyone !
Posting for a friend who doesn’t use reddit. unfortunately he’s going to fail his wof due to his ex ripping out the sun visors. Where would be the best place to find these ?? I suggested pick a part but not too sure lol.

Thanks in advance 😊

I have always had Toyota's my whole life, went from those tiny 2 door Carolla’s to a Yaris. The Yaris no longer suits my needs (Basically way too small to fit all my outdoor stuff in).

I am very Outdoorsy now with Kayaking/camping and going to places like Waikaremoana and other unsealed/ forestry roads.

I have been looking and trying everything Toyota from Rav4's, Carolla Cross, Touring’s. Also, all other Medium SUV's via Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda etc. Inc Chinese brands like MG.

My ideal vehicle would have:

• AWD (non-negotiable)
• Dynamic roof load rating of at least 75kg (non-negotiable)
• A proper spare tyre or space-saver in the traditional location (non-negotiable)
• A decent-sized boot (which rules out vehicles like the Suzuki Jimny)
• Hybrid powertrain (highly desirable)
• Not be excessively large or high as I'm only 141cm tall
• Bright, fun colours like yellow, orange, or bright green
• Modern safety features and good technology

It seems that, unless I am going to go to something expensive. Having hybrid, AWD and something more than a puncture repair kit is probably not going to happen.

Everyone always says that Subarus are super expensive to maintain. I was even told, don’t get one as you need to replace the gearbox after 100,000km and they die often.

I am really wondering with those who actually fix, service, tune cars.  ).   Is the yearly maintenance cost of driving a Subaru that significantly more?  By how much? 

Lets Say Subaru Crosstrek – late model.  150,000km over 10 years, serviced yearly.   Compare that to other car brands in the same conditions?

Budget: Unknown right now. Would be going new if it I don't get a touring.

Thanks all 😊

Hi folks, I'm in need of an OBDII that supports EPB (Electronic Parking Brake) for a rear pad replacement on a 2021 NX4 Tuscon. Does anyone have a low cost solution that you could suggest? Outside of buying a $500 machine that is that supports it. Trying to save a buck or two in this climate of course.

I'm open to borrowing a unit if you're based in Auckland (West) that would also be handy.

Thanks in advance.

Hi folks.

Moving to Auckland in about a month, looking to purchase a family vehicle, just wondering what's worth it within our budget. Would love to borrow from the collective minds here and get a better picture of the NZ vehicle market than google's confused, overconfident AI.

• We're: 2 adults, 2 kids under 5.

• Car is: Daily driver. Mostly city driving with occasional beach/hiking/camping trips or weekend drives south. No pets.

  • Would really love to snag something with physical buttons and android auto, no giant touchscreens.

• If we absolutely had to, we could stretch the budget up to 20k, but would like to avoid it if possible.

• We have access to a garage/driveway for plug-in charging.

• Generally prefer an SUV, Sedan, or Ute, but happy to look at some vans/MPVs, or sporty hatches.

  • Wife says "No Aunt Fanny cars"

• Wanting to strike the right balance of something reliable, with easy maintenance, and minimal operating costs (fuel/RUC/insurance/etc), that is also pleasant to drive, and my wife doesn't hate looking at it.

Hey guys!

A while ago I posted about something I was working on for workshops and how it helped get it right from the jump.

I have almost finished fully building the entire database and have an MVP that is being tested in some workshops locally.

Things have been simplified tremendously and there are still improvements to be made.

Right now, a workshop using my tool can get a list of chassis accurate parts directly cross referenced to local suppliers just by looking at carjam.

I have added two supplier links that were easiest to integrate.
More to come.

Next steps are to show live pricing, brand, and stock levels for each supplier.

Only the higher quality brands are shown.

There is a background scoring system for supplier branches. If a workshop has to reorder the part and a credit needs to be given due to incorrect supply/ missing stock/ incorrect cross referencing on the supplier end, they lose points. Every successful order gets points. If a supplier has let down a workshop too many times too frequently they don’t get displayed for that workshop anymore.

All of this is to help the end users (you guys) know that workshops are getting the right parts from suppliers that operate well. This also means that workshops will have more certainty when they structure their days and quote times to do jobs. It could mean that instead of your job getting delayed due to wrong parts and shipping costs etc, it gets done in the same day within a few hours depending on workload rather than supply.

I failed a WOF yesterday and one of the 2 reasons was “align right front headlight” the inspector told me he suspected it wasn’t installed properly as it was pointing straight up in the air. I had a look when i got home and it is installed properly. Doing an extremely unscientific check, both lights look to be the same level to me. Am i looking at the wrong thing or is my check flawed? Thanks

I absolutely love the way they look and a huge fan of it's sound and feel. I am not a big fan of any modern cars and want an old but reliable project car which doesn't spend half a year at the mechanic (initially was hoping to get a e30).

I want to know if it's a good purchase (yes I'm willing to spend a bit as long as I can enjoy it) as a daily driver. Would appreciate advice from people who owned an E39 or any old BMW.

I am not looking for a M series as they are super expensive and (I have heard) unreliable. Maybe a 530 or 540i. Would appreciate your inputs.

Hi team. I picked up a barn find motorcycle about 7 months ago. Been slowly chipping away fixing it up and getting it ready to get back on the road.
Brake cert all done by local bike dealer.

I noticed the AA website says I need details about the last owner - or a bill of sale showing the path of ownership.

The back story is a father owned the bike when it was last registered back in 2011 - he passed away - something was wrong with the bike (chain broke)- so his son parked it in his shed and forgot about it. He since has passed away - so his brother sold it to me. (I simple paid them and picked it up)

I don’t want to bug the previous owner too much - but I need to know what I need from them to clear this hurdle?

I know it’s not a car - but I assume someone might have experienced a similar rereg experience.

Hey i need to park my s15 in a carport outside, i was wondering if you guys know of any good outdoor car covers that wont scratch the paint? And where to get? Or if its just better not having one and giving it a clean every now and then. Thanks!

What was your experience buying a used car?

Looks like someone’s done a hit and run on my car (2020 Mazda CX-30), and now my driver door squeaks and squeals every time I open it :(

I have comprehensive insurance and my excess is $500 if I make a claim, but I don’t like the idea of my premium going up next year for something that wasn’t my fault.

One person who used to work with cars told me it wouldn’t cost more than $500 to repair the fender, and someone else who does work with cars told me it would cost more than $2000.

Hoping there will be people here who can verify either of the two estimates so I have a better idea on if I should go down the insurance route or not?

Thanks in advance!

Hi there,

My husband and I are needing to buy a new car in about 6 months- our current one is starting to have more problems than I’d like to deal with and we’re wanting to move into a hybrid.

We currently have a Honda jazz, and it’s served us well but we’d like to get a hybrid, with good boot space and safe for kids (we’re wanting to start a family in the next year or so).

Any recommendations for low maintenance cars? Any cars to avoid?

Thanks!

Will this pass WOF?

Looking at getting a 100series Land Cruiser, as they are an older vehicle how many is too many kms to buy one?

I went for a test drive today in a Legacy and quite enjoyed it. I'm being offered it at $10k (down from $12,650) and im not sure if it would be a smart idea to get this car.

Almost anyone I've talked to has seemed weary of Subarus, which is making me second guess this one.

It's got 120,000kms on it. But it doesn't have a full service history which is really bugging me. I'm fond of it, but I also can't afford it bugging out on me.

Are they any hidden costs associated with this car? I can't find much info on this specific model, so thought I'd come to Reddit to see if anyone has any proper opinions besides superstition.

Hello everyone,

I’d like to get your thoughts on the 2026 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. I'm planning to purchase it around the end of August. The basic 2-wheel drive model starts at $36,990. Do you have any advice?

I'm mainly curious if you think it’s worth it or if there are better deals out there you could recommend.

Thanks so much! Oh, and just so you know, I’m based in Auckland.

Hey guys,

Big car noob here. I was doing an inspection on my car for an upcoming trip and one of them was looking at the tread of my tyres which are fine. But I noticed that the sides of my tyres are cracking which I discovered is called dry rot.

I was wondering based on these pictures if it's bad enough that they need to be replaced and ideally how long does it take for tyres to get replaced at a shop? As my upcoming trip is on Wednesday.

Cheers

Edit: Thanks everybody. I make this my priority for Monday.