Expert answer

Hi David,

That sounds reasonable enough from a dealer. As always, shop around though. Don't settle on the first offer you get.

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi James,

This is a difficult one to diagnose from afar. There's either something wrong with the control and its signal to the ventilation system or with the actuator that diverts air to the windows. Have you confirmed that air does blow out as fast as ever via the face/feet vents when in those modes?

I'm afraid we'd have to recommend bringing the car at the very least to a good mechanic, but probably best to a Hyundai service centre as it's more likely they'll have seen it before.

If you are hoping to tackle it for yourself, you can start by removing the glovebox, which is relatively easy. The unit sitsbehind that. Just don't expect it to be easy to work on...

In the meantime I'll contact a Hyundai service technician and will let you know if we can tell you any more.

Best of luck.

Expert answer

Hi Lisa,

You've not told us the model year of your A4, but given that mileage we'd guess it's a 2004 version. If so then it's likely to be worth less than €10,000, despite the condition.

Obviously all trade-ins are only worth what the dealer thinks they're worth, so take this as a guideline only.

Please do let us know how you get on with it

Expert answer

Hi Dave,

If you were to sell it privately, you should ask about €6,500. You should perhaps take €5,800 at a push. On the other hand, as a trade-in you will probably be offered about €5,500 by a dealer against a new car. I hope this helps?

Expert answer

Hi Donal,

The specification will help, but when you are trading it dealers tend not to pay too much attention to extras on the car, but in this case the climate control and double sunroof are a decent selling point. If you were to trade it in against a new car I would expect you to be offered around €9,000 for it and you could ask perhaps €10,500 if you were to advertise it privately, obviously to take less. 

Expert answer

Hi Brendan,

I spoke to Volkswagen about this and its retailers will do this job in about an hour for a total price of €350. That includes VAT, parts and labour and they'll even wash and vacuum the car when it's in.

If you decide to go this route please do let us know how you find the service.

Expert answer

Hi Elizabeth,

i would expect you to get offered around €6,500-€7,500 for this as a trade-in. If you were selling this privately you could get €7,500 - €8,000 given the low mileage. A car dealer may be willing to buy this car from you as it would be very sellable. 

I hope this helps. 

Expert answer

Hi Joseph,

Unless you have proper disposal facilities and you have some experience in doing so we'd urge you not to change the oil filter in your car for yourself.

It's normal practice to change the oil at the same time. We'd do the following. Note that these are not exhaustive instructions, it is assumed that the car is safely raised up and that you have an environmentally sound way to dispose of the old oil.

1. Remove oil dipstick and oil filler cap.
2. Remove sump plug and allow old oil to drain into suitable receptacle.
3. If too tight to remove by hand, unscrew old oil filter using oil filter chain/belt tool, ensuring that the rubber seal comes away with it.
4. Lightly rub new oil on seal of new oil filter and tighten up - by hand only.
5. Replace sump plug. It is not unusual to have to replace the sealing washer that goes with this.
6. Lower car to ground and top up oil with recommended grade to correct level on the dipstick.
7. Close dipstick and filler cap and start car.
8. Allow to idle for a few minutes, stop engine and check level again.
   Top up if necessary.
9. Dispose of oil and filter in responsible manner.

Changing the air filter is much easier. Locate the air box under the bonnet. Its lid will be held on either by a series of clips or screws. Gently remove these and move the lid out of your way. Ensure that the replacement filter is an identical shape, replace and then reattach the lid as it was.

Hope that is of some help, though again, I'd discourage anyone from doing the oil and oil filter change unless you have the right facilities and tools.

Expert answer

Hi Peter,

We spoke to a technical expert within Skoda Ireland. He confirmed that there's likely to be something else up, as no car would require servicing on that low mileage. The variable indicator works off an oil quality sensor and also takes into consideration length of time between services. It works off two years between services though so if you're doing only 8,500 kilometres every two years that may well be the issue.

With that information to hand, it might be worth popping into your local Skoda dealer and talking it through with them. If you're racking up 8,500 kilometres quickly then there could be a faulty sensor somewhere.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Annemarie, 

We would always say look at the cost to change, but I'd expect that you will be offered around €5,000 for your C-Max, which might translate into €6,000 against a new Peugeot 5008. The 5008 is a good choice too, you can read our review of it here.