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The i30 should be fine for this sort of towing. You won't be placing too much stress on the car's mechanicals, and Hyundai rates the i30 to tow up to 1300kg. But there's a catch.

And that is that you're more likely to be limited by the trailer rather than the car itself. That's because that 1300kg limit is on the proviso that the trailer is fitted with its own brakes. Without a braked trailer, Hyundai reduces the towing limit to 600kg. The average box trailer doesn't have brakes, so that lower figure is most likely going to be your limit. Admittedly, that is still probably more than enough for what you have in mind.

Depending on what sort of noise the transmission is making, this sounds like a broken or worn out clutch. Without a properly functioning clutch, gears can be extremely difficult to select and can also cause horrible graunching, grinding noises when trying to select any gear, but particularly reverse.

If this is, indeed, the problem, you could be looking at thousands of dollars to remove the transmission, replace the clutch and reassemble the driveline. You might even find that the engine's flywheel is also beyond saving and needs replacing, too.

On the other hand, the lazy clutch could be a simple case of a leaking or worn clutch slave or master cylinder or even a poorly adjusted clutch system which is allowing the clutch to disobey what the clutch pedal is telling it to do. If that's the case, the fix could be quite simple and relatively cheap.

The point is that you need to know what the problem is before handing over the money, because the value of the same car with either problem will be vastly different. Perhaps finding a car with a properly working clutch and driveline is a better option.

Modern engine oils contain lots of additives (including detergents) to protect an engine from wear as well as keeping it clean inside. In many cases, this internal cleaning process is what makes the oil go a darker colour over time.

That said, I'd be surprised if an engine with just 40,000km on board is dirty enough inside to make the oil go black. Have you owned the vehicle from new? Did perhaps, a previous owner skip oil changes that allowed black sludge to build up inside the engine?

But equally, don't confuse discoloured with black. Check the oil when the engine is still warm. Hot oil should appear a slightly lighter colour than the same oil in the same engine when it's stone cold. Wipe some of the oil on the dipstick on to a clean piece of paper towel. Does it still look black, or is there a brown-ness to it? If it truly is black than you might need to switch to a high-detergent oil and give the engine a couple of quick oil changes (say, 1000km apart) to see if that cleans things up a bit inside.

Now having said all that, the question becomes one of whether your car is a petrol or diesel-engined i30. If it's a petrol engine, the above advice stands. But if it's a diesel engine, then ignore the above and stop worrying. That's because diesel engines are inherently filthy things which eat a proportion of their own exhaust soot and are, therefore, notoriously grotty, turning their engine oil black in seconds. In fact, by the time the oil has been poured into the filler cap and drained to the sump – before the engine has even been started – it's black. This is quite normal.

All of the Corolla Cross models in Australia that don't use the hybrid driveline are front-wheel-drive. Which suggests that you need to pony up for an all-wheel-drive variant to get the petrol-electric hybrid driveline. But that's not the case, because you can get the hybrid driveline in GXL and range-topping Atmos trim levels with either front- or all-wheel-drive. The exception is the entry-level hybrid, the GX, which is front-drive only.

For our money, the hybrid driveline is the bargain of the century as it adds only $2500 to the price of the non-hybrid Corolla Cross, yet should drop fuel consumption from around six litres per 100km to less than 4.5 litres for the same 100km. Stump up for the all-wheel-drive version and you'll also get a car with more grip on loose and slippery surfaces.

Provided you're comparing apples with apples (dual-cabs with dual-cabs, for instance) the exterior panels, glass and much of the chassis and platform should be interchangeable between these two variants of what is essentially the same car.

The differences are likely to be cosmetic, such as the Wildtrak version having a chrome tailgate handle rather than a black plastic one on the base model Ranger. But even things like headlights can throw up big differences. for example, the Wildtrak had LED running lights and HID headlights, which won't fit on the lower-spec version thanks to mounting and wiring differences. The Wildtrak was also available in its own palette of exterior colours, so matching panels colours might be difficult.

Then there's the question of what engine was fitted to either version you're trying to swap parts with. The different powerplants would have had different wiring looms (for different sensors in different positions) and perhaps even differences in where major components were mounted under the bonnet. Even the wheels of different Ranger variants had different sizes and offsets. So, a simple bonnet or mudguard substitution might be viable, but some parts sharing will definitely not be as simple as it sounds.

The first thing to do is to make sure your phone has Bluetooth switched on and is in Discoverable mode. Then, go to the menu on the car's info-screen and select Settings. Then scroll down and select Setup and then Bluetooth. From there, touch on Add a New Device. The car will then search for nearby devices and display them. When your phone's ID appears, scroll to it and press the Select button. Make sure the code on the screen for Bluetooth Honda Civic matches the code shown on your phone and you're good to go.

There are also online tutorials on how to connect Bluetooth to Honda Civic cars, and these are worth watching provided the unit in question is the same as the system in Australian-delivered Civics. Some markets had different set-ups, so make sure you watch the right video.

If all that fails, the connection instructions are in the car's owner's manual which, hopefully, is in the car's glove-box.

This system of Honda Civic Bluetooth paring was introduced on 2018 and on Civics, but it's worth mentioning that those earlier cars did not have on-board sat-nav. So to get navigation on the RS or VTi-L model, you definitely need your phone connected to make use of your phone's nav system.

The first thing you need to know is how to connect Bluetooth to Toyota Camry software. That means switching on your phone’s Bluetooth and making the device visible to the car.

From there, the 2011 to 2017 Toyota Camry Bluetooth pairing process involves going to the car’s screen and opening the menus to find the Bluetooth prompt. Your phone and the car should `find’ each other at which point you make sure the passcodes on each match and you should be good to go with a stable connection.

From then on, the car should recognise and pair with your phone automatically, without having the use the manual connection setup process. As well as make calls, the Bluetooth connection should also allow you to play music and access some phone apps through the car’s infotainment system.

Although it’s much better these days, Bluetooth Toyota Camry style wasn’t always brilliant and many owners complained of poor connections and call quality. This model Camry was caught up in that, too, so don’t be surprised if you have a few problems or need to spend some time troubleshooting. Some owners even ditched the standard Toyota head unit for an aftermarket one with better Bluetooth quality.

It wasn’t until the end of 2010 that Hyundai got around to fitting the i20 with Bluetooth tech, so really early examples of the i20 missed out. But Bluetooth is available on all other i20 years and variants, so here’s the skinny on how to connect Bluetooth to Hyundai i20 models:

Hyundai i20 Bluetooth pairing starts with your phone having Bluetooth switched on and the phone in discoverable mode. You then need to press the Menu button on the car’s control panel and use the right-hand dial to scroll through till you find the Bluetooth prompt. Press Enter and then highlight the Pair function and hit Enter again. From there, you’ll get a series of vocal prompts which will lead to the info screen showing a pass-key number. Enter those numbers into your phone, hit the green button and you should be connected.

Some later model i20s have slightly different procedures, but the basics are the same: Search for the car on your phone, use the set-up menu on the screen, and then enter the correct pass-key number. While some other systems display the pass-key number on both car and phone, Bluetooth Hyundai i20 style needs the pass-key as a manual entry to your phone.

Once you have the connection established, the Hyundai i20 Bluetooth will allow all the usual functions including music streaming. The car and phone should automatically pair each time you enter the car from then on. If problems occur, the first place to look for answers is the owner’s manual, but a Hyundai dealer should also be able to help with troubleshooting.

The correct Holden Cruze oil type (grade) is a 5W30 fully synthetic. That’s for either the 1.8-litre, 1.4-litre turbo or the 1.6-litre turbo engine. The exception is the two-litre turbo-diesel Cruze engine which requires 5W40 grade oil.

There are no real trade secrets on how to change oil on a Holden Cruze and, provided you have the right equipment and basic skills, it amounts to warming the engine, draining the oil from the sump into a container, replacement of the oil filter, replacing the drain plug, refilling the sump and making sure the oil in the engine is at the correct level.

This is important maintenance because it ensures the engine always has a good supply of clean oil. Without this, the engine will die young. You can have a mechanic change your oil at a service centre, but with a drain pan, filter wrench, simple socket set and a work light, this is a DIY project.

Things you’ll need to know include the size of the drain plug, the specifications (part number) of the oil filter, and how often to change oil on this particular engine (the service interval).

The recommended Ford Ranger engine oil depends on the engine fitted to your particular example. Since the popular PX Ranger (2011 to 2022) used four different engines over its time on sale, this is an important piece of the puzzle. So here’s how it pans out:

The Best Ford Ranger oil type for the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine is a 5W30 fully synthetic. The 3.2-litre turbo-diesel also uses the same grade and specification of oil. The sophisticated two-litre twin-turbo diesel requires 0W30 fully synthetic oil which is quite a light oil but is designed to lubricate those turbochargers immediately on start-up. Meantime, the 2.5-litre petrol engine (which is quite rare to find and only sold for a few years) requires either a 5W20 or a 0W20 (depending on which oil manufacturer you ask).

In the Ranger’s case, changing the oil at home is not difficult provided you’re not dealing with the five-cylinder 3.2-litre turbo-diesel. We’ll get to that one in a moment. In the case of the other engines, it becomes a case of warming the engine, removing the drain plug and letting the old oil out. While it’s draining, fit the replacement oil filter, replace the drain plug and refill the engine with the fresh oil. Once you’ve checked the level and it’s good, you’re on your way again.

The exception to all this is the 3.2-litre engine which has a sophisticated oil pump that allows it to save a bit of fuel, but also imposes a ten-minute limit on how long you can leave the sump-plug out and the engine empty of oil. Because of the way the pump is designed, an empty sump will cause the pump to not prime itself when you refill the oil and start the engine. And that can destroy the engine. So, the oil filter needs to be changed separately and the oil drained and refilled inside that ten-minute window. Simply google `how to change oil on a Ford Ranger’ and you might not be given this vital piece of info. Beyond that, the job is still a DIY one, but you have to be aware of that time limit.

Oil changes are part of any vehicle’s regular maintenance and the specifications of the oil required and the service interval (how often to change oil) are set by the vehicle’s manufacturer. If this job isn’t for you, pretty much any mechanic at any service centre of any size will be able to handle it quickly and efficiently as well as dispose of the old oil and filter for you.