Hi guys. I recently bought a 98 (first registered Jan 99) Verada sedan with 68,000km on the clock. It has been driving fine but I took it in for a service this week (K-mart) to get it checked over. They told me the following needs doing:

- new pads and discs front and rear
- brake fluid flush
- passenger side gear box mount
- driver side engine mount
- new battery
- transmission flush
- 3 new tyres

My thoughts are to get new pads but not bother with the discs right now as they charge a hell of a lot. The gearbox and engine mounts I don't think need doing right now (there are no knocking noises), I checked the transmission oil last week and it seems pretty cherry pink, although the mechanic said it was a little black. I'm going to get 4 new tyres. Should I bother with a brake fluid flush?

Twice now when driving the battery light has come on for 5-15 minutes and then goes out of it's own accord. The mechanic said the charge was fine but when he connected it to his tester it comes up as an electrical fail. The owner's manual says not to drive the car any further if the battery light comes on but the car starts fine and there seem to be no other problems. Should I get a new battery or could it be a fault with the alternator?

Sorry for so many questions, but this is my first second hand car in Australia. Any thoughts would be a great help as I don't want to get ripped off by a mechanic! NB: At the moment I only plan on keeping the car 12 months.

That car must have been driven reasonably hard to have pads requiring replacement at 68k, especially the rears! Discs as well at 68k? Are they warped?
Brake flush - probably fair enough, should be done every 2 years.
Mounts - check them visually yourself.
Battery... In my experience with cars, the battery light on the dash indicates a charging problem, not battery. Maybe the alternator is intermittent or the diode pack is in the way out. I personally doubt it's the battery.
Transmission flush (guessing it's an auto) can't really hurt, especially if you don't know the history of when it was last done.

Ask MadMagna, he might be able to give you some more advice. If you live in Vic, just take the car to him.

My battery light used to go on and off sometimes, was something in the alternator (don't think it was the whole alternator)

Some people may have had better experiences... but if you don't want to get ripped off then I would stay away from Kmart

Unrelated, you said
first second hand car in Australia, where are you from originally?

Battery light issue is likely your voltage regularly, next time it comes on quickly pop the bonnet and give it a tap with a screwdriver. If the light goes off it is time for replacement.

At 68,000 you should not be needing NEW rotors, they should just need machining.

That car must have been driven reasonably hard to have pads requiring replacement at 68k, especially the rears! Discs as well at 68k? Are they warped?
Brake flush - probably fair enough, should be done every 2 years.
Mounts - check them visually yourself.
Battery... In my experience with cars, the battery light on the dash indicates a charging problem, not battery. Maybe the alternator is intermittent or the diode pack is in the way out. I personally doubt it's the battery.
Transmission flush (guessing it's an auto) can't really hurt, especially if you don't know the history of when it was last done.

Ask MadMagna, he might be able to give you some more advice. If you live in Vic, just take the car to him.

OP is in NSW. Best would be to get in contact with NSW members and ask for their recommendations for mechanics. There's alot of heavily modded magna's in that state so I'm sure there's some good mechanics up that way who know a thing or two about magnas.

I agree with the above statement - that car is very worn for a car that is only suppose to have travelled 68,000km. My car is almost double that @ 130,000km and all my mounts are fine, pads are still stock and I only changed rotors because I warped them. I don't drive it like it is stolen though but I've only owned it for about 30,000km. I'd be checking around the dash surround to see if any of the screws were removed and if it has log books then give a ring to the mechanic/dealer and confirm the car km's on the last service they conducted on the car.

RE: the list of things that need to be replaced.
- New pads & rotors. You'd know if these would need to be replaced as either they would make noise, have poor braking performance and/or you'd feel vibrations through the car during braking. If you've got none of that then I'm struggling to see why they need to be replaced. They could be bit warn though so it may need to be changed soon.
- Brake fluid Never hurts to have this done. Needs to be done every 2 years regardless of km's.
- Gearbox and/or Engine mount Inspect the condition of them using your eyes and fingers. See if the mount is worn - look and feel for any tears in the rubber, crack in the metal etc Does the car shudder during heavier acceleration? Is there excessive vibrations on rougher roads.
Battery: They usually last about 1-2 years depending on they're treated. If your car starts all the time fine then I struggle to see why it needs to be replaced. The light is regarding the charging system. Could be a variety of problems starting with the alternator.
Tramission flush: this is usually done around the 100,000km mark during the major service. Inspect the transmission oil using the proper procedure. This includes heating up the engine to about 70-80 degrees, placing the car on a flat surface and then running through all the gears (P,R,N,D) a few times. Then put it in Neutral and check the oil. It should be around the mark and be a lovely pink colour and fairly think. If its dark and black then its well due to get replaced. These cars have weak autoboxes that can fail and it always seem to be related to how they were treated and maintained. Tranny flush is never a bad idea although it seems a little early.
Tyres: Again these can be inspected and you can make your own decision. Stick you finger and/or ruler in the middle groves that run horizontally looking for a small noggin that sticks up every 15-20cm along the tyre. When the treads reach that level then they are unroadworthy. Obviously if you have little tread left then its self explanatory. Don't forget to look for any cracks along the tire and check the date it was manufactured. At 68,000km it could easily be the stock tyres and I'd expect them to be worn out by this stage. If the car is a 99 model then it'd be 13 years old - more than double the recommended age for a tyre (5 years max). Check this by looking for a 3 digit or 4 digit number - info here http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/passenger/care/age.aspx

Otherwise congrats on your purchase! If you're anything like half the members here you'll end up falling in love with your ride and spend 1000's more than you should modifying and making it unique. Enjoy your stay here.

68,000 Km on the speedo? Rotors? Worn out alternator?

I smell a rat! Maybe the rest of the car is a lot older than the speedo . . . ?

It's quite common to have low kms like this in Sydney, the problem is the trip distances are 5-10km of heavy stop-start traffic at a time rather then 40-100km at a time. Causes a lot more wear on the car.

The transmission flush should be done because the trans fluid in your car is probably 13 years old. Mitsubishi say to do it every 100,000km (or sooner under extreme conditions, which is the banner your car falls under due to a combination of age and low mileage). In my opnion, the transmission should be flushed every 50,000kms (others may feel differently) but considering it's $2000-$3000 for a reconditioned auto trans (cheaper if you get a second hand non-reconditioned one) it is certainly worthwhile preventative maintenance.

Regarding the tyres, it is not best practice to mix different tyres on the same axle -- so if you are up for 3 new tyres, you may need to get 4 (or 5 if you include the spare).

Brake fluid should probably be changed.

Regarding battery light -- usually indicates a problem with alternator or charging circuit wiring. However, I have had a battery light intermittently come on due to a loosely tensioned alternator belt so it could be something as simple as that. I've also had the battery light trip when there was resistive wiring between the battery and alternator.

Other stuff on that list is a bit hard to pass comment on, although discs would 'usually' only need machining at this point and not replacement.
A second opinion may be a good idea, see if someone on the forum can recommend someone locally.

The Magna/Verada is a good choice of car and should serve you well. Unfortunately they were never really appreciated in Australia, and so the resell value of them is very poor - many people perceive them as a crap car, I admit that I used to... until I actually drove one that is :)

Futher note -- if the timing belt is the original and has not been changed, this should be changed due to possible failure from age. The last thing you want is the timing belt to snap and take the engine with it.

Thanks for the tips guys. I've actually just returned home after breaking down! The battery light had been on and off whilst I was driving around this morning. When I parked and returned to the car, the battery was dead. Luckily a helpful passerby with jump leads helped me out and it started first time. So, it must be a problem with the battery not being charged, I guess.

Can anyone recommend a good mechanic in Sydney so I can take the car in and get it looked at? I live in Kings Cross.

Regarding the KMs, I don't think it's been clocked - I checked it out on REVS, etc and it seemed to match up. The car seems pretty tidy other than age related wear and tear. Any ideas how I could check out the KMs? I think I'll get the brake and transmission fluids flushed to be on the safe side and also get the pads changed.