Car reccomendation!

superfreek, Oct 18, 4:52am
Hi, my friends looking for a new car and wanted some advice on what to get.
Her max budget would be around $1200-$1500
Reliability, Economy and sporty looks come in that order
Preferably in the Manawatu region
She doesn't care if it's a gutless little shopping trolly
Preferably manual but can buy both
Would be 99% city use driving

Cheers (;
countrypete, Oct 18, 5:07am
Toyota Celica
ginga4lyfe, Oct 18, 5:21am
Look for a Nissan Pulsar or Primera, both are reliable and ecconomical, and they can look quite sporty with the right wheels and a little bit of lowering ( and are cheap to fix too! )
stevo2, Oct 18, 5:22am
Toyota Cynos
trader127, Oct 18, 5:26am
Reliant Robin
mugenb20b, Oct 18, 5:28am
Moskvich.
franc123, Oct 18, 5:33am
save some more cash and up the budget to $2K at least, you will have a heap more choice.
msigg, Oct 18, 5:46am
Yea franc123 has a good idea, If you canstretch a bit more then you may get something that goes and looks ok, In that price range your looking at you can't be too choosy. good luck.
superfreek, Oct 18, 7:11pm
Thanks, I'll try talk to her and if she can stretch the budget I'll come back and ask for some more advice.
skiff1, Oct 19, 10:28am
corollathers a million of them, cheap to buy, run and fix
tigertim20, Oct 19, 11:41am
can someone recommend a car thats worth 5 grand, but i only wanna spend $500 and never have any mechanical issues. what should I buy!
superfreek, Oct 19, 12:13pm
Sarcasm is.I asked the best car that would suit in that price price range, not that I wanted 5k car. Don't assume things.
icemans1, Oct 19, 1:31pm
LMAO all cars breakdown - doesn't matter if ya spend $500 or $500,000
jason18, Oct 19, 6:57pm
Hardly cheap to buy. Everyone with a corolla thinks because its got a toyota badge that its worth 3x the amount of any other similar car.
the_don_61, Oct 20, 12:06am
A Bicycle
vtecintegra, Oct 20, 12:08am
Coronas seem to be decent buying though, and are actually quite a lot nicer to drive.
trdbzr, Oct 20, 3:25am
Toyota Levin/Trueno
bevharris1938, Oct 20, 3:44am
Toyota corolla
owene, Oct 20, 4:19am
A NEW car for $1200-$1500 !!
What would she be willing to pay for a decent used one then - $50-$100 !
richardmayes, Oct 20, 4:59am
My suggestion: Get a little old Ford laser from the 1980s, e.g. Listing #: 416737433.

Mechanically these cars are very simple, apparently they can live to huge mileages ifyou maintain them well. My missus has a low-kms one and it seldom needs anything doing to it.

It's certainly not a fast car or even a 'sporty looking' one, but they ride and handle well enough for what they are, and the little engines love to rev so if you enjoy driving then you can have some fun getting to the shops in one of these!

(Some people are going to look at you like you are utter lowlife, when you arrive in an "old bomb" like this. If your friend cares about that, then ultra-cheap motoring is probably not for her)!

that's "new" to him/her; obviously. Flaming people isn't compulsory you know.
gunhand, Oct 20, 5:11am
I know where there is an imaculate 1994 lexus 300 for $2000. Runs sweet as and has leather and all the drama.
franc123, Oct 20, 7:45am
Second hand Corollas are grossly expensive for what you get, I mean come on, $2K for a 20yo 1.3XL with no power anything with a couple or three hundred thou on it!Thats what you are getting for the OP's budget if you get one at all.I agree with the above, Lasers or 323's of the same age or even a bit older are for all intents and purposes just as good and can often be had for cheaper.
will_98, Feb 23, 1:11am
I agree with your message franc123, those old corollas are extremly overpriced in some cases. Another example of and overpriced car is a 1997 Honda Accord for $4,000 that has done 300,000kms. Mad to pay that.