Been looking for months now, thought I hit the jackpot today, saw a '94 toyota corolla sw 146,000k's manual, on TM really tidy and only listed yesterday as a classfied for $2250 so e-mail for a contact, e-mails back with cell phone number, call no answer so leave a message he calls back almost straight away, arrange to see car at 2pm as it was 1hrs drive, anyway fight the missus 'coz she wants us to stay at home being new years day and I need to borrow money from her, I tell her if we don't get it today it will be gone tomorrow, anyway go to 3 eftpos machines to get the money I need, go all the way there and arrive exactely 2pm, guy says "car is gone" I say "what!" he says "its gone. taken"I say "what stolen! (DUH) he says "nah sold" I say "You knew I was going to be here at 2pm and you could of called me!"Geez I was pissed! Some sellers have no idea.
vtecintegra,
Dec 31, 8:58pm
Small, economical cars (especially Toyotas) are always in demand. With that budget you're probably better off looking for something a size up like a Bluebird or Primera
richynuts,
Dec 31, 9:06pm
looked at plenty of those as well and for $2500k you only get worn out crap, I want a basic early 90's car/wagon with around 150kms or less, just for a work hack that will hold its value and don't have to spend too much money on.
vtecintegra,
Dec 31, 9:10pm
On cars that old you can't afford to worry about mileage. 200,000+ is normal.
aragorn2003,
Dec 31, 9:15pm
what an assh0le , hope you gave him hell for it.
When I've sold cars I've always been up front with people in terms of interest , if there is interest from 2 camps at the same time and one has already arranged a time before the other I always make the other camp aware it might be taken and then let them know if it does sell.
And if someone has already arranged a time and then I get a call from someone desperate , the first person gets priority every time.
Its common courtesy.
richynuts,
Dec 31, 9:21pm
True but the way I think is if I buy a car around the 150k in 4-5 years time when I sell the car will still beunder 200K so will still get a fair price for it, this has worked well for me in the past and even made a few hundred on resale, just so much harder to find the right car nowdays.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 31, 9:22pm
Christchurch is a difficult one to find bargains in. My advice (as always) is get over the Toyota fetish and buy something "outside the box" for that budget I would be expecting around a year 2000 model in good condition with reasonable km's and a fair level of safety and comfort features.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 31, 9:22pm
Also. be prepared to grab a cheap flight and pick something up.
richynuts,
Dec 31, 9:30pm
I only have one fetish and that has nothing to do with toyotas, anyhow don't want a car with abs, airbags or any of that, just want a simple reliable car that if anything needs fixing I can do without it costing a fortune.Central locking, powerwindows,aircon and a really good heater is all I need for a work hack.
michael.benn,
Dec 31, 9:36pm
Get over the 150,000kms or less thing real quick and you'll have no problem finding a good daily runabout/work hack on your budget.
High mileage doesn't mean avoid. My Accord reads 295,000. Still going strong.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 31, 9:36pm
To buy a car "without any of that" you are buying something a good 5 years older than your budget can afford. The extra five years is likely to undo any saving you get from buying something so simple.
We usually have at least two cars in that price range on the go and all are European and offer a decent amount of safety and comfort features. I have always had a tremendous run out of these vehicles without any scary expensive problems.
I buy on balance, condition, milage, type of use, servicing etc. Its always worked out well for me.
Also. you don't want someone in a modern car running into you in a vehicle like that. Value your life, injuries will cost you more than any car maintenance.
richynuts,
Dec 31, 9:42pm
So do you think I should stop riding motorbikes as well!
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 31, 9:45pm
No, not at all. There is such a thing as an avoidable risk. You can't make your motorcycle more safe with zero effort and budget. but you certainly can do that with your car.
I take it you wear a helmet, gloves, bike jacket etc! Same idea for your car.
twink19,
Jan 1, 12:22am
my primera over 300k still going good, 1k
cocabowla,
Jan 1, 12:44am
just agree with him even if you dont, his motto is " everyone is entitled to my opinion because its always right "
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 1, 2:09am
Darn tootin!
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 1, 2:10am
Parts are surprisingly inexpensive too. (assuming you get them from somewhere sensible like startech)
next-to-normal,
Jan 1, 10:17pm
mercs are good, that one is a good fairprice,
richynuts,
Jan 1, 10:29pm
yeah are real bargain aye! 1400 views still no sale
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 1, 10:35pm
With that attitude its no wonder you are not having any success. Not a nice way to respond to people trying to help you.
You don't have to like every suggestion but you could at least be polite and constructive about it.
I missed a great buy on here a few weeks ago, it had been on TM for ages but no one had actually gone to have a look, me included. When I realised how good it was it was too late.
richynuts,
Jan 1, 10:49pm
fair enough. I do however have it on my watchlist as well as the vw passat you suggested
vtecnet,
Jan 1, 11:09pm
If your serious about the Passat i'd suggest going to have a look over it, check the cooling system, a lot of the plastic parts are cracking and leaking at this age on these cars, however these parts are not that expensive to replace. also check that its had regular oil changes (Check for mayo under the oil cap). See if the transmission fluid is still the proper colour and not black, make sure if drives well.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 1, 11:20pm
+1 Same goes for any car that age, checking it out well is your best insurance against problems. I would also check the air conditioning is functional (its one operation that can be expensive to fix) and check the ABS light lights up briefly when you turn the key on.
Don't let any of this put you off, the Passat is a good reliable car, its just every car has a list of things you should check.
vtecnet,
Jan 1, 11:29pm
Yes I should have said any car of this age, however Cars like this and my E39 BMW often have plastic waterpump housings etc that crack. I am going to replace the Waterpump and most of the plastic parts on my E39 even though theres no problems at this stage, the way I see it, the cars from 1996 which makes 97,000ks on the clock meaningless, but its a nice big Comfy safe car for the $4000 paid. (got it 2 weeks ago here in CHCH)
The ABS Light comes on and goes off on my Golf VR6, then 10-20mins later comes back on again. OBD2 scanner says "Data Out of Range" for the error code. thankfully its not picked up at WOF time, but will need to get it sorted out.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 1, 11:40pm
BTW, timing belt kit including waterpump for that should be about $200 NZ delivered if bought online. Given the transmission fluid will be new that kit and an oil change + filters would give you a car thats pretty well setup for around $1200.
Admittedly its possibly not something you will enjoy looking at but if you are getting desperate its a thought. Its also an idea to put in the back of your mind as the Volvo 850's and 940's do come up regularly for good money. Some of them have been "enthusiast owned" too which is a help. Worth noting in case you find a real stunner going for a song.
Volvo S40 may be even better (if it has the Volvo engine not the Mitsi 1800). They are so reliable they are in the reliability index top 10. I have seen them come up at turners in nice tidy order for $1500.
Think of the Volvo (especially the 850/940) like a big Corolla with better build quality and a lower price tag. The technology is very simple and they are nice old girls to work on. See this for how accessible the timing belt is.
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