Someone has already offered 4900 cash, and got turned down.
Thanks for your input though
phillip.weston,
Apr 22, 8:16am
if you are considering that Caldina I would also consider that 2001 Galant wagon. For a similar price you are getting something 8 years newer, much safer chassis with dual air bags, ABS brakes, just as economical if not more economical, just as cheap to repair/maintain as the Caldina, very comfortable and pleasing to drive/ride in, and better looking too (in my opinion of course).
phillip.weston,
Apr 22, 8:37am
The Passat and the A4 are based on the same platform and are very similar mechanically. That Passat on $1res is likely to go for around $4000-5000. They are both imports too as opposed to NZ-new, so I would check for a good service history also. My experience with those A4s is they tend to have small niggly electrical faults like sensors or coil packs failing, and some of the pipes off the back of the engine gets brittle with age and leak causing other troubles.
In short, they are great drivers cars which give a great amount of equipment for the money spent but if you're looking for something which is going to ultimately reliable I probably would give them a miss.
The Honda is alright, but it's just a base model example with not alot of features. It doesn't seem very stand-out at that price with those kms.
nickolaz,
Apr 22, 8:44am
Ok. I supposed I have a bit of time before I do anything. I have sort of already made up my mind to get a new car, just wondering If I'm getting carried away a bit. turning my 1500 dollar problem into a 3000 dollar one.
elect70,
Apr 22, 10:17am
Why not have a go at replacing it yourself , read manual at libarary & copy relevant bits . Go to SC& get head gasket . Borrow a socket set & ringspanners& go for it . If its more than that think about anoher car . Dont get another engine , they may give you a warranty but if its crook they will justgive you another & another till get 1 thats good. Mate went through 3 for his Mrslaser , swore never again .
nickolaz,
Apr 22, 10:23am
Yeha I'm not gonna do that lol, the radiator needs to be flushed and some other crap.
fordcrzy,
Apr 22, 2:03pm
yes i would .just NOT a pre 2002 one.they are just as bad as the vectras.
nickolaz,
Apr 22, 2:10pm
Ok, my bad didn't see that.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 22, 4:25pm
The A4 is a non-Turbo and they were a bit gutless without the Turbo, also that body shell was a bit average.
The Passat would be a great buy if you got it under 4K, definitely worth keeping an eye on. Like Phillip said they can have the odd niggly problem, but then what in your price range is not going to be prone to the odd minor issue.
Those 1.8T engines are a real cracker, plenty of go but good on economy. VW parts are cheap and easily available and they are a nice car to work on.
You do need to allow about $900 for a proper cambelt service if it is due though so factor that in. Basically with those cars you do one big service every 5 years and replace the cambelt, tensioners, waterpump, and thermostat. Then you just have oil changes etc to deal with in between major services.
Its really important that the waterpump has been replaced at some point as the original ones had a factory fault that can cause catastrophic failure. If it has not been replaced then allow $900 for the big service.
Don't let the cost of the service put you off so long as you allow for it in your budget. Other cars you are looking at will require maintenance costing a similar figure every 5 years or so as well.
Definitely worth keeping an eye on that wagon, they are a lovely machine to travel long distance in and potentially a lot of car for your money. If you got it for say 3K and then spent $900 getting it all up to date in the service department you would have a hang of a decent vehicle.
nickolaz,
Apr 22, 4:58pm
Sounds good. The noly problem is once I start getting up to that price I won't have money left over.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 22, 5:06pm
It may go quite cheap, no harm in bidding up to 2.5Kor whatever you can afford and then if you get it for that you have money spare for doing the big service. The cambelt etc may be all done and up to date though so thats worth checking as well.
Off hand the cambelt should be done every 5 years or 100'000km whichever comes first.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 22, 5:08pm
If you like it and decide to bid let me know and I can give you a list of things to check.
nickolaz,
Apr 22, 5:14pm
Ok, thanks. I might not make it in time, I have to wait until I find out how much my car is worth from the wreckers, and they haven't got in contact with the garage and checked the car yet.I think. Not sure soc the guy from the garage was sorting it out but he hasn't rung me today. Damn easter holiday trading.
nickolaz,
Apr 22, 5:17pm
I might be keen on that Galant though, I might text or ring the guy and try find out about the cars service history.
phillip.weston,
Apr 22, 9:27pm
If looking at that Galant check when the cam belt was last done (the job is fairly basic and most garages should be able to do it for around $600), and if you can hear any knocking noises coming from the front suspension when going over bumps or even a squeaking noise when turning the steering wheel while stationary on the spot - probably the only two things to check. I had a 2000 Galant GLXi 5spd manual sedan and it was a great no-bullshit car, gave good fuel economy, a reasonable ride and looked stylish enough. My only gripe is the road noise is a bit loud on those Galants. I think for $3500 you'll be hard pressed to find something else which is the same age, safety features, space, fuel economy and reliability. Don't believe what everyone says about Mitsubishis, if that model was a GDI or tiptronic I would be steering you away just like anyone else would, but that one is the most basic 2.0 SOHC non-GDI and 5 speed manual, absolutely nothing really to go wrong.
nickolaz,
Apr 23, 7:45am
Ok thanks, I sent him an email. I'm not sure whether or not to be concerned by the number or km's on it.
phillip.weston,
Apr 23, 7:53am
Just be sure it has some kind of service history. At those kms I would want to see that the cam belt has been done in the last 50,000kms/5 years at least. That motor perhaps will get a little smokey around the 300,000kms mark, perhaps even earlier if it hasn't been looked after. Unscrew the oil filler cap on top of the rocker cover and look down into the hole, shine a torch through if you have to. If it looks black as the ace of spades underneath with black sludge that would suggest it hasn't been looked after. If the mechanical gear instead has a golden or a light golden coating then that is a good sign.
kcf,
Apr 23, 2:51pm
Don't do that, because then when a bill comes around for repairs on the car you buy, then you might be back in this same situation where you can't afford to repair a busted car
nickolaz,
Apr 23, 5:50pm
Yeah, I hadn't planned to put everything into a car.
Still waiting to hear back from that guy.
phillip.weston,
Apr 24, 10:19am
that's the exhaust manifold, in this case it's tubular steel (for less weight) as opposed to the usual cast iron manifolds. Due to the heat of the exhaust gasses flowing through the pipes, there isn't a paint which stays on it for long, which therefore gets burned off exposing the bare steel, which will surface rust over time.
In short, it's perfectly normal.
phillip.weston,
Apr 24, 10:27am
sounds like it's been looked after and serviced when it should be. Cam belt will need to be done again around 270,000kms but that's still probably another 3-4 years away and you probably would have moved on from that car by then anyhow.
Only thing I would be checking for on it really is blue smoke from the exhaust and knocking/squeaking noises coming from the front suspension.
nickolaz,
Apr 24, 10:35am
Oh yeah they said it was really quiet, I cut out the last part of the email. I'll try and organise a test drive and viewing.
nickolaz,
Apr 25, 5:49pm
Sorry to revive this thread again, but I might have a bit more money to play with than I though, an extra grand to be exact, making my upper limit $4500. Pretty keen on that Legacy, gonna text the ask and ask for a look and a test drive. Anything I should ask him!
franc123,
Apr 25, 6:20pm
Geeze in the time this thread has been running you could have had that Laser engine pulled out and replaced, or else the gasket replaced and head checked and gone away for the weekend in it!As I suggested back on the first page.You would be far better off doing that than buying some of the nightmarishly unreliable and difficult to get parts for junk thats been recommended here by these "experts".Still giggling at some of the suggestions.
nickolaz,
Apr 25, 6:44pm
Well as I said, the garage told me the cost of replacing the engine would be more. They told me they wouldn't have been able to complete the job until next week anyway as they didn't have time and it's not I'm in a huge hurry anyway.
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