Just looking for a 'new' car for the old lady. She's after something simple and reliable, cheap to run, 1500-2000cc. Either a 4 door hatchback or a small sedan. She'd like something late 90's to early 2000's but doesn't like little bubble shaped cars (e.g. newer Demio/Jazz/Vitz etc etc). picky old bat haha. $4000 is around about what she wants to spend, but could stretch that a tiny bit further if she needs to. Suggestions please!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 1:50am
2001 or newer Punto. You just can't beat it in that price range. It will give you proper safety 4 1/2 star NCAP. Unbeatable economy and lots of nice features. Yet its still reliable and parts are easy to get and cheap.
Its 1200cc but has a comparable amount of umph to a 1.6 or 1.8 Corolla. That said you must get the twin cam 80ELX version not the single cam engine of the same displacement.
Couldn't recommend enough, miles ahead of pretty much everything else in the price range.
BTW, if you are looking for an auto thats even more reason to go for a Punto. Their CVT is fantastic and allows it to easily out perform the 4 speed auto offerings of the competition while mainting economy the others struggle to match with a manual.
If you are looking though, check in for info on what to look for and which model to get.
If she complains about the shape just get her to drive it anyway. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realise its a ton more car than pretty much anything else for the money.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 1:56am
Who said she has got a Pulsar!
snowdevl500,
Apr 17, 1:58am
Thanks. Have just had a quick browse and can't find any Punto's that meet her needs/wants. Forgot to mention it must be auto, and must be in Auckland. There is only one in her price range and it's a 2000 model, and manual, so a no-go. Will keep an eye out though.
And no she doesn't have a Pulsar. But has test driven a few and likes them, small easy to drive/park, simple, economical. At the moment she's driving a Toyota Mark II, which is slightly bigger than a Camry, and the 6cyl isn't great for her running around.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 2:01am
Plenty come up all the time in your area. Well worth waiting a couple of weeks for if need be. Realistically you are looking in the $4500 - $5500 price range but she will save the difference in fuel pretty quickly. Keep an eye on Turners as well.
I would suggest you find one at any price to go and check out (most important is to get her to drive it) so you can actually see why its worth waiting for one.
BTW, a 2000 model will do in a pinch. I just prefer the second year of production for extra piece of mind, but thats realistically me being over cautious. Never had any trouble with the 2000 model I bought.
With her needing an auto it makes the Punto even more desirable. It makes the the autos in the price range look pathetic, you will see what I mean once you drive one. especially if you find some big hills.
snowdevl500,
Apr 17, 2:07am
I see. That looks like it would've been perfect. I'll see if I can get her to come test drive one with me and go from there :)
snowdevl500,
Apr 17, 2:14am
Just showed her some pictures. She's put off by the simple fact that it's a Euro (she's only ever owned Jap cars ever since the Datsun 1600 she had in the 80's haha). See what happens though. In the meantime. anyone got any other suggestions!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 2:21am
She needs to get over that. Punto's are super reliable and parts are cheaper than most of the Japanese stuff. Good work on getting her to go for a test drive. She needs to understand that anything Japanese in that price range is going to be a massive compromise by comparison. She is either going to end up with something that is really dangerous in a crash, has high km's, is thirsty, horrible to travel in or all of the above.
Here's what you get with the Punto, compare the spec to what else you find and you will see what I mean:
4 Airbags Pre-Tensioners ABS Dual mode power steering (can be set lighter for around town) Economy of around 6l/100km for typical around Auckland use. Nice stereo with factory sub woofer. CVT with torque/power and tiptronic modes. Efficient air conditioning Properly nice interior with lots of storage. Something that handles and drives nicely.
I would recommend something else but having been down this road many many times nothing matches the Punto.
Best of luck with whatever you get!
BTW, one of the reasons the CVT is so good is that you can push a button and get power or torque mode. Say you are going up the Bombay hills with a full load of people and gear. You can select torque mode and the car will sit on exactly 4000RPM being peak torque even at full throttle. That means you can launch yourself up that hill at the speed limit (plus some if you want) without revving the car to bits or any silly gear changing etc.
If you want absolute peak power for passing you leave it in regular mode and you can have 6000RPM for passing. Its one button, easy to use and makes a huge amount of difference to a small car. Likewise CVT gets the absolute best out of the engine.
snowdevl500,
Apr 17, 2:37am
kazbanz, I'm buying the Mark II off her, so $4k is includes the money i'm giving her for the car. Like I said, she could stretch her budget a bit more, maybe to $4500-4800. She can afford to spend more but just can't justify it, since the car will just be used for her pottering around.
And thanks for all the info thejazzpionama, will definitely have to check one out!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 2:44am
Your most welcome, I used Punto's for myself and my staff, so know them inside and out really well (especially as I do my own servicing etc). If you do decide to look seriously at some feel free to come back to me as I am more than happy to help you find a good one.
cocabowla,
Apr 17, 2:46am
had the 98 pulsar slx 5 door and had no issues with it, only change i made which was just a personal preference was to ditch the steel wheels and hubcaps and put on some alloys with a bigger tyre(still in 14's not 17' bling bling ) which made it more sure footed ( lead footed male . lol)
wrong2,
Apr 17, 3:25am
rotfl
& the OP even said she was put off by bubble cars . cant stop the jazz troll no matter the restrictions placed on him!
wrong2,
Apr 17, 3:29am
a punto is a step down is size from the N15 Pulsar hatch. its on a par with a Swift or a Jazz
however, Mitsubishi Lancers go cheap. you could get her into a late nineties Lancer for under 4K eaisly
popular cars go for popular money. 4K aint much for a popular-with-kiwis car
& people are exhibiting normal human fickleness by preferring smaller cars now, allowingthose who try to milk profit for their used heap to ask even more than is realistic
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 3:44am
Snowdevl, the late 90's Mitsubishi Lancers have an appalling crash rating, off hand you are talking 1 1/2 stars NCAP vs 4 1/2 stars NCAP with the Punto, thats a huge difference, they are also very thirsty in auto (by comparison)and are generally a very average car.
Being "popular" with Kiwi's sounds good but offers you no real tangible advantage. It just means lots were imported secondhand from Japan and flogged off hand over fist here. There is definitely no advantage on availability of parts or parts price etc. You have the Italian Auto Centre up there in Auckland who can provide anything you need new or used genuine or oem for very little money.
Having run a late 90's 1.5 Mitsi Auto at the same time as a MK2 Punto I can tell you first hand the Punto is a considerably better car. Its like I said there is always a big compromise to get anything Japanese in that price range and there is usually zero advantages to the Japanese model to make it worth while.
wrong2,
Apr 17, 3:57am
desperation was almost creeping into your punto defense there jazz LOL
bit of a cheek to compare crash ratings - 5 years differance between the designs. not that "unbiased" has anything to do with our resident euro-heap apologist :-)
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 17, 4:02am
That's the whole point, 5 years newer and all the advantages for the same price, and no they arn't cheap because they are crap. They are cheaper only in NZ because we have a really bizarre secondhand market flooded with used Jap imports.
You do emphasise the point well though, that time period is right when cars started to get a LOT safer. Thats a big part why the Punto reigns supreme over small cars at that price point.
And no, no desperation here. Desperation is trying to make out a 90's Lancer has any advantages over the multi-award winning MK2 Punto.
Anyhow, enough on the subject.
phillip.weston,
Apr 17, 4:07am
I would agree that there isn't a great deal of value in a 1995-2003 shape Lancer. I had the task of finding my parents a car for $10k and there was absolutely nothing which appealed in the Mitsubishi camp at that price which met their requirements. In the end I happily got them into an ex-lease Mazda6 hatch and it ticks all their boxes and some. It's the kind of car which is going to retain its value for the next few years also.
wrong2,
Apr 17, 4:07am
no, not the "same" price Jazz
OP couldnt find one under 4K
& you dont dare mention the 95 - 99 punto , because , well you know, its a POS "bubble" heap
& where did you get the idear that Lancers were "popular". they sell for cheap compared to the same year civics & pulsars simply because they were not as popular. skim reading triggers biases something bad aye :-)
wrong2,
Apr 17, 4:09am
lol pull the other one
every post is a wall of text desperate to convince
phillip.weston,
Apr 17, 4:09am
and I would agree with Jazz that the Punto is probably one of the best to pick out of the small car class, but unfortunately people are stuck in their ways and see Toyota Corollas or similar as the only cars to buy. My only gripe with the Punto is the cheap looking/feeling interior. The blue seat/light grey plastic fantastic dash material isn't doing it a favour, however I suppose for the relatively little amount of money you would pay for one, you would have to expect at least one compromise.
phillip.weston,
Apr 17, 4:11am
He's just very enthusiastic and trying to help, and I think this is one of the cases where his suggestion is relevant.
wrong2,
Apr 17, 4:15am
well the punto is the exact size car the OP said she wasnt interested in
its jazz spam. just because he repeats it all the time is no reason to start buying into it
to a degree i guess goebbels was right
phillip.weston,
Nov 9, 9:01am
it's not quite the full size bubble car, still looks like a reasonable sized hatchback. Though I did think the motor choice was a little small considering she was looking at 1500-2000cc cars but Jazz assures us that the 16V 1200cc Punto is quite powerful.
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