I've had a great run out of the Ford Festiva 1.3L.My runaround has gone for years with little more than regular oil changers. Slow and boring and not particularly crash safe apparently though.
phalanax,
Apr 5, 9:20am
Corolla.
ralphdog1,
Apr 5, 9:40am
Jazz.where are you!
flybye_in_a_rx7,
Apr 5, 10:37am
suzuki alto, or a 1L starlet
clark20,
Apr 5, 10:46am
Yeah, were is he! He didn't say nice.
frances1266,
Apr 5, 10:46am
I'm in Auckland.
caterpillar2003,
Apr 5, 11:55am
Toyota great as can get parts and they never die.
cjohnw,
Apr 5, 11:59am
Oh god, it's gonna be Fiat Uno soon.
sr2,
Apr 5, 12:14pm
Here he comes.
angelab,
Apr 5, 12:58pm
small, reliable, economical, ! Go with Fish2000 if you aren't going to crash. If your sister is Helen Keller then spend some more money, look at crash data and buy a 5k echo.
kcf,
Apr 5, 8:46pm
Corolla, Mazda 323, Nissan Sentra/Pulsar.Should be able to get an ok example for $2k.Starlets are popular, so you probably will struggle to find a good one for $2k.
Any $2k car will be a gamble though, as you're looking at a car that is most assuredly in it's twilight years.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 6, 3:26am
Yes cast a wide net in this price range, well said kazbanz.
Now that said given a choice, Fiat Punto would be my pick. Parts are stupidly cheap and easily available. You don't have to worry about rust as the car is galvanised. The engines are bomb proof and really economical.
Depending on the engine option you can potentially have economy and plenty of power as well.
Just be aware that for that price you are looking at 90's models so they are not the super safe machines the later ones are, but they are no worse than any of the other contenders for that much money. I would also rather be in the Fiat in a crash than a Dahatsu, Suzuki or some of the other lightweights of the era.
Best to post here any that you are looking at so we can give you a heads up about the particular model as there are a number of spec and engine options with 90's Punto's.
ninja_man,
Apr 6, 3:59am
iv got a lancer for sale if you want it
tigra,
Apr 6, 5:08am
Had to laugh the other day at the beach I sawa real old 1982 Starlet I used to own back late-80s Was an ex rental when I got it at about 98000km and over 3 years the only repair I did was the CWP. Spoke to the current owner and he showed me its now done over 300,000km - hes had it for 3 years. LOL . Its stil the same Dk Blue paint
fordcrzy,
Apr 6, 8:37am
any car for $2k is gonna be crap.you want cheap AND reliable! pick one.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 6, 8:47am
Punto MK1 for $2000 should be both if you pick sensibly. Go with a FIRE motor example and they are practically bomb proof.
cjohnw,
Apr 6, 11:19am
Told ya. The Fiat drug addict appears from under the troll bridge.
But about 30 years too late
kcf,
Apr 6, 8:47pm
Not always true.Your risk of getting crap is certainly higher if you've got a budget of $2k, but it isn't a certainty.
My current daily driver is a $2k Corolla wagon.It's immaculate inside and out, drives nicely, and my maitenance costs on it so far have been one v-belt, and replacing the clamp that runs over the top of the battery.It's no supercar, but it serves the purpose of daily driver perfectly, plus being a wagon it carries lots of stuff when required.
This is not to say that every cheap car I've bought has been good.I had a Fiat Uno and a Toyota Cressida that were utter lemons.Bastard cars the pair of them.
superdave0_13,
Apr 6, 10:15pm
Out with it then!
tigra,
Apr 6, 11:38pm
Bought a 93(189000km) Avenir at Turners3 years ago for well under $2000 and its been pretty good.Apart from usual things at WoF time, wiper blades, brake pads and tyres its been quite reliable.Had to fit a starter. Only repair in that time,. OK its untidy and lots of dents etc but its great as a Gofer car and aircon is like Sth Pole.
frances1266,
Apr 7, 10:31pm
Tks for your help.Could someone check out Listing 365995477 for me please and give me your thoughts on this car.Many thanks.
kcf,
Apr 7, 10:38pm
I wouldn't buy a Lantis myself.They don't have a very good reputation for reliability on average.I've not had much luck with the automatic's on the early 90's Mazdas either, have seen quite a few of them fail.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 7, 10:39pm
It dosn't fit your criteria for economical, even though its better than the thirsty pig V6 versions its still a very thirsty car for its size. I know they look appealing to the eye but I think you can do a lot better.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 7, 10:40pm
How many km's a week are you doing frances and what sort of running i.e city/open road or mixed!
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