I am considering purchasing from a dealer to avoid any unexpected issues such as what I had with the caldina I bought. Or at least to be covered under a mechanical warranty. How much do dealers usually knock off their prices for cash!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 6, 11:17pm
The small town thing shouldn't be an issue. I live in a city but don't like the main dealers here so have never actually used a specialist for any of my many European cars ever. The reality is any good general garage can service one.
If you like the Volvo but are still nervous of the Euro thing then a VW Golf wagon may suit you better. You can choose one of their ultra simple engine options for the ultimate in straight forward servicing. The great thing with VW is parts are cheap as chips and the likes of Qualitat can overnight you anything your heart desires by way of parts.
Just make sure with the VW you get one that has had the transmission serviced as it should. The Auto in the Golf is very good but it does need to be serviced to ensure a long life span. The engines though are about as bomb proof as you can get.
jason18,
Feb 6, 11:20pm
Not much now days Cash doesnt really mean anything. Just go and ask for a deal. Weither cash or finance it will be the same
jason18,
Feb 7, 1:22am
Na that wouldnt be to bad. pretty gutless tho. Wont be cvt so thats a bonus :)
jason18,
Feb 7, 1:46am
Worth about 3k that orthia
shelleigh,
Feb 7, 1:48am
OP I live in a small town and am looking at buying a Mk5 Golf wagon soon. Have seen so many Golf and Polo hatches here in the past few months so they can't be that bad to run/service :)
sorayaking,
Feb 7, 1:54am
True there are a few polos about here too but I can't help but wonder just like subarus if they're just cheap to buy so people do but expensive to maintain. I had considered a hatch, put roof racks on top of the car for my board. I don't rate my tie down skills though hence wanting something bigger I can fit a surfboard in.
trdbzr,
Feb 7, 2:03am
None of the Wingroad's are thirsty. Its only the 2L Avenir and 1.8L+2L Primera that is thirsty. The Wingroad is basically a Pulsar/Sunny wagon.
jason18,
Feb 7, 2:07am
2lt primera is hardly thirsty! What is good fuel economy to some people! 5lt/100kms!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 7, 2:36am
Don't buy a Polo, they are no where near the car the Golf is and economy isn't going to be that much different. The Golf wagon would be ideal as you can chuck your board and gear in without hassle yet its still not a very big car.
stevexc,
Feb 7, 2:40am
Show me a 3K Orthia with 100,000km on the clock
stevexc,
Feb 7, 12:39pm
Sorry I'll re-phrase.Show the original poster a 3K Orthia with 100,000km on the clock.Wouldn't hurt to consider a car below their price range as long as it's tidy and suitable.
shelleigh,
Feb 7, 2:26pm
A couple of tiedowns would a board in place tight. We got a couple of kayaks last year so I put a Prorack Whisbar and cradles on my Corolla wagon. The kayaks stack on top of each other and haven't fallen off so I'm sure you would be fine using tiedowns with your board. I considered a hatch too but they are just too small for me. Although the Golf wagon isn't much longer than the hatch - same wheelbase.
sorayaking,
Feb 8, 1:54am
looking at my options and I"m a bit frustrated at the lack of vehicles that are roughly what I'm looking for.everyone must be holding onto theirs as its so much more expensive to buy a newer car these days.darn.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 8, 2:41pm
I think perhaps its time you started driving some of these. Drive the Golf as a benchmark and then I suspect your decision will be remarkably easy.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 8, 2:43pm
Thats a hang of a lot of money for an old and very average wagon. To give you an idea, I paid $1350 for my 1999 Fiat Marea station wagon with similar km's. My Marea is a top spec one with climate air, dual airbags and lots of other fruit.
bellky,
Feb 8, 2:46pm
14% of posts in this thread are by jazzpianoman. no surprises there then.
sorayaking,
Feb 8, 2:54pm
I'm a bit limited for time is all, as I have no car I have to organise which I want to view in christchurch while I'm there on the weekend. I have literally no car and am reliant on others at the moment till I get a new one. It's driving me rather crazy.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 8, 3:01pm
Just remember its an expensive purchase, many a time I have seen people bow to the time/convenience pressure only to have spent thousands more than they needed to on a car that was not that great.
I appreciate where you are coming from though.
kazbanz,
Feb 8, 3:12pm
Sora I'd like to make a suggestion to you. Buy yourself a $500 ish car even up to $1000 Then the pressure is off. This means you can take your time searching out the best bang for buck for YOU. Incidently -if you actually have wheels that means you can look much further afeild. You will likely find that the same car in say Hamilton works out hundreds even thousands cheaper than one down your way.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 8, 3:16pm
+1 You could buy something really nice like this http://www.turners.co.nz/Vehicles/Pages/Car.aspx!RefId=981071 and use a bit of the saved cash for a mean surf trip while driving it home. Once you know what cars you like you can just get a local mechanical check done then you are pretty safe to bid sight unseen if need be.
Also. I have seen some pretty good $500 cars sell on the west coast over the last few weeks.
Worth thinking outside the box.
sorayaking,
Feb 8, 3:17pm
I have heard that kazbanz. Someone said go buy a car down dunedin and you'll pay 1000 less. I would buy a little shitta car but I do need it to get me back over from chch and I don't know I'd trust a shitty car to do that lol.
usdefault,
Feb 8, 4:41pm
"Looking for something economic, and between 1500-2L. Don't need anything gruntier than that"
And that Caldina looks well overpriced.
sorayaking,
Feb 8, 5:06pm
you think! I wasn't sure but looking and comparing others it seems ok for the kms and the condition. I don't need anything gruntier than a 2L but if it just so happens to be a bit more then I'm not hugely worried. It's not going to cost what my 4wd turbo wagon did to run and thats mainly what I am taking into account.
sorayaking,
Feb 8, 7:09pm
do pre-purchase inspections give you a roundabout estimate of the vehicles worth too! I can't remember, I would assume sellers would be ok with me paying for it to go through one if I purchase privately unless they have something to hide.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.