Hi family is on a tight budget and looking for a good reliable cheap family car.We are in the south island.It has to be an auto and enough room for 2 adults 3 kids and a dog.Can anyone recommend an auction!
fordcrzy,
May 17, 3:43am
nissan pulsar or wingroad.
ralphdog1,
May 17, 3:47am
Any more clues like your budget, yearly distance, what sort of use, do you want to tow anything etc etc!
mugenb20b,
May 17, 3:48am
Auction number 475493514.
sonns79,
May 17, 4:03am
Tow bar would be handy, just looking for something to get from A to B while saving for something better trying to find something under $1500 mark.Found one good one that closes sunday but if you have spotted any deals just post an auction number in here.I know we won't get much but like I said just to get from A to B while we save for something better.
kazbanz,
May 17, 3:29pm
sonns--Im getting around 1500 for older cars with highmilage nowadays.
thejazzpianoma,
May 17, 5:08pm
Hi sonns79. I have bought some magnificent vehicles for under $1500 (properly decent stuff worth keeping for some time). There are two things that I do to get good results though.
1. I do my research well on a range of suitable vehicles and have the cash ready to go so I can be first in on a bargain.
2. I expect it to take a few weeks to find a real bargain.
3. I look for good reliable cars that are "outside the square". You see most kiwi's are brainwashed to only look for Japanese cars, that's because for years dealers have been scaremongering people into buying their stock which is made up pretty much entirely of used secondhand imports.
That means there are some phenomenal bargains around in non-Japanese stuff and these cars are often better equipped, safer, more economical etc as well as being just as reliable.
Some thoughts on stuff I would look at:
* Volvo's, specifically 850's, V40's and S40's * VW Golf Wagon (Probably others, just list anything you like here for an opinion) * Ford Escort Wagon (as in the late 1990's version, possibly a bit small)
Try to cast a wide net and still keep an eye on the Jap stuff too. In the Japanese lines some thoughts would be:
* Honda Wagon's (Orthia, Accord) * Mazda Wagons These two often get forgotten and there are a few bargains now and then. The Honda's in particular are a pretty decent vehicle to drive and travel in.
Also. in a car that cheap I would suggest you seriously look at whats stopping you buying a manual and whether this can be worked around. For example if one of the drivers can't drive a manual, get them to learn.
Buying auto only not only excludes some excellent cheap vehicles from your list (Fiats, Citroens, Peugeots etc) but auto transmissions make the car dearer to run. They will also likely be due for service in a car that cheap, at considerable cost and if they fail it will cost more than the car is worth to fix it.
I will pre-warn you now that we have a number of straight out trolls on this board that will come along and try to confuse/upset people who are considering anything European. These trolls have no experience with what they are talking about and just stir in the hope of getting a bite. So you will have to sort the genuine advice from the nonsense.
kazbanz,
May 17, 5:24pm
WHEN was the last time you went shopping for a $1500 car! My advice is based on here/now --Is yours! 3 examples--all fetched at/around $1500 91 commodore with AT LEAST 230K (Broken odo) 95 primera just shy of 200k 93 astina 170k. the stuff you could get 6 months ago for $1000 is now 1500-2k
petal_91,
May 17, 5:26pm
The original poster lives in Oamaru. There are no European car service agents in Oamaru. I would not risk buying any of these cars where there is no service agent present.
thejazzpianoma,
May 17, 5:35pm
You don't need a special service agent for a European car. I am yet to take any of my European cars to a specific brand service agent (and I must be up to car number 30 something at least). If I can service/repair anything in my carport then your local general mechanic can do the same.
Likewise when I ran a small fleet of Italian cars for work and had no time to fix them myself, they just went to my trusted general mechanic down the road.
There are very few "dealer only operations" on European cars of that age. Actually, by law they are not really allowed to sew things up like that anyway.
Best thing to do is to come back with anything specific you have in mind and we can give you a heads up on anything odd you may encounter.
petal_91,
May 17, 6:37pm
I would like to buy a Porsche Cayenne, but with the nearest Porsche agent to me being in Dunedin, I am not sure. I don't want the hassle of having to send my car to a main centre on the back of a flatbed if it breaks down - and I know a couple of people this has happened to.
thejazzpianoma,
May 17, 7:40pm
*facepalm*
sonns79,
May 17, 8:11pm
I have my eye on this 475173765
motorboy2011,
May 17, 8:40pm
to be honest id save another $1000.
thejazzpianoma,
May 17, 8:50pm
I was actually wondering about a Falcon. Not so keen on those EA's though. Plenty of Falcon experts on here who could tell you more about them.
sonns79,
May 17, 10:11pm
If we lived in a larger centre we would be okay there would be lots of choice but as many cars are pick up or the cost of shipping would be more than the car, we have to look close to home.We just need a get around because of my health probs and trips to the hospital and the fact I cant walk more than a block.Oamaru is a small place its great if your legs are fine but mine are not lol.We are just looking to get from A to B while we save for something better.We dont want to have any high cost loans.
thejazzpianoma,
May 17, 10:16pm
I think your approach is a very good one sonns79. Cast a wide net and be patient the right car will come along.
vwork,
May 18, 9:16pm
Sorry don't wish to hijack this thread but found it Interesting reading. I (too!) was avoiding all Euro brands as thought the parts/labour were extra expensive. I'm looking to upgrade my trusty 92 corolla auto hatchback 1.6 (NZ) which may be a stupid move given it's perfect running but it's been a LONG time and I have a dog and with no air con it gets really hot in the summer (well as hot as wgtn can get!).
I've been looking for a car - hatch or small - but not granny shaped! And finding it really hard to find anything japanese under say 6K even under 8K. I would love to pay WAY less than that but I barely see anything under 150K kms in the hatch and small car category any more anyway.
I probably need to go higher kms or look at european if you reckon that is a mistaken belief on the servicing/fixing! (thejazzpianoma!)
scoobeey,
May 19, 1:01am
Butt fookin ugly :(
thejazzpianoma,
May 19, 2:02am
Hey its 13 years old. Compare it to its competitors of the time (Old Swift, Yaris, early Demio etc) and its at least got some personality. None of those cars look very appealing nowadays.
msigg,
May 19, 2:11am
Your right scoodeey they are ugly too, they seem to get very untidy easily with bits falling off them.
sonns79,
May 19, 4:11pm
Cant stand those sorts of cars they are just too small and seem more expensive than some of the others around the same age.I would rather go for an older Ford or similiar, anything just that bit bigger with the extra room.
vwork,
May 27, 5:36am
Thanks for the Fiat advice (reassuring on costs) - Apart from the colour yeah I do not mind that sporty look model - ideally perhaps I may want a 4 door car but it's not often I do need it really. I am happy with either Auto or Manual - I'll see if some are around to view in Wgtn so I can see if I like them in person. Depending how much I get for my auto 1.6 92 Corolla Hatch (just 133,000km and minor scrapes only) I may have a little more to spend than I imagine. I'd want to buy before sell though - can't be without a car!
(I know some people said the Fiat you posted is a bit funny looking - I agree a little but generally i think most (cheaper) cars aren't that great looking any more. I liked the older shapes (like the corolla 92 hatch! and I like the Celica) and it seems the middle of the road early-mid 2000 cars I've been seeing don't seem to have much in the good looking range! Lots of boxy japanese imports are pretty ugly. boxy and bubble-y.
Still lookin - what's your other idea perhaps for a comparision!! THANKS!
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