"ADVICE ON CARS PLEASE"

Looking for some advice on different cars.We are wanting something for a family of 4 that is economical to run and will last us a few years.These are currently on our watch list at the moment.A Subaru Impreza 2003, milage 103,000km $9,000, 1500cc, 1 owner.Mitsubishi Lancer 2003, milage 68,000, $10,000, 1830cc, 3 owners . Help!.Open to any other suggestions please.

Forget about Mitsis andSubarus if you want a long lasting reliable car.Best to look at Toyotas ideally Corollas.

Those two are absolute terrible choices.

Main car or second car! If its going to be the main one you will find that either aren't much good as family cars, as you wil discover when you load them up to go away somewhere. Far better to be looking at the midsize sector.

I would be looking for a good condition 2004+ mondeo wagon (manual only) the autos are awful though.

I wouldn't reccomend either. If its a sedan you want then buy a nissan bluebird or a sunny -2002-2005for the same money

Nothing wrong with the lancer, they will do 300,000km looked after. They are one of the better mitsi.

if you want a sedan then get a honda acccord euro.

Though being 1800cc suggest its the jap import. That money should be able to get a low kms NZ-new 2.0 or 2.4 VR-X.

Daughter and SIL just bought a 2008 Mitsi Lancer wagon 2.4 auto, NZ new, good service history for 8.5k. Nice car and far nicer than the Corollas we drove for similar money.

toyota corolla or honda accord would be beter in my opinion.

Hi everyone . thank you so much for all of the advice that you have given . this definitely will be of great help plus some guidelines to help usa look out for!.Thank you all again!.

Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla are your best bet. Mitsubishi Lancer 2003 1800cc will possible be a GDI motor which could mean trouble.(Type in GDI in the serch function) if you want a Mitsubishi Lancer then look at the NZ New 2000ltr as phillip.westen recoments.

Toyota but corona not rola as 2.0l engine beter for family driving

Pffft, Toyotas have had an UNdeserved exclusive reputation for reliablilty for years. Look at newer reliability ratings, and Toyota hasn't been there.

Go for something Japanese for sure, but pick the right one!

I ran a 2002 Corolla up to 150K, and it needed a number of repairs, most being under warranty -thank goodness, because Toyota parts are EXPENSIVE - actually more than some European car parts (including our current BMW). My father also had a 3.0 Surf which cost so much is repairs he vowed never to have another. He now drives a BMW which has cost him far less, and has been so good he's had it for 13 years! (I'm not endorsing you buy a BMW!) My wifes 1995 Impreza 2.0 (NON-turbo) we ran up to 320,000 with just minor servicing, clutch brakes etc, and 1 breakdown - a fuel pump at 315,000. We only sold it to get a bigger car when we started a family. She is a Midwife, so it has to be reliable! You need to research each model you look at, as EVERY manufacturer makes some dogs and lemons. Toyota is certainly no exception to that - they have had some real dogs that even the dealers won't touch.

Any car with a lot of features is more likely to cost money in repairs. The likes of top end Europeans with 10 airbags and stability control and all that have so much more to go wrong, that sometimes it will.

The good reliability studies actually mention this - Toyota Corollas used to have very good reliability ratings, because there was NOTHING in them - the reliability studies count ANY defect, so if a electric window switch failed, it was a defect, as was a major fault.

Buy a car on the merits of that EXACT model, and it's condition. Get the chassis model number and jump on Google. Be aware of international differences (e.g. US model Honda Odysseys are NOT the same as our japanese ones - the US ones are crap!).

A lot of people have preconceived ideas about what is a good buy, but actually have NO CLUE what they are talking about. Vague generalistions about brand etc are of no help

In the US, Honda and Subaru have been considered the pinnacle of reliabitly for years. But you STILL have to research each EXACT model.

Don't listen to stories about I knew a guy who's sister had one and she said....

As far as economy goes, a smaller engine is NOT alway cheaper to run. The weight of the car and the design of the drivetrain/engine plays a major part. Talk to people you know about thier cars and what problems they've had over what time periods.

Someone mentioned GDI - they can be trouble, as can Nissans "Neo" direct injection engines. Good things to avoid are generally direct injection engines, turbochargers and CVT transmissions (although these aren't all bad - talk to a transmission specialist if you are looking at one).

Be aware of cambelts that are due soon too - they can be expensive, and not all are OK until 100K (usually they should be done at 5 years anyway!), some are 4 years and 60K or 80K depending on model.

Good luck!