Subaru Legacy or Forrester Honda Accord Mazda 6 or Altenza Ford Mondeo Mitsubishi Diamante or Lancer
Or something else entirely - we need a mid-size wagon to accommodate surf boards, etc.
edangus,
Oct 2, 12:59am
Honda Accord Mazda 6 Toyota Altezza
or a trusty ol rusty ol Telstar / 626
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:00am
Yeah we're looking at 2006 or more recent so Telstar/626 is out of the equation
edangus,
Oct 2, 1:02am
How about a 530 /540 then!
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:09am
A what!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:10am
BMW
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:12am
Thanks - out of our price range unfortunately
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:12am
Personally I would go with a VW Golf, VW Passat, Audi or Skoda wagon. These are all made by VW and are mechanically the same with a different looking top on the body (if that makes any sense).
The VW product in that age group is significantly ahead of the game in terms of technology and value for money. That means you generally get a more economical car (for the amount of performance), great safety and comfort features, excellent handling, great reliability and low maintenance requirements.
Take some for a drive and see what I mean.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:13am
What is your price range!
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:14am
Up to $15,000
We've got a Golf (kids' car) and the only issue we've found is that here in the Naki parts cost an arm and a leg, even if you can find them.The Golf wagon is a bit small - Passat looks good but hard to find
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:18am
That's easily fixed, Qualitat in Auckland will ship you any part you want overnight for a very reasonable price. If you don't like Qualitat for any reason there are several other third party importers like "Speed".
The Passat is considerably bigger, that might suit well. They are a little harder to find, especially for 15K but it is doable. I would suggest don't get too hung up on the year, the Passat changed to the new mode sometime around 04/05 (I forget exactly when) so long as you get the new model and the condition/km's are good that is all that matters IMO.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:20am
BTW, not sure what model Golf you have but if its not a MK5 or later (starting 2004) you can expect quite a big improvement in the newer Golf/Passat etc. When those new generations of VW's came out they really blew everything else out of the water they were such a leap ahead (even compared to previous VW's).
That's why its important to get the new model.
Most other manufacturers are only just catching up to where VW was in 2004 with there very new models of the last year or so.
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:23am
I'm thinking the Passat changed in 2005 as there are a few 2004s on here quite cheap and then a big price jump for 2005.
I've got about 100 wagon's on my Watchlist now so will work through them tonight.So annoying to have to do this now - wanted to trade the Golf in for our new car and keep the Mitsi for the kids - always the way I suppose!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:28am
2005 sounds right, be aware that with late registrations etc you will get some of each around then. You can get a tidy new model for 15K (just) but you have to keep a sharp eye for a bargain. Well worth the effort though IMO as they are such a brilliant car.
Just look at the front lights, that's usually the quick giveaway as to the old/new model.
With regard to the Mitsubishi, if its a GDI engined model it might not be a good prospect to keep long term anyway. Unfortunately Mitsubishi and Toyota didn't manage the reliability with their direct injection engines that VW did.
If your Golf is an older automatic, just make sure you service the transmission with the correct fluid and filter regularly (say every 60'000km and use the proper VW coolant and you will most likely get a good run out of it going foward.
timmo1,
Oct 2, 1:35am
I think I saw Jazz hiding in some bushes near a Japanese car dealership recently, waiting.ready to pounce on anyone who dare consider a Japanese car
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:51am
Thanks for the advice - Golf is old and manual but does the kids well enough, and us too at the moment!We'd never spend a great deal on a first car as we have seen so many expensively "remodelled" by new drivers if you get my meaning .
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 1:52am
Ha ha - we've had good and bad with Japanese and European - luck of the drawer sometimes I think!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:55am
LOL, don't worry we have had our share of Japanese cars too, (some I quite liked, especially our NZ New Honda Accords).
But times change, in that age and price bracket the VW product is just significantly better than what else is available.
Its just how it is, its not really a subjective thing either.
When you compare value for money, economy, power, reliability, comfort, features, technology, safety, parts availability, service costs. nothing else really does as consistently well over the whole lot. Some may be better in one or two area's sure, but as for consistently better overall, not so much.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 2, 1:57am
Hard to go wrong with one of those in manual really, its probably galvanized (unless really old) so no rust and the engines in those are very simple and well over engineered so not a bad prospect to carry on with. Whats likely to break is most likely only going to be niggly stuff that won't leave you stranded.
Anyhow, enough from me. Best of luck with it all.
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 2:02am
Thanks - only problems we've had with the Golf is the front headlight clip has broken and it doesn't like huge deluges of rain (difficult to avoid in Taranaki!)
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 8:01pm
Yeah looked at that one last night - discounted as no roof bars and because it's ugly .
motorboy2011,
Oct 2, 8:34pm
all wagons are!
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 8:37pm
Not like that one .
intrade,
Oct 2, 8:42pm
with european stuffyou need ones that had flawless service history. or they brake on you , japanese stuff hese days will do the same only tuff ones where old toyotas late 80s mid 90s but even they brake eventually The more electronic there is the more expensive it will get when it does brake down, its Why i got my dad a dacia sandero in europenothing on it is electronic apart from the engine computer, even adjustable light hight is mechanical cable, Would be good if manufacturers would wake up and start making cars that dont brake again also , any manufacturer would have the chance no frills no bills so to say.
sarahb5,
Oct 2, 8:52pm
Yes and then mechanics would be able to also tell you what was wrong with your car without the assistance of a diagnostic computer but this is 2012, not 1982 and the choices of vehicles without electronics/computers are extremely limited .
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