European cars vs Japanese?

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msigg, Oct 13, 5:46am
well my teenagers have ,pulsar and primera, both basic reliable and cheap to run, both done approx 170km, great cheap cars. Hard to beat.
intrade, Oct 13, 5:50am
dumb question but why do you want to buy a sports car looking thingy or a convertabel when you only got 3 grand!
disco_super_fly, Oct 13, 5:53am
Convertible :) Just for fun. why not!
tgray, Oct 13, 5:57am
I feel bad for the people who buy a VW on Jazz's advise.
You can say all you want, but the fact is a 15 year old Golf/Polo is almost certainly going to give you more grief than a 15 year old Toyota.
I hear the horror stories all the time from my customers who have owned one. It will give you the two happiest days of your life - the day you buy it and the day you sell it.
The average person is not an enthusiast like you are and won't be working on their own cars, and just want reliability and transport from A to B.
I have owned over 1000 cars Jazz. How many have you owned!
It's a shame you are not more open mined to people with a lot of experience in the car business, who actually know a thing or two. But no, we are all just "knuckle dragging trolls".
I have sold 98 cars since april 1st and have not had ONE call back.
That would not be the case if I listened to your advise.
intrade, Oct 13, 5:59am
because you need money for a carport or garage for a convertableyou also need money for services ,
so basically you want a fun to drive car then you have to buy a european, as i never had any fun driving in cheap chapanese cars, only get seesick with them woobely suspensions that japanese cars have when you try to drive em sporty.
tgray, Oct 13, 6:01am
Your obviously driving the wrong ones.
splinter67, Oct 13, 6:04am
I think you need to learn to drive or you might want to drive a modern jappa
intrade, Oct 13, 6:06am
i probably drive longer then you and never had a speeding ticket in my live and only 1 minor accident in total i probably also driven loads more cars and i have driven new jappas some are better but we talk 90s jappas there is non that dont woobles from that time compaired to euros.
thejazzpianoma, Oct 13, 6:09am
LOL at tgray,
I love how you have "owned" 1000 cars, what you really mean is you have peddled them as car dealer complete with the mustache.

I have only owned dozens of European cars, but I have actually OWNED them as in driven for substantial distance, paid the repairs, servicing etc.

So I actually get to see how reliable they are over time first hand and don't have to rely on customer "stories".

I am just passing on what has worked for me, call it a fluke, call me an enthusiast or whatever. I have non-enthusiast friends, family and others who have been referred to me try it with similar success. Take from that whatever you want.

End of the day, its an old car, any old car is going to have problems. To minimise those problems its all about buying a good one and maintaining it right, the Japanese don't have any magical fairy parts that are impervious to wear. Their parts wear out just the same, they are not better quality either, the VW parts in the Golf will generally be superior if anything.
msigg, Oct 13, 6:17am
Yea that honda will be a good cheap car, just think on what Intrade said about the convertible bit. But the car and drive train should be good and cheap on gas. Good luck.
robotnik, Oct 13, 6:17am
What about Mercedes Benz cars from the 1980s and early 1990s. These were over engineered and went forever, didn't they!

Sadly my W168 A-Klasse is not one of these. :(
splinter67, Oct 13, 6:27am
10 years courier driver 15 years line haul truck driver Id love you to have a turn in the 91 camry before it goes to the wreckers no wobly bits in that car until mumsy gets in lol
thejazzpianoma, Oct 13, 6:29am
While keeping a convertible outside is not ideal its not end of the world. I say this having owned several and having at times having used one as my everyday and only car.

My only real concerns with the convertibles have been rearward visibility when raining, which is not usually great, and security. I have never had one broken into but I think I have been lucky. I wouldn't generally own one if it had to live on the street at night. Although that said, I used to drive one when I was a barman and got away with it, not recommended though.
thejazzpianoma, Oct 13, 6:30am
That may well be the case but its hardly a fun alternative to a MK3 Golf Convertible. Horses for Courses. Life is for living, I had a blast out of my Euro convertibles as a youngster and any inconvenience over a Camry or similar was worth it many times over.
intrade, Oct 13, 6:34am
that reminds me the fun i had with my mk1 golf gti on 2 wheels round corners same corner my mate had done on 2 wheels with his abbart fiat ritmo.
splinter67, Oct 13, 6:38am
I hate to disagree with ya Jazz but the 3l v6 thats still quite capable of 200k is rather fun to drive especially with the badges missing off the boot a lot of quite modern cars are very surprised by the old girl and thats only the dump car I have real toys to play with its got the smallest motor in the fleet
chebry, Oct 13, 6:44am
The more you post the more I realise you know nothing about cars JDM imports have Jap/US suspension settings which give a pillow soft ride and appalling handling NZ new Jappas have NZ suspension tuning and much stiffer shocks etc to improve cornering ability and quicker steering too if you must know. But surely theres a potion you can pour over anything to fix that.
mantagsi, Oct 13, 7:24am
Hi Jazz, Interesting to hear about the Mk3 golfs - I had a mk2 diesel a while back that died, but that was expected and I don't hold it against the marque at all. I am looking to add another VW to keep my beetle company while it festers in the garage, and was quite keen on a manual MK3. What else should be looked at apart from mystery rust! Also, can I say the VR6 word! Your opinion will be valued - try to ignore my Toyota wagon in the background.
disco_super_fly, Oct 13, 7:55am
Whoa cheers for the response and debate guys ;) I think I should perhaps pay an extra wee bit and get a nissan pulsar. In terms of reliability, repairs and resale value it is probably a much smarter move than the convertible 2 seater honda.
splinter67, Oct 13, 7:58am
yup but wont be anywhere near the fun
thejazzpianoma, Oct 13, 8:06am
MK3 GTI would be my pick, even over the VR6 (lighter up front, great on gas and I prefer handling to the last word in power). Nothing wrong with the VR6 in manual though, hard to find one in auto with service history.

Just be aware that they are an old car and only the beginning of the better modern Golfs where they got rust and some of the niggly bits sorted.

Keep an eye on MK4's too though, sometimes they are not that much more expensive although a MK4 GTI while a nice car is not the high performance hatch you might expect it to be. Just a nice comfortable hatch that isn't slow.

So yeah, just buy with the careful checking and caution that you would any old car. A MK3 GTI was an amazing car back in the day, they may look dated but was a far better sorted and driving vehicle than many with a design 10 years newer.

Go drive some and see what you think!
thejazzpianoma, Oct 13, 8:10am
Sorry, mantagsi, multi tasking. you asked what else to look for.

Mostly what else that breaks in minor stuff, particularly window mechanisms (which are cheaply fixed at home if you buy the bits online). ABS units are probably the most hassle but again not end of the world if gone about correctly.

So yeah, other than rust just take the time to test every window, switch and light. Check all abs, engine, airbag lights light up as they should when you turn the key and then go out.

Engines are fairly bulletproof, but do the usual checks. With MK4 GTI's be wary of sludge buildup from poor oil or lax servicing.

Its been a while since I have played with ones that old, 00quattro00 could likely add some more things to check out that I have forgotten, although I am not sure if he is much of a fan of MK3's.

If there is work to do just make a list and price it up, no point in having one owe you MK4 money by the time you are done. I think that is the big thing with MK3's now, not much price difference to justify the extra age.
thejazzpianoma, Oct 13, 8:15am
Nissan Pulsar's of that price range are also old cars now, often well abused and can be over priced/ over rated.
If you buy one well and good, but be aware its not had some magic reliability wand waived at it. You still have to check it out well, maintain it and so on.
If I was to look at something else small and fun I would go for a 2000 or newer Punto in that price range. Its a much safer, newer and better equipped vehicle than Pulsar for the same money and is often found in better state of repair.
Been a few tidy ones go of late under 4K.
Hang, you could even get an Abarth one for loads of fun!
disco_super_fly, Oct 13, 8:28am
As opposed to a golf convertible that would be incredible difficult to resell!
austingtir, Oct 13, 8:31am
In that price range no matter what jazz spouts out you can get a decent nissan sentra/pulsar from 1990 to 2000 year model with varying engine and trans combinations.There is loads of NZ new sentras getting around at 300+kms if they are looked after SSS models even if thrashed last practically forever with maintenance.The only thing i agree with him is you do need to check them as ANY car can be a lemon.