18 y/o son has just got his restricted and wants a car.Has a budget of $1800.
kazbanz,
Nov 15, 1:19pm
Casper with his budget its going to come down to the individual car rather than a generic answer. Yea a corolla,pulsar,sunny,mazda 323 (familia) etc are all the type of cars that are good for a new driver but ity will come down to what you find. I must say no matter what you concider make sure it has a mechanical inspectionand do run cars you are concidering by us here because some do have problems that have surfaced with age
poppajn,
Nov 15, 1:19pm
Pedal Car.
mm12345,
Nov 15, 2:10pm
Problem with mechanical inspection is that $1800 cars are bound to have a list of age related problems (or we'd all be nuts not to be driving them - there's not much point paying more if you could easily find the perfect car for that price), If you reject cars with problems, then at $120 or whatever AA charge these days for inspection, you'll have spent the $1800 at AA and have no car at the end of the process.
papariccardo,
Nov 15, 2:10pm
I reckon an MX5 or MR2 is a good starting point. For that money you will just get an auto - which is perfect for him to learn car control before he tries to learn drifting & wheelspins - the ONLY reason they want a manual!
kazbanz,
Nov 15, 2:17pm
Im sorry I couldn't disagree more strongly. A GOOD inspector will be able to tell you if the car apears to be a time bomb or seems sound. Yep there will be normal age related stuff but a car about to explode is going to be a $1800 lawn ornament. My lad has a nissan sunny I did a PP inspection on (in fairness it was to assess it as a trade in) -c locking is goosed and the crank end seal is leaking.-I know I'm up for a few hundred dollars to fix it.
mm12345,
Nov 15, 2:21pm
Well IMO the OP needs someone with them to "pre-select" cars before paying for inspection, or as I say, they're likely to spend their money on inspections and end up with no car.
intrade,
Nov 15, 2:22pm
unless he can fix his own car then 1800$ wont get him mutch above scrap metal. the 600$ cars are now selling for 2 grand upwards.you need at least 4 grand to find something good and you cant choose mutch untill you spend 8 to 12 grand upwards.
intrade,
Nov 15, 2:24pm
there will be the odd cheap good car , but thats like cueing for the latest ipad or something . as everyone is hunting for cheap economical cars today.
mm12345,
Nov 15, 2:37pm
Yep - if I was in Akl, I'd hit the "buy now" on that very quickly - and wouldn't bother with an inspection.Even if it wasn't a runner, that car's worth good money for parts - so you wouldn't lose a fortune if taking the risk went against you. If there are a few issues, it's probably well worth fixing up. I saw one that looked far worse than that and much higher km sell for $3k at Turners the other day.People pay silly prices for old Toyotas.
alby100,
Nov 15, 2:48pm
Mk II Escort
mm12345,
Nov 15, 2:52pm
LOL - that didn't last long. Good luck with that dr.doolittle.
cpnnz,
Nov 15, 3:35pm
Try to get something with an airbag or two.
greta29,
Nov 15, 3:40pm
v6 Holden Commodore good fun cars
dr.doolittle,
Nov 15, 4:02pm
Dare I say it Kaz, you had the luxury of 'time'. If the car came in for a trade in then you didnt have to fight-off other potential buyers. The rest of us plebs have to be in quick or miss out. Ahemmmm. might take my 'new' car in for a trade -in to somewhere like.ummm, Millers Car Centre, or something like that for a trade-up to a Euro.(Cough, cough)
kazbanz,
Nov 15, 5:05pm
Sorry doctor D But a certain car yard has sold enough $1.00 reserve cheapies for under 2k -with buyers not exactly lining up to inspect the cars they were bidding on.
lazzo,
Nov 15, 5:16pm
Nissan Pulsar Honda Civic Mitsubishi Lancer & Mirage Toyota Starlet & Corolla Mazda Familia
mm12345,
Nov 15, 5:38pm
Check it out, and If it's a good one, sell it to the OP for $1800, you made $500 for "car inspection", he gets a good deal. Win all round. I presume that the seller's "172191 km waranty and lic" when translated in to english means it has a WOF and current reg. Unless you turn up and find that the photos were taken 10 years ago, or before he had an incident with a lamp post, you probably scored a bargain.
29wayne,
Nov 15, 7:31pm
Registered, warranted, no obvious damage and for a teen, not capable of exceeding 100 kph. ( I would have said 30 kph - but !)
pebbles61,
Nov 15, 10:49pm
Austin/Morris 1100/1300(ADO16)
msigg,
Nov 15, 11:02pm
pulsar,primera,laser
hfc2,
Nov 15, 11:40pm
Personally i am buying a 2.8 hilux for my daughter with bull bars, gutless reliable and tuff as nails, we t boned an idiot who pulled out in front of us in our 1997 hilux , wrote of his car, hilux all good just needed bull bars straightened. Further to this one of our hiluxs came unstuck on side of a very slippery hill , went over a 50 degree slope, rolled 15 times with 4 POB, they have serious injuries but truck held together, only ripples in bonnet and roof, could still drive truck away.
supernova2,
Nov 16, 12:10am
Lada.No one pinches em, dont go fast, solid as a rock.Yes you can all laugh now but that is the sort of basic car for a young driver IMHO.
lugee,
Nov 16, 1:46am
Skyline GT-R
daryl14,
Nov 16, 12:59pm
Maybe a normal road going car would have been able to stop in time instead of T-boneing someone, destroying their car, and potentially harming them!
Maybe a normal road going car wouldn't have slipped off a slippery hill and seriously hurt four people inside! Your daughter could be more likely a hazard to herself and others in a Hilux. These vehicles take alot more driving skill to master due to size, weight, tyres, light rear ends etc etc.
SUV's have a poor record of falling off the road. People blindly think they're bigger and tougher than everyone else. Now I've been in that boat too as I used to drive around in a Dodge Ram.
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