Currently I am having a house built in Rangiora, both me and my Partner work in town, I'll be dropping her off to work on the way, I have worked out that we will be doing 358k's per week, which is 18616K's a year (This is just for work and back). Either the current Merc 190e 2.3 or my E30 325i BMW will average about 10L/100k, which works out to $80 a week or $4160 a year.
A diesel VW Golf 2.0 TDI with DSG can average 5.9L and with road tax works out to $2510 a year, so a decent saving, whatever I get will be 2005 or newer.
The Merc 190E is the car that will be deleted, my E30 is a keeper and can sit in the garage most of the time and go for a drive on weekends etc.
The car needs to be auto or DSG etc, my partner will need to be able to drive it, so a manual is out of the question.
I mostly favour Euro cars however am open to suggestion.
What do you folks recommend!
stevo2,
Jan 13, 8:10am
MX5
audi_s_ate,
Jan 13, 8:16am
You can write off that saving of $1600 per year. Almost any car 2005 or newer will cost you that much in depreciation. This is also my predicament - I commute 750km a week to work and am currently driving a boring but utterly reliable 95 corona. Can't justify spending 20k on a car doing 40k per year. Personally I find it quite hard to think of fun, auto and economical in the same vain. DSG would be the way to go but despite what Jazz thinks - a gearbox repair on a DSG is too costly for me to go down that route. In summary don't do it to save money on gas, do it because its something you'll enjoy driving , you maybe better off keeping the 190E!
vtecnet,
Jan 13, 8:18am
Actually, the Merc probably uses more then 10L/100k, its got a useless 4 speed auto that has no lockup torque converter and its doing over 3000rpm at 100k, but it got from CHCH to Nelson(Richmond) on $70. Currently its not an issue as work and back is about 100k a week at this time.
audi_s_ate,
Jan 13, 8:19am
If i was mortgage free, i'd get the Toyota 86.
sw20,
Jan 13, 8:20am
Buying a fuel efficient car when you already have a car that isn't going to depreciate any more is a false economy.
NZTools,
Jan 13, 8:22am
Spending money on a later model car just to save running costs is a very false economy.
vtecnet,
Jan 13, 8:31am
Hehe nice car, looks in good nick
sw20,
Jan 13, 8:33am
Nine years to just break even on fuel savings if you spend say $15k on a 2005 + diesel Golf. Hope the DSG doesn't shit itself in that time.
nzdoug,
Jan 13, 8:50am
+1 And a classic.
pebbles61,
Jan 13, 9:25am
Mini or 1100/1300
panelvanner,
Jan 13, 9:43am
Daihatsu Charade De Tomaso, BFYB! And 5-7L/100km even as an Automatic!
ralphdog1,
Jan 13, 10:32am
MX5. Fun. Economical. Don't buy into the hairdresser BS, was the 2nd most fun car I have had.
edangus,
Jan 13, 10:33am
Mitsi Colt Ralliart!
vtecnet,
Jan 13, 10:45am
Lol i did actually consider looking at one of those at one stage, but its not for me. My Mother drives one, not a Ralliart, but its still a COLT
esprit,
Jan 13, 10:47am
Depends what you want. Little Suzuki Swift Sports are pretty economical and can be had for semi decent money used now (Mk1s). They're a riot to drive.
Something like a later model Peugeot 306 could be a goer. There's the GTi6, but that'll only return between 7.5l/100 open road and about 9.5l/100 around town. Maybe one of the lesser models would be ok since they're all a bit of fun, they're very affordable and not a theft risk at all. The HDi ones are stupidly economical and despite not having massive power they're a very good car to drive around the twisties. For an older car they still look surprisingly fresh too :)
edangus,
Jan 13, 10:51am
Well how about the Older Ralliart Lancer/Cedia Wagons. Or the Last lot of ralliart Lancers!
I suggested the Colt as it was a heck of alot of fun to piss about in, very cheap to buy and run, I am 6ft 3 and 110Kg - I looked like a Twat, but the grin on my face was worth it.
The teeny little turbos they chuck on these Mitsi Puppys just make them a blast!
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 13, 7:46pm
How is it too costly when it costs no more than any other auto to fix! Sounds like you have been listening to the silly turkeys on here that go googling for anything they can to discredit DSG's. In a worst case scenario you can buy a reconditioned and uprated DSG here in NZ for $3500 and you are far less likely to have a worst case scenario or any breakage than pretty much any other auto of the age.
audi_s_ate,
Jan 13, 8:04pm
We have discussed this previously. I test drove a 2.0fsi dsg golf and the transmission was having serious issues I just barely made it back to the yard - car had done 52k. Was in really good condition apart from that. Sure I know not to tar all the cars with the same brush but this and a number of owners from other forums have put me off. Would love to own one under warranty though. You got a link for that $3500 trans! Include fitting!
Drivel!A maybe a few generalisations, but the conclusion, "Our recommendation in your price bracket, older vehicles (6-7 years old as a general rule) - stick with the old traditional auto or a manual transmission" is spot on unless you can afford expensive rebuilds with DSG or CVT.
fordcrzy,
Jan 14, 5:08am
get a 2006+ mx5. (the 2 liter one not the 1.8 one) they have a great auto box in them and all the airbags etc in them. they are streets ahead of the older mx5s interms of ride comfort. great cars and they hold thier value far better than any similarly priced hatch.
wrong2,
Jan 14, 5:11am
isnt that engine the same as the ford duratec !
vtecnet,
Jan 14, 5:59am
Thanks for the input guys, for now i'll stick to driving the 190e, its 2-3 months before the house is ready, so might work it out once I move, cheers
fordcrzy,
Jan 14, 7:38am
the family of engines is the MZR engine and yes it is similar to the duratec (the duratec IS an MZR engine).the ford dont use balancer shafts and the mazda 6 ones use DISI which the mx5 doesnt.
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