any suggestions ?, mum dad and 3 teenage children, so needs to be roomy, and reliable, thinking Toyota camry maybe even euro and vw passet
stevo2,
Jan 13, 10:47pm
Toyota Camry, Nissan Sylphy, Honda Accord,
monaro17,
Jan 13, 10:53pm
Nissan cefiro or maxima
robotnik,
Jan 14, 12:34am
Try a Ford Falcon, maybe an AU model around 2000ish. Very reliable, maybe a bit heavy on brake pads and discs but nothing much else to worry about. No comparably priced Euro or Jappa will be able to transport 5 people in such comfort.
jason18,
Jan 14, 12:41am
Yeap I was thinking a falcon. Nice and wide in the ass end. I have a 06 falcon wagon you can have for 2.5k :)
msigg,
Jan 14, 1:24am
The best is a camry or such like, A Nissan Maxima is also an excellent choice,has one of the best engines in the world, Holden/falcon, smaller is the nissan primera which is excellent as well, Some very good Honda euro out there too, best get out there and do some test drives.
bwg11,
Jan 14, 2:24am
The Camry, Maxima or Falcon/Commodore would be good, certainly not the Nissan suggested in #6. As a parent you have an obligation to look for an minimum of safety features, at least multiple air bags and ABS.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 14, 3:11am
I wouldn't be in a rush to get a Passat for 5K, 9K yes (new model, much newer, much better, much more reliable). 5K no.
There are some very good Audi's and VW's that come up in the price range, but that series is a bit dearer for a major service and that service is bound to be due so you would be looking at spending another 2K to get that done. Although, in fairness most cars in the price range will be due for at least 1K worth of work.
If you don't care what it looks like and you want room, reliability, comfort and low running costs for 5K. I would buy a Fiat Multipla in really good condition. Fantastic vehicle, most won't like the looks though and your teenagers may well disown you.
Otherwise, I would consider adding 2-3K to the pot (even if you have to borrow it) and buy in the next price range up. Then you could look at something really nice like a V50 Volvo, new generation Passat etc.
5K is an annoying price range in that most vehicles are getting a bit too old. You could try your luck with a C200 Mercedes of 2002ish vintage or similar but most cars, Japanese, European or otherwise are going to be needing attention periodically in that age group. Also most will need a considerable amount done at purchase to bring maintenance up to where it should be. The catch with all this is that it can be pretty easy/quick to burn through a few thousand that could have bought you the newer car with more life left in it and less to be done upon purchase.
Best of luck with it all.
franc123,
Jan 14, 3:19am
I'd look at Mondeos, excellent rear seat room for a midsize car, much more engaging to drive than a Camry, or most other similar Jap cars of the era for that matter particularly if manual, and far better safety features than 1994 Cefiros and the like lol. You will easily get an 02-03 model for the budget or even 05 or 06 with high kms BUT make sure they've had good service. A later AU Falcon could be a good alternative especially if you want to tow or you just like RWD. You don't need to be going back beyond 2000.
mojo49,
Jan 14, 3:31am
Paid $3500 on TM for my 2001 NZ new Nissan Maxima done 123000Km a year ago. Hard to get a better buy. Reliable, strong, roomy, comfortable, not too much fancy electronics, good resale. Just sold my 97 Maxima done 220000km for $1500. Paid $2500 2 1/2 years ago including new front discs and new starter and done 60000km in it since then. Cheap, reliable, safe motoring.
motorboy2011,
Jan 14, 8:34am
Stagea. Not any more room in the back seats compared to any other med size Nissan but a huge amount of room behind them for stuff.
chutneyman,
Jan 14, 6:06pm
D0NT touch a $5k Honda. You will regret it.
Had One Never Drive Another
djrandomguy,
Jan 14, 6:20pm
seconding a 406 Hdi, must be manual, auto's are ok, not the best trans though. engines will do 500,000 k's. Diesel is near $1 per litre currently, they don't rust, have aged well and are fairly priced on trade me. Look for service history & pressure test cooling system.
trogedon,
Jan 14, 6:32pm
Brother n law bought a Honda Accord for $100 off a workmate. It went well for years.
teamgjt,
Jan 14, 11:18pm
Thanks all, hubby posted the question. I think a Mondeo could be the go. We are looking for something with less than 100K on the the clock. I'm thinking we might need to chuck another few K at it to get what I want ;-)
extrayda,
Jan 15, 1:19am
Another vote for that model Cefiro - I had a 97 2.5, sold it at 190,000ks. Next to no issues with it. Apart from . they do rust in the front cross member under the radiator (not too expensive to repair). Mine had 2 front and 2 side airbags, which I thought wasn't bad for a 1997 car. Not cheap on gas, but cheap to own.
extrayda,
Jan 15, 1:19am
Newer one would probably be better as far as wear and tear and potential rust goes.
richardmayes,
Jan 15, 3:02pm
The Nissan suggested in comment #6 is a big, solid, 3-box, 4 door saloon car and I would feel pretty safe in one of those regardless of the number of air bags contained. Precious little practical difference between one of those and a similar age Camry or Falcodore.
Looking out the front window, and slowing down a bit BEFORE you get into a situation where ABS has to activate, is usually an option.
(I walked away from a big nose to tail crash once, my 1970s Triumph vs a 2003 Honda CR-V. My boot was completely crushed but all 4 doors still opened and petrol tank was undamaged. Honda front end was badly out of shape, but none of its myriad airbags went off.)
Design for safety is a positive thing and it has indeed come a long way, but remember the hype exists in order to sell new cars.
shorebee,
Jan 16, 3:17am
maxima nz version 04-08 sub 150ks, sonata is very spacious and get longevity from the 2.4 or 3.3 same vintage and ks, to get 5 years and 100ks out of them
next-to-normal,
Jan 16, 3:28am
Cefiro 2 litre were solid rentals, 34 mpg heap of grunt for a 2 litre v6
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