Yet another "Help me choose" thread: Ideal car for around A$7000.

Hbriz

Ballroom Blitz
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Messages
5,649
Location
Wollongong, Australia
Car(s)
'07 Megane dCi
It's been a long time coming, but within the next 3 months I will have to buy my own car. The criteria is simple: I don't care what sort of car it is, but it has to be cheap to run, insure and service, have a manual gearbox and cost hopefully less than A$7000.

I am asking for advice on my current options and any other recommendations you may have.

Firstly, here is my current shortlist:
VW Golf IV: cheap to buy and insure, but servicing is likely to be pricey.
Peugeot 206: cheap but French. And insurance for these is sky high for some reason.
Ford Fiesta Mk5: this would be a great option if I am lucky enough to find one within budget. They are in high demand second hand.
Ford Focus Mk1: more expensive than the other options, but a good car so it makes the list
Citroen Xsara: cheap. Other than that, they lack the Citroen flair that i would like if I were going to put up with a Citroen.
Holden/Opel Astra G: I've heard some horror stories with these, but they are almost an infinite resource second hand, so it would be easy to find a cheap and decent one.
Renault Clio: I could even get a Renaultsport model within budget at a stretch, so for that alone it has to be a consideration.


A few less sensible options have crossed my mind, which I would appreciate advice on:
Alfa Romeo 156: the pros and cons of this choice can be summed up very simply - it's an Alfa Romeo.
Late model Saab 900/early 9-3: I don't know much about these, thoughts?
Volvo S40: any problems that would put me off these?

If anyone wants to help, try using Carsales .com.au to find prices/suitable cars.

Any help would be appreciated :)
 
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why there isnt HP/KW search in carsales? would be easier to choose..
 
I wouldn't buy the Astra G for the reason you said- the horror stories are common. I wouldn't go for anything french/the VW either, not relaible enough and to service/repair them is expensive (with the VW, timing belt changes are really expensive)

No bad reports on the Fords from what I know, either of them would be a good choice. Try and strike a balance between a car you like and a relaible/cheap car- going to either end of the extreme will just annoy you and lose you money in the long run.

Good luck with your searching!!!!! :)

EDIT: oh yeah, don't buy anything without a good service history/receipts/log books. Seems like a stupid thing to say, but the amount of people I know who haven't and have been stung by that decision sucks.

Also, some car sales links (shortended because the site doesn't like the carsales URL). Some of these may be a fair bit out of your way, but they are ideas(and you may be willing to travel or a good car- we did for my sister and it paid off!):

http://bit.ly/ie2V7l <- 2005 Fiesta LX in green, no mention of any service history/log books though.

http://bit.ly/e7uOeh <- 2004 Fiesta Zetec in black, full service history according to the ad. Looks pretty good.

http://bit.ly/giSBpM <-- 2002 Focus LX with full service history and low kms. Does make me a bit suss how low the price is, but looks nice in the ad.

Hope some of these help you out!
 
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Cough *Commodore* Cough. Seriously, easy to service, not bad on insurance, heaps of parts around. Can be goos fun to drive.

edit: My mate bought a Astra that hadnt been started in 3 years. we put in 5l of petrol and jump started it. fired straight away, been going fine for 6 months now.
they are quite a nice car. no "horrors" yet
like it was when we picked it up:
40579_1463731807765_1667593213_1151299_5938659_n.jpg

now:
38926_1463732487782_1667593213_1151308_7856263_n.jpg


Paid 1k, it has 56,000km.
 
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Miata? I don't know how much they cost over in Australia.
 
Cough *Commodore* Cough. Seriously, easy to service, not bad on insurance, heaps of parts around. Can be goos fun to drive.
Problem is finding one with a manual. I'm sick of driving my parents autos, it's the main reason I'm buying a car to be honest.

I wouldn't buy the Astra G for the reason you said- the horror stories are common. I wouldn't go for anything french/the VW either, not relaible enough and to service/repair them is expensive (with the VW, timing belt changes are really expensive)

No bad reports on the Fords from what I know, either of them would be a good choice. Try and strike a balance between a car you like and a relaible/cheap car- going to either end of the extreme will just annoy you and lose you money in the long run.

Good luck with your searching!!!!! :)

EDIT: oh yeah, don't buy anything without a good service history/receipts/log books. Seems like a stupid thing to say, but the amount of people I know who haven't and have been stung by that decision sucks.
I wouldn't go near something without a full service history. And yeah, that's the only reason I'm put off by many of the Euro offerings - they cost a shitton to fix if they go wrong. But, if it is a car I really like, I am more inclined to not mind spending money on it. Hence today I'm going out to look at a Renaultsport Clio. It's due for a major service, but it is very cheap, to a point that sort of more than makes up for it. And if the timing belt is replaced then, which it will have to be, then I shouldn't have to worry about it for the rest of the time I own the car. So hopefully the only things to go wrong will be cheap.

Thanks for the links too, if I can get a good price on a Fiesta it would be top of my list. But at the moment they're a bit out of my price range.

Cheap to run, insure, and service? Check. Cost less than $7,000? I'm sure some over there do. Manual? Most are manual, automatic available. Tons of fun? Check.

Don't forget to factor the anti-gay bar into the $7,000.

:D
I'd love an MX-5. A lot. But unfortunatley, they are very pricey. And, I will need back seats occasionally. But it is very tempting.
 
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I'd love an MX-5. A lot. But unfortunatley, they are very pricey. And, I will need back seats occasionally. But it is very tempting.
Really? A first gen is over $7,000? A first gen can be had, in daily-able condition, for under $3,000 (if you look and deal well enough, under $2,000) here. I know, I know, it's an old car... My mother's is a '94 and has over 140,000 miles. It's her daily driver, it's extremely reliable and durable. This is not a rare case, but rather the typical case for MX-5s.

I'm not trying to say, "OMG YOU MUST GET AN MX-5". It's fine to not want one. I'm just sharing information I have from having been an MX-5 owner and enthusiast for many years now. :)
 
Really? A first gen is over $7,000? A first gen can be had, in daily-able condition, for under $3,000 (if you look and deal well enough, under $2,000) here. I know, I know, it's an old car... My mother's is a '94 and has over 140,000 miles. It's her daily driver, it's extremely reliable and durable. This is not a rare case, but rather the typical case for MX-5s.

I'm not trying to say, "OMG YOU MUST GET AN MX-5". It's fine to not want one. I'm just sharing information I have from having been an MX-5 owner and enthusiast for many years now. :)

They start at around $6000 here, for a high-milage beat up 1989 model. I don't want a 20+ year old car, the earliest I'd like to go is around 1995. But the cheapest 1995 MX-5 for sale here at the moment costs over $8500, and that ones very cheap compared to others.
 
Well, I guess this topic comes to a close now, as I've but a deposit down on the Renault. It was a deal I couldn't resist, and I should be picking it up on Monday. :D
 
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