Buying a used car, comparasion between countries.

sifu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
3,385
Location
Finland
Car(s)
-11 BMW F11 528i Sport
Hi,

I am thinking about buying mi self a new car, well used one. Car im now driving is a -87 Citroen Visa with a 1.1 liter engine. So i think all more modern cars are a step in the right direction. I have about up to 3,5k Euros to spend on it and i was wondering what kind of cars would i get from other countries? So requirements are:

Hatchback/Sedan no matter
1996+ so it should be no more than 10 years old.
more than 40 horsepower (visa has it)
Quite original condition, idd like to tweak it to my taste.
it should be quite economical cos i dont have large piles of money hidden in the matresses.Quite in the means of power over savings :D
Im from Finland and i know that finnish people know how rubbish cars ill get for that money, but its the max ive got to spend.

So for users from other countries than Finland, make me miserable and post some cars in the price range which will be unachievable for us in the northern country. Im just curious, ill be back moaning about the taxes in here and in Denmark also, cos i know they are as crossed about it also.
 
I'd buy a Peugeot 106 Rallye.
 
golf gti.

job done.
 
golf gti.

job done.
If you'd buy a Golf GTI from 1996 an onwards and pay a maximum of 3500 Euro the only one you get is the crappy Mk 3 version.
 
Ok in Slovenia, you could get something like this:
- AlfaRomeo GTV 2.0 1982
- AlfaRomeo GTV 2.0 1996
- AlfaRomeo Spider 2.0 CABRIO 1996
- Audi 100 quattro 1992
- Audi A-4 1.8 1996
- BMW - 700 1963
- BMW 3 Cabrio 1995
- Citroen Xsara Break 1.6 i CDC 1999
- Fiat Coupe 2.0 turbo plus 1995
- Ford Capri 1978
- FORD MONDEO 2.0 16V GHIA 1999
- Honda Accord Coupe 2.0 ESi 1997
- Hyundai Accident gls 1.5 1999:p
- Hyundai Coupe 1.6 KLIMA 1999
- Jeep Willys 1940
- Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 LIMITED EDITION 1995
- Mazda MX-5 1992
- Mercedes G 23 1991
- Mercedes razred C 180 1995
- Mercedes razred S 300 SE 1986
- Mitsubishi Carisma 1.6 16V 1999
- Nissan 300 ZX 1993
- Renault Laguna 1.6 16V RXE 1999
- Renault Safrane 2.5 1999
- Subaru Legacy Wagon 2.0 1997
- Toyota Celica 2.2.GTI 1992
- Volvo 240 GL 1979
- Volvo 480 ES 1988
- Volvo V-70 2.0 T 1997
- VW Corrado 2.9 VR6 1993
- VW Golf Cabrio 1.8 i 1995
- Zastava 750 1968

I picked out some interesting and some not so interesting from a website that sells cars here.
 
If you had lived in Israel, you'd have a choice of some 750 cars......
Link
enjoy looking at hundreds of old Mazdas and Fiats :p
 
If you'd buy a Golf GTI from 1996 an onwards and pay a maximum of 3500 Euro the only one you get is the crappy Mk 3 version.

Not in the US. 3500 Euros = 5135 USD as of today.

Mk 3, but VR6, not I4: http://dallas.craigslist.org/car/519771779.html

Mk 4: http://dallas.craigslist.org/car/520859988.html

Here's what you can get in my city alone for $5100 USD:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/search/car?query=&minAsk=min&maxAsk=5100&addTwo=

Just a random selection:

1997 Mazda Miata (MX-5) - $4500
2000 Mitsubishi Galant - $3000
2003 Ford Mustang V6 - $5000
1997 Nissan Altima GXE - $2950
2001 Mitsubishi Galant ES - $4299
1996 Volvo 850GLT - $2950
2003 Ford Focus SE - $4500
1997 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0L (Bora to you guys) - $2950
1996 BMW 328i Sedan with leather and sunroof - $4995
1996 Mazda 626 - $1500
1999 Volvo S70 - $4900
1997 Volvo 960 - $3900
1996 Passat TDI Wagon - $4100
1998 Cadillac Catera (Opel by another name) - $4800
1996 VW Passat TDI - $3000
1996 BMW 740iL - $4700
1997 Mercedes Benz C280 Sport - $4995
1997 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor - $4288
1998 AUDI A4 - $3900
1999 Audi A6 Avant quattro - $4250
1997 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas - $5000

Remember that most of these come with what you Euro guys consider the "big" engines, so they're more powerful than the base versions you get there.

Cars are cheap in the US. And in my state, the vehicle sales tax is only 6.25%, paid only once on the sale of the vehicle. Yearly inspection and registration is about $100.
 
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Some examples from Poland

all cars around 3500 Euro

-1998 Alfa Romeo 156
-1998 Smart FourFour :)
-1999 Opel Astra
-2000 Peugeot 206 diesel
-1990 Mercedes E300
-2001 Fiat Punto II
-2000 VW Golf
-1996 Volvo S40
-1997 Opel Omega Sport
-1997 Ford Mondeo
-2002 Skoda Fabia
-1997 Chrysler Voyager
-2005 Fiat Panda
-2005 Citroen C2
-2001 Opel Corsa
-1987 Toyota Land Cruiser
-1990 Jaguar XJ40
-1990 VW Corrado G60
-1991 BMW 318i Cabrio
-1991 Pontiac Firebird
-1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee
 
Hey, VW put a GTI badge on it, so it must be a GTI. :p

Yes, we had the GTI and the GTI VR6.

If you want to get down to it, there was only ONE real GTI, the Mk 1, and those are dirt cheap here. A quick glance through the local CL shows:

1984 VW GTI $700
 
2001 Y Reg FORD Mondeo 2.0 Ghia
5 Doors, Manual 5 speed, Hatchback, Petrol, 127,000 miles, Metallic Blue, 3 Owners. Full MOT, ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Anti theft system, Cruise control, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Foglights, Electrically adjustable seats, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Remote locking, Radio/CD. ?2,495 p/x welcome.
mondeo.jpg

For the price FTW.
 
Just one problem with it, steering wheel on the wrong side... ;)
 
You haven't specified if you want a big car or a small one?

If you want to stick to small cars, may I suggest a VW Polo 1.9 SDI (ideal for economy) or a TDI (if you want more power). I've driven an SDI and is quite nice - 64bhp but had no problem hitting 115mph on the highway. Cruising at 80 is really nice. And the fuel economy - if you drive really carefully you can get 4l /100km! Realistically, you will get about 4.5l on the highway and 5.5 in the city.
You can find VW Polo SDI-s for this price in most european countries. It is very comfortable and reliable.
Performance is an issue though - 64bhp is not very much and it's matted to a short-gear gearbox. There's also quite a lot of bodyroll. Nevertheless, it is still a great city car - economical, safe(-ish, you don't want to be hit by an SUV) and I think it looks good too.
 
Because of low mileage every year (15k a year) Diesel is out of my range, diesel taxes in here do the trick. Sizewise, preferably small than huge. 306 peugeot or smth like that in size should do the trick. Bigger than visa still :D
 
Man you can buy some awesome stuff for no money in other countries. Going by Spectre's maths it would be about $5500 here in Oz which would get you very little really. Well perfectly reliable daily transport but nothing cool like an Alfa or anything.
 
well ill use Golf VR6 as an example, 1997 100k miles on the clock. 7100?
another example, xj6 which is mentioned in here 150k miles -88, 3500?. -96 one costs 14300?
 
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I have to agree to avoid the VWs of the 90s. Unless your getting a Corrado theirs nothing available thats worth the headache that is a 90s VW. The 80s cars are much much better in about every way but crash safety, road noise, and aerodynamics.

Personally i think the late 90s Miatas aren't a bad idea for a 2 seater, i wouldn't take the mkii MR2 over a older mki MR2, so i wouldn't go with MR2s in your year range, so of course then miata miata miata!

Nor would i go with Mercedes as its well known that 1994+ are a world of snot compared to the pre 94/95 models which were some of the best engineered cars in the world.

The BMWs of the 90s seem to be pretty good cars, a 5 series with the racey 2 liter engine might be in the price range and economical enough, as well you could just bite the bullet and go for a 5 or 7 series with the "40" designated v8 (540i, 740i) those are usually really good deals stateside! They offer about the most wheelspin per dollar out of anything you can get from "Das Vaterland."


As Spectra mentioned in a thread awhile back if you want a reliable, great to drive Jaguar, the 95-97 XJ6s are about the best things you can get.

One more option as far as luxury car may be the 95+ Subaru SVX, its important to look for at least a 1994 as all the ones earlier then that start undergoing terrible transmission failures at about 100k(miles), the 95+ will go on at least as long as any other car. With that said if you are interested at all in the SVX then make sure to look at ones exclusively with the Tan interiors, the gray interiors are about the most desperate and depressing places in the world, whereas the Tan interiors are about the nicest, especially for anything Japanese. In a nutshell the SVX is probably my favorite daily driver, with the best overall dynamics, to ever come out of Japan. If you like Subarus then of course the original 2.5 WRX falls in that year range, or if you want a cheap rally car the legacy wagons w/ awd of that era can be had for under 2k USD and completely litter the leader-boards of amateur rally races, their just not pretty or very interesting unless you really like rallying.

Thats about all i can think of, just some food for thought :)

If you want to get down to it, there was only ONE real GTI, the Mk 1, and those are dirt cheap here. A quick glance through the local CL shows:

1984 VW GTI $700

The 1.8 and 2 liter mkii GTIs really do have their own appeal, and their not that much heavier then the mki all things considered. I'm tempted to argue with you about the approprietness of the GTI badge on the MKV, it is a very good car, but i think it could be agreed on that the real purpose of the MKV chassi is to have created the 2nd gen R32. Just try to trust me on this, that is a seriously good car in many more ways then simple numbers can express.
 
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Man you can buy some awesome stuff for no money in other countries. Going by Spectre's maths it would be about $5500 here in Oz which would get you very little really. Well perfectly reliable daily transport but nothing cool like an Alfa or anything.

Agreed. For that money in small cars, you'd get mid-late 90's Nissan Pulsars/Toyota Corollas and other fairly boring 1.6L hatches. Maybe a little later (around 2000, maybe early 2000's) if you're prepared to look at Korean.

Here if you're after value for money for a car, you buy base model large Aussie cars. Since they've got big thirsty 6 cylinder engines, they depreciate quite heavily, and you would find a VT Commodore (97-2000) or AU1 Falcon (98-2000) for ~$6000AUD. Probably find a ~2000 model Mitsubishi Magna as well.

Small cars hold their value quite well over here. A 3 year old Corolla or similar ~1.8L Japanese hatchback which was $20,000 new will often be worth the same as a 3 year old Falcon/Commodore/Magna/Camry which was worth $35,000 new.

You might find an early 306 (just the base XR 1.8L) for that sort of money as well. Many of the European cars (306, Golf, etc) aren't much more expensive (couple grand maybe) to buy than the Japanese (found a '97 Mk3 Golf with ~160K on carsales for $6k, most were $8-10k), but European cars here have a reputation of being very expensive for servicing and spare parts.
 
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