Ideas for a daily driver $5-8k

flav · Post by **flav** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 6:17 pm

BMW E-36.

Plenty of good ones around. The 4 door is handy if you have lots of people always going out with you. The 2 door 318 Is-M series with the option M rims and suspension like mine is quicker than the M6 around corners and under brakes. The Convertibles are just coming into that price range and they still look like a 30k car but get one with a good history.

OR

Have a look at the Mercs you can get for that price range. There is plenty of them and they are a nice safe cruiser but not as drivable as the BMW.

OR

Just punch in your price range in the guide on car sales and see what pops up you might like?

Just having a look for you now and there are 2 BMW convertibles, e36, on ebay under 6 grand!!! Thats where i would be going...plenty of hot up parts around for them! Some M3 bars and nice wheels/tyres with 'm' suspension and your looking all sophisticated and groovy that you'll be fighting the bitches away with a sharp stick!

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 8:56 pm

I like the E36 but like the E46 more. I wouldn't consider a 3 series convertible (or compact for that matter), they just seem too feminine for me.

hoongirl · Post by **hoongirl** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:22 pm

I'll go against the grain here and say I'd rather spend my hard-earned on a galant/legnum vr4 than a falcadore.

I suppose liking the more unusual option is what made me buy a Starion in the first place.

flav · Post by **flav** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:50 pm

dirtygalant wrote:I like the E36 but like the E46 more. I wouldn't consider a 3 series convertible (or compact for that matter), they just seem too feminine for me.

Oh dude...if u can find an e46 @ your price then go sick. I didnt take into account if you have a garage or not either or your pref. on any car. I just made some suggestions of cars that are good cars and easy to maintain with parts a plenty. Take whatever you like for a drive and that should help you make a choice. Commodores are shit...iv'e had plenty and not by choice...falcons are better but yeah, use fuel. Best car i have had in a long time is a ........nissan MICRA!! Very feminine...but i put $45 of fuel in it every 3 weeks! And i can park it anywhere and go through traffic easier and its not so hard on tyres or brakes.
Lots of things to consider right there if your looking to save?

Entaran · Post by **Entaran** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:12 am

My mate is selling his black legnum vr4 (facelift, ridiculously rare factory recaro interior) for about 10 flat.

It's auto. it has a minor dint in the rear bar it's had since it got imported.

If you want his details, pm me.

bulldogger · Post by **bulldogger** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:13 am

go take a decent aristo for a test drive..........you'll pocket one for 7k easy with decent bpu mods

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:38 am

Entaran wrote:My mate is selling his black legnum vr4 (facelift, ridiculously rare factory recaro interior) for about 10 flat.

It's auto. it has a minor dint in the rear bar it's had since it got imported.

If you want his details, pm me.

Again I've had three of them while in NZ, each one costing me a fifth of what that one is! I wouldn't own another for a daily driver any time soon especially at that price!

This was my first one in 2009 which ended up owing me about NZ$2500 by the time I got it registered. 1997 model with 123,000kms on the clock, tiptronic, sunroof and bodykit (missing sideskirts in that pic).

and my last one in 2010, a 1996 model with 206,000kms on the clock, tiptronic, sunroof etc. Cost me NZ$1300.

leoca · Post by **leoca** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:51 am

wow jap import cars are cheap over there aren't they...

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 12:56 pm

all cars of that era are "cheap", or should I say fall into line of what 10-20 year old cars typically cost around the world. In America/Canada and Europe you often pick up early 2000 model cars for AUD$1000 or so. It's not that cars are cheap in NZ, it's more that used cars are expensive in Australia.

I must admit though that with all my Legnums (and most other cars of mine) I have picked them up much cheaper than average because I have often been at the right place at the right time. In all three instances I was able to turn them around and sell them for twice as much on average which reflected their true market values.

The 8th gen Galant/Legnum do not have a good reputation for reliability here in NZ, simply because the truth is they just aren't! We have been flooded with the 1.8/2.4 GDI and VR-4 models imported from Japan and they have been the most problematic ones with GDI or transmission issues. It's a shame because the N/A SOHC V6 and NZDM 4G63 powered examples are extremely reliable in comparison. You can pick up a tidy pre-facelift VR-4 either Galant sedan or Legnum wagon for NZ$5000 or less and a facelift model for about NZ$5000-8000. They *were* a $10-15,000 car about 5 years ago but there really is plenty of supply and perhaps not as much demand for them anymore, because the fact is they are getting to be an aging liability in terms of safety and maintenance costs.

redzone · Post by **redzone** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:20 pm

I think the main reason used cars are worth money over here is due to the fact that you NEED a car, public transport is shit and we have vast distances to cover..

And who'd have thought a fresh-off-boat kiwi would think aussie used cars are expensive LOL

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:30 pm

It's because they are :P NZ isn't a place for cheap car ownership but when you compare it to Australia it makes it seem so.

enthuzed · Post by **enthuzed** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:47 pm

We get slugged here too on JDM stuff with taxes & duties bringing them in, and I believe NZ is a lot better in that department.

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 4:13 pm

we *were* simply because for such a long time we did not have tariffs on imports, however we too *did* have heavy tariffs on imports (including new vehicles) which did not originate from England, USA or Australia from the 1960s until the 1990s. This made the first Japanese vehicles coming into NZ very expensive compared to the English counterparts until the Japanese companies setup local assembly plants bringing the cars into the country in knock down form but still requiring a certain percentage of local content (ie glass, interior materials, wiring looms).

Many dealers in the 80s got around this by importing used cars from Japan as 'wrecks' to be used for parts only, usually by importing them with the motors removed (but still sent over with the car) then re-assembled, registered and sold off to unsuspecting buyers. As my Eterna was amongst one of the early lots of used Japanese imports coming into the country, I suspect that's how mine arrived. It had just 35,000kms on the clock when it was first sold in NZ at just 8 years of age.

In the early 90s the government at the time wanted to reduce the average age of the fleet of cars in NZ as to outsiders we were seen to be still driving clapped out 20+ year old vehicles, so the tariff was dropped sometime in the early-mid 90s which opened the flood gates of affordable late model quality vehicles from Japan, however vehicles were coming in from the UK and Singapore also. This was great because this is about when NZ was able to access all the sweet imported vehicles that we are supposedly known for, but there were absolutely no restrictions put in place as to what you could import. Yes the average age of the fleet did decrease, but over time it started increasing again because dealers and private importers were still bringing in 10-15 year old vehicles because there was a demand for cheap $4,000-8,000 vehicles and the existing supply in NZ could not keep up with the demand.

This also meant that the new car dealers could now sell vehicles destined for other markets NEW in NZ without the tariff, which led to the demise of the local car industry as the locally assembled 'no frills' models could no longer compete with the well-spec'd Japanese assembled vehicles. The very last car to be assembled in NZ was a 1997 Galant SM series, with the 1998 year model being Japanese assembled but still tailored for the NZ market (which happens to just be a clone of the UK market vehicles).

It wasn't until about 2003ish that the government started placing restrictions on what could be imported - first it was the 'frontal impact crash standard' which basically prevented anything prior to around 1996 year vehicles being imported (some vehicles as early as 1994 were compliant whereas some vehicles as late as 1998 were still non-compliant), and then came the emissions restrictions shortly after which progressively tightened up. As it stands, from beginning of next year you will not be able to register a used Jap import prior to 2005ish model year. This is going to have an adverse affect on the supply of the cheaper $5,000-8,000 vehicles and will more than likely push up the prices of cars as the demand exceeds the supply, or shift the criteria of what buyers are searching for (ie buy a cheaper or more expensive car still, or just not buy a car full stop).

I hope this rambling makes sense and gives some insight.

hoongirl · Post by **hoongirl** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:05 pm

:o Wish I could get a Legnum for a few grand!

Entaran · Post by **Entaran** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:06 pm

Whatever suits you mate.

Reality is prices aren't like that here so you need to buy in the market you're in.

You pay 5k for a car you should expect a complete piece of shit or something that's 20+ y/o with no airbags etc.

Not gonna defend my mates car because it's his not mine, but for the three years it's been in the country it's only ever needed a wiper switch ;)

Austarion

Ideas for a daily driver $5-8k

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