Ideas for a daily driver $5-8k

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:36 pm

you wait until the AYC diff gives trouble or the splines on the input shaft of the torque converter strip themselves. Then there's the lower front ball joints which seem to be just as consumable as oil filters... I'm not saying they are incredibly unreliable but the majority of them in NZ fell into hands of people who didn't look after them like they should have, and it doesn't help that many of them came into the country with a dubious service history and perhaps even doctored odometers too.

I'm sorry but $5k for a 20+ year old car is just ludicrous. I cannot think of any other country where used car prices are so dis-proportionate to brand new prices. I guess it's good for new car buyers, in 10 years time they only lose half of the value of the car, if that at all. In 10 years time in many countries, the car is often one tenth of the price when it was new.

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:42 pm

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

starionc · Post by **starionc** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:59 am

We have our 08 Territory Ghia AWD that is worth less then half of its $62K new price tag!! And that's in 3 years!! If you think about the cost of a new car at that price, No one will let that car go for shit coin. Therefore they do hold some value!
If you look at the Fords and Holcrapdens you WILL find a good late model car for the money your wanting to spend! You may need to buy one from another area but what difference does that make.

There's a BA falcon for sale near my place for $4500!!! That's cheap for the age and condition of it (from driving past that is) Or the same guy has a late model Festiva XR4? Not sure what it is, and it's $15500. Not sure what they are worth new?
The 2 of them are for sale as the owners have 2 new cars!! Nice to have the debt hey LOL

I'd be looking for a 03ish corolla sportivo for that money. We had the first of that shape for 4 years and 175,000klms Never missed a beat and was good fun to drive when you felt like it! Ours had mag wheels with good rubber that made it a lot better to drive over the standard 14" wheels that it come with. Say what you want about Toyota.... But the truth is you want a car that is safe! reliable! and good on fuel! Our one did use more fuel on a trip then it did doing city stop start, but the newer ones have a 6 speed manual to help with that problem!
We sold ours for $7500 when we got the Territory and now you still cant buy one that cheap (if you look hard enough I'm sure you could)
No matter who you talk to, you will get as many opinions as people you ask!

Just remember that opinions are like backsides, Everyone has one!!!

Cheers Jason

flav · Post by **flav** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:41 pm

The sportivo is a good car and so are a lot of Toyotas. Their build quality is excellent on the Camry. Also as the starionic man says, shopping from a different area can save you heaps. If you shop out of NSW you can save plenty. If you shop from western suburbs you will save lots too...but 90% of the car will be stolen parts!

1320ft · Post by **1320ft** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:12 pm

Flav...........

Just because we go car shopping in the Wesfield Mt Druitt car park......................

starionc · Post by **starionc** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:44 pm

I thought it was Roselands ??? LOL
I knew a guy that could get you what you wanted from that place within a few days! Scary stuff really. Also a very good reason to drive a normal car that gets driven to the shops etc.... Chances are it will still be there when you get back!

What's with the western suburbs bashing anyway? I've had no trouble at all, well ok except this one time when I left my old twin cam powered RA40 celica at the train station.... Not all of it was in the car park waiting for me :x
I had to get a lift home to collect my standard steering wheel to re fit after my nice sports wheel was stolen (with the club lock on it!) Fat lot of good they are :roll:

My guess is that the perp was going to return with the wheel (minus the club lock) and get the rest of the car :glare: :glare:

NachoMan · Post by **NachoMan** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:23 pm

Proton Satria GTi.
I know it's been said before, but after owning 2 of these cars, I think they're one of the best value small cars on the market.
Mitsubishi logos on parts everywhere, compatible parts availability, zippy to drive, lotus suspension, and a driver's airbag for about $5-$6K.

Get an earlier one with the Mitsubishi ECU and you're laughing.
Later ones (2003 onwards) have Siemens ECU's and they're shithouse.

Oh and the GSR-V is worth every penny, and it was daily driven until I got the Stagea... :P

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:57 am

Definitely not keen on a Proton Satria of any kind. I've owned the shape Mirage the Satria was based on and found it quite terrible in terms of ride quality, noise levels and of course safety (the Proton Jumbuck which is also based on that Mirage/Lancer platform scores just ONE star and is currently the most unsafe vehicle on sale in Australia at the moment). I would rather own a 96-2002 shape Mirage over the Satria, however as I've said earlier multiple times I need a mid sized four door sedan, five door hatch/liftback or a station wagon. I can not make do with a small three door hatchback or a coupe.

Your Starion is nice and rare in Australia, but I can't justify that cost when getting a widebody from Japan to NZ is not much more than your original asking price.

Cheers,
Phil

NachoMan · Post by **NachoMan** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:09 pm

dirtygalant wrote:Definitely not keen on a Proton Satria of any kind. I've owned the shape Mirage the Satria was based on and found it quite terrible in terms of ride quality, noise levels and of course safety (the Proton Jumbuck which is also based on that Mirage/Lancer platform scores just ONE star and is currently the most unsafe vehicle on sale in Australia at the moment). I would rather own a 96-2002 shape Mirage over the Satria, however as I've said earlier multiple times I need a mid sized four door sedan, five door hatch/liftback or a station wagon. I can not make do with a small three door hatchback or a coupe.

Your Starion is nice and rare in Australia, but I can't justify that cost when getting a widebody from Japan to NZ is not much more than your original asking price.

Cheers,
Phil

Fair enough, each to their own on both counts.
I'll keep my eye open for any suitable options your side of the ditch.
Also, why are you looking at buying a GH Scorpion when you want 4/5 door car?
Anyway, welcome to Australia!

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:56 pm

because I would be buying it as a project/weekend car and not a daily driver. I am after a daily driver to do 400-600km weekly in and am also looking for a 2nd project car along the way. I don't want to merge a project car and daily driver into one because I absolutely must depend on having a functioning car at all times, and with my experience with projects that doesn't tend to happen.

panda · Post by **panda** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:34 pm

starionc wrote:We have our 08 Territory Ghia AWD that is worth less then half of its $62K new price tag!! And that's in 3 years!!

There's a BA falcon for sale near my place for $4500!!! That's cheap

Last week I replaced our daily with a tidy 4 year old BF MkII Falcon on dedicated gas. Driveaway price - $11,000. Cheap to buy, & even cheaper to run, like less than $10 per 100km.
Thats less than a third of the original new price in 4 years.

1320ft · Post by **1320ft** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:48 pm

I hate to say it, but I dont think you will find what your after before you head home.

Unfortunately, that is the used car market here.

Might have to settle for a commo or coon.

That said, I do agree with 99% of what you said. Too many people ask way too much for their older cars. And unless its a 1 or 2 owner, immaculate (ie un-modded) example, then maybe.

You must remember though, on 99% of imports, you are looking at a minimum of $5k in govt fees, before it even gets anywhere an aussie road.

starionc · Post by **starionc** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:48 pm

(the Proton Jumbuck which is also based on that Mirage/Lancer platform scores just ONE star and is currently the most unsafe vehicle on sale in Australia at the moment). [/quote]

No! That would be the Great Wall range of Chinese cars! They are by far the most dangerous cars on the road!!!

What about a late 90's Magna sports in a manual? They go well and have all the goodies that you need (as far as I know)!!

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:04 pm

starionc wrote:No! That would be the Great Wall range of Chinese cars! They are by far the most dangerous cars on the road!!!

What about a late 90's Magna sports in a manual? They go well and have all the goodies that you need (as far as I know)!!

The Great Wall actually scores 2 stars, one star better than the Proton. Read here - http://www.themotorreport.com.au/43501/ ... fety-tests and watch here -

I have been looking at Magnas, but the 4cyl ones are gutless and almost as thirsty as the V6 ones.

dirtygalant · Post by **dirtygalant** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:13 pm

1320ft wrote:I hate to say it, but I dont think you will find what your after before you head home.

Unfortunately, that is the used car market here.

Might have to settle for a commo or coon.

That said, I do agree with 99% of what you said. Too many people ask way too much for their older cars. And unless its a 1 or 2 owner, immaculate (ie un-modded) example, then maybe.

You must remember though, on 99% of imports, you are looking at a minimum of $5k in govt fees, before it even gets anywhere an aussie road.

Yeah I'm coming to the realisation I either need to spend more or be happy with a domestic model. The thing is I'm not looking at imports or even Japanese cars specifically - most of the cars I'm looking for are actually not imports and mostly European and readily available here.

Austarion

Ideas for a daily driver $5-8k

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