New Daily - 12K To Spend

[Tomek]

After this mornings accident, im fairly sure the car is a write off..

I've got 12k to spend on a car that I plan to keep for atleast 5 years..

What im after..

-Fuel economy (I travel about 500km a week)

-Comfort, usual power features + Ipod/ AUX + bluetooth would be nice

-Reliability & maintenance costs (my VW sucked!)

-Resale

-Comfortable for a 6'1 driver and enjoyable to drive

-prefer manual

Im looking at

-03+ corolla's (old man and everyone else swears by them) not sure which ones are best bang for buck

-mazda 3, big fan of the newer models (03+), unsure on reliability, saw an sp23 (04) at a yard going for 9k (114k odo), on start up with the oil cap off it was blowing a fair bit of oil.

-yaris, bit small, ugly dash, only slightly better in fuel.

-getz, 7l/100km, many people's experiences online beg to differ (10+), cheap, don't think I would enjoy it after time.

-FOG, live in an apartment and share the car spot with my motorbike so the car is a little to big, it would suffer in resale down the track. On the plus side my old man is a cabbie, so part's and knowledge is plentiful, and I know how reliable these are.

-i30, perfect! out of my budget.

So at this stage I think it may be the rolla, any good cars that I may have missed.

Thanks in advance

Thomas

[10 4]

Stretch budget

http://j-spec.com.au/featured/2002-Honda-Civic-16374.html

[iseekool]

The last models of the Lexus IS200 6 speed manual. Comfy, smallish, piss easy to maintain (DIY), fun to drive, toyota reliability, get the lexus badge . Reasonably cheap and prices don't seem to be going south quickly. Pick one up for 9 to 10k. But it's a slug and you need to fill 95RON.

Get around ~9L/100km urban.

Talking from personal experience - best daily car I've ever owned. Mine has done 206,000km - no rattles or squeaks. Solid. Just keep up the basic maintenance.

[luke gtr]

Mazda 3 would be my pick.

There are pros and cons to the sp varient.

pro:

climate control(as opposed to a/c)

Full Bose audio

2.3 has slightly more power

different interior finish

cons:

slightly worse fuel economy(than the 2l)

suspension and brakes are the same as the lower models, so no handling improvements for the extra coin

your budget is going to buy lower standard compared to the maxx sport variant

Bluetooth wasn't a factory option(I believe you can get from genuine parts though)

my wife has an 07 maxx, gets great economy, rides well, very reliable, good sound system.

I went through my apprenticeship at Mazda, one of the much better constructed cars(model dependent).

[Touge Kyousou]

Toyota Aurion or Mazda 3 or Toyota Corolla Sportivo (celica 141kw engine) ?

[ccruzn]

mazda 3 sp23, perfect daily! really nice to drive and comfortable, still go pretty good and great on fuel! i get 7.5L per 100k out of mine but thats more freeway driving

and mines got 185,000kms and still goes strong!

Edited January 16, 2013 by ccruzn

[eightsixboy]

As above or a corolla. Theres so so many good cars in that price range.

[BeastVS]

Rolla would be my pick.

[MattR]

honda accord euro?

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/honda-accord-euro-2004-13832696?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=21&page=2&eapi=2&__N=1246%201252%201247%201282%204294965322%204294965100%201216%201622&num=15&silo=Stock&Range=Price%3aMin%2c15000~0.5&sort=default

[BeastVS]

^^^ A couple of friends have those. Parts are a killer and the dash's get squeaky after a while.

[freddy6]

I owned an 03 corrolla for 3 years. At the end of the this time I sold it for a loss of $500 within three days of advertising.

Total Costs over three years

x 3 Services ( Around $200-$300)

x 2 Front tyres

x 1 Headlight globe

That's it! I had the conquest model which has a few extra options. Highly recommend buying one I'm looking at purchasing another for a family member this year.

Saying all of that I wouldn't hestiate to look at the mazda if the price was right.

[Cowboy1600]

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/ford-falcon-2008-13676382?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=143&page=12&eapi=2&__N=1246%201252%201247%201282%204294966463%204294966285%201216%20938&num=15&silo=Stock&sort=~Price

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

[M.C Ren]

corolla will always have good resale value, and getting a manual will also save you money... look around, we sold a 2010 manual conquest sedan with 88000kms at a toyota dealer for 13 grand.

[TTT]

Clio RS 172

[w34ponGT]

honda accord euro luxury

close thread

[warps]

honda accord euro luxury

You're kidding right? They aren't fun! Good cars, admittedly, but not what I'd call fun.

Now take the engine out, throw a K20 head on it and squeeze the lot into an EK Civic and now you've got a fun car!

[w34ponGT]

and what do you think that setup would cost?

he said he's 6ft 1, and at the end of day your drivin an old civic

honda accord luxury, leather, sunroof, 600km to tank, 6 speed manual, sedan, 4 doors, lowered on bbs wheels, ingen intake, sounds amazing, stunning car

[warps]

Dam wrong thread. Was thinking about the "fun" thread

To answer your question, mine cost me $14k with a bucket load of brand new race gear still in original packaging. Could sell it for $3-4k and come in well under budget (if that were my aim)

Not what I'd call a daily driver, or good for long trips.

As you were.

[Seano350GT]

You can't go past the Corolla mate. Anything Toyota will assure a strong resale price. They are small and nimble, have all the features that you want and are cheap to maintain.