My dad and i made a deal at the start of the year, if i do well in VCE he would give me money for a car. I guess this was to make sure i did well for myself and get the uni course blah blah, im just stoked i can get a car now! Ive got about $6-7000 to buy a car, and ill spend $2000 getting it on the road, (years insurance, onroad costs, mechanic service and parts replacement, maybe even a CD deck and speakers?)
So what do you guys think, what cars would be good and why
take a look around in you local paper or whatever and see the ones within your budget. find a few that look reasonable and go and check them out. test drives etc.
Corollas are good cause they don't die ;)
but just about anything is good when you get used to it :)
that leaves money to fix anything, rego and insurance.
if u want rice...series 1 MR2, nissan exa, non turbo nissan silvia, MA70 toyota supra, series 1/2 RX7, you could wait until early next year on even now for cheap 15 year old cars from Japan
bogan cars (:P), VL commis and the like, im sure u could find one with a V8 for high $5k
depends what u like, but make sure you test drive them and do some research, visit car forums, those guys usually know all about the cars.
im looking at a 1992 toyota seca SX, with either a 20valve or supercharged 1.6, reasons why are because toyotas are reliable, the engine rocks and they handle damn well.
Get a motorbike! :D 2nd hand '02 NSR 150SP, 2nd hand Aprilia Harada, ZZR250, plenty of nice lil sports bikes for that price
But Knight has a good idea with the mini, buy one for about $5000, add another $2000 when you have some more $ and get a supercharger. It'll fly, and they handle like go karts, cept if you crash........................... :(
Quote from Cow: im looking at a 1992 toyota seca SX, with either a 20valve or supercharged 1.6, reasons why are because toyotas are reliable, the engine rocks and they handle damn well.
Quote from Seqo: Corollas are good cause they don't die ;)
Ahh see now there 2 people that know their stuff :D I can agree with Seqo in that corollas never die, damn solid lil car. Cow ;) me luvs you :P I got the car just not the 20valve yet :)
But Blue, for $7k theres a fair bit out there to choose from, just take into consideration insurance/rego because depending on the type of car it may cost you an arm and a leg. If your looking for something reliable/small look into the 4cyl engines around the 92-96 models of things, and as Cow and Seqo said a corolla fits perfectly.
Goodluck in your search and most of all GO HAVE FUN :)
Which do you prefer? They might make you use full comprehensive insurance for that echos - $ Where as you might get away with 3rd party fire and theft for the magna, the magna probably has a lil more power, but then again its also older.
The newer car will generally have less troublsome things than the older, so thats another consideration ;)
I assume both cars are around the same price? My opinion would be go and see both cars, take a good hard look at them, talk to the seller and try find whats been done to the car, what it was used for in past, etc, etc - also enquire about insurance costs.
I say that because my sister recently bought a car, 98 Toyota Starlet she has to use fully comprehensive insurance and costs her around ".2k a year - not too cheap (shes 17 and I know yor a lil older :P). Where as I 18, have a Toyota Corolla 91' and can get away with 3rd party fire and theft and costs me a nice $443 - both cars are 4cyl and mine has the larger engine too.
So totally all up to you, your budget and tastes :D
$7K 4WD is going to be some thing to fix up most of the time, just like the Magna, Keep it Simple, a Relaiable 2 wheel drive, 4cl for ecomony, but not a small 4 cl otherwise grannies will be passing you
Exa's are alright little cars. If you want them to have a bit of go try for the CA18DET engines (turbo) the CA18DE is relatively gutless.
Toyota Echo: wreck the bumper (they use plastic bumpers) and you're up for a new "000 bumper. they are also gutless, boring and not very roomy.
Magna's have a habit of costing a lot of money to get fixed... the Australian plant which does all the paint jobs on them decided to not put rust proofing and only a single coat. The engine is relatively fine though.
Personally, Mazda's are great cars. you could go an older RX-# series and they are great to drive. yeah, i still reckon get a whole lot of cars in your price range that you are interested in (ask yourself a few questions, what body type do i NOT want? ie Wagon) and go see them all and if you like some, go for a test drive.
What sorta thing you looking at, from your choice of echo's and magnas, nothing sporty - thats a good choice, sporty cars = $$
If your going down that track, i recommend a cressida by toyota, you can pick a good one up for that price, the non turbo's go pretty hard and theyre very reliable!
Quote from Seqo: Toyota Echo: wreck the bumper (they use plastic bumpers) and you're up for a new "000 bumper. they are also gutless, boring and not very roomy.
Fair enough, but i heard they were quite roomy. Im 6'6, so height is a consideration, yet i wouldnt drive a large-large vehicle like a 4wd. Besides the echo i was lookin at has just slipped out of price range.
Yeah, my major considerations are: Economy vs Power, on a 0-10 respective scale i would want a balanced 5. Size (0-10) 0 being a mini and 10 being a large 4wd, id want a 5-7 Price vs style, well ill go as far as my 7G's which is probably a 2 or 3 :P, in any case, i want a car that wont break down easy, so ill definatly substitute style for low km's and late models.
So yeah, cheers for the webby hawk, having a look through,
I agree, dont buy a magna. I used to have one. : They are good until they fuck up, then you have constant problems. First car, save your cash for better things, cars are a waste of money man. Go for a Ford Laser, Mazda 323, datsun etc. good small cars. Or maybe VR or VS commodore if u can get it cheap enough. Mine is still for sale man :|
You could find yourself a decent RX-7 for around that price, probably non turbo though. But its still a rotor :D. Or R31 Skyline, maybe a decent s13 silvia