Car suggestions

My car is making knocking noises (cv joint), steams when I stop and stinks of burning oil It's booked in to the garage but we know it's got to the point where it will be major money into what is essentially a pretty old car (17 years). I'm looking for suggestions for a replacement. It will be mainly used for getting me to work (either 30km return or 100km return), running kids to school and activities (30km round trip), the grocery run with perhaps up to 2 bags of animal feed, the occasional trip further afield l(ike to Dunedin) and the odd trip up the skifield when OH is working. I definitely want a 5 door/hatchback as I think my back would collapse trying to get a sack of chook food out of a regular boot and I don't like to think of the fights between the kids getting in and out of a three door[] Budget's probably about $10,000 - though not sure where I'm actually going to get $10,000 from just now. Any suggestions as to reliability or good value for money? What should I steer clear of? Cheers

Hi

GK's OT here. Have a look at Subaru's, either Legacy S/W or Impreza hatch. They are all 4WD or as Subaru call it AWD. The engineering is very solid, they don't fall apart and they perform very well. They do come in turbo options if you like to go fast, but non turbo models are very capable.

I'm on my second, and so is our son , who got me interested, many years ago. The down side is they use a bit more petrol because of the AWD, but they have to be one of the best value cars on the market today.

$10k will get you a VERY acceptable car... a turbo even if you are like me:)

I like my Toyota Ipsum. It seats 7 with a small cargo space at the rear, but you can fold the back seats down to make a large cargo space and still seat 5. It's economical to run and reliable, and best of all, very cheap to buy. Oh, and it still looks like a hatchback car, not a minivan.

I just wish I'd bought one with a towbar....

A nissan. I'm a nissan fan, after toyota, generally the most reliable brand.

Nissan Pulsar SRV hatch, 5 door, smaller than a normal stationwagon but bigger than a normal hatch. My flatmate/landlady had one in Hamilton and I used it occasionally, very comfortable to drive, good fuel economy, and reasonable performance.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Nissan/auction-214754077.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Nissan/auction-211838652.htm

Otherwise the normal pulsar is a bit shorter and smaller but still 5 door, available in up to 2.0L engines but the 1.5 is peppy enough for most jobs.

gemini kiwi;245296 wrote: Hi

GK's OT here. Have a look at Subaru's, either Legacy S/W or Impreza hatch.

The current car is a subaru I actually don't want another one as they do burn through the gas - although my OH's newer model is much more efficient than our old one. I want a smaller car as the new subaru (his work car) is our family car when we go places at the weekend and on holiday so we don't really need two 4WD/family size cars. I don't want a newer model like his either because the tyres are really expensive.

I do like subarus though and the current one has done it really well. We bought it when we came back from overseas and expecting our twins. It's done so many km since then (twins are 7 this weekend) including three return trips to Thames, many trips to Nelson and Christchurch and thousands of km around Central Otago.

Maybe cars are cheaper further north. We were looking in the motoring section of the ODT and there wasn't much under $10k. We'd probably head to Christchurch to buy it anyway.

kaybe;245297 wrote: I like my Toyota Ipsum. It seats 7 with a small cargo space at the rear, but you can fold the back seats down to make a large cargo space and still seat 5. It's economical to run and reliable, and best of all, very cheap to buy. Oh, and it still looks like a hatchback car, not a minivan.

I just wish I'd bought one with a towbar....

Yes, we need a car with a towbar since one of the workers put the nissan into the river[:0] Very inconvennient. I hate the idea of a peoepl mover but one in disguise sounds good. It would be nice to be able to take the boys' friends away sometimes. That's the trouble with a family of 5, we fill the car.

Kiwi, I like the look of those pulsars.

Love my Hyundai Tucson, only car I am ever liable to have brand new in my lifetime.

2 ltr auto. easy to drive, very comfortable, seats fold down easy and loads of room in the back, seats 5, good milage, all the usual with ABS and airbags, factory fitted tow bar, good resale value i am told.

I'd put that towball on the bigger car, and install a transmission oil cooler to match.

Well I've finally got my new car. I needed to get to the North Island for the July holidays so we had to bite the bullet and find a car that could go further than the next town. We decided on a toyota corolla hatchback. Hopefully the premuim we've paid getting a toyota will pay off in terms of less garage bills etc over time. We bought it in Dunedin on Friday. It's a wee rocket and sooooo nice to drive compared to my poor old subaru - no funny smells, no knocks, no rattles and the cigarette lighter works so I can use my i-pod Can't wait to drive to work this morning. The only thing I miss is the out temp button that shows the temperature outside. That was very handy for knowing if there was likely to be ice developing on the road. Off on big road trip next wek so that will be a test for it. We also bought a towbar so that I can transport pigs and goats. I used to carry the goats in my subaru and it didn't help the state of the interior but no more goats in the car! I'm a little worried about space in the boot having been used to the station wagon but will just have to adjust. On Thursday I brought home a huge hessian sack of lucerne chaff, a huge sack of oat chaff, a bag of chook food, a bag of barley, groceries for us humans and three children. Won't be able to do that in the corolla. Will be very interesting to compare petrol consumption as I drive up to Thames and back. The subaru was very thirsty.

Hope trip goes great you'll grow to love it and that is main thing