Looking for a small car, need advice

• 

  ilostnemo on 12/02/2014 - 00:08

  I bought a Kia, they are Hyundai i30 sister.

  Bloody good car, and 5 year unlimited is a big plus.
  I will sell after 4 1/2 years and instruct the buyer that they have 6 months manufacturers warranty.

  • 

    T-man on 12/02/2014 - 00:12

    Thanks for your quick reply. Hyundai i30 is a bit expensive to me if I buy the auto one. I wanted to buy the cars under $20,000

  • 

    scotty on 12/02/2014 - 10:12

    Kia Rio would be in the same class as i20 (rather than i30).

• 

  daalinz on 12/02/2014 - 08:38

  +3

  A friend of mine had a Kia Rio and had an accident. She rear-ended another car in the wet - damaged the area between the bumper and front driver's wheel. The car was a write-off.

  Don't sacrifice safety for cost.

  • 

    mskeggs on 12/02/2014 - 09:45

    +2

    Did she get injured? Or do you mean, they put crumple zones and other technologies in these small cars for safety reasons that mean a big repair bill if they are in a crash?

    • 

      daalinz on 12/02/2014 - 10:38

      She had bruises and needed some physio/chiro for about 1-2 months afterwards.

      The damage didn't seem too bad to the car (I live about 5 mins away where it happened and saw the aftermath), the front passenger door got a bit stuck opening and closing and the front right wheel guard and bumper crumpled a bit. I thought it was repairable, but repairer said it was a write-off.

      My meaning was don't buy cheap crap cars that crumple and cause injuries to the driver/passenger and the car doesn't survive the accident.

      • 

        Amaris on 12/02/2014 - 11:58

        +4

        New cars are made to crumple under impact. If they don't crumple the impact gets transferred to the passenger cabin and to the occupants of the car. Who cares if the car does not survive the accident…
        The Rio has the maximum 5 star ANCAP rating.

        http://www.ancap.com.au/crashtestrecord?Id=446

      • 

        iseenya on 12/02/2014 - 14:10

        +1

        Modern cars are designed to crumple - it's an important part of how their safety systems are intended to work. Cars are replaceable, their occupants are not.

• 

  2jzzzz on 12/02/2014 - 08:58

  Been very happy with my new Yaris. Size wise, not a whole lot of difference between it and the corolla. Back seats flip down and gives you big storage. But if you will have passengers a lot, the normal boot is a bit small. Still fine for all your groceries, but for example, only enough for two bags for airport.

• 

  xyron on 12/02/2014 - 09:41

  +4

  I personally would avoid this 'micro' car class at all costs - the extra power, room and safety you get from going one class up makes it all worthwhile.

  Not sure why the Corolla is in your list considering you won't get even a base model auto for less than $22k. It's also the worst car in its class.

  You might be able to squeeze into a base model (new) Kia Cerato for under $20k, this would be a significantly better option than the Rio.

  It should also be pretty easy to find a runout previous-gen mazda3 neo auto for under $20k.

  Personally though, I would buy a car that's 1-2 years old and pocket the difference. New cars are a complete waste of money. Not too many things people buy in this world (of significant value) that they know will lose between 40-50% of its value after 3 years.

  • 

    mskeggs on 12/02/2014 - 09:46

    +1

    Agreed with buying a slightly used car as being much better value.

  • 

    T-man on 12/02/2014 - 10:23

    Thanks for your advice. I have changed my mind, could you please advise me on this car:

    http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Honda-Civic-2010/A…

    the dealer offered me $14,500 if I trade in my Toyota Corolla (2002, 185000km), do think it is a good deal?

    How about if I don't want to trade in my car, what is the best price? Should I go with this car? Thanks

    • 

      Amaris on 12/02/2014 - 12:02

      Surely your corolla is worth more than $3500/-. Try to sell it privately and try to drive down the dealer on the price of the Civic. Also find finance from elsewhere as the dealer will often agree to a lower price and jack up the interest rate or commission to compensate. Once you find finance from a third party you could ask the dealer to match it, which they often will do!

      • 

        T-man on 12/02/2014 - 12:07

        Hi thanks for your advice, what is the best price for the Civic do you think? Thanks.

    • 

      xyron on 12/02/2014 - 12:52

      $18,000 for a 4 year old Civic? Which doesn't even have particularly low km? That dealer is off his rocker. Note also that it is out of new-car warranty, and is a previous-generation model (should be worth less). For $18,000, in this market segment (small-medium), I would be expecting a car that isn't more than 2 years old, so it still has some manufacturer warranty to make claims on (for all the niggling things that can go wrong with new cars when they are being 'broken in'). Hell, a brand new, latest generation Civic VTi only costs ~$21,000…

      The Civic isn't even a very good car in and of itself, only marginally better than the equivalent Corolla.

      With some haggling, you will be able to get into a Kia Cerato S with the 6 speed auto for under $20k. There are a few on Carsales (brand new too, not demo, for which you could get even more off potentially) already at that (driveaway) price, and that's before haggling.

      That Civic isn't worth any more than $13k in my opinion. But I'm not the sort of car-buyer who deals with dealers, because (with the exception of some very good high-volume wholesalers here in Adelaide) they are all thieves.

      As for your Corolla, it probably isn't worth much more than $3500 to be honest. In Queensland, you will need to get a safety certificate for it upon a private sale, which may cost quite a bit of money if there are lingering maintenance issues that haven't caused any problems for you but will require fixing for the issue of such a certificate (so glad we don't have these ridiculous bastions of government-mechanic collusion in SA). Keep in mind though, that as soon as you mention a trade-in, your negotiating power goes out the window. For this reason, negotiate and settle a price, THEN bring in the question of your trade-in - this way, the dealer can't 'discount' the car by offering you a higher trade-in price.

    • 

      Ughhh on 12/02/2014 - 16:23

      If thats the exact Civic you're getting, thats the VTi-L version, which is one up from the base model. I drive the Civic 8th gen and its a great car. Very spacious for that size car, and very good brakes - from what the AAMI skilled driving course instructor said.
      You can probably haggle down a bit more.

  • 

    MondaySleeper on 12/02/2014 - 13:03

    "Not sure why the Corolla is in your list considering you won't get even a base model auto for less than $22k. It's also the worst car in its class"

    I agree with the first statement but dont know you mentioned its the worst car. Its one of the most reliable car and one of the time tested. Hyundai and Kia are new players and yet to see their real capacity. I agree that they look a bit granny style.

    • 

      xyron on 12/02/2014 - 13:24

      -1

      I mean worst in terms of road handling, interior space and general desirability.

      I would not have a problem owning a Hyundai or a Kia from a reliability perspective. One only needs to point at all the bubble-shape Excels that are still on the road after abuse by multiple young female owners. And Hyundais are significantly better cars now than they were in the 1990s.

      Just because a 1980 Corolla is reliable doesn't mean the 2013 equivalent model that you buy is going to be. The only thing they share is their badge name. I will never understand why people buy cars based on the reliability of previous generations of a particular model. Its like putting money on a particular colour in roulette because it landed on that colour the previous time.

      And the reason why people only ever look at 'reliability' is the reason why our car industry has gone down the toilet. Cars should be seen as more than motorised shopping trollies. They are often amongst the second or third biggest single purchase we make in our lifetimes and we rely on them to enjoy our lifestyles. May as well have something enjoyable and exciting (i.e. not anything from Toyota, except perhaps the GT86).

      • 

        shinichiduy on 12/02/2014 - 19:05

        +1

        I have no comment on your experience but base on mine, toyota is the best in its class. My family owns 2 corolla, 2010 and 2013 models. They are both excellent, in terms of mechanical reliability

        1/ They are made in japan and import as a whole from japan with famous japanese quality
        2/ Parts are cheap and super easy to find, even after 10 years or more
        3/ They come with capped price service when purchase as new
        4/ They have great history with reliability
        5/ They have one of the best resale values
        6/ In terms of road handling, I once was in gold coast, hiring a hyndai i30 and trust me, you will notice a significance difference at the moment you touch the pedal. The engine in the toyota is so smooth and responsive compared to the i30. Surprisingly, the i30 only clocked around 30,000k while my toyoya clocked around 60,000. Therefore, as new, you will hardly notice any difference. In fact, the wow factors in toyota are next to zero. However, in the long run, you will definitely appreciate the toyota, which is evidently from their resale values.