Hi ozbargainers,
Looking for a reliable and low maintenance second-hand car for under $5000 for the wife. She uses the car to drive to work and do her daily activities.
It must have four doors to allow kids in the back. Other than that we would like to spend less petrol on the car so probably a 4 cylinder or lower and low insurance cost.
I know I am asking for a lot of $5000 for a used car. But any thoughts would be appreciated.
Funny enough I was looking for a friend yesterday.
We short listed it to:
Ford Fiesta - not this one but similar
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Ford-Fiesta-2007/…
VW Polo
You will hear good/bad things about both cars but from personal experience I would buy the ford Fiesta as a cheap to maintain.
You can pick up a steal for 5k…. just make sure the previous owner has looked after it.
I'll second the WQ Fiesta, I've had a Fiesta Zetec for about 9 years now and had pretty much nothing go wrong with it, very reliable.
It must have four doors to allow kids in the back
should be pretty safe with a toyota corolla
what about a Toyota Echo?
Just make sure it doesn't make a funny noise and check under the bonut
Might be a wee bit small if it needs to fit four people
it was a joke referring to OPs other posts about vehicles.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/240914
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/205705
I just sold my Mazda SP20 for $2700. You can probably get one for less than that. It was a pretty reliable car. Not many problems while I had it.
What State are you in? If in Victoria, you are at the whim of unscrupulous RWC testers if you want to find something that is actually decent (and doesnt just tick a bunch of boxes on a green vicroads form).
If you are in SA, Tas or WA, you have far more options.
If in NSW, make sure the car you are looking at has recently passed a blue or pink slip (preferably the former).
The last thing you want is to buy a $5000 car and then be hit with the obligation to make repairs costing many thousands before you can get an RWC (even if, if you lived in SA, Tas or WA, you would have a perfectly safe car and never have to worry about them).
Rant over :)
For $5k you should be able to get into an 05-07 Ford Focus, which would be my pick of the mid-size bunch. May also scrape into a Mazda3 for similar money but it'll usually have higher mileage etc than the equivalent Focus.
There's nothing wrong with an Echo 4 doors, I've got one and at 177.000Km is going strong, only one bearing replaced and the seal between the engine and transmission box.
The auto uses around 6.8 in town, which is not bad at all.
How much did you buy for?
Toyota Corolla or Mazda 323/3 would be the safest options. Mazda is a better looking car and more fun to drive IMO. For 5k you should get a good 323, you might scrape into a 2004-6 3 but it would probably have high KM's. Corolla are bulletproof and super common so should be easy to find as well.
What year corolla?
Narrow down everyone's feedback to three you like and go and drive them.
I would take a well looked after ford with low km over an Audi/BMW that has been trashed.
Good luck and let us know what cars you shortlist.
Isn't ford an American car? Expensive spare parts?
Isn't ford an American car?
it's an american brand but Ford have been making cars in Geelong since 1925 but will closing in October.
Ford Fiesta is very common so parts and servicing are cheap!
Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3 ftw!
ant year mazda 3 in specific?
I think with your budget, you can probably go for a 2004-2006 Mazda 3 Neo with reasonable kms.
Toyota yaria / echo would fit into your budget
Ofcourse you should look at:
1 - visible condition of the car
2 - newest build date
3 - amount of Km's accrued
4 - Rule of thumb for quality goes:
Japanese -> Korean/Aussie -> Euro -> USA -> Bad brands (Daewoo/Tata/etc)
Now $5,000 isn't much.
Not sure if you're including rego/insurance in there.
And not sure what type of car you're after (hatchback, sedan, suv, ute).
But the Mazda 3, Corolla, Focus, Accord, X-Trail, i30, Commodore, Hilux, Pulsar etc etc are the staples.
do you mean mazda 323? When I search for mazda there is two types cx 3 and 323
No it's called the "Mazda 3".
They're done with the olde monikers the 121, 323, 626, etc etc.
The new monikers (ie "car model name") is the Mazda 2, Mazda 3, and Mazda 6.
But we still have the Mazda Mx5, and the new Cx class of cars (Cx3, Cx5, Cx7, Cx9).
http://www.carsales.com.au/cars/results?sortby=~Price&offset…
Honda Accord Euro goes around that price (in Melbourne), not bad cars. 2.4l 4 banger, has a timing chain so real expensive maintenance cost unless its been driven hard all its life. Not sure how it compares to corollas and camrys. But the back is "roomy" enough for kids and moderate boot space.
whatever you get make sure that it has air con working and seat belts, check the car properly!!!!!!!
don't just think because it says it in the ad its going to have those features. if you have any concerns then question it, if they come up with excuses then walk away. i've gone out to see cars a few times and there wasn't one car that didn't have things wrong with it or things stated in the ad it didn't actually have. one loser couldn't even start the car because the battery was dead but told me nothing was wrong with it in the emails.
just be prepared for any second hand car to need a few things fixed, especially tyres, battery and lights. if the steering is clicking could need cv shafts > $1k
A Mitsubishi Lancer (CJ) is a good buy second hand, you can pick a 2007/2008 for around 5000-5500 with 140000kms on car sales.
Basically the lancer hasn't changed since 2007 (they added a touch screen in 2013, and a reversing camera/sensors in 2014)
Engine is the same, gearbox and drive train, interior, they are reliable and the differences between 2007 and 2013 are almost nothing, so no one will know it is only a $5000 car.
If you can score the hatch in your budget do so, much more practical.
The Hyundai i30 FD SX can be had for around 5000-5500,
Kia Cerato is possible to get, both of them are based on the same platform.
Nissan Tiida, ugly but cheap, Nissan has a so/so reputation these days for reliability, (my brother in law was a service manager for a multibrand-dealership.)
Honda Accord or Honda Accord Euro from 2005,2006 are within budget and a solid option, you get alot for your money too.
Good idea I'll have a look at your suggestions
Nice little summary there.
Not sure whether should buy privately or auction?
Auction will likely be a cheaper buy, but you may run into cars that have been written and repaired on the dodge, private seller you can get your own road worthy and have a RACV person to check if your worried.
Most cars that are cheap have a few time lurking bombs, mainly timing belts, water pumps or potential clutch.
Yeah I hear that timing chains are better than timing belts. Wish there was a website that showed which cads have timing chain on one page
Toyota Corolla, mine is 16 years old and still working well, never had any problems. I bought it for $4500
What year model?
2002
Didn't realize we were in 2018…
Honda Civic's are also a nice option. My last civic was a '96 model. Ran without any problems.
Don't forget to think of safety features as well. At the very least make sure you get a car with curtain airbags
That sounds unlikely. Are curtain airbags common in cars that old/cheap yet? Would have thought we'd still be few years before curtain airbags get to cars in the $5k bracket. Happy to be proven wrong if you can provide some examples.
I'm happy enough to buy a car with ABS and two front airbags.
I wouldn't buy a car without at least curtain airbags. My children are worth me spending more on a car with them.
And that is you choice to make. I chose to buy a car with airbags and abs about ten years ago after I saw the minimal injuries received when some friends had the front of their car almost ripped off. Until then I hadn't seen the need.
We now have two cars with abs and airbags, one with curtains. as I haven't used airbags in anger I believe they are a 'nice to have' more than the ABS which I have used quite a few times.
I have just bought a dual cab ute and was surprised to see that the brand I was looking at only had a lap belt in the centre back in the low spec models, so I now have the top tier mode purely for the centre back lap sash belt, the other stuff didn't matter.
My last point being that you have raised a valid point that someone may overlook when buying a car, I could have ended up having to retrofit a lap sash seatbelt if I'd bought the wrong model ute. You might have encouraged the op to save some more for curtains and pillows.
We all accept different levels of risk, mine would not tolerate buying a car without abs and lap sash belts all round that I would cart my kids in regularly. if I had the time and coin i would happily take the kids for 'Sunday cruises' in a classic car without modern safety stuff, but id be installing seatbelts in anything that didn't have them.
A well-maintained Corolla should fit the criteria. Easy to obtain parts and very reliable (my old one was 17 before I replaced it with another Corolla)