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I need a car

  • Thread starter Thread starter acuguy
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acuguy

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Ok, the time has come to get rid of my 2006 Toyota Camry, what a great car! I don't know anything about cars, what i do know is this

I have a 20k budget (it makes me ill spending money on cars)

I need a car that is reliable and is able to cope with 3 kids, 1 in the front and 2 in the back - it is the second car in the family

Please suggest any cars!
 
If you are after a sedan than IMO you can't go past the Ford Falcon. Have come a long way in the last decade and you can get a very reliable car for under 20k. Has an amazing and powerful Barra engine and the ZF6 speed auto is a match made in heaven. Spare parts are everywhere and cheap, plenty of aftermarket mods if you are into that kinda thing and there is also a LPG variant (EcoLPi) that is very good as well and is arguably the best LPG powered engine ever produced.

XT (base) through to the XR6/T (sports) and G6E/T (luxury sports) are great. Wouldn't touch the XR8 though.

Loads of information out there on these great vehicles.
 
Under 20k you can get a brand new Kia Cerato drive away with a 7 year unlimited km warranty. Fairly economical four cylinder car of good build quality and a pretty decent specification level for the price. Otherwise you could go for a 3yr old VW Golf or well specced Mazda 3/Toyota Corolla/Ford Focus.
 
...or a Hyundai Elantra, brand new....with trade in and $1000 Lions membership deal? should bring it just under the 20,000 mark. I got a fantastic deal 3yrs ago, ended up costing 17,500 down from 21,995.

Would be a good size for what you want, goes well both city and country driving....it's a good medium size and I love mine, not small, not to big.......had an issue with cold starts on frosty mornings the first winter, but that got sorted and it wouldn't be an issue up there anyway...

...and don't you get a special deal with parking at the Gabba if you have a Hyundai?
 

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Agree with MM. Hyundai. Reliable (I think they've won a bazillion awards over the years), economical and supporting a club sponsor (with rewards, as MM mentioned, including a cashback deal). The only question left is size? 3 growing kids, probably need something bigger than an i20, but as a second car, you only want as many cylinders and as much engine capacity as you need (with room for growth).
 
Caiphus said:
Under 20k you can get a brand new Kia Cerato drive away with a 7 year unlimited km warranty. Fairly economical four cylinder car of good build quality and a pretty decent specification level for the price. Otherwise you could go for a 3yr old VW Golf or well specced Mazda 3/Toyota Corolla/Ford Focus.
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I hired one recently and it got a family of 5 around easily. The other thing was tons of legroom in the front, I had hurt my knee and couldn't bend it at all and was able to get the seat back far enough to get in

I am really into cars and was impressed with the cerrato as a cheap alternative.

The other is the hyundai had a getz for one of our businesses, was abused endlessly, never missed a beat. Ok to drive too on skinny tyres.

If it was me I would look at the i30 or cerrato, both big warranties.
 
The new i30 is awesome but it's also jumped up a price bracket because of the standard equipment and tech. Both Hyundai and Kia are almost up there with Toyota for how well they perform on defects and customer satisfaction nowadays.
 
acuguy said:
Ok, the time has come to get rid of my 2006 Toyota Camry, what a great car! I don't know anything about cars, what i do know is this

I have a 20k budget (it makes me ill spending money on cars)

I need a car that is reliable and is able to cope with 3 kids, 1 in the front and 2 in the back - it is the second car in the family

Please suggest any cars!
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Why wouldn't you get a newer model Camry then? Can pick up a 2014 model that's done around 50,000kms for 15k. Ca't go wrong with any Japanese cars.
 
Eons said:
Why wouldn't you get a newer model Camry then? Can pick up a 2014 model that's done around 50,000kms for 15k. Ca't go wrong with any Japanese cars.
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I had a Daihatsu Charade Turbo in my stupud youth. Had it for 3 yrs it was on the road for about 6months of that time. So I disagree with that statement.

I hire a lot of cars the camry is pretty awful, new barina and jeeps as well. The Koreans just trying harder.
 
Further to me recommending an Elantra......Mr MM has a 2yr old Camry, he couldn't get over that there is very little difference in the size of the two cars....mine is only minutely smaller, lots of room for adults in front and back. Side by side in the carport they look much the same size.

I traded in a 6yr old Holden Astra hatchback, couldn't wait to get rid of it. Had no mechanical issues but it was just too small, the paint was fading, little incidentals were happening......and I realised I'm just not a small car person.

Supposedly the Hyundai i30 hatchback is the same size as an Elantra........always looks so much smaller, I really can't see it myself.

If I was buying another car, I would still go with the Elantra.
 
winged1 said:
I had a Daihatsu Charade Turbo in my stupud youth. Had it for 3 yrs it was on the road for about 6months of that time. So I disagree with that statement.

I hire a lot of cars the camry is pretty awful, new barina and jeeps as well. The Koreans just trying harder.
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My wife is Japanese and she would kill me if I bought anything Korean. She's more than happy to have Korean BBQ though.
 
winged1 said:
I had a Daihatsu Charade Turbo in my stupud youth. Had it for 3 yrs it was on the road for about 6months of that time. So I disagree with that statement.

I hire a lot of cars the camry is pretty awful, new barina and jeeps as well. The Koreans just trying harder.
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Would never ever buy an American car. The USA prides itself on their car manufacturing, but I suspect there is a big difference between what they build for domestic sale and those for export.
I recall in the late 90s, Australia was importing Hondas, some from Japan and some from the USA. You could tell just by opening the boot, which were made in the US. Incomplete, very thin paint, destined to rust. They simply don't take time or spend on quality for export. All their Chryslers were a pain in the arse to work on as well.
 
Thanks for the input, been very happy with the camry, have thought about getting another camry. Any thoughts on picking up a new Sonata that has hail damage, but apparently you can't see it. Anyone ever bought a new hail damaged car?
 

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Skoob said:
Would never ever buy an American car. The USA prides itself on their car manufacturing, but I suspect there is a big difference between what they build for domestic sale and those for export.
I recall in the late 90s, Australia was importing Hondas, some from Japan and some from the USA. You could tell just by opening the boot, which were made in the US. Incomplete, very thin paint, destined to rust. They simply don't take time or spend on quality for export. All their Chryslers were a pain in the arse to work on as well.
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I have a mate who was a panel beater. They had a top of the line cherokee come in that was pretty bent. They put it on the rack and stretched it to exactly the blueprint specs. ..but they couldn't get the motor back in.

After a couple of weeks of on and off trying to reassemble this thing they eventually called the US to try and figure it out. Turns out every one is built out of whack or the motor won't go in. Says a lot for their design. So every car is actually not driving how it was originally designed.

Don't know if it is still the case but given their reputation for being lemons . ..
 
About 8 years ago, a mechanic mate told me not to touch Kias but that Hyundais were as good as Toyotas just without the rep. Now he says Kia is as good as Toyota/Hyundai and reckons they'll be on par reputation wise pretty soon.
 

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POBT said:
About 8 years ago, a mechanic mate told me not to touch Kias but that Hyundais were as good as Toyotas just without the rep. Now he says Kia is as good as Toyota/Hyundai and reckons they'll be on par reputation wise pretty soon.
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I used to own a Kia and a bunch in my family have as well - absolutely right. Kia/Hyundai is just as good as any Japanese car.

Great value - get around them, right POBs?
 
i bought a 1 1/2 year old kia cerato last year for about $12K still with 5 years warranty left on it. have had it for a bit over a year now and no issues whatsoever. Comfortable car to drive has most stuff you're looking for. I drive about 70km to work and then back again every day and its good enough for that and used as a second car for 1 child. Would fit more easily enough. The general feel of them isn't perhaps as nice as a hyundai, but they're the same company, just usually a generation behind engine and chassis wise.

new with 7 year warranties or a year or two old with the balance left is pretty hard to beat.
 
I was always told never to touch a 4 cylinder especially living in Australia but I guess the way Brisbane and other major cities have been developed there is less and less need for longer commutes and also 4 cylinders aren't as shit as they once were I suppose. Fuel cost is a valid argument but I reckon an EcoLPi Barra would be better than a standard 4 cylinder petrol car in costs but you get a more reliable and powerful vehicle with more cabin space + towing capacity. I think I get around 11-12L/100km in urban driving at average LPG prices of like 75c/L. Cheap.
 

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