New Car - Suggestions?

Post by **norbs** » Fri May 27, 2011 11:16 am

Maybe, it might not be though.

I only really suggest it if you are thinking of getting out of town to do some photography. My car has been fantastic, and it has seen a lot of nasty roads. I actually towed a little 4WD (A Sierra I think it was) out of a creek bed that I managed to drive through in Mildura. I have driven from Bourke to Wilcannia down the Darling river. Not exactly a 3 lane highway.

It is just practical. Fun, probably not.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Sun May 29, 2011 10:02 pm

Not really 100% on anything as yet... but favouring a BA XR8. Only real downside I can think of is the fuel it will drink.

Anywho, went out today to see what was around... The prices at dealers are insane! I have been doing a fair bit of homework on XR8's and pretty much know what you should be paying for what Km's. One place had one for $19,990 with 140k on it... I know there's about 5 of them on carsales with similar K's or less for about $15,000. I was aware that you pay a little more at a dealership, but thats a fairly significant difference. What I also noticed was that half the big car yards that had multiple dealers in one location which were thriving last time I was there a few years back, are now almost like a ghost town! half the dealers there have closed up shop. I asked one of the guys there where all the cars where, and he said a lot of the dealers there had retired or people are just buying online. Seems a shame that it's very hard to browse for a car in person these days. Some of the other places I went to were fine if you wanted a standard Falcodore around a 2008-2010 with 40k on the clock and at about $25,000, but they didn't seem to have anything else. I walked away thinking "where are they Audi's? VW? Suburu's?" And I found out that this place had almost exclusively ex fleet/government cars.

I guess I'll doing my buying privately.

r8response · Post by **r8response** » Sun May 29, 2011 10:46 pm

DexterPunk wrote:Only real downside I can think of is the fuel it will drink.

Anywhere from 10 - 15l per 100km

It all comes down to how you drive it. V8's can be extremely economical if you don't drive like a muppet.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Sun May 29, 2011 10:55 pm

Exactly what I thought, my best mate has a v8 calais. 5.7 ltr I think? It's a big v8 anyway and he drives sensibly and says it's only about 12-14/100km. Not exactly what you'd get from a Nissan Micra, but not horrible either.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:25 am

It all depends what you call good fuel economy, I have a vy ss and i drive it daily and average 11-13L/100km/h. It has had a tune which gets better fuel economy, my mate has an xr8 and he gets about 13-15L/100 but he drives it alot harder than i drive my car. Now obviously you can buy a small 4 cylinder car and get alot better economy but the big v8 really isnt THAT bad considering the fact you have a big v8.

GT VIRUS · Post by **GT VIRUS** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:37 am

Shaun wrote:It all depends what you call good fuel economy, I have a vy ss and i drive it daily and average 11-13L/100km/h. It has had a tune which gets better fuel economy, my mate has an xr8 and he gets about 13-15L/100 but he drives it alot harder than i drive my car. Now obviously you can buy a small 4 cylinder car and get alot better economy but the big v8 really isnt THAT bad considering the fact you have a big v8.

Those numbers don't mean much until you put $ figures on them in my opinion. For example, in my 92 corrola, i spend around $30 a week going to and from work 5 times a week (not peak-hour) plus errands etc, and it's an extra $15 if i go out to mallala.

ysu · Post by **ysu** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:41 am

GT VIRUS wrote:Those numbers don't mean much until you put $ figures on them in my opinion. For example, in my 92 corrola, i spend around $30 a week going to and from work 5 times a week (not peak-hour) plus errands etc, and it's an extra $15 if i go out to mallala.

Exactly! And I'm putting ~$50 fuel in my car every 2 weeks, 3.8L V6... since I'm working from home!

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Mon May 30, 2011 1:19 am

Those numbers are the most accurate comparison, i use $60-80 a week but i drive 300-500km a week so its hardly an accurate comparison L/100 every car can be compared that way

Rots · Post by **Rots** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:33 pm

DexterPunk wrote:Not really 100% on anything as yet... but favouring a BA XR8. Only real downside I can think of is the fuel it will drink.

Anywho, went out today to see what was around... The prices at dealers are insane! I have been doing a fair bit of homework on XR8's and pretty much know what you should be paying for what Km's. One place had one for $19,990 with 140k on it... I know there's about 5 of them on carsales with similar K's or less for about $15,000. I was aware that you pay a little more at a dealership, but thats a fairly significant difference. What I also noticed was that half the big car yards that had multiple dealers in one location which were thriving last time I was there a few years back, are now almost like a ghost town! half the dealers there have closed up shop. I asked one of the guys there where all the cars where, and he said a lot of the dealers there had retired or people are just buying online. Seems a shame that it's very hard to browse for a car in person these days. Some of the other places I went to were fine if you wanted a standard Falcodore around a 2008-2010 with 40k on the clock and at about $25,000, but they didn't seem to have anything else. I walked away thinking "where are they Audi's? VW? Suburu's?" And I found out that this place had almost exclusively ex fleet/government cars.

I guess I'll doing my buying privately.

I'm currently looking forr 2002 Toyota Prado. In my town there are a few about $16,990 price with 200,000k's... In Sydney/Newcastle the yard price starts around $2,000 less for the same vehicle. Or that price gets you one with about 140,000k's.

I was in Townsville a week or so ago and had a quick look around. Found a 1998 Toyota Prado with 480,000k's (!!) with an asking price of $19,990 (!!!WTF!!!). I quickly left that car yard. What a joke!

I'm going to stick with a dealer though. The thing with dealers is you can get them to fix any issues with a car at no charge before you buy it... at least I have in the past.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Mon May 30, 2011 7:38 pm

Yeah I bought my last car from a dealer and they were good. But XR8's seem to be few and far between. As one bloke said, people tend to hang on to them. If the dealers are going to charge $5k too much, then it's just not worth it.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 2:58 am

There's a new contender... Will make Astro happy. Impreza RS... Id prefer post bug eye. A little cheaper than an XR8, Cheaper on fuel, still enough performance and power in a small car to keep me entertained. And the handling of AWD... Seems like a more sensible option but still a little bit of fun.

VTRacing · Post by **VTRacing** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:07 am

DexterPunk wrote:There's a new contender... Will make Astro and VT happy. Impreza RS... Id prefer post bug eye. .

They're a fun car, but they don't rev (rev limit is 6200). It's a bit like a turbo car, lots of mid-range torque but no top end.

Bloody indestructible though.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:26 am

That's ok VT, I rarely push a car that hard anyway.

Now to find one that isn't bug eye, under 150k's, in blue or black, and for a good price.

AstrO · Post by **AstrO** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:49 am

Just make sure that its dual mass flywheel was replaced under warranty with a solid mass and the the gearbox is still in good shape.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:53 am

AstrO wrote:

Just make sure that its dual mass flywheel was replaced under warranty with a solid mass and the the gearbox is still in good shape.

Thanks for the tip!

If only this wasn't silver! http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/pri ... &silo=1011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:41 am

Going out tonight to have a look at this one... Not 100% if i like it in red as much as a blue or black, but ill have a look in person. Done a few K's but its about the same as my Lancer was, he said he'd be fine selling it for $13k.

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/pri ... &silo=1011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AstrO · Post by **AstrO** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:07 pm

I wouldn't say that MY04 is worth even close to $13k, but that's just my opinion. I'd pick the MY05 with upgraded interior and lower K's, even though it's in silver.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:12 pm

The silver one is gone.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:21 pm

And it does seem to be the going rate for an MY04... the $13k mark. That silver my05 with 88,000 on the clock i think was a bit of a bargain. Not sure if something like that will pop up again. Maybe If i waited long enough, but I don't have the luxury of having a car and just waiting for the right one to come along. I need to get a car pretty soon.

VTRacing · Post by **VTRacing** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:25 pm

There's a 5-door MY05 shaggin-wagon there for $14k.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:36 pm

Yeah saw that... not a wagon fan.

VTRacing · Post by **VTRacing** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:47 pm

Wagons are cool.

AstrO · Post by **AstrO** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:05 pm

VTRacing wrote:Wagons are cool.

Like

SE1Z · Post by **SE1Z** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:21 pm

AstrO wrote:
VTRacing wrote:Wagons are cool.
Like

Agreed!

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:22 pm

A.R.S.E.